Pre reqs at community college v/s university

It definitely depends on what university you plan on applying to. Some schools give extra points for being a native student, others don't care at all. I would check the requirements of the university you have in mind.

Yes, it really depends on the program. My school is a community college and it gives an extra point if you have done all of your prereqs there. Some schools don't care at all as long as the credits transfer.

Its definitely cheaper through a community college. I plan to do all my prereqs through the CC, and then all my nursing classes through the University. If the school doesn't care, I say stay with the CC. It'll save you money in the long run.

I can only tell you how it worked for me:

I got an associates degree in General Studies at a junior college.

This was important for two reasons: A general (sometimes called universal) studies degree is literally a degree meant to transfer to a university. I don't know how it works for your state, but in Texas, if you have a General Studies degree from a junior college, you are considered "core complete," at the university level. That means that you will enter university as a Junior, with all core classes completed, even if the university has a different core standard than the community college. For example, a university may require World Literature in their core, but your GS degree did not include that....whatever. Your degree is complete, therefore so are your core requirements.

Secondly, when I applied as a transfer student to the BSN program, my associates degree gave me extra points that "native" students did not get. PLUS I got the points for being core complete that some of the natives are still working on at the time of their application period.

I got in on my first try.

All of that to say that community college has its benefits, and shouldn't deter you from being accepted later. Of course, check with an advisor at both the university and community college.

My two bits about this topic: Community/Junior College courses are cheaper and sometimes can be MUCH cheaper than courses taken at the University level. Just make sure that the courses will transfer without any problems. Usually the University has some kind of course equivalency grid that includes other Colleges and Universities in the area, if not the state, for all the courses that they accept for transfer. When you go for your appointment, makes sure you bring a list of prerequisite courses at other schools you may attend to see if they'd accept those courses. That way you can generate a good plan about how to complete all your prerequisites and work toward getting into a nursing school.

Good Luck and happy planning!

I also wanted to add that core classes and nursing prerequisite classes are different. You may still need to take Chemistry, micro, A&P I&II, statistics, and all that good stuff, so keep that in mind when developing a degree plan if you go that route. It might take a few extra summer courses.

Good luck!

Good day, kwilson251:

The nursing college I'm starting this fall told me that it would be cheaper to get the prerequisites done at a local community college. I took their advice, and had no problems getting accepted. It did matter that I kept my grades up, and didn't go for the minimum C to pass and have the credits transfer. Check with the school, and see; as it can save a large amount of money to go to a community college instead for the prerequisites.

Thank you.

The cost difference is roughly 200.00 more a credit hour at the university. So I agree ... much cheaper to go the community college route. But with that said I still want to check and see if there is a point system or something that the university uses that could help my chances. If not I'm staying where I am for the prereqs. I am finishing up my 2nd year of prereqs and core classes at a community college right now. I have micro and chemistry to go. Then I will have aligned myself with 3 universities to apply to with all of their prereqs done.

Do the programs you're considering have websites with info? The ones I applied to have this kind of information, and will tell you what kind of preference you get for being a "native" student. Some universities have "feeder" schools, where there's a deal with the community college that the students have preference.