lady_db_programmer

Do yourself a favor and don't get ahead of yourself. Easier said than done, I know. You need to focus your energy and attention on what's in front of you and what's immediately ahead. I wouldn't bother thinking ahead any further than the next semester, and even then I wouldn't waste much time on that. You have to focus on your pre-reqs so you can get the grades you need to be a competitive applicant, otherwise you really will have wasted your time worrying about hospitals and such. I know at your age four years seems like a long time, but it really isn't. Just focus on what you have to do now instead of what you have to do for the rest of your life.

I already have a BA, so an accelerated BSN is an option. I'm just wondering if a $50k debt burden would be worth it. How much are TCU nurses making right out of school?

I don't have any student loan debt, but then again I don't want to get myself $50k in the hole if I don't have to. I've heard good things about TCU, but I'm wondering if a BSN from them is worth the $50k, since obviously it has to be paid back and don't BSNs make pretty much the same money no matter where they went?

When you're 18, four years can seem like forever. Trust me, it's not. It goes by in a flash.

I was going by discovernursing.com's listings. I'm sure they'd love to know about their mistake. Sales tax in DFW is pretty much the highest in the state, though it's a bit lower in SA. Your property tax is only $5,200? Lucky! My parents paid about $8,000 last year. Texas-sized property tax bills are one thing I'm not looking forward to when we move back. The British complain about council tax (similar sort of tax) being over 1,000 pounds, which is less than $2,000. Hahaha, if they only knew.

So's Austin, but my husband and I are going to Dallas...so I probably have some taste issues. I've visited the desert southwest and enjoyed it, but Texas is home and always will be. That's all.

Arizona just doesn't blow my skirt up. Doesn't mean it's a bad place...we visited Raleigh-Durham a couple of years ago. It was lovely, and the people were the nicest I'd ever met. I wouldn't want to live there, though; it's just not me.

I was looking at TCU (Texas Christian, in Fort Worth) as a possibility, but it has more pre-reqs than TWU (Texas Women's U, in Denton). On the other hand, it has an accelerated class every year instead of every other year like TWU. Then there's the issue of cost. TCU would probably cost $45,000 for the accelerated BSN at today's tuition rates, possibly more. Has anyone done TCU's program? Advice is appreciated. I'm still trying to decide between doing an ADN and a BSN. If I do an ADN I'd eventually want to get a BSN anyway, so it might be easier to just skip straight to it.

I'm just gonna jump in here...Texas only has two CRNA courses. One is in the DFW area at Texas Wesleyan and it's horrendously expensive tuition-wise. The other is in Houston at UT Health Science Center and the cost of living is very cheap, but the University of Texas system is generally VERY selective at the graduate level, so no slip-ups. Frankly I'm surprised UT Southwestern in Dallas hasn't jumped on the CRNA bandwagon; a friend of mine's dad is a doc at the hospital complex there and says they are absolutely begging for them and paying them starting salaries well into the six figures. Hell, I'd consider going for it myself but I don't think I have the scientific aptitude for it. The cost of living in Texas is pretty low, but salaries are lower too; that's something to consider. There's no state income tax, but sales tax and property tax are higher than neighboring states. Real estate in decent areas of Dallas itself will cost you a pretty penny; the 'affordable' houses are either in iffy neighborhoods or off in the suburbs, in which case you'll have quite a commute on your hands. (I'm a Dallas native.)

Thanks for the tips lex. I've decided I'm going to try for Brookhaven's course but I'm also going to do the pre-reqs for TWU's BSN program. I probably won't get them done in time to apply for 2009, which is the next time they run the accelerated course, but I could just apply to upper division nursing and it would take 2 years to complete instead of 16 months. If I do this I want to eventually get a BSN so it might be better to just go for the BSN straight off. TWU requires 37 hours of pre-requisites and many are the same as Brookhavens' though some aren't. I'd like to knock out a lot of them in online courses. I took history and gov't as an undergrad but I don't want to transfer those grades in. :imbar Some entrance requirements have changed since the last time I looked at these programs and I think I could have a shot at TWU's BSN program even though my grades weren't great in college. Having a BA doesn't seem to make a whole lot of difference tho...any way I slice it it seems I'll be in school forever.

I'm just speaking from experience. For example, UTA lists Anatomy and Physiology I & II as pre-requisites for its BSN nursing sequence but neglects to mention that biology is a pre-requisite. It also lists biology and one year of chemistry as pre-requisites for its microbiology class, and it doesn't mention that college algebra is a pre-requisite for both its introductory chemistry class and its statistics class. Its BSN brochure doesn't tell you that; I had to look up each and every class in its course catalog to figure out what those courses' pre-requisites were.

Course materials sometimes don't show pre-requisites. Check the university's course catalog; that should have definitive answers on pre-requisites; you may find that biology is required.

No probs, Jules...I can see where you're coming from. The junior colleges in Dallas allow you to take A&P without bio or chem, but I think it would be a mistake to dive into microbiology or pharmacology (required courses at every nursing program I've ever looked at) without taking general, entry-level bio/chem classes...unless you took some advanced ones in high school and remember a lot from them. Sure, some people can just jump right in...but not everyone can. I think if someone's having any doubts about their ability to handle it, they should get their hands on the texts for A&P, microbiology, and pharma in the program they plan to apply to, and they should read the first couple of chapters. If they feel that the texts are going too fast for them, it's probably a good idea to take bio/chem. A D in microbiology because you were unprepared hurts a lot more than getting an A in a biology class that you thought was perhaps a little too easy. It's better for your cumulative GPA too; and if someone has a local CC, bio/chem classes can be taken for a lot less than $1000. A lot of non-major bio/chem can be taken online, too; they're better than nothing. Just my $0.2.

I would think if someone wants to skip bio and chem, they have a reason. I would guess the reason is one of the following: * Financial constraint. If you're so hard up that you're trying to find ways around what are pre-requisites at every four-year program I've seen, skipping bio/chem is the least of your problems. It's only two classes and they will form the basis of your future scientific knowledge. * Eager to finish pre-reqs. If you're that impatient, won't it be hard to finish a 2-4 year course? College isn't a race; the spoils go to the persistent, not the eager. * Weak in either/both subjects. If you're weak in biology and/or chemistry and are concerned about your ability to earn a high grade in either entry level class, then healthcare probably isn't the best industry for you. I took a year each of non-major bio and non-major chem in college and I COULD do A&P, Microbiology, and Pharmacology without taking intro science major bio & chem, but I don't want to cripple myself before the race begins. I think it's never a bad thing to over-prepare. That's just my opinion tho, and since I've never been to nursing school it probably doesn't count for much.

Having thumbed through a college-level A&P text, I wouldn't advise taking A&P without at least ONE biology course, and many universities won't let you take it without a semester each of bio and chem. (There's a reason for that.) If you're weak in either subject, that is a good reason to take both...not to avoid them. You can't avoid biology/chemistry in the health sciences, especially since pretty much every nurse has to take classes in microbiology and pharmacology. These are classes that may require bio/chem as pre-requisites and even if they don't, I'd take them anyway.