LindsG

salina - how funny!! Congrats to you for getting into both schools as well. I have been taking pre-req's at RACC also for the past year and also have not really had anything bad to say....but thats just pre-reqs. What classes have you taken and who were/are your professors?? Interested to see if we've had the same professors at all. Wouldn't it be funny if we were in the same class? I am taking A&P2 right now. My professor is my least favorite professor so far and she intimidates me. If the clinical instructors are like her, I could see how that could be a problem...but my chem professor and A&P1 professor have been 2 of my favorite professors ever! I wouldn't have so many reservations about RACC if it weren't for all the horror stories I keep hearing! Not even just on here. I met someone in person last year who said the same thing. She transferred to Alvernia. Apparently they have made a lot of changes to their program though (including admission criteria) so who knows if that will make a difference. I also have a friend whose sister and cousin are both going to Reading Hospitals program...both of them have young children and both of them are doing very well and loving it. Without a doubt, Reading Hospital would be my choice if cost wasn't a factor. I also keep getting cold feet and asking myself if I REALLY want to be doing this at all and missing out on the early years in my kid's lives. Every other day I am considering dropping out...yet I just can't. There's just this pull that keeps me going...but I wonder sometimes if i should choose the cheaper school just in case I get to that first semester and HATE nursing and end up dropping out! Thats a horrible way to think of this but that's where i'm at right now. I have so many doubts...about whether i'll be a good nurse, whether i'll make it through school (even though I have 4.0 at RACC right now), and whether i'll even LIKE nursing. That's a huge part of why I accepted this part time job as a unit clerk. I need to see first hand what nursing is. Anyway, i've gone off on a tangent now! Good luck with your decision as well! Maybe i'll see you at RACC's orientation on the 16th?

kdrose- thanks for the reply! I've looked into alvernia as well...and honestly thought that would have been the answer I was looking for but....they are EXPENSIVE!!!!! I can't get financial aid because this will be a second degree for me and I did the math yesterday. If I took all the classes I possibly could at RACC and ONLY the nursing courses at Alvernia, it would still cost me $37,950!!! For 55 credits!! So that's out. At this point if hospitals really aren't accepting ADN's at all...my only option might end up being quitting the nursing thing altogether . I just took a unit clerk position part time at reading hospital and during my interview the nurse manager asked me if I planned on ever getting my BSN. I told her that eventually that was in my plans but that the only programs in the area were just too far. She did tell me about Drexels online RN-BSN program which I didn't know about...but that will still require me to become an RN first. That is definitely something i'm considering but it still comes down to money then! If I went to Reading Hospital (my first choice) it will be 22,000 and then another 18,000+ for my RN-BSN. I could do RACC (if I don't fail out or quit!) for 6,000 and Drexel for 18,000 which is much better....but again, what if i don't even make it through RACC's program? Anyway I am pretty certain that both Reading Hospital and St. Josephs in my area still do hire ADN's BUT they prefer a BSN. I guess i'm sorta hoping that having a part time job at Reading Hospital, AND going for my Diploma at Reading Hospital, will result in me getting a job at Reading Hospital? I definitely have a lot to think about still and it all just makes me head spin.

kdrose - I completely understand what you are saying about doing a second degree program for my BSN. I looked into that and really wish I could but I live in Birdsboro (between Reading and Pottstown) and Allentown is about an hour drive (plus however far I may be sent for clinicals) and West Chester (the other program I looked into) is an hour drive the other direction. I REALLY considered it but I have a 2 year old (and plan to become pregnant with my second in the middle of nursing school and taking a year off) and I just don't think I could manage an accelerated program PLUS the long drive! I could end up at Brn Mwyr Hospital (1.5 hrs away) for clinicals and have to go in the night before to research my patient. Maybe i'm stupid for not considering that anyway or looking too much for the ideal situation. I understand nursing school is going to probably be the hardest thing i've ever done in my life so I guess i'm looking to keep those hardships to a minimum to decrease my chances of dropping out! And then sometimes I wonder if i'm really cut off for this if i'm not willing to accept those challenges? Maybe I don't want it bad enough. I just don't want my family to completely forget I exist I guess i'm hoping once I get my ADN/Diploma (whichever I go for) i'll work toward an RN-BSN bridge program if I feel it's necessary still. I know Drexel has an online one for that.

Ashley - thank you so much for your response! I have been leaning toward reading hospital but its so much cheaper at RACC (like $16,000 less!) that it is hard for me to not factor that in! On the other hand, I am a mom and though my grades so far are really good, I don't want the extra unneccesary headaches because I know it's going to be super tough doing this as it is! It would also be nice knowing my clinicals will be right there at RH instead of potentially having to go all the way to lancaster or something (which is pretty far for me!). Also, as far as schedule goes, it usually gets more and more involved by the final semester right? Should I expect basically full time hours taken up during the week by my final semester at RACC?

Help! Any students or alumni from either of those schools on here that could help me? I have been accepted to both programs and I can't decide which school to attend. There are pros and cons to both options it seems! I heard some horror stories about RACC so i'm leaning toward RHSHC but then again, i haven't heard much of ANYTHING about Reading Hospital's program. I need information on what my schedule would look like at both schools but I can't seem to get answers from either school on these questions. Would one look better than the other on my resume? RACC would give me an associates (but I already have a previous B.A.) and reading hospital would only be a diploma. If I were to someday go for my BSN would that matter?