Question about an ADN Program at a Community College?

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Hello there, my name is Dustin; I am fairly new to this Nursing Forum! I will be a senior in high school next year, and am very interested in becoming an (R.N)! I would say that I am a very studious/active student: National Honor Society, Student Council, Class President, etc! Right now my overall GPA is a , as well as making straight A's the past few semesters! I honestly could have a 5.0, but I had a bit too much fun my Freshman year.:o Anyway, in a few months I will begin applying to different schools around the state of Illinois. I would like to attend the (University of Illinois in Champaign Urbana), and work toward earning a BSN. On the other side of the spectrum, my parents think that a university of that size will be too overwhelming for my first two years out of high school! My parents would like for me to attend Parkland Community College of Nursing, and live at home with them. (they are both Educational Administrators) After those two years in the ADN program, I would then go back and get my BSN! In the long run this might be beneficial to reaching my goals! My main goal is to get my BSN in Nursing, and then hopefully become a CRNA or attend Medical School! I want my choice to be the right one! Do any of you professionals/Nurses have any comments or opinions that might give me more assurance? Would the ADN route be the best for me? Your comments and knowledge would be appreciated!

:rolleyes:Thank you, Dustin (Future R.N/M.D):rolleyes:

Specializes in ICU & Rehab.
Would the ADN route be the best for me? Your comments and knowledge would be appreciated!

:rolleyes:Thank you, Dustin (Future R.N/M.D):rolleyes:

Dustin -

I got my BS as a pre-med at U of I in 1972 but had decided in my junior year that I didn't want t go to med school. Back in those days, nursing wasn't even discussed as an option if you were a guy. I had a great career in the electronics business for 30 years and then decided to do an accelerated BSN. I hated that program and switched to the nursing program at my local community college. It's a great program and the educational deal of the century. Go to Parkland and get your prerequisites out of the way. That will save you money and give you time to decide whether to stay there and do the ADN program or transfer to a school like U of I to follow the BSN or pre-med track there. In your spare time, read the read the January 31, 2005 issue of U.S. News and World Report. If that article had come out in 1968 I would have decided to be a nurse back then.

Good luck!

Brian

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Specializes in MICU, SICU, PACU, Travel nursing.

i got my adn and am now going back for my bsn.

there are advantages to getting an adn first, like getting to start making money faster and getting the first year as a nurse over[its a hard year]. but do not think that getting an adn is any easier just because its somewhat faster. if anything it is harder, because it is accelerated, at least it was harder where i went. the place i went had a bsn and an adn program and recomended younger students to go bsn route because it was less competetive and had a much higher pass rate and generally just better suited for younger students. i was the youngest person to graduate my adn program, everybody else my age quickly dropped or changed majors when they found out what the program entailed.also it was really a 3 year degree not a 2 yr because you have a year of prereqs and then 2 of nursing.

the only thing is once you get out it is super hard to make yourself go back believe me. and another thing, the school i'm now getting my bsn from requires that you take an extra year of online courses in addition to the regular bsn requirements. basiclly, i have to have a year more courses than i would have to have taken if i had just started out as a bsn. that part kinda stinks.

good luck to you.

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Yeah...who's ever really gotten a 2-year ADN degree, in TWO years???

Dustin - you have the exact same plans as I do. I graduated high school 1.5 years ago as a junior. My parents said I could do that as long as I agreed to go to the community college and I couldn't move out until I was at least 18. I just turned 19 and am still living with my parents while I finish up my remaining prereqs. I just applied to a BSN program and am waiting to hear back from them (won't hear until April-ish), but my backup plan is to attend the community college's ADN program (I know I will get in because it's run on a point system - you get so many points for the prereq grades).

I also aspire to be a CRNA. I am really hoping to get accepted to the BSN program because you MUST have a BS (not necessarily in nursing) to get into a CRNA program. ALSO, to get into the CRNA program, you MUST have at least one year critical care experience as a RN. Then, the CRNA program is anywhere between 24 and 36 months long. So if you add it all up, going the ADN route (for me at least) would be 8-9 years of school AFTER high school. The BSN route would be 7-8 years.

I'm hoping to get into the BSN program to shave off that extra year or two.

Make sure to do your research on CRNA's and their programs - I've definately done mine (I even know what CRNA programs I want to apply to and I'm not even admitted to a nursing program yet). Good Luck!!!

Heather

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