RN to BSN

Editorial Team / Admin · Mar 9, 2020

I would reach out to an academic advisor at the state school- for some it's not just the number of credits but the number of credits within the major. They would be best informed to advise you on the specifics of their requirements.

YouCanCallMeFrank, RN · Mar 10, 2020

Thanks for your reply!

I actually have talked with the transfer advisor, and he wasn't super helpful. Basically, I've completed all of the non-nursing courses required for my BSN while working toward my ASN. There are 15 credits worth of nursing classes left, but one of the 3 credit courses is for those who've completed certificate programs, leaving just 12 credits left for me to complete. Unfortunately, the program requires 120 total credits, and it's the school policy to not give diplomas to those who've completed fewer than 30 of those credits at their school (because you end up with a degree from a school you basically didn't go to). Upon graduation, I will have 79 credits that apply directly to the program (I have others from previous major, but doubt they'll help me at all); also, of the 30 credits that I need to fulfill with this school, they will count up to 6 credits completed at other campuses within the same system; I'm hoping that some of my (much) previously completed courses will be applicable. This leaves me with a total 12 credits from nursing courses and another 23 credits I have to complete by taking non-nursing courses in order to satisfy their 30 credit/120 total credit requirement. I'm just at a loss for what to take. In my past I've made mistakes with selecting electives, etc., and ended up taking overly difficult and/or uninteresting courses, which made maintaining my GPA all the more challenging. I'm not one for wasting my time and money, so I was just looking to see if any others have been faced with similar situations, and how they selected these courses.

AnnieNP, MSN, NP · Mar 11, 2020

If it doesn't matter what you take, I would sign up for fun classes that interest me.

klp2006, BSN, RN · Mar 11, 2020

Unfortunately, it really is university specific. It's my biggest gripe about all of nursing education. There is no consistency from one school to another. Have you tried talking to your ASN college counselor? Many associate degree schools also have a nursing counselor. If there is only one articulation agreement at your college they (local counselors) may also have some knowledge of courses you could take. Instead of the transfer advisor, you could also talk directly to the nursing department for the university.

I am little confused on your breakdown though. Most RN-to-BSN programs I have looked at, in state schools across multiple states and regions of the US, require the standard 30 credits to graduate from their university, but approx. 27 credits come from the actual BSN curriculum. In addition to the BSN curriculum there is the "core requirement" for the B.S. degree to be conferred. Those requirements vary by state and university and include your history, literature, math, english, etc. These credits can be taken anywhere and most universities in my state require they are completed prior to your application into the BSN bridge. The 27'ish BSN nursing credits though cannot be completed prior to enrollment at the university in the RN-to-BSN major. I've not yet come across a BSN bridge program that only requires 12-15 credit hours of nursing education for the degree.

YouCanCallMeFrank, RN · Mar 13, 2020

On 3/10/2020 at 11:26 PM, klp2006 said:
I am little confused on your breakdown though. Most RN-to-BSN programs I have looked at, in state schools across multiple states and regions of the US, require the standard 30 credits to graduate from their university, but approx. 27 credits come from the actual BSN curriculum. In addition to the BSN curriculum there is the "core requirement" for the B.S. degree to be conferred. Those requirements vary by state and university and include your history, literature, math, english, etc. These credits can be taken anywhere and most universities in my state require they are completed prior to your application into the BSN bridge. The 27'ish BSN nursing credits though cannot be completed prior to enrollment at the university in the RN-to-BSN major. I've not yet come across a BSN bridge program that only requires 12-15 credit hours of nursing education for the degree.

So I actually dug a little further after reading this, and there were some discrepancies in the information presented by the college. It turns out that there are 24 credits, plus a nursing elective, that I actually need to take in order to satisfy the program's graduation requirements. That being said, after those 24 credits, I'm still 17 credits short of the 120 applicable credits required in order to earn my degree.

I've taken electives or non-program specific courses in the past, and they've required more time and effort than they were worth. At the end of the day, I don't want to spend the money or time taking a class just to take it - I want to take classes that will make me a better nurse. I don't think I was specific enough when framing my question - a better question would be: what classes could help foster further professional development or might make me a more attractive hire? I was thinking perhaps taking some ASL courses. Of course I couldn't take 17 credits worth, or I'd be in school for another 5 semesters... but, thoughts?