RN licensure

Hello Everyone,

I am currently trying to finish up my pre-reqs to apply to nursing programs for fall 2011. I have a previous bachelors degree, and would like to pursue an accelerated BSN. However, since I live in California, and every possible program seems to be impacted here, I am currently considering out of state programs. An RN from the hospital where I volunteer recently notified me that if I consider going out of state, I should keep in mind that California, Texas, and New York have the hardest state exams. As a result, if I pass any one these state exams, I can easily get a job in some other state.

I do have plans to come back to California if I end up going to school somewhere else. So should I just consider applying to schools in these three states, or should I just apply schools regardless of where they are located, and eventually if i want to come back to CA, I would just deal with it then? What about schools like John Hopkins, Purdue, they are not located within the above mentioned states, but have really well known nursing programs. So does it mean if I graduate from John Hopkins, and would like to take the CA licensure exam, I would still find it very difficult?

Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Bidisha