Seeking information on BSN programs in Colorado: Pros/Cons

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Hi,

I am new to this space - I am seeking information on BSN Programs in Colorado (Denver/Colorado Springs) and they Pros/Cons to the different schools. I am familiar with CU Health Sciences and Regis, but not as familiar with the smaller colleges (ie. Platte or Concorde). I do not know which programs offer the best education, experience, etc.

I appreciate any advice and insight you may have to offer.

I would love to start in a BSN program sooner than later, I am not sure if most of the colleges have wait-list or interview process for admission into their programs.

Thank you in advance for any comments!

MR

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If you already have a baccelor's, I recommend the accelerated BSN at Metro. It's a very good program and not as competitive as CU and Regis.

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

No BSN program has a waitlist. You are admitted on merit, not a lottery or application number. You just have to meet the prereqs.

... unless you are looking at private for profits like DSN, Platte, and Concorde in which case you need to meet the bank account requirements ;)

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Thank you for the replies! I appreciate the input, there are many options which is nice. I just need to find the right program that fits with my needs, life and budget. :)

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Specializes in Emergency, Pre-Op, PACU, OR.

You can select schools by checking their accreditation as well. Here is the link to regionally accredited schools in CO from the Higher Learning Commission website:

http://www.ncahlc.org/component/option,com_directory/Itemid,184/form_submitted,TRUE/institution,/lang,en/showquery,/state,CO/submit,Search/

The regional accreditation will be important for you if you want to ensure that future schools (e.g. for your Master's) will accept your BSN. DSON is in candidate status, which means they are working on the accreditation but do not have it as of now. You might hear different info on how soon they plan to have it but in the end, it is always up to the Higher Learning Commission, when the HLC will schedule their next visit, and what their decision after the walkthrough will be. Until DSON receives accreditation status, students who graduate from DSON do NOT have a regionally accredited BSN and there is also NO grandfathering-in policy (I talked directly to the HLC a while ago). You will find several LONG threads about DSON on this forum, but if you have any questions regarding regional accreditation I would call the HLC directly, they were very helpful when I did. Also, I did not see Concorde or Platt College on the HLC list, I heard (through the grapevine) that Platt wants to receive regioinal accreditation but have no details or confirmation.

The second accreditation you want to look for is a Nursing Association accreditation. The two big ones are NLN (National League of Nursing) and AACN-CCNE (American Association of Colleges of Nursing - Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education)

Here are the links for accredited institutions in CO

http://www.nlnac.org/Forms/directorySearch.asp

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/CCNE/reports/rptAccreditedPrograms_New.asp?state=CO&sFullName=Colorado&sProgramType=1

There are also a couple of threads on this forum about Concorde and Platt that might give you some more opinions.

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Thank you so much!!! All of the information is extremely helpful! I do want to go on for a masters at some point, so the accreditation is important (and something I was not aware of). Thank you for taking the time to include all the information you did, I am checking out the websites now.

Thank you again!

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Two somewhat less-known options: Bethel nursing school (CU, Colorado Springs) and the nursing school at the University of Northern Colorado. I believe both have traditional as well as 2nd degree/accelerated options.

Good luck,

Dina

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Specializes in Transplant.

So I graduated from the Regis traditional program with a BSN and did my pre-nursing credits at University of Northern Colorado. If you want to go for the best of the best they are as follows 1. CU Boulder 2. Regis University 3. University of Northern Colorado. These rankings come from student reputations at Colorado hospitals and NCLEX pass rates. All three programs are also ridiculously hard to get into. So either way, good luck and if you have any questions about Regis, I was an affiliate faculty member so ask away.

Cheers :)

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I'm SUPER interested in applying for Regis...I just don't know if I have a chance ---

So I graduated 07 from a liberal arts university with 3.06 in biology, I probably have around a 3.1-3.2ish in my pre-reqs. B in anatomy B in chem A in micro C in phys B in stats and As and Bs in all the other ones

I was an opthalmic assistant during college, after college I've spent the past 2.5 years working in clinics supporting HIV programs in kenya, worked in perinatal recovery program, and now I volunteer for a hospital and an HIV clinic

I have great letters of rec and could have a good essay..... I just want to be at a jesuit university, I like that they focus on service learning, and of course I want to pass the NCLEX.

Ughhh should I even bother? Any advice would be AMAZING

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You are on the wrong forum: go to Colorado nursing programs forum.

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Specializes in Transplant.

So, here are your choices from most competitive to least competitive:

1. Accelerated Program: You have to have a Bachelors prior to applying and you get your BSN in 1 year. This program is incrediably competitive (usually 3.9-4.0 GPA to get in). They usually take 30-40 students in for the May start and 30-40 students for the January start.

2. Traditional Program: This is your typical 4 year college degree/2 year clinical nursing program. If you do your prerequisites at Regis and meet the Loretto Heights School of Nursing standards you get a seamless progression into the clinical program. For transfers they give priority based on how long you went to Regis prior to applying to the program. They typically have 72ish students per class, one class per year.

3. The CHOICE program: This is a 4 year degree like the traditional program, however, it is for people already working in the healthcare field. Students take classes and due clinicals at night or on the weekend so that they can work during the week. They typically take 30-40 students a year.

I hope this helps... Regis has a fantastic program and I am very proud to say that I am a Regis nurse! If you go and talk to the nursing admissions counselors they will guide you through the application process and give you a reasonable guess on your chances on getting into whichever program or programs you decide on.

Good luck :yeah:

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So, here are your choices from most competitive to least competitive:

1. Accelerated Program: You have to have a Bachelors prior to applying and you get your BSN in 1 year. This program is incrediably competitive (usually 3.9-4.0 GPA to get in). They usually take 30-40 students in for the May start and 30-40 students for the January start.

2. Traditional Program: This is your typical 4 year college degree/2 year clinical nursing program. If you do your prerequisites at Regis and meet the Loretto Heights School of Nursing standards you get a seamless progression into the clinical program. For transfers they give priority based on how long you went to Regis prior to applying to the program. They typically have 72ish students per class, one class per year.

3. The CHOICE program: This is a 4 year degree like the traditional program, however, it is for people already working in the healthcare field. Students take classes and due clinicals at night or on the weekend so that they can work during the week. They typically take 30-40 students a year.

I hope this helps... Regis has a fantastic program and I am very proud to say that I am a Regis nurse! If you go and talk to the nursing admissions counselors they will guide you through the application process and give you a reasonable guess on your chances on getting into whichever program or programs you decide on.

Good luck :yeah:

I am not the OP of this thread, but I have a question about this. This information is for Regis, correct? I believe I saw that you were on faculty there. I'm currently finishing my pre reqs right now and plan to apply to CU, Metro, Regis and UNC. Right now I don't have a huge preference, though I'd like to stay in Denver and CU or Regis are my top choices. I already have a BA in another field and am finishing my pre reqs at a CC now. My undergrad GPA isn't an overall 3,9-4.0, but my pre reqs are. Is that GPA the overall undergrad GPA requirements or is that for pre reqs? Also, if I already have a BA and apply to the traditional program, would I have to retake a bunch of gen ed classes again directly from Regis (I've never actually attended regis and got my BA in another state)? Thanks for any help you can give

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