Baylor (or similar accelerated BSN) vs. Brookhaven... need some advice!

U.S.A. Texas

Published

Specializes in Cardiac Critical Care.

Hey everyone,

I need some advice - I've been thinking about this for months trying to make a decision and I think I'm going to drive myself crazy! I am going to apply to nursing school (the sooner the better) but I am torn between going for an Accelerated BSN from somewhere like Baylor (or UTA, etc.) or getting my ADN at Brookhaven or El Centro. They each have pros and cons obviously... it seems like it would be smart to get my BSN out of the way now (since my long term plan is to get it anyway) but it would take me a while to get all the pre-reqs done (my Bachelor's is totally unrelated, so I'm missing a lot of the science and math... I'm reluctant to spend so much time and money getting pre-reqs done) and it's insanely expensive so I'd be in a ton of debt coming out of school. Brookhaven or El Centro would obviously be a lot less expensive but I'm not sure I'd be as employable since I've heard hospitals are looking for BSNs more and more. Just to be clear, I'm not asking for advice on ADN vs. BSN (I know that topic has been debated to death) but about which path seems like it makes more sense in this situation. Any insight y'all have on this would be appreciated. Thanks!! :)

PS - not that this has any bearing on my decision, but I read in a post from a few years ago that Brookhaven students wear white scrubs... anyone know if that's still true?

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Specializes in home health- pediatrics.

In this situation and economy, get your ADN. Honestly, there are very few hospitals that limit their openings to only BSN. Though many are being laid off, the demand for nurses is high. Also, many hospitals will pay for their employees to continue their education! ADN and BSN employees make the same pay, and do the same job, and get hired at the same places. If you are looking for something like management, then they will expect a BSN- but you won't have a hard time finding work if you go to an associate's program. Something you may look into though is a bridge program from your bachelor's to a BSN- you will have to weight the amount of time needed to get the pre-reqs and support courses done for BHC- the only way you will get in is by having 90% of your support courses done. If it's going to take you a year and a half to get into an associate's program, but you can start a BSN bridge program sooner, then I say do that. You don't have to limit yourself to Baylor- TWU has a great program and they have a bridge.

Don't forget- if you decide to get you ADN, you can bridge from there too. Many universities have RN-BSN online programs that you can complete while you are working as a nurse, and you don't have to do clinicals. And some even have RN-MSN (like at TWU and Tech). A few other schools are opening their doors, like Mountainview and the Dallas Nursing Institute (though they are probably as expensive a Baylor, lol).

That's my opinion, and I used to think there was no way I would want an ADN- BSN all the way! I am now in my first semester at Brookhaven :)

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Specializes in home health- pediatrics.

Also, if you have pre-reqs to take for a BSN, take them at a community college! I transferred mine to TWU and from TWU to DCCCD.

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Go for your ADN @ the community college and while you wait for acceptance you can be take BSN courses. That's how I did it @ DCCCD. There was no way possible for me to pay for UTA from jump. This is my last semester with DCCCD and I will be appling to 2 local ADN programs. This summer I will still utilizing the CC and taking my BSN courses for UTA...ie engl 2, hist 1and2 and so on. This way is cheaper for me. And by the time it's time to go for my BSN @ UTA, all I'll have are the main nursing courses that's required for ADN to BSN. If you take advantatge of the summers you can be done with prereqs in a full year...I did.

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Specializes in Cardiac Critical Care.

Thanks so much for the advice yall! I've been trying to talk through this with friends and family but since I only know one or two people with any experience in this area, it's been tough to get an experienced opinion. I think I've decided on Brookhaven to get my ADN and hopefully work on my BSN once I land a job :) Thanks again!

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Specializes in home health- pediatrics.

Sounds good! There are plenty of options out there! And I also got my pre-reqs and support courses done in a year- you have to work hard and all through the summer/winter, and you may have to go to other schools, but if you are dedicated, it's a piece of cake. DCCCD summer schedules are out now! Registration starts in April.

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Specializes in Cardiac Critical Care.

Are all of them out? I've been waiting for El Centro to post theirs forever, I've been stalking all the DCCCD pages to start planning! I'm hoping to get a bunch of the Brookhaven support classes done over the summer and hopefully apply for Spring! El Centro's got Patho and Pharm online though so I'm really hoping they'll offer it this summer!

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Hi Sugarmagnolia018- I am also applying to Baylor's Fast Track program in May of 2012. Have you gotten any advice on what the average GPA or HESI scores are. Im having trouble finding information on their program as well as A&M's.

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Apply to both and go where you get accepted.

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I would go for the ADN at the community college first, if money is a bigger issue. Don't worry about not finding work without a BSN; I have tons of friends that didn't have a problem. Also, most employers have a tuition reimbursement program, so you could be looking at little to no cost to get your BSN later.

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