Is a Bachelor's degree necessary for Nursing School?

[FrankM100]

It's 2017 and halfway towards 2018, according to most of the forums, nursing school is getting extremely competitive. I am 18 yeas old and plan to apply for nuring school here in Houston, TX. I graduated High School with an associates in arts degree from HCC through an early college program. My pre-req GPA and overall GPA are both around a 3.5. I still need A&Ps and Microbiology so I haven't taken either of the entry exams (TEAS V or HESI A2). I'm also volunteering at Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center as a patient transporter and will hopefully tranger to help out the nursing units or maybe the ER. My only concern is the population of applicants with associates versus bachelor's degree. Should I get a Bachelor's degree to set me in front of the application pool? I only need like 4 classes and find that getting a Bachelor's degree would be a waste of time and money. How much does it impact the application process. Of course, the entry exams also play a big factor. I plan to apply to UTHSON, TWU, Texas A&M PV SON (3 Houston schools), and UTMB in Galveston. Would it set me back to apply w an associates degree to school of nursing?

[caliotter3]

I think it would set you apart, but it is not necessary. Talk to the nursing advisors at the programs you are considering. They will probably tell you something like "meeting the prerequisite courses does not require a degree."

[S7ud3n7_Nur53]

Edited: Sorry I originally misunderstood the question! No I do NOT think getting a bachelor's is necessary for your consideration to the programs. TWU is the only school that gives you a small "bump" for a prior bachelor's.

[BookishBelle]

You don't need microbiology or A&P to do well on the TEAS. Just do some studying first, maybe a prep book and some crash course you tube videos.