Transfer to a 4-year BSN program? or graduate and apply for ABSN?

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Hi all!

I'm SO glad that i discovered this site as I am very confused of what path to take. For some background information I currently just started my 3rd-year at UCLA as a bio major. I decided that I wanted to become a nurse during my 2nd year but couldn't switch my major to nursing because UCLA only allows 1st-years to switch. My gpa is currently 2.89, not that impressive:( I am very involved in two clubs; one fundraises for surgeries for orphans in china and we also get to interact with and be mentors for adopted kids that live in the LA area. The other involves volunteering at an elementary school weekly which involves mentoring and tutoring kids in english and math. I am a director for both organizations and is very passionate about what I do in both clubs. I have looked up ABSN programs and most of them require a min gpa of 3.0. I am worried that my GPA will be lower when I graduate and is wondering if it is better to transfer now. I am also worried that my GRE/TEAS test scores wont be too great.

If i do decide to graduate and apply for a ABSN program, I don't really care where i would have to move to, as long as its in the US (however I am worried about tuition/living expenses! I know out of state is much more expensive). I am VERY passionate about becoming a nurse and really really really want this. I am hoping to start a ABSN program right after I graduate and receive my bachelors in bio but that would mean I'll have to prepare for the GRE or TEAS during my studies at UCLA and complete apps for schools, which seems somewhat difficult to me. I have looked into ABSN prgrams at NAU, Drexel, Roseman and the APNI program at Seattle University.

I haven't really looked into much schools to transfer to if I were to take the "transfer to a 4-year BSN route." The only one I have looked up is USF. I was wondering if I were to transfer, do I still need to send them my high school gpa (3.9) and a description of any extracurricular activities that I did in hs? (I was very active in hs;sports/leadership positions) A lot of my friends and family members, however, do not support my decision in transferring to a 4-year BSN school as they think its nice to have a bachelors degree from UCLA. but I really don't care because my main goal is to become a nurse! And I can really use some help/advice from those with experience or has/is going through what I am going through right now.

Thanks for reading! (i know its kind of long, but I'm kind of having a crisis/melt down right now:( )

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Maybe another alternative would be completing your biology degree from UCLA, and then applying to a nursing master's program? You would skip the BSN and go directly to an MSN.

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Hi toucheturtle,

Thank you for your advice! I have looked into that and thought that MSN programs are a LOT more competitive than ABSN programs. I feel that I have a better chance getting into an ABSN than MSN program. If I could, I would apply to both but I want to save money since applying for either programs aren't cheap :[

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