Tuition

[Mom102077]

I don't know if this is the right section for this question but here goes. I am a soon to be single mother of 4 girls who lives about 45 minutes from Knoxville, TN. Our governor Bill Haslam, just announced a program where adults that want to go back to school can get two years free tuition (after all scholarships and grants have been applied) at a technical school. There is a Tennessee College of Applied Technology (formerly TN Technology Center) that has an LPN program. I really want my RN degree, but I will most definitely have to work while going to school and probably a little before I can go all in on an RN degree. Is the LPN program at this accredited and do the credits transfer to a larger school such as UTK or LMU? What are your thoughts on getting an lpn degree first as opposed to going ahead and getting an rn degree? I was told I needed to wait until all my children were in school (the youngest is 20 months old) because I would never be able to handle it if I had small children. I am determined to succeed, but don't know which path to take. I really need to find a good job to provide for my girls and I have always wanted to be a nurse, just too scared to try. I want to show my girls that you're never too old to go back to school. Thanks for any input!

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Welcome to AN! The TN BON has a list of approved LPN programs here. The school you are asking about does appear on the list. As for credit transfer, that depends much more on the school being transferred to than the school that initially granted the credits. Getting an LPN degree first or going straight to RN is something only you can decide. I went straight to RN out of high school, and it worked for me with the family support I had (still lived at home with parents). I recently completed an MSN program with a lesser amount of family support (no longer living with parents) while working more than full time. What path you decide to take is going to depend on what you think you can take on and the support system you have.

[Simply_Sondra]

The school is accredited, but the credits don't transfer. I had A&P at a university and still had to take the class at TCAT. I go to TCAT Dickson...graduate 4-21! I also plan to go the LPN to RN route.