UT Arlington vs Ohio Univeristy RN to BSN

chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Sep 19, 2011

Ive applied to both about a month ago, and so far the process seems to be going much faster from University of Texas at Arlington bc I havent heard anything from Ohio University other than when I initially applied. Id love to hear from people in either of these programs. Ive read most of the posts I could find. One thing I like is that UTA will tell u what transfers, and from what I can tell you wont know from OU until well into the program kind of putting you in a corner bc you would be unlikely to back out once you already got some courses out of the way.

I applied to both schools. The admission and evaluation process at UT-A is far more organized than at OU but UT-A is much less accommodating. UT-A refused to accept a number of my undergrad courses for very specious reasons and it was impossible to get my advisor to listen to reason. In fact, several times she stated one thing and when I provided evidence to the contrary, she then raised another unrelated objection. In the end, after I provided evidence and logical arguments to counter her objections, she simply stated that she'd made her decision and that was that. In my case, even after earning over 300 credits and 3 degrees, UT-A wanted me to take about a half dozen non-nursing courses. It almost seemed that the obective was to get you to take as many courses as possible at UT-A. Others have posted about similar experiences with the school but of course, YMMV.

At OU, the process took far longer but the advising staff was far more accommodating. Unlike UT-A, the staff at OU appeared to actually want to give you the most transfer credit possible. I got credit for all of my relevant previous coursework and have only the nursing courses in the RN-BSN to satisfy. Needless to say, I'm enrolled at OU rather than that school in Texas, which ironically was my first choice.

Everyone's experience is different and there are plenty of students who did not have the negative experience with UT-A that I did. Note however that UT-A recently increased their tuition significantly, making OU a better choice from that perspective.

RNTriathlete · Sep 19, 2011

I applied to both programs but I am planning to go with UTA. I wish I could tell you more about what it is like to actually be a student there, but I start next week. My admissions experience was very fair. I also have another undergraduate degree and another graduate degree but I still need some "General Ed course." This does not really bother me because the courses they say I need are exactly the ones I expected to need. Obviously my experience was different from Chuckster's, but it has been very fair to me. Also, to be honest I am a good student and I love learning so having to take classes like "Art Appreciation" actually sounds fun to me. I like the organization at UTA and the feedback has been good. In the end, I think all of us are going to get out of an online program what we put into it. I agree with the comment that once you start a program you feel committed and are more likely to stick with it.

One more plus for UTA was that I can start next week. I can't start OU until the winter. I am a new grad looking for a job. Frankly, I want to put "Enrolled in a BSN" program on my resume NOW! That alone could make up the extra price difference.

Good luck with your choice!

kcdunlap · Sep 19, 2011

I applied to UT-A. I guess I was very lucky UT-A gave me all but one of the general ed courses. I only have to take the statistic course which I can take at the same time of any of my nursing courses. If I play things right I could be done in about 13 months...I'm hoping I hit a stride and get it all done in 13 months...