What is the best way to go about becoming a nurse?

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 14, 2014

Welcome to AN! The largest online nursing community!

Start now. Nursing is very competitive. Take as many honors class as possible or AP if you can. Focus on science. Take biology, chemistry, psychology and anatomy and physiology if offered at your school. Take advanced math like algebra and trig or calculus and physics.

Get GOOD grades at least a 3.5. Get active in community service and school clubs/activities. Join HOSA if your school participates.

Be smart don't get in ANY trouble...AT ALL. NOTHING. You will be drug tested and denied school and a possibly license if you are positive or have ANY criminal charges. Keep what you put out there on social media professional and "proper" they will look.

Take the SAT early and often get at least a 1100 on critical reading and math.

There are 3 paths into nursing. Some require that you pass your CNA certification prior to acceptance.

Diploma 3 years which is hospital based. This will limit your practice as most facilities are not hiring anything except a BSN grad.

ADN community/technical based 3 years total. First year prerequisites and 2 years nursing.

BSN direct entry. Four year college based program. Prerequisites are a part of the program. Hospitals are leaning towards hiring only BSN grads.

My daughter has just gone through this....Good luck!

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Mar 14, 2014

Welcome to AN!

PLEASE do not use your real name or other personal identifiers on any social network. Change your user name if this is your real name.

Esme's advice is always golden. I agree with everything she said. I only want to offer - take AP classes if you can. These will prepare you to CLEP courses for college credit, saving you time and money.

You can do this!! Keep us posted on your progress.

SoniaReb · Mar 14, 2014

The prior two posters gave excellent advice. The only thing I would add is that if the opportunity exist in your State, please take a look at Dual Enrollment (DE) program, where you can take college level classes at a local Community College or other state universities. You could potentially complete ALL your prerequisites (~60 credits) for your Nursing Program by the time you complete High School. In most States, the Tuition and Books are completely free to the High School Student, essentially paving the way for you to complete your BSN by the time you are 20-years old and only having to pay for two-years of College. IMHO, it is best to do Dual Enrollment as oppose to AP classes, since most colleges/University will only accept a score of 3 or better for AP Courses, while a C or better earned through Dual Enrollment will transfer to most, if not all, colleges/universities.

Some States, you can spend your final year on Campus (Early Admission) at one of your local Community College and not attend high school. You end up getting both High School credits and College credits through the Dual Enrollment process....a win-win proposition in my book. Dual Enrollment is the best deal for High School Students who meet the requirements of the DE program. Finally, there are aspects of the DE program where you can attend specialize High Schools for your Junior and Senior Year as part of the Dual Enrollment program and receive a AA or AS at the end of the two years (very competitive program to get into).

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · Mar 15, 2014

Here's the downside with dual enrollment no one will ever mention. The way colleges calculate financial aid is now including the length of time you were in college. My dual enrollment counted against me as extra time I was in college even if I was just taking one or two classes and no financial aid went to that. I had to fill out forms and submit a degree plan for the college to continue giving me financial aid. I guess my college is more lenient about it than others. Plus the 2nd part of the condition is it looks at your overall credit numbers including any dual enrollment numbers.

If you do get an associate degree and end up getting accepted into a associate program quicker than a university, you will not be eligible for financial aid for a 2nd associate degree. So I don't recommend getting an associate degree unless it is in nursing.

I do recommend you talk to admissions and nursing departments about what their admission style is. There is a wide range of admission styles out there. My school used to do one where they would look at your high school info and accept you into the nursing program or they would require you to take Comp I, Comp II, and Lifespans along with Microbiology 2xx, Anatomy and Physiology I 2xx and II 2xx. Then they would take the micro, a&P I and II, and average the grade out. Then they would decide to accept you based on that GPA. Everyone was stuck on the same waiting list.

Well, they stopped that. Now they have a long list of criteria like ACT/SAT scores, GPA, micro grade, AP I grade, AP II grade, TEAS test math score, TEAS test reading score, and I think there is one or two I am missing. Then they give points based on those scores. Then they rank the students based on those scores with the ACT being a tiebreaker. Depending on how many clinical spots they have, they will accept the student into the next class. If you don't make it, you have to reapply. So no one is accepted into the program right away regardless of their high school GPA.

Other universities do similar points in my area. They usually require the student to complete two years of general education credits and pre-reqs to be admitted.

So start talking to about five different schools and start asking what they require to be accepted into the nursing program. I would do 2 community colleges and 3 universities. Then pick the one you really want to go to and three backup ones. Find out how credits transfer among the four schools and what you may need to take additionally.

I went the associate degree route with a plan on going to a partner school (a university that offers RN to BSN) after I graduated so I tailored my classes towards fulfilling the requirements. It will take me the same length of time as a normal BSN student to graduate at a fraction of the cost. Plus I will have 1 year of experience by the time I get my BSN.