What should I do?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hello. I'm going attend Hunter College in 2 weeks for their nursing track and didnt know that they only offered a 4-year bachlors. What I wanted to do is take 2 years of nursing school for my associates and pass the NCLEX to become a RN so that I could move in with my boyfriend in Arkansas. After I get a job as an RN I would like to take online classes for my bachelors but I have no idea how to go about that.. I feel stuck with the 4 year program at Hunter and the nursing program is super competitive so I don't even know if I would get in. I think its too late to transfer now but is it possible to just take 1 year at my current school and then transfer to a nursing school and take another year there to earn my associates? Or would I be wasting my time and starting over? I thought it takes 2 years to get an associates but does that mean you can get it straight out of high school or does that mean taking pre-reqs and then another 2 years of school to become an RN? I feel so lost and confused right now but I know that I just want to move out and become an RN hopefully soon. Anyone know what options are there that are best suited for my wants?

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Nursing schools will most likely not accept credits from others schools. While the state Board of Nursing sets what must be covered in the curriculum, the schools can arrange the curriculum in the order they choose. There is no way to guarantee that a class called Med/Surg 1 at college A is the same as the class called Med/Surg 1 at college B. However, if you are only taking prerequisite classes, these may transfer but the decision will be up to the new school. And also let it be a lesson to fully research the programs you are applying to.

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Thank you for answer Rose, but I wanted to just know what is the best path to take and what are my options from here on forward. This may be ignorant of me but I know two nurses who graduated from Hunter College and they're both very successful which is why Hunter was my dream college from the beginning. One of them finished everything and became an RN in 3 1/2 years which is why I thought I could do the same but everyone is different.. I didn't really understand that certain schools don't offer an associates degree. I thought since they offered bachelors then of course they would have associates but yeah, I'll try not to make assumptions like that in the future.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

The best path to take is something that only you can decide for you. Look at your options- what nursing schools are in the area you intend to move to? What are their requirements as far as prereqs?

Any nurse who graduates from any school can be successful. Nursing isn't like law school, where what school you go to influences who's going to chase after you beyond maybe a local reputation with the facility where clinicals happen. I graduated from a small private college, chose not to accept the job from the facility where I'd done clinicals, and went instead to a facility that wasn't very familiar with my school. Now, I've moved up in the world- I no longer punch a time clock, I get to pee whenever I need to, I can have a cup of water at my desk, and I get paid quite well. I'd call myself a success.

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Specializes in MSICU.

It would be best to look for a 2 year program if that is the path you want to take. Start at the local community college. It is unlikely that you can do one year of a 4 year program and then finish a second year at a 2 year program. As PP said, the credits aren't likely to be the same and transfer like that. However, you will need to do certain prereqs wherever you end up applying to nursing school. So look at what you need to take in order to take those basic prereqs (anatomy and physiology, chemistry, microbiology, ect) since they all likely also have prereqs and start there while searching for the nursing program you will apply to.

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Ohh I see. Thank you both for answering. I was looking into 2 year programs but the one I wanted to go to is apparently the creme de la creme of ADN nursing in NY so I'm not sure if I could even get into it. If I tried to get into an ADN program now though, it would take about 2 1/2-3years total or maybe even longer just to get an associates and if that were the case I feel like I would be wasting my time and should just stay in this 4 year program for my bachelors.

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How did you not know that you were applying for the BSN instead of the ADN program? And here you want to be a nurse? That is such a careless mistake. *facepalm*

First off, do you even know how long the program at Hunter College really is? You say 4 years, but that is not for the NURSING PROGRAM. Typically, it is 2 year of gen. eds. and then another 2 years of nursing school. My advice to you is to stay at Hunter College and finish the program. You already got accepted and it will probably take you 2 years to complete. You will be wasting your time if you go for the ADN route because first you have to apply to schools and hope you get accepted and it will take you 4 years to complete everything. In my opinion, it's not worth it. If you were working full time, have a family, or struggling finacially, then maybe consider the ADN option, but otherwise, just go with your original plan.

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Yes I know I should've done my research and I deeply regret not doing so.. What happens if I don't get into the nursing program? For hunter I think it is 1 year of pre reqs then we can apply to the nursing program. A lot of people are telling me to have a backup plan if I don't get in but I don't know, what can I do? Should I apply to another 4 year college if I don't get in? I'm so confused

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Specializes in MSICU.

Look at back-up schools and see what their prereqs for nursing are. That way if you need to go to another school you can make sure you've taken the correct prereqs. They should transfer to other colleges if you end up applying to other nursing programs.

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I've been looking but most other colleges require different pre reqs than hunter. Usually I would see 1 or 2 classes thhat they need which I don't have so does that mean I would have to take those classes at that school for a semester then apply to the nursing program there? It's not even guaranteed that I'll get in so I feel like I would be wasting my time to do all this

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A lot of CUNY schools offer 2 year associate degrees in nursing. I heard BMCC and City Tech are the good ones. Mind you, even for a 2 year program you still have to complete some pre-reqs prior to admission. So, do not worry that you are wasting your time - you are not. Take whatever pre-reqs you can at Hunter, then transfer to BMCC, City Tech or any other CUNY school that offers ASN.

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I was thinking about that but the pre-reqs for Hunter are different than lets say QCC. In QCC I would need to take MATH-119/MATH-336,

BI-301 and have pre-clinical credits, all of which I'm unable to take currently at Hunter. The other courses needed to apply are PSYC-101 and EN 101 both of which I will be taking at Hunter this fall but I still wont have the pre-clinical credits, math or the BI course needed to apply for the QCC ADN nursing program. So I would have to transfer after the fall semester to QCC and take the courses that I need to apply to get into the program and if I do get in, I'll have to take 2 years of classes to get my associates so the whole process would take 3 years just to get an associates degree. I think it's more time-worthy for me to just be in the BSN route since thats only 4 years and I won't be wasting my time. But now my next question is what if I don't get into the nursing program for Hunter? Would I have to transfer to another 4-year BSN program? I just want to take the best time efficient route to be an RN.

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