Where in Indiana Should I apply to become an RN? and which route should I take?

[beek05]

hi i am currently a senior at indiana university at bloomington. for the past 3 years i was pre-med focusing on biology. then i started taking organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry and calculus based physics in classes with 500 people or more and was completely overwhelmed and my grades suffered. i then realized i would much rather become an rn or n practitioner or nurse anesthetsit after some shadowing and careful consideration.

however, now i have no idea where to apply to nursing school seeing as money is running low and i already have raked up a considerable amount of debt. i have reasearched various nursing schools around the state and would prefer to live in indianapolis, ft. wayne or bloomington because i would have places to live in those 3 cities and would be able to save money.

i was just wondering what everyone knew about the competitiveness of the following schools and what route people would reccommend to take and if anyone had any words of advice or encouragement. i am a 22 year old male and i believe that i would do reallly well in the nursing pre-reqs. i graduated number 4 in my class in high school and have managed to get a 3.2 gpa at iu's very rigorous science-oriented campus; however, this gpa is not very competetive for many nursing programs. i also have been very dedicated to doing medical service work and have done a bout 5 hours a week over the past 3 years. i am really looking forward to a job where i can focus soley on patients and help them.

these are my options (please tell me what you know about these programs...ie prereqs, average gpa, number of admitted applicants, length of program etc)

i could finish my degree at iu then apply for the 18 month accelerated program at iupui for a second bachelor's degree

ivy tech--lpn program, then apply for the lpn to rn transition program

ivy tech-- rn program

sorry this thread is so long i am just excited and anxious about everything and looking for some good advice!!!

[2bNurse Elizabeth]

If you can do a second bachelor's with a BSN in 18 months, I'd go for that. Not only are your job opportunities more varied, but the pay is greater. There may also be a financial aid issue if you finish a bachelor's and then go for an associate's. The financial aid gurus are a little funny about that. Congrats on your decision and best of luck!