Which Chicago community college will get me my ADN quickest??

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Hey,

I need some advice from experience. I am about to get my BA in psych but now want to go to get my ADN at a community college. I was originally thinking to go to Daley, where I got my AA because it's closest but I missed the once a year registration deadline and will not be able to start until fall of next year 2011 and that means I will graduate in 2013. I was hoping I could get it done by 2012, does anyone which colleges offer twice a year registrations or which ones will just take quicker altogether? Accelerated programs are out of the question because they range from about 50 to 60K and that is a huge turn off for me. I am most concerned about getting a job so I can start making some real money, at least compared to what I make now. Any advice that can help with my situation will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Specializes in Urgent Care NP, Emergency Nursing, Camp Nursing.

1) If you're looking at Nursing for the money then you're looking at the wrong profession.

2) Worry about your prereqs first.

3) There are grad-entry programs in Chicago that'll spit you out with an MS and your RN. The MS is important as it makes you eligible for GradPLUS loans from the Federal government.

4) If you wait a little bit longer, more of the baby boomers will have started to retire when you get out, hopefully making hospitals desperate enough that they'll hire new grads without experience even though they really don't want to.

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I just want to make more than I do now as a security guard which is bupkis. Plus, I'm a psych major and psychologists do not make a lot of money so I've already come to terms with just making enough which is what I want. The preferred degree for psychology is a doctorate, I just don't want to get a MA in psych and then be searching for a reasonable job forever and killing myself trying to get into med school which is near impossible. I realized that psychology, no matter how much I love it, is not really a job or career, it is a lifestyle. I would have to continually do studies and experiments, publish, attend conferences and go to school and I want to have my own life. I want to move out of my ma's basement, travel and have kids in like five years and I don't wanna skimp on parenting or those dreams because I choose a difficult career field, ya know what I mean? I know there's stability in nursing, room for advancements and they can always pay for me to go to school. I mean let's face it, psych or nursing, they're all part of the helping profession. I talked to a family member who works in the ER and she told me to start off by getting my CNA and that I could try to get a job at Loyola so they would pay for me to get my BA. I'm starting the CNA program at Truman this month.

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I just want to make more than I do now as a security guard which is bupkis. Plus, I'm a psych major and psychologists do not make a lot of money so I've already come to terms with just making enough which is what I want. The preferred degree for psychology is a doctorate, I just don't want to get a MA in psych and then be searching for a reasonable job forever and killing myself trying to get into med school which is near impossible. I realized that psychology, no matter how much I love it, is not really a job or career, it is a lifestyle. I would have to continually do studies and experiments, publish, attend conferences and go to school and I want to have my own life. I want to move out of my ma's basement, travel and have kids in like five years and I don't wanna skimp on parenting or those dreams because I choose a difficult career field, ya know what I mean? I know there's stability in nursing, room for advancements and they can always pay for me to go to school. I mean let's face it, psych or nursing, they're all part of the helping profession. I talked to a family member who works in the ER and she told me to start off by getting my CNA and that I could try to get a job at Loyola so they would pay for me to get my BA. I'm starting the CNA program at Truman this month.

maybe you could stop at the CNA level and call it a day. you'll make a lot more than a security guard and have many of the patient care experiences you might be seeking. another option for a community college might be a LPN route. honestly i think going the ADN route for an RN licensure is a waste of money. who knows how much longer they'll be around and fewer and fewer hospitals are even considered hiring them. BSN should be the norm for entry at this point.

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That is ridiculous advice. She already has a bachelors degree; if she goes on to get an RN through any route she can go on to get a Masters without even obtaining a BSN.

That said, I don't know that any of the city programs are "quicker" than any of the others. I did the CNA program at Truman and I thought it was a joke.

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Haha, about the truman comment. You're right. I mean, I just started the program but oh my. The material for a CNA is very easy and the school is very serious about attendance and staying the whole 8 hours in class. The teacher is very boring, she just reads from the book basically, and plus it's a morning class which doesn't help. I'm a caffeine fiend now, lol.

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Specializes in Urgent Care NP, Emergency Nursing, Camp Nursing.
That is ridiculous advice. She already has a bachelors degree; if she goes on to get an RN through any route she can go on to get a Masters without even obtaining a BSN.

That said, I don't know that any of the city programs are "quicker" than any of the others. I did the CNA program at Truman and I thought it was a joke.

A CNA course is a high-school level class. Of course it's a joke.

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