Which program to choose- RN or BSN

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I am in a pickle because I was accepted to both a local ADN program and a RN program at a university some distance away. The BSN program would start this fall and go for 3 years and will cost about $30,000. The ADN program won't start until January and only costs about $4000. The ADN program is only 2 years. So in essence, if I took the BSN program, I would only need one more semester after the ADN program was over to get my BSN. I know a lot of people would love to be in my position and there are downfalls to each choice. I would like to hear other's reasoning on which program would be the best choice? I need to make a decision by Friday.. the pay or get dropped date for the CSU program.

I would like to get a BSN, but am not aware of any RN to BSN programs I can take online. Any suggestions about good and resonable online programs?

If you're looking to advance your career as an RN, go for the BSN! I start school in Sept '10 but I will be going for my ADN, ONLY because it's easier for me as I will be working full-time as well. However if I could, I would do my BSN.

Good luck!

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You guys are all so great. This has been really helpful so I'm glad I posted my question. There is one other thing that concerns me about getting my ADN first. Because I live in a rural area, I would be doing my ADN clinicals in a small hospital- no complex cases. The BSN program has clinicals in big trauma units. I feel like I'm missing out on really learning complex case work. But then I've heard nurses say that you don't really learn to be a nurse until after you're out of school anyway. What's your two cents on this??

http://img.an-file.info/smilies/twocents.gif

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Get the BSN now and save yourself time, money, and aggravation in the long run.

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Nikey says it best: "Just Do It!"

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My mom is a nurse and she told me to go for the hospital degree over the BSN. I talked to a lot of nurses working in hospitals and LTC before I made my decision on going for the hospital degree. It was a hard choice because I got offered scholarships from BSN programs and everything like that so it was waying more towards that. My final decision came down to what the nurses told me and they all told me to do the hospital degree first. Maybe its the BSN programs around us that dont teach the nurses as well but some of the hospital nurses told me that the new grads with a BSN have not learned much of anything and that we come out knowing so much. So many people including nurses I met at work all told me to do the Hospital program first. You should do your research about the programs you got into and see which one best fits you. Which one you will do you best in. Like I said before one of the local hospitals told me that they would only hire me if I had my BSN but I still chose the Hospital program because of its reputation and I know I can complete my BSN in the same amount of time after. It all depends on you. I believe there is a thread on here about hospital and ADN programs I will try and find it for you. It really made me believe that I deff did make the right choice. On a side note I do know nurses who grad from the local BSN program and they told me they only learned in their 4th year really and still didnt learn as much as they hoped for. But one of the girls got a good job and is in grad school so shes learning more now. its really all up to you. Most people will tell you to go get those three letters but you can always get them in a year after and work at the same time. Really think about your decision and learn as much as you can about the schools you got in to before you decide. Also check to see the passing rates at the schools and see if someone will tell you how many students started the program and how many grad. At one of the schools I looked at I was shocked to hear that 90 people started the program and only like 19 grad.

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Hey Poppy, I see you said you'd look into Temple. Just curious, do you live in or around Philly?

I was worrying about the same thing just a few weeks ago. ASN or BSN? I currently work as a medical assistant in a PCP office. I was talking to a doc about my school plans (my plans at the time were to begin my pre-reqs this Sept at community college and just apply for the nursing program there), she nipped that dream in the bud really quick! She pulled up an article online that she'd read recently about how nurses with only associates degrees or nurses from hospital programs are having such a hard time finding jobs. In short, she basically told me she'd whoop me if I didn't just go and get my BSN. :idea: And guys, it actually makes much sense. An ASN program (including pre-reqs) will total what? 3 - 3 1/2 years? When a BSN program is simply 4? Seems like a no brainer since we'll want to go back for that good ol' BSN anways. Why waste our time with the ASN? PLUS, we don't wanna risk all the blood, sweat and tears involved in obtaining the ASN only to not find a job bc of the fact that most hospitals are no longer hiring ASNs! Ugh.

Here's the link to the article. Idk if I did it right or not... Probably not, lol. In which case you guys can just copy and paste:

When the kind of nursing degree determines hiring | Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/09/2010

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Specializes in ICU.

Really, whichever most works for you right now, at this moment. While people can offer suggestions based on their own preferences or circumstances, what's best for them isn't necessarily best for you. As for which would suit you best in the near future, I don't think anyone has the ability to tell you that with any real certainty. There are no crystal balls.

Good luck!

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There are a number of things to look into aside from the ADN / BSN issue. What are the NCLEX pass rates of the two schools? Can you find out the attrition rate? How many clinical hours will you be getting? Rural does not necessarily mean that they do not have acute trauma centers. Look into the hospitals available for clinicals.

You mentioned a long commute for the BSN program - will you be working full time? Do you have children that will need daycare? Have you accounted for gas and food in addition to the 30,000 tuition? The BSN may give you a leg up on the competition, but what is the actual price you will pay?

From what I have heard the only benefit to an ADN over a BSN is the shorter time to an RN, but many community colleges have wait lists that are years long and the prereqs themselves that take year or so to finish. I would think that more clinical time would only apply to a Hospital school or a Diploma program.

If you choose to do the ADN, there are a number of online RN-BSN programs in the Philly area, including Thomas Jefferson, Penn State, Drexel and Temple. Thomas Jefferson and Drexel are $20,000+; Temple and Penn State are both 10,000+. These schools all offer RN-MSN programs as well that will get you started towards your masters, if that is your end goal.

Whichever way you decide to go, good luck! Study hard, and invest in a coffee company ;)

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This is the article I was talking about earlier https://allnurses.com/nursing-blogs/entry-into-practice-422071.html

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Look at it this way, either programs allows you to academically sit for the NCLEX exam. Which one you prefer, is up to you. Some places want Associates, some want Bachelors - it's a preference.

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I am an RN with 25 years of experience, and am a lowly Diploma Nurse. The one thing that nobody else seems to have mentioned (at least that I read scanning the messages quickly) is that there are great income tax benefits to getting the ADN or Diploma level first: Once you have taken the less expensive initial course, when you decide to go back for the BSN or even go to a bridge RN-MSN program, the latter will be tax deductible as an educational expense on your federal income taxes. The initial program is generally not deductible since it is training you for a new profession. In my own case, I have a degree in a different area (Chemistry) and I have never had any problem getting a job in nursing, and have generally always advanced when changing jobs. I do realize that things are a lot tougher for new grads these days. If you have difficulty finding a job after you graduate, try correctional nursing. I've been doing it for 9 years now and really enjoy it, and it's less subject to the whims of the economy (there's always going to be a good supply of criminals!)

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Specializes in Peds Medical Floor.
Okay, I have to weigh in on this. ADN program= $4,000 and the BSN program=$30,000.

With this information alone, Im going to say go for the ADN first and then immediately after do the RN-BSN program. The RN-BSN program is most likely only going to take a year and be no more than $10,000. So why would you pay $30,000 to go straight to a BSN program when you could potentially only pay $14,000 if you do the bridge? Or you could bypass the BSN altogether and do a RN-MSN bridge if thats the direction you want to head in.

Starting with the ADN makes more sense to me financially. And another thing to think about is that after you finish the ADN program and take the NCLEX, you can start applying to jobs and get experience. So you could be working part time while in the RN-BSN program. Make sense?

Thats what I would do but to each his own. Hope I helped some.

Oh and FYI, pretty much every university that has a nursing program has the RN-BSN bridge.

Good Luck!

I agree with this. I'll have my ADN in December and then I plan to get my BSN in a bridge program. You'll save thousands plus you can start working sooner.

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