Who's gone to Grand Canyon U RN - BSN?

tokmom, BSN, RN · May 25, 2015

Hello. I am an RN going for my RN to BSN. I'm trying to figure out how much time I can expect to have to put forth per week while going to GCU. I work full-time and I am still trying to have a life. How many hours per week should I expect to spend doing the discussions and papers for this program? Each class is 5 weeks and then you only get a weekend off between classes. Can someone please give me some way of knowing what I will be getting into? Thank you so much.

Hello

I graduated a year ago this month and there are two very active threads on AN of GCU grads in all stages of the program.

Expect to spend roughly 15 hours a week on homework, give or take, depending how fast you can write. The papers start out small at first with 750-1000 words, and gradually creep up with them being 2000 words.

You really don't get a weekend off if you turn your final paper in on Sunday at midnight and start a new class the next day. I always had Friday as my day to submit, just so I could get a jump on the next class on Monday.

When do you start?

Here are the links to the threads

https://allnurses.com/nursing-online-distance/rn-to-bsn-854234-page174.html

https://allnurses.com/nursing-online-distance/grand-canyon-rn-793249.html

Auntramona · May 25, 2015

Thank you so much! I'm thinking August. I have some other schools in looking at like Capella, Chamberlain, Kaplan and AIU. I love the idea of finishing quickly but I don't love the idea of not having any downtime. I'll check out those threads now. I don't know why I couldn't find them before. Thanks so much again.

beccajean · Jun 1, 2015

I have a small child and work full time. I find it very very manageable, and I would agree with tokmom's time estimate. The majority of that time is spent working on the weekly project, which I do in one big block of time. I typically don't do anything in the class until Tuesday evening at the earliest but it's usually Wednesday evening (when the first post to discussion questions is due) so I can have at least a day or 2 of a break from the grind. I feel like GCU is the best bang for my buck, I get a letter grade and it doesn't cost that much more that the least expensive one I found, Western Governor's University. 5 weeks goes by so fast, and the way I understand it you can take a 2 week break after each class if you want but longer than 2 weeks takes more planning.

am6459 · Jun 6, 2015

I have a difficult time whipping out a paper. Some people can whip out a paper in 30 minutes, while others take hours. My brain has also hated papers...but LOVES math!! I am actually excited for Stats! :)