Wondering what the best route would be?

[CanteWasteWin]

Hey y'all,

I am currently a junior at my local university and I have been going to school for longer than I initially anticipated. I was first going for psychology, I wanted to go for counseling specifically. Then, I switched to physical therapy, then radiology, then nursing, then I went back to psychology. I switched a lot because I was trying to go for money but my heart is really with helping people and counseling is more of a passion of mine. I decided that I should just pursue something I will really enjoy rather than just focusing on the paycheck. Well, I have a lot of sciences and health related courses under my belt and figured my best choice is to pursue nursing and then later specialize in psych/forensic as a SANE.

I have been in school for a couple years but I feel like my grades aren't competitive enough to get into the nursing programs provided at my current university. My university offers an ADN program and a BSN program and both are highly competitive. But both also offer options for LPNs. We have the LPN to RN program and the LPN to BSN program which are still competitive but not as competitive in this area. We have a vocational school right down the road that offers an LPN program which I have turned my application in for last week, deadline for applications are April 1st and program starts in June so I can finish up this semester at my university just in time, assuming I get in. I also learned this semester that I am five classes away from obtaining an Associates in Allied Health Sciences degree...

So, finally, here is my question:

Should I just apply to the ADN program at my university with my cruddy GPA (2.2) (which I know this probably isn't even really an option lol), or finish up those next five classes and obtain my Associate's then try applying to a nursing program, or should I continue with the process of trying to get into the LPN program, finish that then try for one of the bridge programs?

I'm told my acceptance to the LPN program is very high due to my college credits, high test scores and my CPR and FA certifications so I'm not too worried about getting into that program. I'm also wondering, if I have a "not so awesome" GPA right now but I do very well in the LPN program, will that increase my chances of getting into the bridge programs? Or even if I obtain an Associate's degree, will that somehow benefit my chances of getting into a nursing program?

Sorry so lengthy, but I just wanted to provide as much information as possible. Thank you all for your time and I look forward to your input and it is greatly appreciated!

[Sassenach]

If you went the LPN route you could try and find a job doing that before applying to the bridge program. If your application is based on a points system you usually get more points for work experience.

[CanteWasteWin]

That is what I am leaning towards most, I guess I was just confused on wondering if the Associates in Allied Health is beneficial at all but LPN seems like the best choice. Thank you for your input!