2 year RN or 4 year RN to BSN?

[AliasCML]

i am going to college next year and i am trying to decide whether to attend a four-year university for my bsn or to attend a technical school for two years to get my rn and attend a university for two years to get my bsn. if i attend a technical school, i can get my lpn license and work as a lpn for a year. also after the two years, i can work as an rn for two years while i get my bsn. if i attend a four-year university, i can only work as a cna for the four years. the cost for a 2+2 program will be much less, in the same amount of time. all of my credits will be transferred from the technical school to the university because they have a transfer agreement. thank you very much

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Do you have to work beyond a CNA to make ends meet?

Most people who say will immediately attend school to go after an advanced degree don't. They get burned out from school and take time off to study for NCLEX, orient into new grad. positions, and to just take a break. In my case my promise to get my BSN after my ADN took me 15 years. LOL

If you have the opportunity, I would just go for the BSN and get it out of the way. It's long, tedious, and expensive, but then you're done and you don't have to take two NCLEX's, orient to new jobs while going to school etc. and still gets you to your long-term goal and you can concentrate on studying for the one NCLEX RN and the future is wide open in front of you.

However, the other reasons you mentioned are very compeling and valid reasons for going the LPN-ADN-BSN route as well, especially if you need the money to survive.

[Dave11, BSN, RN]

I always advise people to get the ADN first. You can always take part time classes to get the BSN while taking advantage of tuition reimbursement. Granted, it will take a long time as most places have lousy reimbursement but at least you are getting a good paycheck and experience while you do it.

The other reason is the difference between ADN and BSN pay is miniscule. You will also be doing the same work as a BSN nurse.

In my area, the majority of credits obtained in community colleges are transferrable to the state colleges, most of whom offer accelerated BSN programs for ADNs.