Tell me about paths to a BSN

[Daria]

DS18 is considering a career in nursing.

 

For a variety of reasons, we've been planning on having him start at our local A.A. and then transfer.  If we stay with the plan that would mean that he'd likely need an extra year.  So, he'd do 2 years at CC, and then transfer into the sophomore year in a BSN program, which is fine with us.

 

However, talking to the admissions counselors at two different local schools, they both suggest not taking this route, saying that sophomore spots in the BSN program are very hard to get, much harder than freshman slots.

 

Any thoughts on whether this is a bigger pattern, or about routes to a nursing degree in general?

[Twigs]

Don't take the sciences in the summer (chemistry, anatomy & physiology, etc.).

 

He could probably take general classes during the summer at the CC. I'm in Texas, so the general classes include English, history, government, PE, etc.

 

I have an AAS in Medical Laboratory Technology and am currently a tutor in pre-allied health science courses, so I have experiences as a student and CC support staff working with nursing and other allied health students.

 

He could also get his ADN and then work as an RN while continuing on to BSN. Some employers may even pay for the rest of the degree. 

 

Best wishes.

[chiguirre]

Does your CC offer an RN program? There are lots of RN to BSN programs available for people who've finished the first degree and you can work as a nurse in the meantime.

[Mom22ns]

Most of the BSN programs we looked at required admission after 3 or 4 semesters of prerequisite work, so doing the associates wouldn't really be a harder admissions spot to get. Supposedly, the programs we talked to didn't care where the work was done. However, it did have to match their courses exactly and in the science sequence could make him have a multi-semester waiting period for just a few classes.

 

Let me give you an example of how dd's school would prejudice things against a transfer student. They will not accept chemistry from any other school because the chemistry they have for nursing majors is a hybrid inorganic/organic class and no one else offers exactly the same thing. They also treat anatomy and physiology as separate classes, rather than offering A&P together or A&P 1 & 2. There are other school that do this, but I have found all three of these different options to be common (we looked at quite a few schools before she made her choice and she did take some DE at the local CC). If he had to retake chemistry and the two semester sequence of Anatomy and Physiology, he'd require 2 semesters to do that - even if that was all he needed. The nursing program is 5 semester at her school, so it would have taken him 3.5 years there after the 2 at the CC to get the degree. 5.5 years for a 4 year degree is certainly not a good value. 

 

I'm sure you can do better than this by letting your CC offerings impact his choice of nursing programs so that they line up as closely as possible. Some nursing programs are only 4 semesters and you might find one that he could manage one or even no extra semesters with the right plan for his transfer. We only looked at one university that did freshman admission to the nursing program, and all the others did later admissions, but he might have to knock a few schools off his list if they do freshman admissions as well. 

 

 

[Bootsie]

Are the programs that you are considering transferring into at state schools or private schools?  Have you checked to see if there are any transfer agreements between the cc and the schools you are considering?

[fourisenough]

My DD19 just finished her first year in a BSN program. For her and for DD17, who also plans to major in nursing, we did/are ONLY considering schools with a direct-admit or early-entry pathway into the BSN program. At least in our area, the competitive entry BSN programs get up to 5 qualified applicants for each opening in their nursing class, making the average GPA (from prerequisites) of the admitted students close to a 4.0. It is just WAAAY too much pressure, IMHO. One B in a science prereq could be enough to derail her plan and ruin her chances of getting in. DD19 did very well her first year of college, but she did get a B in chemistry; if she didn't already have a spot in the nursing school, that would have been very stressful.

[Daria]

Does your CC offer an RN program? There are lots of RN to BSN programs available for people who've finished the first degree and you can work as a nurse in the meantime.

 

Our CC does offer an ADN, but for a variety of reasons, both he and I think it's not the right choice for him.  

[Daria]

Are the programs that you are considering transferring into at state schools or private schools?  Have you checked to see if there are any transfer agreements between the cc and the schools you are considering?

 

His preference is for a small school where he can live on campus.  In our immediate area that means a private school, so that's where we've been looking.

 

Many of the schools have transfer agreements with the CC, but they're either A.A. to B.A. or ADN to BSN.  

[gingersmom]

My daughter only looked at freshman admit programs. Nursing programs are crazy hard to get into. Her program takes I think maybe 5 students junior year, but that's all.

 

In our experience coming from community college would put you at a disadvantage.

Edited July 5, 2017 by gingersmom

[plansrme]

There is a list of direct-admit programs on the nursing majors sub-forum on College Confidential, in case that's handy.  OP, I don't know where you are, but Queen's in Charlotte is a small private school that offers a direct-admit nursing program.  They also have substantial automatic merit aid for relatively-modest stats.  

[G5052]

Ask the BSN program, but I'm guessing that it's best to start there, or to get the prerequisites done at a community college and then transfer without a degree after 2-3 semesters.

 

I'm a community college professor in a STEM field (not nursing), and each of the colleges I've worked for had nursing programs. From those colleges to the ones with BSN, it's a tough go. NONE of the students I know who tried to do that got into the BSN program. They ended up finding an online RN-to-BSN program which can be much more expensive and not as well-thought-of at the local hospitals and clinics.

 

From all that I've heard, if your goal is a BSN, don't get an intermediate degree.

[elegantlion]

I am not a nurse, but working in our nursing dept this summer. The BSN program requires 2 years of general studies and some specific pre-reqs, then 2 years of the nursing program. They allow 50 students per semester and those 50 go through the 4 semester rotation of classes together. You can do your general studies at a community college, but the unless you finish the associate's, they match each class individually. In addition, some of the specific pre-reqs may not be fulfilled by the associates, such as Ethics is requirement for our program, but the community colleges around here may not teach Ethics, no other philosophy course will fulfill that.

 

It is absolutely best to check with each individual program she is considering, it seems each program is a tiny bit different.  Our tuition is low, so many students do start and finish here. After graduation, they sit for the state exam and our program has an above average pass rate and high percentage of people with job offers even before they graduate. 

[MerryAtHope]

Ask the BSN program, but I'm guessing that it's best to start there, or to get the prerequisites done at a community college and then transfer without a degree after 2-3 semesters.

 

I'm a community college professor in a STEM field (not nursing), and each of the colleges I've worked for had nursing programs. From those colleges to the ones with BSN, it's a tough go. NONE of the students I know who tried to do that got into the BSN program. They ended up finding an online RN-to-BSN program which can be much more expensive and not as well-thought-of at the local hospitals and clinics.

 

From all that I've heard, if your goal is a BSN, don't get an intermediate degree.

 

It must really depend on the area. Here, there are a variety of RN to BSN options, and hospitals will sometimes even pay RN's as they work on finishing out their BSN. Our local RN program has a 96% pass rate, and it's a well-regarded option. Best bet is to research the program and see how it's valued in the community.

[Daria]

It must really depend on the area. Here, there are a variety of RN to BSN options, and hospitals will sometimes even pay RN's as they work on finishing out their BSN. Our local RN program has a 96% pass rate, and it's a well-regarded option. Best bet is to research the program and see how it's valued in the community.

 

There are a lot of RN to BSN programs in our area, but I don't think that's the right route for him.  I just don't think the RN program at our CC is a good option for him, because of how it's organized.

 

It sounds like a direct entry BSN is our best bet.  I'd love suggestions for small schools with direct entry BSN programs that are either in or near the MidAtlantic, or around Boston, or Ohio.

[ocelotmom]

However, talking to the admissions counselors at two different local schools, they both suggest not taking this route, saying that sophomore spots in the BSN program are very hard to get, much harder than freshman slots.

 

Any thoughts on whether this is a bigger pattern, or about routes to a nursing degree in general?

 

I think it's very geographic.

 

Around here (west coast US), there are very few direct entry nursing programs. Most require that you take the non-nursing-specific classes (sciences, english, psychology, etc.) as prerequisites first. Then, if you survive those classes, you'll be considered for the nursing program. And most students take these prereqs at a community college, because it's much cheaper, and taking them at a university generally doesn't give you any advantage in applying to the nursing program.

 

I did an Associate's nursing program, then RN to BSN later. Absolutely no regrets about doing it that way.

[Mom22ns]

I think it's very geographic.

 

Around here (west coast US), there are very few direct entry nursing programs. Most require that you take the non-nursing-specific classes (sciences, english, psychology, etc.) as prerequisites first. Then, if you survive those classes, you'll be considered for the nursing program. And most students take these prereqs at a community college, because it's much cheaper, and taking them at a university generally doesn't give you any advantage in applying to the nursing program.

 

I think this must be the case. We're in the midwest. Dd looked at programs in at least 3 states and maybe 20 different schools. Only one was direct admit. She didn't have great ACT scores, but had great DE grades, so she ruled that school out. 

[Daria]

I think this must be the case. We're in the midwest. Dd looked at programs in at least 3 states and maybe 20 different schools. Only one was direct admit. She didn't have great ACT scores, but had great DE grades, so she ruled that school out. 

 

We're in the MidAtlantic, and I've can think of 3 direct entry programs that would be close enough to commute from home, and 4 more that are within 2 hours, and we just started this process, so it must be very geographic. 

 

Here's a list of schools that seem like they might be a fit.  I'd love any thoughts on any of them, as well as schools to add to the list. 

 

Bowie State (MD)

Curry College (MA)

Hood College (MD)

LaSalle (PA)

Marymount (VA)

Otterbein (OH)

Shenandoah (VA)

Stevenson (MD)