I am currently torn between a 4 year direct entry and getting my RN from nova community college. I had pretty average grades which is why I am unsure as to if I would get into a direct entry program as they are very competitive but I will be apply to George Mason and Temple as my safety schools. This was my original plan until I did some research and found that if you get your associates degree from a community college and your RN then many hospitals will reimburse your tuition for an accelerated program. Specifically George Washington University has guaranteed acceptance with RNs from nova community college and will pay your tuition as long as you agree to work at GW hospital for three years. Although i really really want the traditional college experience it would be more cost effective if I could get a job two years out of high school as well as not having to pay tuition. So what are your thoughts? Has anyone completed the GW accelerated BSN program? Are there any other programs in the area similar or better? And how much less would I be making working the three years as just an RN? Thanks!
Your terminology is a bit confusing. An accelerated BSN (ABSN) is a fast program designed for a student you has a bachelor’s in something else and wants a fast track into nursing. They are not programs for RNs. Are you talking about an RN-BSN bridge?
sorry for the confusion, yes i mean a bridge program
I always recommend that people keep their options open. Apply for a couple options and then see how the numbers and the offers shake out.
You might want to rethink the “two year” AAS–it rarely takes anyone only 2 years. There is a lot of competition for seats and they are chosing among people who have taken the prerequisites. There are very few direct entry programs that most can count as “safeties”. What are your stats?
1800 SAT
math 550
CR 630
writing 620
3.74 gpa weighted
9 honors and 4 ap classes
i know my stats arent too horrible except i got two Cs junior year in algebra II and HN chem which i know are important when applying to a nursing school 
i did well in math my two other years as well as in bio however
With your GPA and SAT scores, there are quite a few direct entry programs in Pennsylvania, at both public and private colleges/universities, that would be happy to have you. Maybe not the well-known ones like Penn State, Pitt, Penn, or Villanova, but smaller or less well-known schools, many of which have excellent NCLEX pass rates. My son was accepted to IUP’s nursing program with a lower GPA and much lower SAT scores.
Do you have any idea about my chances of getting into the nursing program at temple? I know average scores are lower there than a school like drexel but when i visited i was told by admissions that there are only 80 spots and an average of over 1,000 applicants to the program so i was slightly discouraged as i had originally seen the school as a safety my college list now is mostly reaches and i need more safety schools, any suggestions on programs i could get into?
Keep in mind that some of these admission numbers can appear overly scary. This is because students today typically apply to 6 to 10 colleges, particularly in a competitive major and in order to compare financial aid. For example, if there are 1,000 applicants, 100 of those may be completely unqualified or may not even complete all of the admission requirements. Of the 900, 300 may be accepted. Of the 300 who are accepted,80 may decide to attend Temple’s program. Therefore, the effective admissions rate among qualified applicants may be more like 33 percent, which is still competitive but not overwhelming.
From what I have seen, many of the public universities are more competitive for nursing than some of the private colleges, because people are seeking the cheaper in-state tuition, and are scared off by the sticker price of private colleges. However, keep in mind that many private colleges offer substantial need based and merit based aid, so that their net costs may be competitive with a flagship public university.