<p>If anyone is interesting in applying to a direct entry nursing program, they need to apply as early as possible and to multiple schools. The nursing programs are often more competitive for admissions than most other majors in a college. Some programs require that students put down a deposit by December or they lose their place as a nursing major, and then are only accepted as an undeclared major. More discussion on these topics on the “Nursing” portion of CC.</p>
<p>There are some pros and cons to get an Associates degree vs. a Bachelors degree, as described above. Many people can only afford an Associates degree, and then they hope their employer will later subsidize the costs of part-time classes to finish the Bachelors degree. However, the best financial aid is often reserved by colleges for incoming freshman. Many 4 year nursing programs at private colleges in PA. offer 50% off the tuition for high school students with high GPA and test scores. Often, colleges offer little or no financial aid for persons going back to school for a bachelors, or for incoming transfer students. </p>
<p>Therefore, it may actually be less expensive in the long-run to get a bachelors degree from a college that does offer good financial aid to incoming freshman than to start at a cheaper college and then pay full-price for the last 2 years.</p>
<p>The better 4 year direct entry nursing programs often don’t have room for transfer students from other colleges, or even for any students at their college in different majors. One college just told me they have 60 people on their waiting list to transfer to their nursing program from other colleges – even after the college informed the students that they have almost no chance of ever being accepted.</p>
<p>It’s hard to know the future. The RWJ Foundation would like to see more four-year nurses. But the acute nursing shortage has led to an increase in state support for ASN, as opposed to BSN, programs. We have at least six hospitals in our state who have offered full tuition to all hospital staff who will go back and train as ASNs over two years. But none are offering that for BSNs. </p>
<p>I expect the market is going to expand for both, but health care reform is likely to more quickly increase the demand for ASNs working in clinics, home care, and physician offices. The pressure in hospitals that we’ve seen is to figure out how to use more LPNs/CNAs and find ways to expand what they can do. The number of school nurses (that have to have BSNs) is dropping precipitously, and public health is absolutely flatlined. Maybe it is different elsewhere.</p>
<p>It is different elsewhere. We have a regional health center in town with it’s own college of health sciences. It produces ADNs who it then will not hire (only hiring BSNs). Ironic? Certainly.</p>
<p>No, not particularly ironic. It may be trying to get by with fewer (but more highly trained) BSNs, and then utilize LPNs/CNAs to cut costs further. (Here, though, since the ADNs have two more years of experience after four years, they are more rather than less likely to be hired.)</p>
<p>Simmons College has a program in which some freshmen and transfer applicants are offered admission into a BS in nursing and guaranteed admission into a family practice NP MSN if the student has a B+ average in her nursing classes. It can be done as an accelerated 5 year program.</p>
<p>Is a family practice NP good because of flexibility or bad because one is not as specialized?</p>
<p>A direct entry Nursing Program is one where students apply for, and are accepted into, the college’s Nursing Program beginning in their freshman year. They are guaranteed to stay in the Nursing major as long as they pass their courses.</p>
<p>Of all the NP degrees the Family NP is probably the one most sought after (and the one most competitive for admission) as you can really work with any population (pediatric, adolescent, and adult). This allows for a wider range of career options. Obviously if you know that there is a population you don’t want to work with (or one which you only want to work with) then a more specific degree might be appropriate.</p>
<p>Combined BSN/MSNNP Programs certainly are a time (and probably money) saver but some people would argue that it is helpful to gain some actual work experience as an RN before pursuing an advanced practice degree. The pros and cons of this are too numerous to list but I suspect that most Nurses would recommend that one get some actual work experience to refine ones clinical/bedside skills in the real/working world before pursuing the NP degree. Others might disagree. Hope this info is helpful.</p>
<p>Very helpful to the discussion in the Shawbridge family. Thanks. ShawD will have decisions about what to specialize in and was asking me whether it was better to be more specialized or less.</p>
<p>Fast forward…my daughter got her first acceptance letter today for an accelerated nursing program. It isn’t her first choice , mostly because of location but it sure made her feel a lot better than she did a few months ago. She also got offered a TA position for a summer dialogue abroad . Things are looking up for her ( phew ) :D</p>
<p>Thanks toledo ! I am excited for her . She really needed a pick me up. She told me that she didn’t get her letters of recommendation in yet an expected that she would need an interview. She didn’t believe me when I told her. They actually sent a letter here to our home rather than email and I opened it up expecting a catalogue or solicitation .</p>
<p>A little more good news…my daughter got two more acceptances and had an interview today for another. Her first choice school will not be holding interviews until the end of this month and acceptance notifications will not go out until April 1st . Her number two school has given a deadline for deposit which we are seriously considering sending and risking the loss if she gets accepted to number one. Does anyone have any experience with this ?</p>
<p>As it turned out, my daughter’s first choice school offered her a place for online student. She decided to pass on that since she got what she wanted from another school. She is pretty excited and so are we :D</p>
<p>In answer to your earlier question, some nursing programs do require that a deposit be placed early in order to hold a spot in a nursing program. You can wait until May 1 to pick a school for other majors, but a nursing major needs an earlier deposit. In the case of one college, the deposit was mostly refundable if you changed your mind before May 1.</p>
<p>My daughter chanced it and made a non-refundable deposit at the school she chose. The first one she was admitted to wanted a deposit pretty early and she asked for an extension. She still has some other apps out and geographically, this school was the one she was least interested in</p>