I’m in my second semester of college and I’m planning to transfer from community college to a university after two years and earn a BSN. I’m currently marked as undeclared, but I’m worried that it’s going to affect my chances of getting accepted to a good university. I didn’t see nursing or pre-nursing as an option when I was asked to update my major this semester, so I’m very confused. Do I major in biology/chemistry and turn to a nursing major after four years?? I’m very confused, if someone could answer my question or even break down the whole process down for me, I would be very grateful.
Talk to a knowledgeable academic advisor at your college as soon as possible, preferably a person who knows about health care careers. Assuming that your college does not offer nursing, then your next step is to take as many of the required prerequisites as possible so you can apply to nursing. Find a list of a few colleges where you want to apply and read their admissions info about prerequisites. It is also helpful to get other classes out of the way at your current college that will later be required by the nursing program, even if they are not required prerequisites, such as a nutrition or psychology class.
There are a few choices:
- some colleges (including many community colleges) offer an associates degree that allows you to take the RN test,
- some colleges offer a BSN, but mainly have students enter the program from high school. Most of these colleges are in the northeastern US. Some of these programs also accept transfers, but others do not.
- Many colleges with a BSN program only allow students to apply to the nursing major during their sophomore year, for entry into the program during the start of their junior year. These programs accept nursing majors from their own students and from transfers. They typically have a list of prerequisites that have to be completed before you can be accepted. Usually some of those classes can be take during the semester before you enter the program. They may require a nursing entrance exam to be taken.
- There are a couple nursing programs that only take transfers, after they complete 2 years elsewhere. One example is Thomas Jefferson University in Phila.
Most students intending to apply to nursing would declare themselves to be a bio or similar major.
Many nursing programs only require one semester of chemistry, but much more coursework in bio and anatomy.
Thank you so much, this really clears up a lot of my confusion! I’ll make sure to tall to an advisor as soon as possible
Definitely look at what is required as a transfer to programs you hope to get into!