For starters, if you attended high school or earned your GED, you may be able to take advantage of your high school or GED requirements for admission to a nursing program. Even if you did not earn an A average in high school, the higher grades will help you secure an interview and ultimately admission into the program.
You can also take courses at a community college program if you don’t meet the minimum GPA requirements. You can also work towards getting your GED and then enroll in a community college or vocational program. This gives you the option of earning your degree without having to give up time with your current job.
Even if you’ve never been a nurse before, you can still earn the C’s in nursing program by earning a bachelor’s degree program. Nursing is a demanding field and requires a certain amount of educational background. You’ll likely need to complete your associate’s degree program before you’ll be considered for admission into the nursing program. You can earn your associate’s degree in nursing quickly by completing a program that’s geared toward nurses.
If you already have a bachelor’s degree program, you may be able to take the additional coursework to get your degree. However, you may find it difficult to complete the coursework on your own time. Most programs at a traditional four-year university are on an on-time basis and offer tutoring services to make it easier for students to complete their coursework. You’ll need to make sure that your studies at a traditional university are on a similar schedule to ensure that you’ll be able to earn your nursing degree within the same amount of time as other students.
If you’ve never taken any advanced courses in college before, you may want to consider taking courses at a community college to get an “undergraduate” diploma. Earning an online nursing degree will allow you to earn an associate’s degree without having to attend classes or fulfill all of the requirements of a traditional bachelor’s degree. In some cases, you may qualify to get a certificate. If you’re attending a community college, you should check with your academic adviser for specific information about the courses that are required and how much work you’ll have to do to earn your associate’s degree.
Your choice of whether to earn your bachelor’s or associate’s degree will affect the specific coursework that you need to complete to earn the degree. If you already have a bachelor’s degree, you can work towards completing all of the general education requirements in order to earn a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) before you begin your associate’s degree program. For example, you will have more time to finish the clinical experience requirements once you complete your bachelor’s degree program. You will have more time to complete preclinical coursework, which allows you to learn how to manage patients and to understand how a hospital works.
You should also consider the time commitment you’ll have to devote to earning your nurse’s license upon completion of nursing school. Many associate’s degree programs require four years to complete, so if you don’t have the motivation or the time, you may want to consider pursuing a bachelor’s degree program first. Or, if you already have a bachelor’s degree and are looking forward to a career in nursing, earning a bachelor’s degree will give you more time to concentrate on earning a higher degree.
