Nurse here. I would say pick a decent, established school vs. a for profit diploma mill. If you already have a degree, you can go for an accelerated program (which is what I did). You can take pre-reqs at a community college if needed.

Advanced practice nurse here (nurse anesthetist). There are several different paths to becoming an RN. You can get an associate’s degree from a community college or a 4 year bachelor’s degree. Both will position you to take the licensing exam (NCLEX). A bachelor’s degree may give you a slight edge in getting a job (some hospitals/health systems prefer BSN-prepared nurses, although the job requirements and compensation are pretty much identical), although most places are still so short-staffed, I can’t imagine they would care.

If you already have a bachelor’s degree in another discipline, you can do an accelerated BSN program (locally, Georgetown, UMD, and Hopkins offer this; other places too probably). That usually only takes 14-16 months, but must be done full-time and is pricey if it’s a private school or you’re not in-state. I took this route, worked as an ICU nurse for several years, then returned to school for my master’s degree to become a CRNA.
The only route I wouldn’t recommend is going into a direct-entry master’s program that positions you to become a nurse practitioner after having had minimal experience as a bedside nurse. I think that experience working as an RN on a hospital floor is invaluable in developing assessment and critical thinking skills.
Whatever route you choose, good luck! The world needs great nurses 😊

Another nurse here. I agree with the pp who said wait on the MSN until you know what you want to do. BSN is all you need for RN employment.

I would also say it doesn't necessarily matter where you go to school, but I personally would want to pick the most rigorous program I could get into. And add the caveat, that if you hope to become an NP or similar, where you get your BSN will matter. Good luck!

What kind of nursing? The distinctions are between the license type not academic degree. Bachelors or associate degree are both fine to prepare you for the NCLEX, national exam to be licensed as an RN. You may have a few more new grad choices if you get a bachelors but not a huge thing. If you want advanced practice (NP, CNM etc)you’ll need a masters or doctorate, depends on the specialty. For RN level nursing where you go doesn’t matter at all, you just want a good NCLEX pass rate. For advanced practice, depending on what you want to do, prestige may factor a little bit. To further confuse you there a bunch of “direct entry to advanced practice” programs available to people who have a bachelors in something else, you just do all nursing reqs ( classes and hours) and then need to pass NCLEX before moving into advanced practice. Hope that helps!

Nurse here, 2016 grad. Don’t get your MSN right away because that directs you down a path that you may not ultimately want to pursue. I.e. if you’re going to get graduate education, you may want it in a clinical setting versus a managerial one.

It does not matter too much where you get your BSN in terms of being hired. You will be hired. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.

However, some schools around here have better training than others and if your goal is to be a really good nurse and knowledgeable and ready for advancement then you want the best training. Believe it or not I recommend doing the first part of the nursing degree at a community college and then taking advantage of the automatic transfer to a state school. Such as Montgomery College, and then the University of Maryland. Less money, more focused, and a few of the community college programs are quite well respective because they have a long history and a really good clinical set up that produces strong nurses

No advice, but I think that’s great. Which specialty are you considering?

No replies?

I’m considering going into nursing as a second career and I have two questions:

1. Does a MSN vs. BSN matter for getting a job afterwards?

2. Does it matter what school I go to? (Thinking Georgetown vs. GW vs. GMU.)

Thanks for any advice you have!