So what have I been up to since the dreaded CPNE which led to the dreaded NCLEX waitfest which led to the Colorado RN licensing extravaganza….??

Oh you know just keeping on with the glutton for punishment theme. I have migrated myself to WGU, Western Governors University to pursue my goals of getting my BSN and MSN.

A little synopsis. I researched every school known to man prior to jumping into my BSN after being burned by Excelsior. I surely wasn’t making the same mistake again! I wanted to push through and get that BSN at a minimum because I knew as life went on it’d be more critical to work and I’d also find more and more reasons to postpone the idea. I am a professional procrastinator of course. Western Governors University ended up being my top choice for a few reasons.

1. Work at your OWN pace. Not a “pretend” work at your own pace but a REAL work at your own pace place! It really is, I can attest to that now.

2. Cheap. I mean I hate to say put it that way but a degree on the cheap sounded appealing especially when I was **thisclose** to signing up with Regis University for the exact same degree in which I’d pay triple the money (and couldn’t work at my own pace).

It was  a pretty simple choice after some investigating. I also really liked the idea of a “flat fee” cost scenario versus a pay by the credit hour scenario which is common at almost every other university out there. More bang for your buck I guess should you choose to take advantage of it.

Will the pass/fail 3.0 gpa ruin my future plans?

Since it is a competency based program you either pass or fail, there are no A’s B’s or C’s. Therefore the maximum gpa for completion is a 3.0. Many people flip out thinking this will RUIN their chances of future schooling, entrance into NP programs, blah blah. I can tell you since I was a tad skeptical myself that I finally researched said future schooling and NP programs. I looked at them ALL. All of the ones I investigated required ONLY a 3.0 gpa. And this includes prestigious universities like Duke, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, etc.

Check it out for yourself
http://nursing.duke.edu/admissions/frequently-asked-questions

http://nursing.jhu.edu/academics/programs/masters/nurse-practitioner/family/

http://nursing.columbia.edu/admissions-and-financial-aid/how-apply/ms-programs

If you are concerned with being competitive in such a program you can simply take additional coursework through a local university to boost your gpa or take the GRE. Don’t fret about the gpa thing, it is truly a non issue. I have spoken with more than a handful of folks who completed the program who are actively enrolled in various FNP programs around the country with no issue.

How quickly can you complete the program?
I was told at admission that the average time to complete WGU’s RN to BSN program was 18 months, aka 3 terms. There are dozens of us who have done it much quicker obviously but there are many many more that don’t. You have to evaluate your own personal strength as a student, a distance learning student to make that assumption. Keep in mind there is zero hand holding with the program, if you do not succeed by teaching yourself information this may not be the program for you.

Should I do the BSN or just go for the MSN?
This is a highly personal choice. This is also somewhat dependent on the current curriculum as it frequently changes here and there, nothing major but there are changes. I did the BSN and figured if I wanted to later I could do the MSN but didn’t want to jump all in right off the bat. That was a dumb decision, I should’ve just done the MSN. Here is why- I ended up going right into the MSN program anyway and I could’ve saved myself 5 classes if I’d done it straight thru. You end up repeating some courses with minor tweaking when you do it in a two step process, on top of that there are a couple of classes you are required to do for the BSN that you don’t have to do if you go straight MSN. The beauty is you can stop at your BSN if you choose to. You can get your BSN degree once you finish that coursework and quit if you really want to, you don’t have to wait until the end of the MSN program. This is definitely the way to go in my opinion.

So if you’re considering pushing on to another set of letters behind your name I can’t recommend WGU enough. I liked it enough to move forward with my MSN. It delivered as promised and was truly self paced, it was easy to navigate, the support I received was fine, and once again it was CHEAP.

For more info on my tips for completing your degree in a single term along with other WGU posts head over here. 

***Disclaimer, I am NOT affiliated with WGU, I don’t work for them or get compensation from them for saying any of this… if you were wondering ***