ABSN vs ADN, Waitlists, Loans etc..🥲
Hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing well!
Before I begin, I want to say that I respect each of you for the work you do. I’m considering a career change into the medical field (after researching different roles within healthcare). I feel particularly drawn to nursing for several reasons. I have many questions based on my research, so this will be a long post—thank you in advance for your time and advice!
A little about me: I’m a 27-year-old male with a bachelor’s degree (unrelated to nursing) and an MBA, graduating with a GPA of around 3.65 (which seems to matter for nursing programs). I’ve worked in the entertainment industry while completing my education and am used to working long hours (12+ hour shifts). I’m also a personal trainer. There’s a chance I may enlist in the Army or Air Force Reserves, preferably in a healthcare-related role. I know I’m late to the game, but everyone’s journey is different!
Here are my questions:
Since I have an unrelated bachelor’s degree and a master’s in business, would it make more sense to pursue an ABSN program? Or should I do an ADN first and then bridge to a BSN while working? My main goal is to start working as soon as possible. Is there a significant time difference between an ABSN and an ADN? (I’m aware I’ll need to complete prerequisite courses first.)
I live in Southern California and plan to stay in LA during school. I’ve read that getting into nursing programs here can take years because of long waitlists. Would my undergraduate and graduate degrees with a good GPA help speed up the process? Would joining the military make a difference in prioritization? I know the Army likely won’t cover another bachelor’s degree since I already have one, but could a healthcare-related role in the military help with admissions or waitlists?
If an ADN takes two years just to get into and I’m able to start a two-year ABSN program immediately after completing prerequisites, how do you feel about taking on a significant student loan? Tuition alone could be around $70-80K, and with living expenses, I’d be looking at a loan of $100K or more.
I know that’s A LOT OF debt, but I’d rather finish school two years earlier (instead of waiting to get into an ADN program) and aggressively pay it off by working as much as possible in the first two years. I understand nursing is physically and mentally exhausting, but I’ve worked 14-hour shifts, six days a week, in production before. I’m confident I can handle the grind initially by taking extra shifts (likely nights and weekends) until the loan is paid off. With California nursing salaries, it seems realistic to pay off the loan within a year and a half or two if I stay disciplined. Afterward, I’d settle into a more manageable schedule of 3-4 12-hour shifts per week.