Jimmie Said:

Do you have to go to certain schools JUST for nursing or can you become an RN at most colleges/community colle?

We Answered:

You can definitely become a RN at a community college. My mother and sister both followed this route. I have never seen a community college that didn't offer nursing (I have have taught at a community college for 29 years and have been to a lot of community colleges). I randomly picked one of the MA community colleges and pasted their link below. Community Colleges are also going to be the cheapest place to become a nurse. The majority of RN s in the US attend community colleges.

Some community colleges will not admit you directly into nursing unless you had high school chemistry and biology. The instead admit you as a liberal arts major and then you can change your major after taking the sciences. Be prepared to work hard in this major. On the other hand you will get a fairly high paid job that really matters.

Pedro Said:

If you want to major in nursing (RN), which college system is better? CSU or UC? Any specific colleges?

We Answered:

A lot of UC's don't offer nursing programs. Actually, the only one that WILL have nursing is UC Davis- they are opening the nursing school I think in 2010, it got approved last year. I have friends at San Jose State in nursing and I know CSULB has it as well, so even though UC's are better schools, CSU's are the place to go for practical majors, such as nursing.

Pamela Said:

Nurse RN - Most colleges, in Maryland offer?

We Answered:

It is true, that for the most part, all RNs start at the same entry level salary. But, in my limited experience, every health care organization I have been associated with in the past 30 years has paid a differential to RNs with a BSN. This amounted to as little as $2000 a year, but was frequently more, as the hospital or other organization would agree to repay student loans (higher for the BSN from a university than an ADN from a community college). Some gave hiring bonuses which were higher for the BSN grads than the ADNs (though not all had this benefit). I also worked for some organizations which followed a strict BSN or higher hiring policy, but provided compensation to ensure they filled their positions.

RNs will always be in demand. As the baby boomers move towards their 60s, and the baby boomer nurses also start to retire (which includes a large number of the nursing school instructors and professors), the shortage will increase.

RNs in the Baltimore area are averaging $55,000-$80,000 and higher per year.