This ABSN guide concerns securing admission into an Accelerated BSN Program. It will help you complete the research, application, and clearance stages.
ABSN programs are relatively short nursing degree programs that run between fourteen and eighteen months in many nursing schools.
These institutions often require specific qualifications from prospective students, so I created this guide.
Steps To Get Into An Accelerated Nursing Program
1. Create a Checklist
This guide will point you in the right direction for securing admission into an accelerated BSN program. You first need to know which ABSN institution you would love to attend to start your journey.
After all, there would be no Accelerated Bachelor of Science program if no institution handles it.
So how do you get to make this crucial choice? It boils down to doing quality research. First, write down things you would love your dream institution to have or offer you.
These things could include:
- access to the best health facilities,
- availability of top-notch teachers and practitioners,
- great country or region location,
- observation of holidays,
- large faculty-to-student ratios (meaning that only a few students use each laboratory or faculty in the institution), and so on.
Also, you will want to know what qualifications the institution requires its prospective students to have and what activities they would like to carry out.
Since the ABSN program is second-degree, students have already attended undergraduate studies at an accredited institution.
The ABSN institution would then require the following:
- a minimum undergraduate GPA requirement for incoming students,
- a possible list of compulsory undergraduate courses,
- scholarship openings,
- tuition and other fees,
- a ton of other enrollment prerequisites.
Here is a complete guide to all you need to know before going for an ABSN program.
2. Research the Accelerated BSN Institution of Your Choice
You would need to take note of all the points above. It is crucial to review all the items to ensure nothing is left out.
The first list set will guide you in doing research. It will serve as search keywords or at least tell you what to look out for while browsing the websites of ABSN institutions.
You can write down the names of each institution and tick which points they possess. This way, the institution with the most points is what you will finally look into being closest to your preference.
After determining which institution fits your preference, the next step will be to review their admission requirements. This step is where the second list set becomes useful. It will point out all the information you need to extract.
If you do not find the answers, you can contact the institution via email or telephone. Most institutions have their contact information on their website for this purpose.
Let’s take a look at the results of this kind of research for some of the best accelerated BSN programs worldwide;
· Location:
Duke University is located physically in Durham, North Carolina.
Capella University operates online. Northeastern University is located physically in Burlington, Massachusetts, while Grand Canyon University runs online.
Please note that these locations only concern the accelerated BSN programs and do not mean that the institution operates entirely online or physically.
· Tuition:
For Duke University, the tuition fee totals $92,964. The ABSN program at Northeastern University costs $79,462, while Grand Canyon University is $53,550.
Here is the average cost of going through an ABSN program.
· NCLEX Pass Rate:
The pass rate is vital information to consider. It points to the effectiveness of the accelerated BSN programs in preparing students for the NCLEX.
Duke University achieves a total score high here, with about 99% of its students taking the licensing exam. On the other hand, Northeastern University has a 98% NCLEX pass rate.
Most of the institutions above offer the accelerated BSN program for 16 months.
However, George Washington University offers 15 months of study, has a tuition of $122,048, and has an NCLEX pass rate of about 93%, including the traditional BSN program.
3. Complete an Undergraduate Program with the Required Courses for the Accelerated BSN Program
As mentioned, the ABSN program offers leverage for bachelor’s degree holders from various fields. This requirement means you must complete an undergraduate program to be considered.
Therefore, it is an essential step in securing admission into an accelerated BSN program. However, it comes as a second step in the process.
If you catch yourself asking how this is relevant, here’s it. Most ABSN institutions prefer and strongly advise students to offer undergraduate courses. One such course is microbiology.
These institutions understand that offering the recommended courses will strengthen students’ ideas of specific subjects and increase their chances of nursing success.
If you take the time to research in the previous step, you will know the required courses for your institution of choice. Researching will ensure that you stay on the right track. It will also help boost your chance of getting admitted into the ABSN institution of your choice.
Once you complete this step, you are halfway through securing admission into an Accelerated BSN program.
4. Meeting the Accelerated Nursing School Admission Prerequisites
We mean scoring the minimum required grade in each recommended course by meeting the Accelerated BSN admission prerequisites. Let’s see an example from some renowned accelerated BSN institutions.
As per the official website of the Duke University School of Nursing, a grade of C is the minimum criterion in Human Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology.
The exact prerequisite requirements are; 6 to 8 credits in Human Anatomy and Physiology, 3 to 4 credits in Microbiology with a recommendation for lab work, three credits in Basic Statistics, three credits in Human Growth and Development or Developmental Psychology, and lastly, a strong request for undergraduate course work in Nutrition.
Another accelerated BSN program at George Washington University requires a minimum GPA of 3.0 with three semester hours in Ethics, Nutrition, and Statistics.
The program also lists English, Math, Natural Science, Humanities/Social Sciences, and recommended developmental psychology and general chemistry coursework.
5. Apply for Admission into the Accelerated BSN Program in Your Preferred Institution
Here is the fourth step in our guide to securing admission into an Accelerated BSN program.
If you have picked an institution of choice, attended an undergraduate study, obtained a degree from an accredited university, offered the recommended courses, or attained the ABSN prerequisites. It’s time to take the bold move.
Most institutions have their entire application process online. Being so, you would need a laptop or desktop computer, reliable internet, and every relevant document.
Using a café for the application is advisable since you may need to scan or print certain documents.
However, the application process might be partly online and offline for some institutions. This kind of procedure would also generally vary from one institution to another.
It might require you to visit the school to identify or as part of a data collection process before completing the online process.
In some other instances, you may need to be present towards the end of the processor all along the line.
You must be sure that you understand how the admission process in your desired institution works and strictly follow through. As a final step here, you must confirm that you did what you should.
You will also want to keep an ear open if your institution changes any part of the application procedure.
6. Do a Follow-up on the Post-Application Process of the Accelerated BSN Program
Many students have missed fantastic admission opportunities by skipping this one step.
They forget that having the necessary qualification is one thing, correctly applying for admission is another, and doing a follow-up is an equally important part of it.
To utterly secure admission into an accelerated BSN program, you must follow up the process from start to finish, including watching for post-application activities.
An excellent way to do this is by frequently checking your email for anything from the institution, listening for admission announcements in the news, and getting your hands on preparatory materials.
Your ABSN institution might email to request an additional document or ask for verification on something. They might also even turn the gas on the admission process and reach out to let you know what steps to take next.
You do not want to keep them waiting in any of these cases.
To ensure you do not miss out on any relevant information, keep a friend or two or join a community of students applying for admission into the accelerated BSN program at the same institution.
7. Submit Documents and Make All the Necessary Payments in the Clearance Process:
At this point, you would have indeed received a heartwarming congratulatory letter from your desired institution. We know this just as we know the importance of giving accurate and detailed information.
But securing admission into an accelerated BSN program does not end with receiving that letter. It goes a long way beyond that.
Being admitted into an institution means that you are registered there.
It means that you are a legal and well-known part of the institution; you participate in activities and possibly contribute to its growth.
Well, how do you get to do all of that? At the beginning of this guide, we mentioned three processes for securing admission into an accelerated BSN program. Clearance is the last one.
Depending on your institution, you could be required to provide second-level identification such as biometrics, register at a faculty or facility where you would be studying, or even register under a supervisor.
At George Washington University, two letters of recommendation, a current resume, a statement of purpose, and official transcripts (from all post-secondary schools) are needed.
The institution also requires current Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certificate, immunization records for vaccination against hepatitis B, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), varicella, diphtheria, polio, and tetanus vaccinations, documentation of negative test results for tuberculosis (purified protein derivative (PPD), and chest x-ray) for clinical placement.
Benefits of the Accelerated BSN Program
The Accelerated BSN program is modeled in slightly different ways by various institutions.
However, the program’s benefit remains consistent as it seeks to improve the professionals and the nursing practice. Here’s all about it;
- Assess and utilize knowledge from research and study of natural sciences, behavioral sciences, and humanities to improve the nursing practice.
- Promote support for healthcare activities across various populations, ethnicities, and age groups.
- Create better nurse-patient interviews and communication procedures across a comprehensive platform by analyzing responses and applying theories.
- Promote decision-accountability and responsibility for actions and outcomes throughout the nursing profession.
- Promote and enforce leadership and management skills among nursing professionals at all levels.
- Employ health care information management and patient care technology in more productive ways.
- Express commitment to continuously learning and advancing self and profession and encourage this amongst other professionals.
- Improve the general quality and delivery of the profession by identifying and processing societal health needs.
- Uphold the nursing practice’s high standard of legality, ethicality, and professionalism.
Final Note
Every accelerated BSN institution and program has its benefits and pros and cons.
As a prospective student, you want to know which institution best suits you, which we discussed. We hope that it genuinely works the magic for you.
If you ever have your application disapproved, here is a guide on coping with ABSN rejection and reapplying.
