What options does a LPN graduate (with previous community college credits) have?

[CollegeStudent7]

Hey you guys. I'm trying to decide between COSC and TESC right now. Excelsior is out of the question for me because of a few personal reasons (can explain in another thread, but they're no biggie). I'm a LPN and have 32 previous community college credits. All were general studies. The basics: English, Biology, Child Development, Sociology, Anthropology, Chemistry 101, P.E., etc. From my LPN program I have 30 credits. They are almost ALL nursing credits, with the exception of a handful of A&P classes and a Microbiology class. So, total, I have 62 credits that COULD potentially transfer to one of these colleges.

Has anyone gone this route before? I have had the privilege of emailing with someone who has. She ended up going for a Health Care Administration degree. I think that's an awesome degree, but I don't want that to be my only option and this person happened to finish through Excelsior. I am only interested in TESC and COSC at this point. At first I was considering just rushing through and getting a BA in Liberal Arts, but someone cautioned me that this could possibly make things harder on me when I go for my Masters later on, in a specialized major.

In a nutshell, I definitely would like to go for my Bachelors of Science (preferably in Business, Mathematics, etc.) I want a solid degree that, perhaps, wouldn't even keep nursing out of the question for me in the future. I guess I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too. After being in nursing, I realize it's my passion, but refuse to stand around and wait for the field to get better. It's abusive and flooded. I'm working in recruiting right now and love it. I'm also an experienced Administrative Assistant. I love the aspects of Human Resources, Office Management, Balancing numbers, being an Executive Assistant, trading stocks, etc. (outside of health science obviously). Many office positions I want to apply to are $50,000-$65,000/year, but require a Bachelors degree. Not because your degree will have ANYTHING to do with what you're doing, but in order to weed people out.

I guess what I am getting at is, have any of you been in a similar position? What did you end up majoring in and did you go on for your Masters in a specialty? I would like to stay away from Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology type of majors. I guess these are called general Social Science majors. Not because I dislike them, but because I feel I need to challenge myself a bit more. Any suggestions? Sorry I'm all over the place you guys. I'm a newbie. Someone else gave me the great advice of clepping out of general studies for TESC/COSC and THEN applying, but I am still really confused about the process and which general studies I should, for sure, CLEP out of in the meantime. I'm wondering if the only way to figure out my situation is to apply to both colleges.

[bawhitsett]

If you're looking to pursue a concrete major you might have to eliminate COSC as well, because their degrees are in general studies with a concentration in *whatever*. I'd look at TESC's BSBA in Hospital Healthcare Admin. You may lose some of the LPN credits along the way, but it would offer the most flexibility for working in both healthcare and other business environments. It would also allow you to complete the pre-reqs required if you wish to pursue a business-related master's down the road.

[CollegeStudent7]

Good idea ba.

Thing is, I h ave TONS of nursing credits. I went online to chat with COSC in an open chat registration thing and they told me that ALL of my credits would be accepted. Thing is, of course, that it's not an actual major.

I'm just wondering if I should bite the bullet and send in a $75 application to Thomas Edison State College to just figure out what majors would be best for me and how many credits I need to get there. What I do NOT want is to find out that of my 62 potential credits (30 from LPN college program and 32 previous community college general liberal arts courses) is that they only accept something like 30-40. That would SUCK. I understand I may lose a few, but I can't stand the thought of being pushed back even further. I heard that in order to get into a Masters Nursing (NP) program, you don't even need a BSN. A regular Bachelors will do so long as you have your RN. So maybe all hope isn't lost huh?

Basically, I think you get my point. It would be nice to keep nursing as an option without having to start over completely should I decide to pick back up on it. In the meantime, I love math and I do well in the Business world so I just need to major in something in a reasonable amount of time (6-10 months) that looks solid on my resume. I wonder if regular business employers would judge me if I applied for, say for instance, a Human Resources Recruiter position with a financial firm, but had a BS in Health Administration.

When you apply to TESC do they show you the options for a couple of majors or kind of push you into one they feel would fit you?

[bawhitsett]

Unless you were to go for a BSN or something such as liberal arts, at least some, if not most, of the actual nursing credits are going to be lost along the way. Any other hard major is only going to allow for a few free gen ed / applied professional electives, which is what they would fall under. And I think a hard major like Healthcare Admin would look better than a BS in liberal arts, even outside the field.

When you apply at TESC, from what I recall, you select a major and they do the evaluation for you. You don't have the option, at least initially, to suggest 2 or 3 different majors.

[CollegeStudent7]

Shoot that sucks. I don't understand why I would lose the nursing credits because, if after I earn my Bachelors (in Business or Math for instance) what if I want to use my nursing/liberal arts classes and apply them toward a RN or BSN? I guess I'm having trouble understanding why I would lose my LPN courses. I just don't get why that would happen....:confused: I'm not looking to cling on to nursing right now, but don't want my LPN to have gone to waste and find out, if I change my mind or need to use nursing as a back up, that I set myself back further by obtaining my BS with a major outside of nursing. I guess Hospital Management is considered a BSBA degree anyway right?

[bawhitsett]

You wouldn't lose them in that they would magically disappear, they just mostly wouldn't be applied to a different major that will have its own gen and core education requirements. And understand, there's a biiiiig difference between nursing and liberal arts credits. Liberal arts credits, at least the ones you listed, could fulfill gen ed requirements in almost any degree program, whereas nursing credits are tied to career training and typically aren't transferable. For example, I've got an AAS in accounting, and were I to decide to pursue a major in say, engineering, almost none of the ACC credits would be applicable. The English, math, etc., type credits may be.

Can't really say that hosp management will always be a BSBA degree, it will vary by school. It will likely always have some business component to it though.

[CollegeStudent7]

I see exactly what you mean..just wondering if they would count toward perhaps a Biology, Natural Sciences/Mathematics or Hospital/Health Care Management degree. Does that make sense? Just guessing there MAY be a chance if I could count my nursing courses as science and/or electives perhaps...if not, I am sure they would come in useful, later on, for my BSN should I decide to pursue it. I basically just don't want to have to start over or take extra courses down the road. Want to pick up where I started off if LPN classes won't transfer this time. :willynilly:

[cookderosa]

Hey you guys. I'm trying to decide between COSC and TESC right now. Excelsior is out of the question for me because of a few personal reasons (can explain in another thread, but they're no biggie). I'm a LPN and have 32 previous community college credits. All were general studies. The basics: English, Biology, Child Development, Sociology, Anthropology, Chemistry 101, P.E., etc. From my LPN program I have 30 credits. They are almost ALL nursing credits, with the exception of a handful of A&P classes and a Microbiology class. So, total, I have 62 credits that COULD potentially transfer to one of these colleges.
Your sciences, if taught from a science department, will come in as gen eds too. The fact that your other credits are LPN is no different than anyone who has FEMA, auto body, culinary arts, or any other trade credits- they'll be free electives. So, seriously, unless you are going for nursing- you're options are WIDE open!

Has anyone gone this route before? I have had the privilege of emailing with someone who has. She ended up going for a Health Care Administration degree. I think that's an awesome degree, but I don't want that to be my only option and this person happened to finish through Excelsior. I am only interested in TESC and COSC at this point. At first I was considering just rushing through and getting a BA in Liberal Arts, but someone cautioned me that this could possibly make things harder on me when I go for my Masters later on, in a specialized major.
On this point, I would disagree. This board is full of liberal arts degree holders who have gone on to earn master's degrees in other things. In fact, my undergrad is in social science, but I was accepted into every grad program I'd ever applied to- and none were in social science! Even the MBA programs didn't care. I'd say, however, that there is little difference in the "easiness" of liberal arts over any of the specific liberal arts, so if there is one subject you like better- then go for it.

In a nutshell, I definitely would like to go for my Bachelors of Science (preferably in Business, Mathematics, etc.) I want a solid degree that, perhaps, wouldn't even keep nursing out of the question for me in the future. I guess I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too. After being in nursing, I realize it's my passion, but refuse to stand around and wait for the field to get better. It's abusive and flooded. I'm working in recruiting right now and love it. I'm also an experienced Administrative Assistant. I love the aspects of Human Resources, Office Management, Balancing numbers, being an Executive Assistant, trading stocks, etc. (outside of health science obviously). Many office positions I want to apply to are $50,000-$65,000/year, but require a Bachelors degree. Not because your degree will have ANYTHING to do with what you're doing, but in order to weed people out.

I guess what I am getting at is, have any of you been in a similar position? What did you end up majoring in and did you go on for your Masters in a specialty? I would like to stay away from Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology type of majors. I guess these are called general Social Science majors. Not because I dislike them, but because I feel I need to challenge myself a bit more. Any suggestions? Sorry I'm all over the place you guys. I'm a newbie. Someone else gave me the great advice of clepping out of general studies for TESC/COSC and THEN applying, but I am still really confused about the process and which general studies I should, for sure, CLEP out of in the meantime. I'm wondering if the only way to figure out my situation is to apply to both colleges.
Sometimes, not always, but sometimes, you'll discover what you like once you get started. For instance, I thought I loved biology...HA! NOT! After a few bio classes I was sooooooo done. On the other hand, I didn't know anything about anthropology, but I developed an interest once I studied for the anthropology DSST. Business/HR/etc is a solid direction. The only down side- and it could be a biggie- is that those classes are absolutely NOT considered general education. Meaning, if you change your mind, they will be free electives like your LPN classes. A few business classes that ARE both requirements at TESC and double duty as general education classes in other degrees are microeconomics, macroeconomics, statistics, and pre-calculus. Maybe start with those 4 and see how it feels.

[cookderosa]

Shoot that sucks. I don't understand why I would lose the nursing credits because, if after I earn my Bachelors (in Business or Math for instance) what if I want to use my nursing/liberal arts classes and apply them toward a RN or BSN? I guess I'm having trouble understanding why I would lose my LPN courses. I just don't get why that would happen....:confused: I'm not looking to cling on to nursing right now, but don't want my LPN to have gone to waste and find out, if I change my mind or need to use nursing as a back up, that I set myself back further by obtaining my BS with a major outside of nursing. I guess Hospital Management is considered a BSBA degree anyway right?

you won't lose your nursing credits. They are yours forever. There are 2 types of credits: general education and not general education. The end. At TESC you can use 27 not-general-ed in any of the BA degrees. Business is less, I think it's only 18, but you still have those slots open. fill them with anything- in your case you're ahead, you already have them done.

[CollegeStudent7]

you won't lose your nursing credits. They are yours forever. There are 2 types of credits: general education and not general education. The end. At TESC you can use 27 not-general-ed in any of the BA degrees. Business is less, I think it's only 18, but you still have those slots open. fill them with anything- in your case you're ahead, you already have them done.

Oh ok, thanks Jen! So if I am correct, I would "lose" 3 credits of my nursing at most right? ..as I have 30 nursing credits and another 32 community college credits..so now I guess I'm asking ...can I transfer (more than likely) all 32 of my community college credits and 27 of my 30 non-general-ed type of nursing credits? Now that I think twice about it, of those 30 credits, 12 are actually anatomy & physiology/microbiology, so I wonder if they would transfer on the general-ed level :-p.

It won't kill me if I cannot apply EVERY single little one...I guess I'm just hoping out of the 62 potential credits I can apply at least 50ish toward a Bachelors at TESC. :coolgleam: