Hi, my daughter is in her first semester in community college. She is looking to become a nurse. Do you think it would be smart if she took a concentrated 2 year nursing course and then got a job and took the rn to bsn program online. She is very young and i was thinking that instead of working in McDonald's while in school, if she took the nursing school program she could be working in her field and then continue to pursue the BSN. She is turning 18 in april... do you think this is unrealistic. and When you take your Rn exam is it state specific. the licensing i mean?? thanks for your time.
Kaitlyn can address the benefits of a straight-to-BSN program.
I'm not very knowledgeable about those, since I'm taking the route it sounds like your daughter is thinking of: ADN at a community college, then an RN to BSN program after that. The ADN program worked out to be a lot cheaper for me. I am also an older student, and anxious to get to work as soon as I can. Do encourage her to get her bachelors as soon as possible. That seems to be where everything is heading.
As for the licensing, RN's all take the same exam (the NCLEX.) It's a national exam, but it only licenses you to practice in your own state. Some states have a compact to honor each others' licenses, but it's not nation-wide.
In my town, the competition to get into any of the nursing programs is really fierce, and the requirements are pretty specific. Talk to the schools and start hammering out a plan as early as possible, and start grooming as many contacts as you can.
Good luck.