Average Costs of RN to BSN Nursing School

Taking the step to further a person's education by entering a Registered Nurse (RN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) school can be a life changing event, but it can be a costly one as well. With rising tuition rates, it is important to understand what it will take financially to achieve higher education goals.

The majority of people wishing to attend a RN to BSN nursing school decide to attend a traditional college or university. Most traditional nursing schools charge between $200 and $400 per credit hour. Since the majority of colleges require around 120 total hours of credit in order to obtain a BSN, students are looking at approximately $24,000 to $48,000 total in tuition costs.

There are, however, less expensive options to the traditional nursing school. One option is to attend school online. Online schools offer those wishing to reach a higher education the opportunity to do so from the comfort of their own home. This allows the student to attend classes and complete work based on their schedule, allowing the student to work at their own pace.

One of the benefits of an online school is that tuition is usually lower. On average, tuition for online nursing schools is between $120 and $150 per credit hour. Although the same amount of time is required to complete the RN to BSN program, the final costs are much less than those of a traditional college.

For some students, the costs of attending a RN to BSN nursing school may be difficult financially. There are a few ways to help lower the cost of attending nursing school and even attending with tuition fully paid for.

The first method is to choose a state school. The tuition for a person that lives in the chosen college state is much lower than it is for someone coming from a different state. For example if the student lives in Florida, and they choose to attend a school in Florida, their tuition would be much lower than someone coming from Georgia to attend the same nursing school.

Another way to lower the cost of nursing school is to file for federal assistance to aid in paying for the tuition. For those that do not qualify for federal assistance, they may want to check into what scholarships are available. A common misconception is that scholarships are for high school students. This is not so. There are thousands of scholarships available, especially for those continuing their education. Research what is available online and also speak with someone in the financial aid office at the school of your choice.

Although the average cost of RN to BSN nursing school is expensive, the education that a person receives is well worth the time and money spent. It is important to research each potential nursing school individually and review the cost for each credit hour, how many hours it will take to complete the RN to BSN program including the total price anticipated for the entire program.

Published: 2008-12-03