Nursing - Transfer Credits and Previous Bachelor's Degrees

Hello Everyone,

Met with two pre-Nursing students this week who both have previous college credits.

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Student 1 - has a Bachelor of Arts in a humanities field with no biological sciences.  This student believed (or misunderstood) after talking with MC C & A that applying to MC’s Nursing AS for an RN is the best option.  Strong student with a 3.5 overall GPA.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) School of Nursing has a separate entry path for holders of any type of US bachelor’s degrees – students only need to complete 7 courses maximum total, not the full list of 59 credits for first-degree seeking BSN students.  UMB can advise a student whether there is a need to finish an AS degree and become an RN with MC first.  For most students with a US Bachelors and at least a 3.0 overall GPA, completing an RN with MC first may not be necessary.   A student may think that getting an RN first is less time-consuming, but in the state of Maryland (as of 2020), nurses who want to work in a hospital setting need a BSN – this is why MC has developed several BSN Completion Transfer Agreements to help a student move quickly into a BSN after earning an RN with us.  For the student with a previous bachelor’s, it could take less time to add CHEM 131 to the BIOL prereq’s and go directly to a 2-year BSN completion program. 

MC’s Transfer Advising Page for UMB Nursing Page mentions the 7 classes needed for Bachelor’s holders.  See the fine print on the top of this page - Nursing – MC to UM School of Nursing Traditional Transfer with MC-UMB Dual Enrollment Program - this page also advises students to consult with UMB SON directly.  Find this page on the MC Transfer Resources for Counselors & Advisors page.  www.montgomerycollege.edu/counseling-and-advising/transferresourcesforcounselors.html 

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Student 2 – has many credits from two different previous colleges.  Wants to apply to directly to UMB School of Nursing BSN.  Also has an AP Psychology exam score of 3 (this is showing in the student’s Perceptive Content file along with previous two transcripts).  Student could have been referred first or concurrently to UMB School of Nursing for a review of her previous college credits to develop an accurate list of  prerequisites to be taken at the community college.  UMB would also have told her that a score of 4 is needed for every AP exam regardless of how her previous school accepted it, so taking a General Psych is probably needed.  For this student, some previous low grades may also be an issue, so UMB Nursing admissions advisors are in the better position to advise about the chance of admission directly to their BSN or whether going for the MC/UMB Dual Admission Program would be more appropriate.

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Are you supposed to remember all of this?  Fortunately, no.  Just know that if a student is asking about Nursing and has some college credits earned elsewhere or has a Bachelor’s degree in any field, have the student contact UMB SON first for advising.  UMB SON offers a link to live chat weekdays on their page. www.nursing.umaryland.edu/academics/undergrad/bachelor-of-science-nursing/ 

Ditto for other BSN schools – students should start with the transfer destination for advisement if they have credits earned at other colleges.

If students have no sciences or math completed among their previous college credits, then it would be safe to help them get started in those courses at MC while they are actively having their previous college credits reviewed by UMB School of Nursing.

Anne

Anne Schleicher, Counselor (Part-time)
Montgomery College Online Advising Services