An ADN and a BSN degree both allow you to work as a registered nurse. However, BSN nurses have more opportunities to advance their careers, higher average salaries, a larger scope of practice, and a more trusted degree overall than an ADN.
There is no singular path to a nursing career. After deciding to become a registered nurse (RN), students can choose between an associate degree in nursing (ADN) and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Both degrees provide access to this in-demand profession, but your education can determine the shape of your career and your opportunities for advancement.
At Madonna University, our Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) frames your education with the Franciscan values our university is founded on to create a learning environment dedicated to your spiritual, intellectual, and personal development. With three start dates per year — January, May, and August — you can start your nursing journey as soon as possible.
First, let’s find out the difference between an ADN vs. BSN degree and how Madonna University can assist you on the path to your nursing career.
What is an ADN?
An ADN is an entry-level nursing degree typically offered at community colleges. As an ADN nurse, you’ll target specific nursing specialties and practices, including:
- Nursing fundamentals
- Pediatric nursing
- Psychiatric nursing
- Microbiology and immunology
- Medical-surgical nursing
- Community health nursing
In your career as an ADN nurse, you’ll take on the clinical tasks of your specific nursing specialty and the basics of day-to-day care.
What is a BSN?
Compared to an ADN, a BSN provides students with a more comprehensive education that prepares students to work in a broader variety of specialties and environments. While ADNs offer a thorough education in clinical patient care skills, BSNs do the same and extend into coursework covering public health, nursing ethics, microbiology, pathophysiology, and theoretical nursing concepts.
Like an ADN, earning a BSN prepares you to sit for the NCLEX-RN and, once you’ve passed, begin working as an RN.
Hoping to change your career path to nursing? Learn how to transfer into a nursing program in 5 steps.
ADN vs. BSN: Key Differences
When determining whether an ADN or BSN suits you, it’s best to understand how they align with your lifestyle, education, and career goals. So, let’s look closer at the education levels, the scope of the coursework, and the room for career growth.
Required Education
An ADN typically takes two years to complete and provides the basic skills and core training needed to function in a nursing career, although some accelerated pathways allow you to earn your ADN in 18 months.
A standard BSN is a four-year commitment, but through an accelerated BSN program, like Madonna University’s, you can earn your nursing degree in as few as 16 months, making these education timelines almost identical.
Regardless of your education pathway, you must prepare for all that nursing school entails. Learn more in our comprehensive nursing school guide.
Career Options
ADN Nurses can work in hospitals, physician’s offices, or other patient care facilities. These nurses can also find employment outside the standard workplace as travel nurses, occupational health nurses, outpatient care nurses, psychiatric nurses, and more.
BSN nurses can fill all these positions and more. Thanks to their robust education, BSN nurses can work in challenging and technical roles, such as operating room nurses, pharmaceutical nurses, nurse administrators, and nurse case managers. They also have greater opportunities for growth within their positions, which we will expand upon in a later section.
Salary
Looking at ADN vs. BSN degrees side by side, how do their average salaries compare? While salaries vary depending on specialty, title, and experience, they also rely on degrees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median salary of an RN as $86,070, but this does not account for variations in degree, region, or experience.
Compensation data company Payscale shows the discrepancies between the average salaries for each degree in depth. Payscale reports an average annual salary of $77,000 for an ADN nurse, whereas a BSN nurse’s average salary is $95,000. That $18,000 pay difference can add up to a significant potential revenue loss throughout a nurse’s career.
Advancement Opportunities
The difference between an ADN and a BSN truly lies in the opportunities for advancement. An ADN nurse can transition laterally within their career to different departments and specialties, but they are limited in their ability to advance upwards with this entry-level degree. To accept greater responsibilities, an ADN nurse must earn a BSN degree.
With the more exhaustive curriculum of a BSN degree, you can pursue more technical positions and leadership roles, such as oncology or nurse manager titles. Additionally, a BSN nurse is only one step away from a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), which opens practitioners up to more advanced, higher-paying roles, including Nurse Practitioner or Nurse Executive.
Which Degree is Right for You?
No matter the level, a nursing degree is an investment in your future. Still, an ADN is more cost-effective if you are budget-conscious and don’t want to pay the price of a lengthier education. ADN Programs reports the average cost of public-school tuition ranging from $6,000 to $20,000, with private school tuition hitting between $30,000 and $100,000. These varying ranges depend on factors such as location, program length, program size, and more.
Remember that nursing programs have extra costs for classroom instruction, labs, and clinical training. So, when saving up for tuition, you’ll also need to factor in the money for supplies and these extra fees. However, one less thing to worry about are your books, course materials, and ATI, which are already factored into your tuition.
BSNs have these costs in addition to slightly higher tuition. BSN Programs reports the average BSN program ranging from $40,000 to over $200,000, depending on program length, location, public vs. private institution, and other factors. Check out Madonna’s tuition page to see where we fall in that range.
BSNs make up for those extra costs in various areas. Higher average salaries and advancement opportunities offer the potential to earn more in your career, making tuition and loans less of a financial burden in the long term. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, employers prefer BSN-graduated nurses over all other nursing degrees, providing more opportunities for stable employment. Many employers even hire ADN nurses with the stipulation they earn their BSN in a certain timeframe.
Ultimately, there is no such thing as a wrong nursing degree. Every candidate should consider their lifestyle, goals, budget, and opportunities for financial aid before settling on a program. Most schools have admission representatives happy to help develop a plan that makes their program doable for you.
So, you decided to earn your BSN? Learn more about the differences between an ABSN vs. a traditional BSN.
Earn an Accelerated BSN at Madonna University
Madonna University’s hybrid ABSN program offers online coursework with in-person skills labs and clinical rotations. Thanks to our high-tech simulation labs and clinical rotations at trusted healthcare facilities through Ascension Michigan, Madonna students gain real-world experience that sets them up to pass the NCLEX-RN exam and become competent nursing leaders.
As a non-profit, Catholic-based entity, our partnership with the Ascension Michigan healthcare system sets us apart from other institutions. Across four hospitals and more than 125 medical facilities in Michigan, students can build relationships and foster opportunities that will benefit them throughout their entire careers.
To start students on the right track from the beginning of their education, Madonna students are assigned an Academic Success Coach to offer guidance and encouragement from their first day until graduation.
Contact one of our admissions representatives to start building a plan to become an Accelerated BSN-educated nurse.