Questions about school/program accreditation.

I am having a hard time making a decision. I am on a waiting list that is 2 years long at a local cc that is fully accredited (school and program). I also have most of my gen eds done for this school's program. It is an ADN program. A for profit school here just opened up an ADN program. The school itself is accredited, but the nursing program is not (they say because they have to have a class graduate before they can apply). Most likely my gen ed credits will transfer to the new program, and I can start in Dec and be done in one year(since I have most gen eds done).

With the for profit school not being accredited in the nursing program, but the school as a whole, what does this mean for me as far as financial aid?

How do employers look at for profit schools? Especially if the program is not yet accredited? I am guessing not that good. I live in a middle sized city, so most hospitals will know that the program at this school is new, will that work in my favor or not?

I will be going to an informational session this next week for the school. I know they will sugar coat everything, and I think I will still be undecided on what to do.

So I can take the chance with the new program, get my adn in about a year, or wait on the fully accredited community college, and have it in about 3-4 years. What would you do?
You have to first investigate what TYPE of accredidation they have and from WHO. This is a major source of confusion with students. A school may have state accredidation from their Board of Nursing but not neccessarily from a professinoal nursing organization such as NLN or CCNE. Now it is true for almost all professional accredidations you must graduate a class first, and even then you are usually put on a probationary accredidation for a few years, depending. NLN and CCNE accredidation are the two major certifications you want to look for. Keep in mind each program (ASN/BSN/MSN) must have its own accredidation along with each campus and delivery method. The campus in one city may not have accredidation while a sister campus does. Also, as in my current school, the physical campus program may not have accredidation but the online school does.As far as fincancial aid is considered all they care about is state BON accredidation. Employers, in my professional experience, do not care about the name of the school but rather the type of degree...that is if they care at all. Experience is king in finding nursing employment. Employers would rather hire Billy with an ASN degree from "Joe's Nursing School and Bait Shop" who has 5 years of acute care experience than Joan with a DNP/MSN/MBA from Stanford with 0 experience.I went to a school that was NLN and CCNE accredited but had only graduated 3 classes prior to mine. The accredidation was all fine and good but the disorganization and restructuring that went with establishing a new program was horrible. It takes many years for a school to establish their"groove" or their accademic culture. 　What would I do...what DID I do...well I knew that I always wanted to go on for further education. I had looked into RN to BSN/MSN programs and for the most part found that they generally only wanted to know that I was a RN or not. Many of these programs would give a working RN a certain number of transfer credits reguardless of prior school (this is so the old diploma nurses could advance their education, state grants and funding to the schools helped create this). I figured I could receive my RN a couple years sooner through a private school, gain a couple years experience and come out the other end as an experienced nurse with a MSN. Economically this worked in my favor too. Before becoming a nurse I made $30-$35k a year. I currently make around $90-$95k a year as an infusion nurse (relatively high pay, my average classmates salary is around $55-$65k). I more than made up the $35-$40k in tuition I paid for private school in the first year of becoming a nurse. Average wait time in my state was 1.5-2 years for nursing school.

I would ask the Board of Nursing in your area about the accreditation issue. It makes sense that a class has to graduate in order to evaluate the program outcomes. I doubt the lack of accreditation is a big issue as long as the state's education requirements are met. Better check.As for future employers - they could not care less about where you got your education. The question is "do you have a license?" There are good and bad nurses from every type of program. It is always your choice to be the shining star.

Quote from classicdameAs for future employers - they could not care less about where you got your education. The question is "do you have a license?"

Thank you all for the time you took to answer my questions. They have helped so much!