<p>I was thinking something in the East Coast just not Pennsylvania. I would be transferring from a community college. So far I have a 4.0 GPA and around 37 credits. I was leaning more towards New Jersey, but any other good schools not in New Jersey are fine. Please put some input and let me know. My SAT score was around 1390.</p>
<p>Were you involved in any type of formal pre-nursing curriculum at your Community College or did you just take courses you thought might be helpful to prepare you for Nursing? This would be important in regards to what year you would apply for and be placed into (if accepted) for Nursing. You really would need to identify what colleges you are interested in and contact them regarding what their transfer admission requirements are. You will probably find out that for most direct entry schools (which tend to start some nursing specific classes beginning in the freshman year) that (at best) you might have to begin at a sophomore level. Programs that are not direct entry might be easier to get accepted into as long as you meet the admission criteria for their formal nursing program which begins in the third year (again you would have to check on their course requirements which can vary by school). I assume you are looking for BSN Programs. </p>
<p>There are a number of highly regarded Nursing Programs in the PA/NJ area. In Pa, just to name a few, include Pitt, Villanova, Penn,Temple, Penn State, La Salle (not direct entry), and there are many others. NJ is a bit more limited. Rutgers has Programs in Newark, New Brunwick and I understand Camden has just started or will be starting a Program soon. There is a thread on these boards that lists the direct entry Nursing Programs by State so I would refer you to this thread as well for more a more comprehensive list. You might also want to take a look into the Univ. of Delaware as well. There are a number of PA and NJ students in that Program and it has an excellent Nursing Program. Obviously State Schools would be cheaper depending on your legal state of residence. Again you really will need to check into the transfer Program requirements at the schools you are interested in. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>I believe La Salle is direct entry. In fact, on a tour, they were bragging about how early they started clinicals. We took a tour last year, and my daughter was turned off by the condition of the large former hospital they bought for their nursing school.</p>
<p>People have said that College of New Jersey has a good nursing program, and many people like the campus. I think there are a couple other lesser-known state universities in NJ with nursing programs.</p>
<p>Not to belabor a point but La Salle is not a “direct entry” Nursing Program as the term is most commonly used. Students have to take at least 60 credits in the arts and sciences their first two years and can then proceed into the Formal Nursing curriculum in the Jr. year only if they have an overall GPA of 3.0 and have a GPA average of 3.0 in a certain grouping of courses (A&P I and II, Microbiology, and Chemistry). It is not clear from their website if you have to formally apply to the Nursing Program again or if you automatically enter it if you meet these requirements. In any event most direct entry Nursing Programs do not generally have these types of quite extensive requirements to move on to the third year(some may require certain grades in a few courses but not at the same level as La Salle). The “Introduction to Nursing” Course appears to be scheduled to be given in the third year (it is a 300 level course). Perhaps the students begin clinical work very early in the third year and that is what they were bragging about. La Salle does have a very good Nursing Program.</p>