Hello all. I was recently admitted into the University of Tennesee Knoxville but not admitted into the direct admit nursing program. I really love the school and had my heart set on going there but the admissions officer I spoke with warned me that reapplying to the college of nursing for my junior year would be even more competitive. Was just wondering if anyone has any advice on whether or not it would be a good idea to attend. Thanks!
There are probably a number of things you need to consider. Did the admission’s officer give you any stats regarding the number of students who apply for the third year Nursing Program and how many of them are accepted (also how many of these are accepted from other schools, if any)? Did that person give you any idea of the GPA of those accepted into the program? Once you have these answers (if you can get them), and even if you can’t get this info, you then need to decide about your abilities/motivation and if you determine that you have a decent chance of getting into the Program. You then need to decide if it is worth the risk of not being accepted, if you really want to become a nurse, without having to attend additional schooling after you obtain your bachelors degree in another major (i.e. complete an accelerated BSN Program which usually takes 18-24 months) in order to obtain your BSN. If you go this route a science major would probably be best. It is a difficult decision to make. You probably will find that most people on this board would recommend direct entry as the way to go (but obviously many students do attend non-direct entry programs-but certainly this is extremely stressful and is to varying degrees risky depending on the school). Good luck in making your decision.
As a current nursing student who attends an indirect nursing program, I promise you that is it possible to get into these programs later on. That said, yes it is stressful and requires a lot of work. One thing that I notice from your school is there is no statistics of what GPA you need to get in later. I would ask an adviser, especially if there is one specifically for the SON, about what sort of GPA you would need on the pre-reqs to get in, and how many people they let in junior year on average. The key to indirect nursing schools is to be realistic. Find out now what GPA you need, how many spots there are, and think about if you can really earn the grades necessary to get in. If you love the school enough, it can be worth it.
The last step is to always have a back-up plan. Figure out now what you would want to do should you not get in (can you reapply, go to CC, transfer to another university) and what that would require you to do. If you’re confident you want to be a nurse, there’s always a way to do it.
If you are too worried about this process or achieving the necessary GPA then definitely, look into other direct admit programs! Just know that this route is still possible for you.
Every year, non-direct entry nursing programs graduate students with BSNs! While direct admit may be less stressful, spaces are limited and not everyone who wants a BSN has a direct entry option. Get the stats from the admissions officers or the nursing department about the number of applicants, college GPA of accepted students, etc. You really can’t make a decision about your likelihood of success without more data.
The warning that the admission officer gave you is actually a heads up as to the degree of difficulty in gaining admission to the BSN program after your sophomore year. A lot of admission officers would not be as candid with this information. It appears that they accept a much smaller/lower number of students after year 2 and the competition is much stiffer than entering as a freshman and is more than likely, tied to attrition rate from the program. If the yield is high for any given year for pre-admits, gaining admission become an arduous task for individuals like yourself. In order for existing students, continuing beyond their sophomore year, is predicated on the “students who are admitted into the program as freshmen who are eligible to continue into upper-division nursing courses if they meet the following criteria:”
A GPA of 3.2 seems to be the magic number and I suspect that in order for non-direct students to gain admission (to upper-division nursing courses), requires a GPA much higher than 3.2, especially where they are forced to accept more students than anticipated (high yield). An even more important question is whether the University of Tennessee (not “Tennesee” 
) students have an “admission priority” over transfer students from other institutions.
UT is direct admit so find out if they accept transfers into the program if you attend UT and start off as another major.
I know some direct admit schools do and some don’t. Talk directly to nursing. This is the only school we found where admissions does not admit you to the nursing program. If you are admitted to UT then the application is passed to the nursing dept and they decide if you are admitted. They will also tell you what they look for so you can prepare yourself. Another school, if you want to be in TN is Belmont in Nashville. They do not cap their program for direct admit.
it is important to have back-up plans and to keep options open. I would submit transfer applications. At best, you get into your nursing program at your current university, and you can then turn down other offers.
One nursing program that is specifically designed for transfers for the last two years of college is at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
If you decide to go to UTK and try to get into the nursing major, volunteering at the local hospital would strengthen your app along with a strong GPA. Also, try to volunteer as a research assistant at the School of Nursing. That would help demonstrate your interest in the nursing field along with networking with nursing faculty whom may be able to serve as a reference. If you are in-state for Tennessee, it is a difficult call. Do they wait list for the nursing program because if they do the waitlisted students would have a higher priority to get in. If you plan to try to transfer in then strive for the highest GPA possible don’t just set it at 3.2. If you are in-state then UTK then it may be more reasonable to get a 4 yr and then consider a 2nd bacholors in nursing rather than the private school route. As long as your do all the nursing requirements then a degree in psych or sociology could work since a BSN in biology or chemisty may be more difficult. Good luck!