<p>Hello all! </p>
<p>My name is Courtney (obviously :P) and this upcoming school year (13-14) I will be a junior in HS. I have always been very interested in maternal and child health issues as well as a career that would allow for teaching and research. </p>
<p>After much deliberation and debate over various undergraduate paths/majors, I feel as though a BSN would be a good springboard into a career in women's health; since becoming an RN will not only give me the advantage of clinical skills, but also a career (working as a Labor & Delivery nurse, in an OB/GYN office, a neonatal unit or pediatric office) to fall back on in case graduate school (BSN-to-PHD or DNP) isn't an immediate possibility vs a pure academic bachelor's degree such as psychology or public/global health that would more than likely leave me jobless/earning barely above minimum wage without further education.</p>
<p>With all of that said, my family and I recently moved to Arizona and I would prefer to go to school in-state or somewhere nearby (California, etc). However, my parents grew up in the Southeast and I've spent the majority of my childhood in the Midwest (Illinois). Therefore, while we're very familiar and have personal experiences with the strength of nursing programs such as Queens University in Charlotte, NC and Rush University in Chicago, our knowledge of the reputation of nursing schools here in Arizona and other western states is extremely limited.</p>
<p>I've done some searching through forums and Googling and it seems as if the universities here are ranked with the University of Arizona (UA) and Arizona State University (ASU) nursing battling for the first position, while traditionally Grand Canyon University (GCU) and Northern Arizona University (NAU) fall somewhere behind. However, on GCU's website they've posted stats that this past year (2012) they had the 2nd highest NCLEX pass rates, with UA in 1st place. Also, from browsing the records of pass rates from prior years, it seems as if the numbers have fluctuated a bit.</p>
<p>I've also noticed that GCU is a for-profit university, yet they are fully accredited and one of their recent graduates is attending a nursing residency at Vanderbilt. I also am attracted by the fact that they are a Christian university. So, is the for-profit thing really a big deal??</p>
<p>I feel like I've typed up an essay here, but to get to my point: Are any of these universities drastically respected more than another? How about acceptance difficulty? </p>
<p>According to ASU the ideal candidate would have a 1200/1600 SAT and I believe a 3.5 GPA (with minimum admissions requirements lower than those listed above). </p>
<p>I do currently meet the ideal stats with exactly a 1200/1600 SAT (1880/2400) and a 3.8 GPA. However, my SAT score isn't balanced, meaning the math is below average and the reading and writing scores are above (490 math, 710 reading, 680 writing). </p>
<p>Granted, I do plan to re-take the SAT after completing a College Algebra course, but while I do fine in class, math tests have never been a strong point for me, so I'm not sure how much the math number would increase and factoring in the possibility of a decrease in reading number, the composite score could more or less remain the same (I'm not sure if ASU participates in score-choice). Do I have any chance of admittance with the numbers stated above?</p>
<p>Also, once accepted, how difficult is it to keep up the GPA for the prerequisites as well as scoring decently on the TEAS? Is transferring courses in from a Maricopa community college where classes are smaller or maybe attending a smaller-sized ASU campus (such as Polytechnic or West) okay?</p>
<p>I couldn't find any stats specifically for the other schools. So, any feedback regarding stats for those would be wonderful (maybe I'm overlooking something??). I realize I'm a bit early in the game (only a junior), however I would like to properly plan out my last two years of high school as best as possible to set myself up for a good chance of admission, plus any scholarship and merit-based opportunities.</p>
<p>Scholarships and merit-based grants are probably more of an emphasis than anything else, since my family income is very well above eligibility to receive any need-based financial aid from just about any college/university except an extremely expensive private school (think Wheaton College in Illinois) or an Ivy League. I am an African American female and I've heard of scholarships to increase diversity in nursing, but I'm not sure if that would play a roll at all for an entry-level BSN from the HS graduate level.</p>
<p>I plan to attend information sessions on the schools as I near application time, but personal experiences are always valued. Therefore, any feedback is greatly appreciated on any/all of the schools listed above, plus other solid nursing schools on the West coast (Christian (even Catholic) and otherwise). I apologize if I've given you all waaayyy too much information, haha.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance,
Courtney</p>
My email is candyluvcat@**********.</p>