Hey I’m going to be a senior this fall and I plan to apply to college as a nursing major! I’m curious if there are other seniors like me who want to be nursing majors and I want to know which schools you’re going to apply to! So it would be greatly appreciated if you’re a senior and want to post 
Hey! I am also graduating in 2016 and am applying as a nursing major! I’m thinking of applying to Northeastern, NYU, Drexel, UPitt, Umass Amherst, Uconn, and Johns Hopkins (reach lol).
Add some safeties. Also, I’m not sure that a college such as NYU is worth it for nursing school, since they are incredibly expensive and offer weak aid.
I’ll be a senior next week, and have been passionate about nursing since elementary school.
My GPA is only alright, barely/not good enough for many big name schools with top nursing programs, and that seriously sucks. I’m taking the ACT in September and October and I’m hoping to score high on that so it could be my saving grace (I took the SAT once, did alright, and although I could have studied more to do a lot better, I’ve determined that I’m better at the ACT).I mean I have several APs and honors, have leadership, and have lots of volunteering experience, including at a big name hospital in my area and a nursing home, and I plan on taking CNA classes once I turn 18 (in mid November) so that’s good. I need a lot of options so I plan to apply to at least 10 schools. I live in NJ.
Xavier University (Ohio, private school, top choice)
Marquette (Wisconsin, private school. a reach, and I may end up crossing it off because it seems almost unrealistic for me)
Purdue (public school, Indiana. a rather unrealistic reach that I may take off. I’ll either take off Marquette or this one.)
Stevenson University (Maryland, private school)
SUNY Plattsburgh (New York.it’s a SUNY, so public school. I LOVE SUNYs)
Illinois Weslyan University (Illinois, private school)
Alvernia University (private school, PA)
Duquesne University (private school, PA. This may be a slight reach but I doubt it’s anything too bad)
Gannon University (private school, PA)
Loyola University Chicago ( private school, Illinois)
Catholic University of America (private school, Washington D.C)
St. Joseph’s University (private school, PA)
York College of PA (private school, PA)
Bloomsburg University (public school, PA)
I’m big on private schools because they tend to give good financial aid. Yeah, no in-state schools because I either don’t like the colleges in my state, or i couldn’t get in to their nursing programs (Rutgers and TCNj) 
Yeah I’ve thought about this a lot if this wasn’t obvious lol, and I’m very worried.
Since there are so many good nursing programs on the east coast, I don’t know why you would look at Wisconsin. The travel costs and travel time can be a big negative. Check to see, for instance, how much it would cost to fly home over Thanksgiving weekend, and how indirect the flights may be. Airlines jack up rates on dates when people want to travel the most.
Last time I checked, St. Joseph;s didn’t have a nursing program. I believe they had 2 years of pre-nursing, and then sent students to Thomas Jefferson U. It may have changed.
I live in PA, and I didn’t know there was a Gannon University.
Moravian College in Bethlehem has been jointly running a nursing program with St. Luke’s Hospital, which is one of the two major hospital systems in the greater Lehigh Valley. Moravian just announced they are going to be building a new building for their health care programs.
I’d look at DeSales. They are supposed to be building a large amount of housing next to the campus, and they have a new health care building.
If you are looking for a Catholic college, there are several more with nursing programs in PA, including Misericordia, Neumann, and LaSalle,
I discussed it my “travel range” with my parents. My mom hates plane rides but LOVES to drive and she would seriously drive to Wisconsin (which is probably about a 12 hour drive from jersey) to come get me. We said anything from Wisconsin/Illinois, up to Maine all the way down to Florida is okay with her.
But you’re totally right, why travel that far for nursing? I just fell in love with everything that school had. I’m really big on the whole “college experience” thing but I realize it’s not the most important thing.
A lot of people have recommended Moravian as well as all the others you recommended. I guess I’ll finally look into them!
Wow I can’t believe I didn’t catch that about St. Joseph’s. I thought I looked into that school really well, but I checked their website, and you’re right. Not only are some classes at a different school, but their BSN program takes 5 years. No thanks
Just FYI Catholic University is no longer a direct entry nursing program.
Another less competitive nursing program for admission at an eastern PA. Catholic colllege is at Gwynyd Mercy. It is about 45 minutes north of Philadelphia.
@emaslo Hey! I’m also going to be applying to Northeastern, NYU, and Drexel! NYU is a maybe because of the cost but if they give me a somewhat decent offer I’ll take it. I was going to apply to UMass but it’s out of state which is already pretty expensive. Same thing with Uconn and plus Uconn is like a huge school like 25,000 students are wayy too much for me! But you have a pretty good list there
My daughter is the opposite of your predicament, @xjuliet . She has outstanding GPA, rigorous courses, great ec 's but pretty low test scores. Although she has been studying this summer so hard for the ACT and will be taking them like you twice before sending off her applications which all have to be completed by November. I guess I’m not as pessimistic as people are on college board for applications to what deems a reach. Everyone has a shot, in my opinion, as long as you have some safety schools, why not apply, the worst case is rejection. AND if it isn’t any more work as an application, most are common apps with very similar essays, why not just submit? Her schools are: University of Penn - reach, but had a great interview, all up to the test scores, University of Miami, University of Michigan (all reaches, although with Michigan’s extra supplements, she may not want to apply their if test scores are low), Purdue, Quinnipiac, Seattle University , University of Conn, University of Delaware, University of New Hampshire, University of Rhode Island, University of Mississippi, University of Mass at Lowell, Fairfield University, University of Arizona.
Also, @emaslo John Hopkins does not have a undergraduate nursing program, that was on her list initially.
I think we’ve researched every school out there, and she loved University of Virginia, but feels it’s just too difficult to get in even with a perfect SAT. I’ve also heard Duke and Georgetown are incredible nursing programs. It just depends on what you want from the college experience, but there seems to be lots of options. There was a very small school we came across that seems to take nursing majors with lower stats called Hiram. She’s not interested in that small of a school, but thought I’d throw it out to those on this link.
@netter11 wow that is a lot of OOS colleges on your daughter’s list. I would go ahead and apply regrdless of the SAT/ or ACT test scores. Unless they are way off the chart which I doubt they are. I am sure your d will get lots of acceptance. I have 2 d now in nursing & they are in 2 different colleges.
I would say to all applicants @xjuliet @kads03 @emaslo , there is a lot more to the nursing programs than ranking alone. Don’t let the ranking ( high or low ) confuse you because that is a ranking based on the graduate nursing programs & a million other factors. There are excellent nursing programs from any ranking ranging from 1- 150 & some programs are not ranked at all.
Ask them about their curriculum.
Ask them how many students are in each clinical group, is this a small group of students following a nurse? Where exactly do they do their clinical? Do they have to travel far to some other hospitals or do they stay close to the college?
Ask how are they preparing the students for the NCLEX exams, do they have to take the HESI test often / every semester?
What are the extra fees ( clinical fees, lab fees etc ) ?
Ask how many students drop out after their 1st year? It is not unusual to hear stories about students falling behind or changing major. A direct admit program can continue to wash people out through very tough grading scale, difficult class materials etc.
York College of PA has two tracks - most students are on a 4 year track, but some are on track to graduate in 4.5 years. The 4.5 year track is a little bit easier each semester, and also provides a backup in case a student has trouble with a class- they can fall back into the 4.5 year track instead of of the 4 year track. (The college set up this system to make the best use of facilities, staff, and clinical spaces.)
I’m also going to be a senior this fall and I’m applying to both nursing programs and for a psych major in every school. I have yet to decide whether I want to go into Clinical Psychology or Nursing, and will probably decide once I receive acceptances.
Right now I am applying to Rutgers, TCNJ, Drexel, Temple, NYU, West Chester, and UPitt. I’m considering University of Rochester and Northeastern, but these are definitely reach schools for me. My gpa is low because of certain health problems, but my SAT/ACT scores are high. I consulted with many people including a college advisor, and if your test scores/GPA balance each other out you should be fine. Of course, your application as a whole will be considered.
Most hospitals employ people with experience, and online it says that Drexel is a very good university to attend for Nursing because of its co-op program. So, see what opportunities you have for experience with the different programs. Rutgers University New Brunswick is located at a walking distance two high class hospitals, which is very helpful.
My son is currently a HS senior and a future nursing major. He was accepted to UPitt last week. He had originally planned to apply to Northeastern, Drexel and possibly Temple, but now it’s unlikely that he will.
Congrats to your son @neuron321 that’s an early acceptance! My daughter is applying to nursing schools but not until November. It must be great to have an acceptance.
What are your SAT and/or ACT scores? In my experience, SAT scores are very important for nursing schools–some of the small schools might accept a student with less than 550 CR & Math, but the better schools like to see scores with 600 minimum and the most selective want 650+…Try to work as hard as possible to increase those scores–they help validate your grades in high school.