<p>I figured I'd start a celebration thread for all of those excited, successful nursing applicants!</p>
<p>DD Got her acceptance letter in the mail today - University of New Hampshire Nursing EA for fall 2013. We're celebrating, as it's her 1st acceptance letter and her 1st choice!</p>
<p>^^^
Congrats fiveteens to you and your daughter! Does your user-name mean that you will be doing this quite a few more times during the next couple of years?</p>
<p>Thank you! You are correct, aglages. D & S = HS seniors, S & S = HS sophomores, D = HS freshman. We’ll be pros soon enough, I guess…</p>
<p>My congrats as well. I assume you mean Fall 2012, not 2013. UNH has an excellent nursing program. Your D should get a great education there. My D as well received several EAs for nursing admission but had to wait until March to hear from her No. 1 choice, Univ. of Delaware, which does not have EA or rolling admissions. The wait was a royal pain but worth it once she received her acceptance packet. Now comes the hard part-actually doing all the work,which, believe me, will be intense (but very challenging and rewarding). Best wishes to your D.</p>
<p>D is still waiting to hear. I dont think her first one comes in until the end of the month. However has anyone heard form U conn?</p>
<p>Yes, U. of Delaware makes out of state applicants wait. In-state is admitted on a rolling basis.</p>
<p>Beware - some public universities have earlier application dates for nursing than for other majors. </p>
<p>Also, some private universities are moving up their acceptance date for nursing students, such as Villanova. They found that many competing schools were making nursing decisions earlier, and they were missing out on chances to lobby the admitted students.</p>
<p>My bad - yes Fall of 2012! Mwallenmd, you are also correct about the hard work. As a RN myself, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the intensity of the program. It was quite a contrast from my first bachelor’s degree. </p>
<p>@charlieschm, it’s interesting that while students are ‘accepted’ into nursing programs, they can ‘lose their spot’ in some cases if they do not deposit to the school. I heard this from UMass Dartmouth - once the incoming class is ‘full’, they will not accept any more, even if they have been ‘accepted’. We’re deciding how long we can wait before we send in the deposit. D has 4 other schools to hear from, with only one being a contender at this point - UMass Amherst. She should hear from them by January, I believe.</p>
<p>It’s amazing to me that nursing has become the most competitive major for admission on virtually every campus! 3/4 of the nurses I work with would never even been accepted into a program if it had been as competitive 15 years ago.</p>
<p>
My wife and her sister (both BSN/MSNs from 30 years ago) often made the same comment when their daughters were applying to nursing programs during the last couple of years. I would think that the tougher competition and perhaps higher standards will bode well for future patients.</p>
<p>I think in the past nursing schools admitted many marginal students, and then had a high percentage flunk out. Today, the tougher admissions standards hopefully means that a much much higher percentage of nursing students are able to graduate and pass the test.</p>
<p>In response to the above post, that is upsetting that some colleges would tell admitted students that they don’t have room for them. All colleges that participate in national admissions agreements are supposed to allow students until May 1 to accept an admittance. That is why they have waiting lists.</p>
<p>^^ I hope you are right. I am going to call UNH this week to ask about this issue of acceptance vs. enrollment numbers. At UMass Dartmouth, I believe the deposit securing your seat is fully refundable. At UNH, the enrollment deposit is <em>partially</em> refundable.</p>
<p>I do, however, understand that this is a sticky situation. When you have a finite number of seats in a direct admit program, and you know that a substantial portion of your accepted students will not enroll, you have a dilemma. Perhaps I am misinformed. It wouldn’t be the first or last time!</p>
<p>While it is true that the kids going into nursing now are very bright, I think the admission process has to be holistic. There has to be the aspect of giving and caring that is sometimes lacking. I dont believe there are better nurses just because they pass the test the first time. (I am also an RN and I did pass the test the first time.). It is interesting the number of kids going into nursing when their moms are nurses. I guess we represent well!</p>
<p>downtoearth- I agree! We must be doing something right! ; ) My D never considered nursing seriously until she did a volunteer program in the hospital a few years ago. She thought she wanted PT, but recognized the importance of the nurse/patient relationship and the amazing work we do with the whole person. I never suggested nursing to my D, but am happy that she is coming into the profession and know she’ll be a wonderful nurse. I’m glad she has done well for herself in HS and is able to ‘make the cut’!</p>
<p>I am waiting to see what the “cut” will be, happy that you have one done already and her first choice. My d always thought of being a doctor now wants nursing, intending for NP. She is very practical, and caring. She does well in school. it would be nice to have some answers!!!</p>
<p>downtoearth:</p>
<p>Your D’s interest in becoming a NP is one of the reasons why competitiveness for admission to top quality BSN programs is increasing dramatically. Interest in Advanced Practice Nursing is skyrocketing, and there are many fewer slots available in these nursing graduate programs as compared to BSN programs. Students with such interests want to get into top notch BSN programs in order to improve their chances for admission to quality nursing graduate programs. This is similar to what we have seen for years with pre-med students trying to get into the best colleges in order to improve their chances for admission to Med school. Actually there is a movement in Nursing to require a doctoral level degree in order to practice as an Advanced Practice RN. If this comes to pass competiveness for BSN slots will likely even increase further. From my D’s undergraduate experience at Delaware many of the students in her class who you might “stereotype” as being “most competitive” while in the BSN nursing program were the students who planned on attending graduate school to become APRNs. I guess it must just be a “trait” in many such students. However, I will say that this competitiveness seems to be focused on learning as much as possible in order to provide the highest quality of nursing care to patients out of concerns/caring for patients. Best wishes to your D.</p>
<p>yes I find most nursing students to really care about their patients. However there is an interesting number of people who go in to it for the money and job security. Although I dont know how secure the job market is now.
It is true that entry level for nursing will be BSN. currently my hospital does not hire anything less than a BSN. It is also true that there is a push for doctoral degrees by 2015,Nursing is becoming very research focused and that is a good thing. We also need to do a better job of educating the public on what it is we do. Many people do not know the role we play.
I do not mean to say educated people cannot be compassionate and caring. but that a perfect SAT does not necessarily a great nurse make. I do not want to see caring people, who may not test well shut out from becoming a nurse because the competion is so high. There is that unquantified quality that is needed and I dont want to see that lost. I am an excellent nurse and work on a high level and am passionate about my patients, the thought that I would not be anurse if trying today gives me pause.</p>
<p>I agree with your perspective 100%. Sadly, there is a percentage of heathcare professionals of all disciplines that are primarily in their profession for the money/job security. Unfortunately for nursing the number of BSN slots available in colleges far exceeds the demand. It would be nice if there was a reliable and time efficient way to access caring/ concern for patients as part of the nursing admission process. I feel that many universities who initially screen applicants via SAT/ACT scores primarily do so in order to inflate their own STATS (often perceived as a measure of the schools prestige). A better measure is an applicant’s HS stats looking at course rigor. grades in major courses, GPA, and class rank as well as ECs (i.e. healthcare volunteer work, community service, etc.). These latter measures are still not perfect but better than just looking at SAT/ACT scores. There are in fact some top notch nursing programs that do give greater emphasis to these measures. The University of Delaware is a good example of this. Best wishes to you and your D.</p>
<p>I think the days when nurses simply changed dressings, emptied bedpans and held hands is long past. With the technical and complex equipment and procedures required by today’s nursing professionals the bar needs to be set fairly high in regards to academic requirements. Unfortunately standardized testing is the best current method to level the field between different high schools. Until something better (fairer?) comes along I think SAT and ACT scores will continue (rightfully so) count very highly in the selection process. </p>
<p>I’d like to point out that MDs have been selected by a competitive process for many years. While I realize their jobs are different than nurses, is no one concerned about whether they have sufficient concern/caring for patients or do we just want the best and brightest?</p>
<p>Are you in NH? I was accepted to UNH, but not the nursing program. I’m out of state. Would you mind sharing her stats? GPA, SATs, etc.
I did get into UVM and Drexel though.</p>
<p>I was accepted to:
West chester
Bloomsburg
York
Drexel
Quinnipiac
University of Pittsburg
Penn State Main Campus </p>
<p>with a 3.8W and 1860 SAT’s</p>
<p>I still have to hear from
NYU
The College of New Jersey
Scranton
University of Delaware</p>
<p>My top two choices are Penn State and Delaware but I’m leaning towards Penn State and since I already got in main campus I think I’m going to commit soon! Is that a good choice? Between Delaware and Penn State? Delaware I wouldn’t hear until march/april and it is over 10,000 more.</p>
<p>Hi gingerlemon. My D is out of state as well, her stats are:
GPA 3.9 (4.2 weighted)
HS rank: top 5%
5 APs, lots of science/math
ACT: 26 (standardized tests are a struggle for her)
3 varsity sports (captain of all 3)
NHS officer
works as a YMCA lifeguard/swim instructor
tutors
band/chorus
lots of volunteer (including a hospital summer volunteer program)</p>
<p>Good luck with your other applications, and I hope UNH calls you back with a spot in the nursing program!</p>