I think the Nursing Major is probably the most difficult major to get into because all the programs are so impacted.
We live in CA and it’s very difficult to get into the UC schools or the State schools if you live in CA. San Diego State was my daughter’s first choice but she knew it was going to be her “reach” school. When we visited SDSU they told us the 2016 averages for nursing admits was a 4.3 GPA with a 33 ACT. My older daughter, who in 2015, had a 4.45 W GPA and a 2250 SAT and got into UCLA in the Aeronatutical and Astronautical Engineering program may not have gotten into a nursing program. Lol Because of those stats my younger daughter applied ED to TCU and was admitted into the school with direct entry into the nursing program. She was also admitted to:
Belmont (direct entry)
Cal Baptist (pre-nursing)
U Of Arizona (prenursing)
Northern Arizona State (pre-nursing)
Boise State (pre-nursing)
Grand Canyon University
Baylor
Deferred
USan Francisco
Congrats to everyone who got into their schools and good luck to those that are still waiting to hear.
Congratulation to everyone who got into their respective schools!
@tcu22mom Unfortunately the CA nursing market is extremely competitive. Too many new grads, and not enough open positions. Many RN’s in the US are interested in the great compensation and minimum patient ratios! It’s much different in other states, however.
The selection process will be tough. Obviously there’s a lot to consider and we’re getting more acceptances than we expected. D received some personalized letters and posters from schools that quoted part of her application essay. I could tell she was impressed by the personal touch.
One word of caution - after you accept the offer of admission, you will not have any dealings with the admissions office. Therefore, do not allow yourself to be too influenced by the quality or ineptness of the admissions staff. Sometimes personal touches are simply the work of a consultant who told the college to do something. At best, you would have a chance to talk to some current students or recent grads to find out how much of a personal touch there really is at a college.
Accepted:
Univ. of Arizona (pre nursing, 25k year scholarship)
Univ. of San Francisco (direct entry, 25k year scholarship)
PLNU Point Loma (direct entry, 15k year scholarship)
Son got in everywhere he applied, some with full scholarship, but only wants to go to Grand Valley State University in Michigan. He’s super excited. The scholarship competition is in January but he’s going!
A quick update on this crazy admissions process with some info copied from post #6 of this thread:
My D (San Diego CA) has applied for Nursing at 17 schools.
Acceptances:
U of Cincinnati direct entry nursing, merit not announced yet - D planning to visit
Gonzaga - direct entry nursing $19k/yr, visit scheduled
U San Francisco - direct entry nursing $25k/yr, will visit
Xavier accepted but still waiting to hear if she is in for Nursing, awarded $18.5k/yr; just offered free books for 4 years, may apply for St Francis, planning to visit.
SDSU hasn’t been notified yet but invited to Merit Scholarship ($7.5-10k/yr) reception - D will attend reception
UT Knoxville for direct entry Nursing, $15k/yr - Great value, good program, planning to visit
U of Portland, direct entry nursing $21k/yr - visit scheduled
Seattle U, direct entry nursing $24k/yr - visit scheduled
Azusa Pacific accepted but waiting to hear if she is in for Nursing, $19k/yr - D low excitement level vs some others
Marquette for direct entry Nursing, $14k - D still interested but at $40k net direct costs/yr this is not a good value
Winona State which is a small program in MN that does clinicals with nearby Mayo Clinic. They are offering in-state tuition plus $3.5k (total value about $9.5k/yr) - Cheapest however D no longer interested
Belmont accepted to Nursing and offered $10k/yr - D no longer interested as not a good value vs others
Still waiting to hear back from:
Ohio State - may be too big but if accepted would visit based on planned visits to nearby schools
CSULB - strong program and great value but without direct entry nursing this is risky vs acceptances
CSUCI - safety school no longer needed
Deferred to RD:
Boston College - too expensive and D no longer interested
TCU - also expensive, much merit would be needed to make this attractive vs acceptances
We now know we should have applied to about 10 schools.
Any thoughts for honors college versus non honors?
My D got in a few schools so far and for some also got in to the honors college as well. Apart for the honors housing which might be a big plus do you know if there are other benefits I should look for? Some times you hear from engineering students that the honors college is not a big deal since the courses are already difficult and the kids hardly have time to do the honors sections. I wonder if it is similar for the nursing school. My D might be interested in research though or some other opportunities and I would hate if those only go to the students in the honors college.
Anyway, any thoughts?
For us it’s a secondary consideration. We’ve reconsidered and are not actively applying to separate honors programs. If they were included in the original application or if needed for consideration to direct entry (such as OSU) then we applied. Honors sometimes provides for priority registering of classes in addition to research opportunities. One college UTK has separate honors application for incoming freshmen which we did not do but also a separate department specific honors program that nursing students may apply for later on such as 3rd year. Lots to consider. I agree the curriculum and schedule for nursing students in general especially with clinical work may already be demanding enough.
@am9799@Banker1 Same boat. This is one area (among many) that we are feeling so uncertain about…do you or don’t you? Same as Banker1, son made decision early on that he definitely did not want to apply separately for any honors programs due to what we are thinking will be an already extremely demanding major without adding any extra stress that could ultimately impact his GPA. That said, it seems to be a double edge sword…some positives and some potential negatives. On the positive side: getting first chance to schedule classes (we all remember how hard it was to swallow having to take classes or professors that we didn’t want but had no choice due to full classes) and honors housing, and in some cases extra merit money or replacing gen ed requirements. The negatives I am guessing would possibly be increased work load, a few honors programs require lengthy thesis research/papers/presentations at the end, classes may be more difficult and/or time consuming (although I have heard the opposite for some colleges), other outside time requirements.
A few different honors programs that stood out to me:
At University of Scranton, they offer a very selective honors program (only top 20 admitted students) where these students have to take special philosophy courses and as their final they have to dress up in togas and hold philosophical debates during finals weeks outside while quoting a very large number of memorized philosopher’s quotes…professors and random people on the street are encouraged to come debate and TRY to make them mess up, and if they do stumble their grade takes a hit…yikes! I think they also had an additional traditional honors program that wasn’t that frightening.
DeSales has a really interesting nursing specific honors program. It is a 5 yr BSN/DNP honors program where the students take quite a few graduate courses their senior year at undergraduate tuition rates. This is one my son is considering. All the other invites he is just sitting on right now. Unless there is something REALLY compelling on the pro side (like DeSales), I have a feeling he won’t accept any of the honors invites.
@wildfelix1
Two of the programs that my daughter was accepted to offer the 5 year program but it is not a special honors program. It is strictly dependent on gpa by end of sophomore year.
A lot of of the direct entry BSN programs only accept a limited amount of student. Do you guys know if it is still hard to register for the classes needed? Perhaps for the electives but I would assume the core course would accommodate all the students without fighting for priority registration. But I might be wrong.
I understand that nursing is a very demanding major; however, I can’t shake the interest in joining an honors college/program. Do you guys think it’d be too difficult to balance the two? Even with good time management?
@am9799 I was thinking in terms of gen eds and non-nursing required courses for scheduling. I would hope the nursing classes wouldn’t be a scheduling problem, but that is purely speculation on my part.
@hemingways I think that many students are able to balance the two and really do well, for sure! Don’t let my musings about my son’s lack of interest discourage you if the honors programs are appealing to you. He is at his happiest and most productive when he has a good balance, so taking on an honors program (although some don’t sound nearly as demanding as others) just isn’t something that appeals to him. Every student is different, though, and it sounds like you are interested and would be going into it knowing it will require time management.
In terms of honors program, my daughter is attending a scholarship day for an honors program that offers extra merit aid and other benefits including better housing.
We are not counting our chickens at all, but I told her to go and see what happens. I was in my college honors program for a year before I dropped out. We decided if she gets in to try it for a year and see what she thinks. She can always drop the honors program if it gets to be too much.
We will, of course, confirm that she can simply drop down a level in merit if she leaves the program but she has to get in first
Honors programs can have many different benefits. Read the fine print for each one. However, some people are hesitant to participate in certain honors programs if they involve more demanding classes in non-nursing subjects. Your nursing and science classes will be demanding enough, without having to put extra work into honors literature or history classes.
EA acceptances (daughter, PA resident):
U of Vt (partial merit)
U of Scranton (partial merit)
Penn State University Park (not expecting merit lol)
Villanova (haven’t heard yet on merit)
Drexel (partial merit and grant)
U of Del (partial merit)
Bloomsburg (waiting on merit, not expecting much)
