Hi @G_2019LAG, in general terms it is my understanding that the main difference between a direct Nursing programs and the 2 + 2 / Lower (pre) & Upper Nursing programs is that in the latter, you have to “apply” to the upper level program during your sophmore year and will have to satisfy some minimum criteria such as GPA score, course load, etc in order to be considered for the upper level BSN / proper Nursing school. It is also my understanding thate in such type of programs you can do your clinicals only once admitted to the 2 year upper level BSN program. Last but not least, any student in the college (including transfer students) can apply tho they were not part of the lower / pre program… making admittance to the upper level a tad more competitive.
Keep in mind please that every college that adopts the 2 + 2 / lower (pre) + upper Nursing BSN can / will have different compulsory coruses and may or may not offer clinicals to sophmores.
This will vary from school to school so PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK, and ask the pertinent people at the college you are applying to all the questions you have.
DO NOT RELY ON WHAT IS POSTED HERE , again the UC (or whatever college applied to) website, Nursing school staff and Nursing school students should be your main and only source of information for that specific BSN program.
After re-reading my post I realized i may have come off the wrong way and was a bit harsh at the end, in no way I meant to offend anyone who is here to help others, sorry. here is what i meant to say at the end of my post:
It is great to see you are asking questions and hopefully members like @bearcatfan can give you an insight into UC’s program from his/her daughter’s experience, just remember to thuroughly go over the UC’s (or whatever college applied to) website, caal & speak to IN PERSON to the Nursing school faculty & staff and Nursing school students as they should be your main source of information for that specific BSN program.
@G_2019LAG I can tell you what I know, but @GmanCC is absolutely right that you should get it from the school (ideally the nursing school administrator, not whomever answers the phone) because stuff does change.
She knows a few, and you can find the exact process from the nursing school. Sophomore year they still have to take the two foundational nursing classes the nursing students take freshman year, and I’m not sure how they fit in. She has a lot of pre-nursing students in all her classes - they take the same courses except those two nursing classes.
A big caveat from this year: Many more direct admit students accepted admission last year (my daughter’s admission year) than UC expected. Nearly everyone they offered admission to took them up on it, which meant there were far fewer spots for pre-nursing students. They figure X direct admit will come, leaving Y spots open for sophomore year (taking into account attrition). I believe they righted the ship in this year’s admission process, since I heard fewer were offered direct admission. Still, my daughter said a lot of pre-nursing students changed their majors since the numbers were not in their favor. Plus, as a pre-nursing student you don’t have the LC or the spots held for you in class like the the nursing students have. It’s not impossible to get in sophomore year but it is an additional challenge you should be aware of. Perhaps the school can give you numbers from previous years.
UC was always my daughter’s first choice, but she wanted direct admit above all else. She was prepared to go to her second choice direct admit (a lovely school) if she didn’t get DA at Cincinnati.
You could also look into classes at Blue Ash, a satellite campus, and then transferring to main campus. I have no idea how to do that, but it’s something to look into.
Thank you @bearcatfan that is definetely some context into the program I really appreciate. I’m kind of on the same page of your daughter with beng in a direct admit school, and I guess in the end it will come down to which schools I get into. It is nice to hear they accepted less into Direct Admit this year though giving a better shot for pre-nursing majors. Thanks again!
Upon further reflection, my D decided that she didn’t need to revisit the other schools so she committed to UMass Lowell Nursing and we made the deposit. She feels great about the decision, and so do we. Best of success to everyone else as they go through their final selection process as well!
@GmanCC Really interested in your 2/6 post. “I was also told though, depending on ambitions and desired work location, that certain schools initially carry more weight. DD wants to be in ER & ICU for a while then go back to school and get a DNP degree. She Ideally wants to work in in a big-time big city hospital in the northeast.” I wonder how you and others compare Emory, Northeastern and CWRU. Case’s new facilities and scholarship are compelling. Northeastern has the proximity to hospitals that I want. Emory has, perhaps, more ‘weight’.
My own interest isn’t ER & ICU but more in pediatric acute care. I plan to work after BSN and then attend go back for Masters. Right now I would have to say that CWRU and Northeastern are at the top of my accepted list but am waiting on Emory. Dollars do matter to our family. CWRU’s scholarship would be very helpful. If I’m accepted to Emory but the $ isn’t as good as CWRU, I’m thinking I “should” (from a financial standpoint) go to Case but I wonder if Emory’s weight is worth paying more for in the BSN. It would seem from comments on this thread that the answer is “no” to that, but what do you all think? Thank you for thoughtful input.
Accepted to the following direct admit nursing programs:
CWRU
Northeastern
Drexel
Rutgers (Newark and New Brunswick)
U Minnesota Twin Cities
Florida State
U Miami
Penn State
Villanova
Update: D was accepted to APU Honors that comes with $1K merit per year plus a couple other acceptances from pre-nursing CSUs.
Daughter
SAT: 1380
ACT: 31
GPA: 4.0 / 4.36 (UC)
Rank: 9 of 350
State Residency: CA
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Other: Volunteering at local hospital, bi-lingual English/Spanish, 7 AP classes and lots of Honors classes, several club leadership positions, athletics and piano
Accepted:
Point Loma - pre nursing, ($15K merit)
Azusa Pacific - Direct, ($20K merit)
Sonoma State - pre nursing
CSU Long Beach - pre nursing
Applied:
UCLA - Direct
UC Irvine - Direct
San Diego State - Direct
CSU Fullerton - Direct
USF - Direct
San Jose State - pre nursing
Hey guys, I was hoping to get some input on my current situation. I was accepted into the nursing program at Rutgers (New Brunswick and Newark) and Ramapo. However, Rutgers gave me $0 scholarships while Ramapo gave me their presidential scholarship of $18,000 per year. Considering my financial options, I could attend Rutgers Newark and commute or dorm at Ramapo. I was wondering if Rutgers is worth the extra money. Any input or opinions would be greatly appreciated!
@eric4532 Congratulations on your acceptances and choices. If living on campus is something that you want to experience, Ramapo is a good choice. Niche has them as #4 nursing program in NJ. Plus, it’s your least expensive option even with living expenses. I seem to recall that Rutgers gives scholarships as late as March. Rutgers NB regularly appears on the list of the top nursing programs in the country. Is Rutgers NB too far for you to commute to? Distance could be difficult when you get to clinicals. I am biased about Newark for safety issues and would discourage my daughter from going there. The university area sounds safe during the day, but I wouldn’t want to do early or late clinicals in the area. This is clearly my bias, and others may have a different perspective.
@eric4532. Congrats on your acceptances! My daughter applied RD to Ramapo and was told she should hear by March 1. She was accepted at Rutgers Camden and waitlisted at NB. She just got her financial aid award from Rutgers this morning, which did include Merit Aid, so perhaps you may still get something from Rutgers? Ramapo’s nursing program is very highly rated and definitely a great option! Right now we are leaning towards Stockton because they did give her great Merit Aid, and we were very impressed with the nursing program. She also wants to live at school. Ramapo will definitely be a contender for her if she gets in. I think she did like NB because she does want that big campus experience, but we are realistic about her waitlist chances (and if she does make it off the waitlist, probably wouldnt be any Merit aid for her). Good luck on whatever you decide! you have great options!
I just wanted to highlight a national trend, which you can see in the above results, If you are in the top 1/3 of their applicant pool, many private colleges will offer merit aid that is equal to about half of their tuition bill (not including food and housing). This can bring some private college costs down to a level comparable to some flagship public universities.
Meanwhile, the most competitive colleges and universities usually stress need based aid, and offer little or no merit based aid. If your family has a moderate income, you may find that one of these colleges is cheaper than in-state public colleges. The great thing about need based aid is that it typically increases each year with inflation, assuming that the family’s financial situation remains the same.
However, a person should always start with their in-state publics. I just wanted to re-emphasize the point of also applying to some private college alternatives so you can later compare net costs. Also, remember that each college is required to post a net price calculator to give a student some indication of the range of net costs that might expect.
Lastly, be aware that many colleges add a few thousand dollars per year of additional fees, lab costs, extra tuition and other expenses for BSN students in the last year or two. Those costs are rarely publicized to incoming freshmen.
SAT: 1430, 1490 superscore
ACT: N/A
GPA: when applying to college (excluding first semester senior year) 3.93 UW, 4.54 W
Rank: 22/495
State Residency: California
Ethnicity: Filipino
Gender: Female
Schools Applied to FOR NURSING: UCI (Direct), UCLA (Direct), Mount Saint Mary’s University (Direct), Azusa Pacific University (Direct)
Accepted: Mount Saint Mary’s University (Pre-Nursing and waiting for Direct decision)
Azusa Pacific University (Direct)
Waiting: UCLA, UCI
Many of my friends have been accepted into UCI for their CHP program which accepts students based on their major so I was wondering if any nursing applicants have been accepted into UCI for the CHP program
@enavance - We understood that Emory isn’t direct admit so perhaps a different comparison to your other schools? My DD didn’t apply after visiting for that reason. She is balancing college rankings with nursing school rankings , alumni network and weight of school against $, overall college experience against nursing opportunities. She has not found the ideal formula! But we are big believers in going to the “best” school you get into
@GreenBees My D has not found the ideal combination either. She’s looking first and foremost for the college experience, followed closely by direct admit (wish this were first). But, IMO, there may be no other major out there where the “best” school you can get into gives you less of an advantage in the job market, or provides lower ROI, than Nursing. Worse, it would likely be the ‘hardest’, making it difficult to stand out among your peers.
SAT: 1390
ACT: 30
GPA: 4.4
Rank: 8/310
State Residency: CO
Ethnicity: white
Gender: f
I have lots of volunteering and clubs, I took a CNA course first semester, 4 AP classes junior year, one of the college board ap award things, gs bronze and silver awards, lifeguard job
I honestly don’t think my essays were that good
Only direct admit and early action
Got in:
Udel ($17,000)
UNH ($10,000)
University of Pittsburgh (I don’t remember. I think I got nothing or it was still ridiculously exspensive)
Widener ($32,500)
Bloomsburg (waiting to hear)
Belmont ($10,000)
Illinois Wesleyan ($22,000)
Bradley University ($20,000)
University of Maine (don’t remember)
University of Wyoming (got a lot through exchange program and for academics)
York of PA (don’t remember)
“Deferred”:
Villanova
I am currently deciding between UNH and Udel, if anyone has any thoughts let me know!!
@GreenBees Thank you for writing. There are so many different ways to measure “best”. Emory isn’t direct admit, true, but after talking to nursing students there this isn’t a big concern. Emory would measure as “best” in many rubrics but then there is cost-benefit analysis combined with the Masters degree coming next. College rankings at large are different from nursing school rankings, which is one of many reasons why the question is a complex one. Anyone else out there who is weighing Emory/Case for nursing? (Hoping to have the problem of deciding between these schools…but I don’t want to jinx it.)