Is physics required to get into the school of nursing? My daughter is taking AP Chem, AP bio, anatomy/physiology, but we are trying to avoid AP physics because the teacher is horribly inept.
Her application for direct admit nursing (as well as any school) will be stronger with a year of HS physics. Connell doesnāt specifically say physics is required (AFAIK), but with an admission rate likely lower than 20%, I expect many successful applicants have taken HS physics.
Has your D had physics of any level yet in HS? If not, can she take Honors Physics instead of AP Physics? What does her HS GC recommend?
1 Like
The problem is the physics teacher at her high school is awful. And the guidance counselor isnāt much help. I agree it will look better with a year of physics but is it worth the torture? We do have a whole year to figure it out
Boston College wants to see 4 years of high school science. Is there another choice besides physics? If so, I doubt that the lack of physics would hurt.
Your best advice will come by calling Connell or Admissions and asking if someone there can advise you. Iād be frank about the reputation of the HS physics teacher and your opinion that your daughter can use her time better studying something else in her last year of HS.
My daughter is an alum of BC/Connell. She had a great 4 years and it prepared her well for her career. Itās an excellent program, made even better by clinical placements at world class hospitals in Boston. I highly recommend their program.
2 Likes
This is our number one. Planning to apply early decision. My daughter loves chemistry, just finished honors and taking AP. She could take AP bio and/or Honors anatomy physiology senior year. I noticed UConn nursing school requires physics. We are going for a BC tour and will see if we can ask.
I would have your D contact the Connell AO and ask about physics nowā¦you want to know how strongly they recommended applicants to have taken physics, and what proportion of admits have taken it. WIth a class size of around 130 students, admission is highly competitive. I get that the physics teacher might not be great (is there an opportunity to go up or down a level? take physics as dual enrollment?)ā¦but the tradeoff is a relatively weaker application.
1 Like
Totally agree. She emailed and they said to call. First weāll see how the visit goes and if she likes the campus- but the general advice we are getting is to take it. And yes she could take honors instead of AP. I know nursing is super competitive in every school, so sheāll need every advantage!
1 Like
Asking on the tour this summer (?) sounds like a good plan. Either AP Bio or Honors Anatomy Physiology makes a lot more sense than Physics to me. I have no idea why UConn requires Physics. Even medical schools donāt require physics.
BTW, Petersonās college guide currently lists the acceptance rate into Connell at 55%. Sometimes they are a year off, so you might want to confirm that. Like a lot of top colleges, BCās overall acceptance rate dropped from 26-29% over the previous few years to 19% this past April. Connellās acceptance rate may also have dropped.
1 Like
Makes me wonder if Petersonās has a typo there. The overall rate hasnāt been that high since the late 1970s.
1 Like
I found it hard to find the Connell acceptance rate. Do you know what it is and can you provide the source?
Petersonās says that 360 applied, 202 were accepted, 56%.
No, Iāve never seen a separate rate for Connell. BC seems to keep the per-school rates close to the vest, saying only that the rates are similar.
How would we know that the rates are similar? Petersonās is a pretty reliable source. Historically, the Schools of Education and Nursing were always known as easier admits than others at BC. Some considered them the back doors for admission and then try to transfer after you get there.
I only know that AOs have said orally the rates are similar (Iāve heard it directly). I can believe Lynch could be slightly easier. I have a harder time believing that Connell would be easier just by reputation of nursing in general, but Iāve never seen actual rates. The only actual rate Iāve seen was for CSOM in P&Q.
I think AOs say stuff like this all the time when they donāt want to answer the question. Mainly they donāt want it known that thereās an easier path to admission. Perhaps the AO means that the qualifications are similar, not the rates. Average SAT for Connell admits is 1410, which is pretty respectable and in line with SAT at other BC schools. Acceptance rates are a factor of number of applications in proportion to number accepted. Maybe Nursing just doesnāt have enough interest to generate the same number of applications as the rest of the college. They still have about 100 seats to fill and they seem to do it with high caliber students regardless of the %.
I have friend who spent a career as a High School Guidance Director and Guidance Counselor before that. He told me that the differences in acceptance rates at the BC undergrad colleges are well known among those in the guidance field.
1 Like
Very interesting as I thought getting into a nursing program in general was extremely competitive.
1 Like
Yes we are visiting in July. So far Uconn is the only school I can find that actually lists physics as a requirement for their nursing school. Iām glad we have a year to decide. This is my third child and Iāve learned to start figuring this out early.
Yes, it is at some places.
When the BC Nursing School has an average SAT of 1410, Iād say that itās very competitive. Sometimes applicants self select, and none apply but the most qualified. Perhaps BC ās relatively low acceptance overall rate discourages less qualified students from even bothering to apply to their Nursing School.
In my experience, you canāt go wrong making BC your first choice. Great school. Great location. Great reputation. The college is very supportive of its nurses, I.e. 4 years of housing guaranteed, transportation to clinicals. Best of all is clinicals at some of the best hospitals in the world, some of which can lead to jobs. And not all Boston nursing schools get the same access to these hospitals.
1 Like
I love that they provide housing all four years and transportation to clinical. I canāt wait to see the campus and Iām hoping my daughter falls in live with it! She is a great candidate- straight Aās and thinks chemistry and math are fun. Junior firefighter and is doing a huge fundraiser campaign for blood cancers.
Iāll give you a heads up in advance that BC has a separate freshman campus about 1.5 miles from the main campus, housing about 40% of the freshmen. It is serviced by shuttle buses every 10 minutes.
Called Newton Campus, it is lovely and in a beautiful residential neighborhood adjacent to a couple of private schools. It was formerly the Newton College foe Women. It also houses some of BCās graduate programs.
Some parents and students react negatively to the idea of being ācut offā from the main campus. My daughter spent her freshman year there and loved it. She felt that it really helped her to get to know a large group of other freshmen, to find her future roommates, and to bond with other young women who are still friends today. If she had it to do all over again, sheād still pick Newton Campus for freshman year.
I think better to know in advance and have time to think about it than to be surprised during the tour. You can look at a map to see where it is in relation to Chestnut Hill. It wasnāt on the tour when I toured a couple of years ago with a friendās daughter, but you can drive over easily to see it, just a mile or so up Commonwealth. Blvd., then a right onto Centre Street in Newton.
1 Like