To be quite honest, I never really liked any of the in state schools and have been looking out of state for a nursing program. However its just too expensive anywhere outside VA.
The only formal visit of schools in state I’ve done was VT, which I hated, the vibe of the school was just off for me, same goes for UVA not that I’d get in anyways…And I didnt like GMU just because I go to high school a walking distance from campus and it didnt seem like a nice campus.
I like urban schools, and the general vibe of a big cities(I spend a LOT of time hanging out in DC I just cant afford schools there) Is it true that VCU has more of an urban artsy vibe? And although its a large school, does it still have the large state school feel to it? I just wanna get a general vibe of the campus and what campus life is like.
Also, do you think i would get into the nursing program there anyways?
GPA: 3.73 mostly all honors and AP
SAT: 1800 (CR:630 M:550 W:620)
Should I shoot for pre med instead?
Radford (kind of like VA Tech), CNU, JMU, and ODU also have nursing programs. Google “Common Data Set” of each school you are considering and see the SAT specs and GPA’s of successful applicants. There’s a med school section to this forum where you can ask about med school.
VCU definitely has an artsy urban vibe. It’s right in the city. The medical campus is further downtown and I’m not sure which campus a freshman nursing major would be housed on. Both are near city life. You really need to visit and decide for yourself. I love the city of Richmond; I live here.
The only other urban choice is ODU in Norfolk. I really don’t know much about it.
I understand that nursing is a highly competitive major to be accepted into. Make sure you have safeties. Good luck.
VCU is definitely urban and artsy - it’s known for its art programs, as well as others. Not sure if it has a state school feel because I’m not sure what you mean. If you mean sports and the like, VCU is very into its basketball team.
VCU really is the only Virginia state school I can think of that is truly urban. ODU isn’t in downtown Norfolk, it’s in a more residential area.
VCU would be your best fit. CNU and JMU aren’t urban but you’d have a shot at nursing.
(Rather than premed, look into the PA programs. THAT’s where it’s at 
.)
As for “so expensive”: what’s your budget? Some private schools may be within budget, even if public universities OOS are out of reach financially.
VCU is pre-nursing.
That means you have to apply into their nursing program in the spring of freshmen year or in the 2nd year, I am not sure of the exact time to apply. Check their website. Admission to VCU nusring program is very competitve because of the limited seats available.
The nursing building is in the MCV campus ( the medical campus where the hospital is), which is literally a few streets away from the State Capital and all the other federal buildings. There are a couple of dorms in the MCV campus that some freshmen live in ( overflow ???). All the freshmen dorms are in the Monroe Park Campus. There is no seperate dorm for nursing major or by major.
VCU also has a " Nursing Guaranteed Admission Program " deadline is in Nov.
You can apply & see if you can get it. It is for Honors students ( or those high school applicants who get accepted into their Honors program) and I dont know how many spots are available for their guaranteed admission. I am sure you can email them & ask.
There are lots of shops and you can walk around in the downtown area. There is a campus bus that takes students from the Monroe Park campus to the MCV ( medical ) campus.
My D walks to the nursing bldg from her apartment in the downtown area and she walks home very late at night after clinical. She said it is fine to walk at night. But there are some sketchy area you just need to avoid those.
UVA is the only direct entry nursing program in the state. I also have a kid there & it is a very nice program.
JMU, George Mason, Radford, Longwood also are pre-nursing.
I think ODU recently offers some kind of freshmen direct admit, you have to check their website. Last year they were still pre-nursing.
Lynnburg College ( private ) is also direct admit but it is not in any urban setting.
I dont think VT has any nursing program, not that I know of.
Pre-med is not a major, it is a track. So you can be ANY major you like, humanities, science etc and can take the classes required for the pre-med track.
When I go in pre nursing and complete my pre recs will the admissions for the school of nursing still look at my gpa or sat scores? Just wondering because my math scores were generally low and I was hoping to bring them up in college
You will need to ask them to find out so you dont have to guess.
Admission is very competitive at the later time. I think last time we went to the info session, they mentioned something like admitted students " college GPA " is somewhere around 3.72 to close to 3.8, this is college GPA. And hundreds of pre-nursing students apply to compete for only 60 or 70 seats ( ??? ). I am not sure of the exact spots available.
But if you are applying for the Guaranteed Admission ( deadline is coming up in Nov ), they will definitely look at the high school GPA and current SAT scores and other factors ( essay / volunteer / leadership or EC activities ).
I don’t know when the next SAT test date is but if you like to test again to see if you can bump up your score just a bit.