I am hoping to get into a direct admit nursing program (I’m an upcoming senior). However, I’ve only just recently decided on becoming a nurse (I’m pretty sure now though) but have no hospital experience. My stats are pretty good (4.0 UW GPA, 1520 SAT, 7 AP, 4’s and 5’s on all, 2 varsity sports, volunteering, etc.) but I’m afraid that since I have no hospital volunteer experience I’ll be rejected. Can I still get in any direct admit programs, and if so, from which schools? Thanks for all the help!
Is there still time to find something for your fall semester? Hospitals, nursing homes, anything like that? Is there a hospital explorers club you could join?
I don’t think it necessarily precludes you from gaining a direct admit, but it is a missing piece. Perhaps you can explain it in a personal statement or essay prompt, if one is required.
Home state? Not all DA Nursing programs require Hospital experience but can be helpful to determine if Nursing is the right career you want to pursue. Volunteer now since there is time.
Thanks @bearcatfan and @Gumbymom! Is there still time though? College apps are due in just a couple months and I’m worried I won’t have enough time/it won’t be considered. Also, does anyone know if CSUF actually looks into if you have hospital or nursing home volunteering or not? This is what I found on their website under the FAQ section of the direct admissions programs:
Am I required to complete work and/or volunteer experience?No. An applicant does not need, and the School of Nursing will not consider, work or volunteer experience.
Thanks again for all the help everyone! I really appreciate it!
If you are applying to CSUF and SDSU for the direct admit Nursing program, they do not require Volunteering/Hands on experience since they admit based on your Science grades, your CSU capped weighted GPA and test scores. However, doing a few months of volunteering will help confirm you are making the right choice in major and give you insight on what is expected of you as a Nurse.
If you are applying to UCI/UCLA, having some Nursing experience/volunteering/shadowing will be vital in getting into their programs.
@Gumbymom Thank you for your advice! I’m so relieved that I still have a chance! Do you know any other schools (can be outside of CA) that don’t look that much into having volunteer experience? Thank you again!
Also, consider sharing in your application essay why you want to become a nurse. Although this could reveal a lack of real world experience, it could also show that you have a mature vision of your future career.
If you are willing to come to Pennsylvania, we have over 25 direct admit BSN programs, only a few of which would be competitive for admission with your credentials. Most of the schools would be more than happy to accept such a strong student. Many of the private schools would offer you substantial merit aid.
Also consider PA programs if you do not want medical school.
kidzncatz - out of these private PA schools, which ones give the most merit aid?
Alvernia University
Carlow University
DeSales University
Drexel University
Duquesne University
Gannon University
LaSalle University
Misericordia University
Moravian College
Neumann University
St. Francis University
University of Scranton
Villanova University
Waynesburg University
Widener University
Wilkes University
York College of PA
@kidzncatz @azparent18 I second this question! Your advice is much appreciated!
@kidzncatz Also, which Pennsylvania schools do you think are the best? And if you know, which ones would I be most likely to get admitted into?
From what I have seen, it is common for private colleges in PA. to offer 50% off of tuition merit aid to the better applicants. Higher merit aid is very rare. Villanova used to be known for mediocre financial aid, but I believe it has improved.
The most competitive colleges (such as U. Penn, UNC-CH and UVa), usually stress need based aid instead of merit based aid.
York College has the lowest sticker price for tuition among PA. nursing programs, and they offer substantial merit aid.
Some colleges list their merit aid levels and standards on their websites.
You can compare “percent of need met” for each college, which is reported to the federal government.
However, that would be a mix of athletic, merit and need based aid, unless you drill down deeper into the data sets.
In any case, apply to multiple colleges, so you have the best chance for admission and so you can compare net price and other factors later. As you learn more about colleges and various locations, you will be glad to have some choices.
If you sign up for a volunteer program, you can include that in your application as something that is underway, even though it is not completed. It is hard to get into many hospitals, but it is easier to get into nursing homes and volunteer emergency medical services. Some of the poorer urban hospitals are more welcoming of volunteers than the big suburban hospital complexes.
Most of the nursing programs I am familiar with don’t require hospital experience. It’s been a while since I helped one of my daughter’s friends with her research, but one school I remember (from a later visit with another daughter) is Anna Maria College, https://www.annamaria.edu/admission/admission You would be a very competitive applicant with your stats. Other schools that I know of with BSN programs include Quinnipiac, Simmons, UConn, Here’s a list of schools with BSN in Connecticut.
@hellohello24601 @azparent18
@Charliesch answered many of your questions. I would suggest that you run the Net Price Calculators for each school you may be interested in. Many schools build merit aid estimates into their NPCs. However, unless it is automatic merit listed on the college website, merit is competitive and often offered to early (rather than later) applicants. Therefore, it would be wise to apply to multiple schools and to apply early senior year. Many of the schools have rolling admission and you would have acceptances and hopefully merit aid offers within a month or two. Need-based aid offers would likely come later, perhaps as late as March. If you request information directly from each school, you will likely receive fee waivers via email or snail mail for those schools that charge an application fee. NCLEX pass rates and other information about PA nursing schools can be found at the PA Department of State website under Board Approved Nursing Education Programs (sorry, I wasn’t successful in posting a link).
This is PA. Many states provide this info online. Just beware that if a college has an extremely high pass rate, it may have occurred because they made it hard for some of their grads to take the test. A nursing program has to authorize a person to take the test, and if a student scores low on the practice tests, some colleges delay their testing and make them take extra courses.
My daughter had no hospital experience, no health care related extracurriculars either. She got into direct admit programs at Pitt, Iowa, Minnesota and University of Michigan ( she attends Michigan) . Michigan explicitly said at a info session that it paid little attention to working in a hospital since in many areas ( especially urban /upper class areas) there is too much politicking involved for such positions ( this is true where we live).
I agree that hospital experience is not necessary, but some type of volunteer or work experience in health care or an ambulance service is still helpful to show that you are serious, and know what you are signing up for. Too many people say they want to go into nursing simply for job security or because they can’t think of something better. To make it through the gauntlet, you have to be really dedicated to nursing. The experience is also helpful to find out how queasy you are around bodily fluids.