Curious if there’s any good reason to consider a school that is not direct admit if your child is “certain” they want to get their BSN? My D22 list of schools is looking awfully competitive so we’re looking for some safety schools and not coming up with much. Just looking for others thoughts on taking a chance with a non direct admit or looking for less competitive direct admit. Thanks!
There are over 50 schools with accredited direct entry nursing programs in Pennsylvania alone. Many of them are not that competitive. I don’t think there’s a good reason to consider non direct admit programs unless prestige or big-time sports is more important to your daughter than getting a nursing degree.
Thanks for the feedback. I would say prestige, location and size are important. Definitely wants the big school, big sports, potential greek life, and club swimming. Should have mentioned that! Just not sure the gamble of a non direct admit program is worth it. Specifically JMU. We’ll keep investigating! Thanks.
Direct Admit is the best choice for one who is certain that becoming a nurse is his or her career choice.
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But check the progression requirements in the direct admit programs. Some weed out student aggressively with very high GPA requirements or other hurdles to continue in the program.
Direct admits should be her first choice. If she cant get into one or one is not financially accessible, then the nondirect schools should be considered.
If your child goes to a non direct nursing college, the issue is they could spend 2 years there, develop community and friends only to be denied entry to the nursing program and then be forced to move and start all over again.
While direct admit bsn nursing programs may be more expensive up front, they may guarantee graduation in 4 years vs a non direct which could end up with 5-6 years to complete.
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Thank you both for your feedback. Ideally she does want to go direct admit. The concern is the admission expectations. If she doesn’t seriously improve her GPA score, I am not sure what we’ll do. She has a 3.97 UW and takes a competitive coursework, athlete, good ECs, leadership but the SAT score is a huge hurdle right now. So trying to plan for “plan B”
Why did you put “certain” in quotes. You know your child. Are you of the mind that she’s not really as certain as she says she is?
I don’t think any 17 year old is certain of what they “know.”
I think she’ll enjoy the curriculum, but she’s never kid shadowed or been in a hospital environment so that is why I expressed in quotes.
At this point it is her intention.
I have a 2024 Nursing student at Duquesne. (She LOVES it and is doing very well. )
I will say that I was shocked about Nursing DA “requirements”. Due to limited spots in programs, the admission stats for DA Nursing can be much higher than the school’s regular admission stats. Some students get in to XYZ university, but not the the BSN program per se. Also, going an alternate major and trying in transfer in to BSN is virtually impossible at many schools.
An admissions rep from UVM said their BSN admissions had +200 SAT scores than the average UVM admission. 
Ok. I’m a freshman advisor. I see this a lot. The problem with nursing is that by the time they get to the nursing classes junior year, it’s hard to change directions. I’ll also say that where I am, 50% of our incoming students indicating they want to major in nursing do not. And no, it’s not because they don’t get accepted into the major. They change their minds. In the case of a kid who is only “certain” and hasn’t shadowed or worked in a hospital environment, I’d say yes, you can definitely consider a school that is not a direct admit so, if you feel she’ll change directions, she can do so easily.
Sometimes, on CC, we get a little dramatic. There are schools that are not direct admit and still accept most of their nursing hopefuls into the major. Ask the department about the stats of those who get in (college stats, not ACTs and hs grades) and percentage of applicants who make it.
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And nursing as a profession is very different from what HS kids think it is- even ones that have strong interests in health care.
I hear all the time “I want to help people”. Yes- that describes most nurses. But until you’ve seen the sheer amount of body fluids that go into helping people- as a nurse- I’m not sure you’ve got a realistic view of the life of a nurse. Yes- you can pivot to school nursing (less fluids) or any number of cool roles-- but at some point you are doing clinicals at a hospital and only a small percentage of the people you will helping are the rosy cheeked women giving birth to bouncing babies or the cute kids who fell off the jungle gym. You are working with homeless people, people with poorly managed diabetes and amputated limbs, kids who’ve been abused, etc.
I had an ER visit last year (pre-Covid) and in the 28 bay ER, I was told by two nurses that I was the only patient (one of out 28) who was not high or trying to get opiods for an excruciating withdrawal. (I asked why everyone was screaming). And this was in a suburban hospital!
So nursing- glorious profession. But so is OT, speech, social work, and a bunch of other helping professions that don’t have the gore factor of training to become a nurse. So maybe keeping her options open is not such a bad idea???
Great post. Ever been shoe shopping with someone worried that shoes might soak up too much urine? I have. Hopefully those days are done as D finished an MSN and has moved into an administrative role.
Lots of my nursing wannabe advisees have seen too much TV, and I see there’s a new show called simply “Nurses” on one of the networks…Oy!
Some just feel like nursing is a stable job with a “good” salary. Nothing wrong with that, but they have no idea the amount of work that they’ll do for that “good” salary (nurses are underpaid, IMHO), the amount of poop they’ll deal with, or the toll that weeks of night shifts will take on their mental health. And if I say anything, I’m being “harsh,” not trying to make sure they plan their careers with open eyes.
And then some are pretty realistic, get into the program, and make great nurses.
I appreciate the feedback and shared your posts with DD. I agree with a lot of this and unfortunately with Covid, there are no volunteering or shadowing opportunities right now. She definitely does have the “I want to help people” attitude.
She’s also slightly interested in a neuroscience major but isn’t sure she wants to “have to” go to grad school.
It’s a lot to choose a track at 17! We’re keeping options open and staying focused on good grades, virtual college visits and talking with people who know more than we do.
Really appreciate the input!
Ordinary Lives- never been shoe shopping, but have eaten breakfast before a shift with a nurse (close friend) and watching her protein-load because she’ll be on her feet for 12 hours with no time to even grab a granola bar is pretty sobering. I sit in front of a computer all day and I’m exhausted!
Tumagmom-great your D is thinking about all these things now. There used to be two major hospitals in my city-- they merged, now there is one. That marked a huge shift for all the health care professionals-- not just the nurses- but I think the nurses have borne the brunt of the changes.
3 12 hour days represents full time. Great- who doesn’t want more days off? But no guarantees that your days off are consecutive; no guarantees that your nights/days will jive with your lifestyle; and of course- in some disciplines- surgical and ICU- 12 hour days on your feet, week after week, year after year- it’s just grueling.
So yes- stable job, good salary. But some trade-offs for sure. And my nurse friends- imagine heading to work in the early days of Covid and being given an 95 mask at the beginning of your shift and being told 'Spray it with Lysol a couple of times a day". Is this what they signed on for? No proper equipment as their hospital was setting up field tents in the parking lot to handle the critically ill overflow???
D was in the ICU at the start of the pandemic and was trained in the special isolation unit. She worked 12 hr shifts for 12 of 14 days, while finishing her clinical project for her MSN. Same story as your friends with the masks for a while, but it may be better now. I, too, wonder about the trade-offs and if the pandemic would open eyes as to how nurses are treated or discourage people from pursuing the profession.
Lots of my advisees end up in Social Work because of that strong desire to help people. Our SW department does a great job talking about jobs beyond “caseworker,” and point out that salaries can be very competitive.
We’ve watched a documentary and the news every night when the northeast was slammed and overrun. I would have course corrected and ran completely the opposite direction seeing what our nurses are burdened with. So undervalued.
I want to support her, and encourage her but without rose colored glasses.
I think also the “what do I want to study” versus “what do I wanna be when I grow up” conversations need to align. In so many undergrad departments they can be vague and not always have a 1:1. You study poly sci and now want to work in entry level marketing, no problem. Nursing, not so much.
If money weren’t on the table I think she should teach high school science!!
You might want to look at teacher salaries. They may not start as high, but by mid-career, it’s likely the teachers are out-earning the nurses…and they don’t work overnights.
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