<p>Hi! I’ve already read through all of these posts and it’s truly just made me more and more excited to apply! I’m going to be a High School Senior. I have a few questions…</p>
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<li><p>My SAT score came out to be 1860. or 1220 on a 1600 scale. (Not as high as I’d like but I did take it 3 times and a class). My weighted GPA is 3.8 and my unweighted is a 3.6. I’ve done cheerleading for 3 years. (2 years JV, 1 year Varsity). Also, at Einstein Hospital in Philadelphia I’ve done a program called Discovery Healthcare last summer. I spent 3 weeks (monday - friday, 9-2) following around doctors and nurses! This summer I returned for Discovery Healthcare II and spent 9 days doing the same thing, however I chose where I wanted to shadow and I was in the ER (I loved it!!). Also, after next year I will have taken all the main sciences (bio, chem, physics) and I’m also taking Honors Anatomy & Physiology next year. In the maths I’ve taken all the courses from pre-algebra to pre-calc, however instead of going into AP calc which I could have done, I’ve decided to take a Statistics course (not AP) instead because that’s in all the nursing school’s curriculum that I’ve seen. If it matters, I’m also taking AP psych next year. Do you think I have a chance of getting in? I know my SAT’s probably arn’t the best. Thanks!</p></li>
<li><p>What made you choose TCNJ nursing? I’d never even heard of TCNJ until my best friend told me she applied, got in, and decided to go there (she’s a year older than me)! I went and took a tour and i fell in LOVE with the campus! What drew you to TCNJ nursing and have your expectations been fulfilled?</p></li>
<li><p>On my tour, the nursing simulation labs were all closed. All the other schools im applying too (Udel, PSU, bloomsburg, west chester, etc.) I’ve been able to go in and tour every single nursing dept. I couldn’t see TCNJ’s but I plan on signing up for a nursing open house this fall. My question is, how are the labs and technology?</p></li>
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<p>Any other tips are helpful! Although this post is kinda old I’m hoping you still check this! Sorry this is so long but thank you SO much!!!</p>
<p>hey i just found out that it is too late for me to take any AP classes, (I haven’t taken any) does this mean I have sabotaged my chances at TCNJ?</p>
<p>@Lindsayc: Hi! Glad to hear you’re considering TCNJ for nursing!! Obviously I’m not in admissions, so I can’t say that you’ll definitely get in or not, but if you ask me it looks like you’ve got a pretty good chance! You’re involved in school, have a great GPA, and took a challenging course load, plus the Discovery Healthcare thing sounds great (wish I could’ve had something like that, sounds awesome!) and taking A&P this year would look good too. I’d say you’re looking good transcript-wise; the only thing I’d recommend would be to bring up your SAT scores, though they’re pretty good already. </p>
<p>Just like you, I had never heard of TCNJ until I started researching schools. For nursing, I chose TCNJ because of its program. I liked how right away you start with medical-related courses, while at other schools your entire first year is just liberal learning like history, math, art, etc. I liked that clinicals start sophomore year, once you’ve got a decent foundation in nursing skills. Other schools I looked at started them junior year or later, which I think is too late. They also have a great NCLEX pass rate. I also chose TCNJ in general for the campus and other basics that you would look for in any school. My expectations have been totally fulfilled, if not exceeded in terms of nursing, so far. As you’ve read in my past responses, I loved almost all of my professors (and those that I didn’t love I still liked) and found the classes to be extremely informative as well as very interesting.</p>
<p>I can’t tell you about the sim labs much, as I only saw them on my tour, but from what I saw they looked great, and were bigger than most others that I saw. Labs and technology were very good, I was impressed, having only experienced the labs in high school.</p>
<p>I don’t have any other tips per se, but feel free to post if you’ve got any more questions, whether they’re nursing related or not! And don’t worry, I still check this, I get an email when there’s a new post :)</p>
<p>@aammww20: As long as you’ve still taken on a challenging course load, like lots of honors classes, I would think that not taking any AP classes wouldn’t totally ruin your chances, though it probably will affect them. Make sure that your SAT scores and GPA are great and get involved in school as well. I can’t really say, since I’m not in admissions, but these are my guesses.</p>
<p>Thank you! You’re very helpful! Also, I know very well that nursing is an extremely rigorous and difficult major. I’m prepared for that. However, just curious do you still find time to be able to go to parties and socialize while balancing school work? Thanks(:</p>
<p>I absolutely was able to balance work with socialization and activities. The major is extremely rigorous, as you know, but I went to workouts 2-3 times a week, hung out with friends most nights, and went to trips or parties on the weekends. As long as you spend most of the day doing your work and studying to get it done, and keep track of what you need to do, you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>Hi! I’m about to enter my first semester at TCNJ as a nursing major. What did you think about your professors? I have Billmers and Uzwiak and I’m really nervous about the courseload and being able to balance everything Also,what did you think about the tutoring options available to you?</p>
<p>Hi TCNJ2794! Welcome to TCNJ Nursing! 
I honestly have really loved my professors at tcnj so far. Those two especially make class interesting, and I don’t think I’ve ever learned as much as I have from the two of them. All the professors are very welcoming and helpful. I always felt comfortable asking questions or going up to them for help. They are very friendly and want you to succeed. In terms of balancing everything, it’s entirely possible, but you MUST be proactive in your work. Read my posts from before, you’ll find many more details about what kind of work to expect and how to balance it. </p>
<p>The tutoring program is also a really great resource. I was a tutor my sophomore year, and from the feedback I got I was told that it really helped. Many students that have A’s in the course still go for tutoring every week not because they need help, but because it just gives them an extra hour a week to go over the material, ask questions, and familiarize themselves with the terms and concepts. I think that the tutoring program is also really good because the tutors are the former students of that course and professor, and they can tell you helpful ways to study, what to expect for exams, an things like that that only a previous student would be able to tell you. Plus, it’s free!</p>
<p>ah thank you! I feel a little less nervous now :)</p>
<p>Is the major impossible? How do professors grade? Is it possible to get a lot of A’s in classes if you are determined? What factors go into your final grades (hw, tests, etc) and how much does each factor relatively weigh in? Also, do you have classes with other majors, or just with nursing majors? Can you minor if you are majoring in nursing? Sorry I’m asking so many questions lol!</p>
<p>Haha no problem, ask as many questions as you’d like!
Just as an update I’m now a junior in the nursing program- no longer a freshman for those who are reading! </p>
<pre><code>The major is definitely not impossible, there’s usually about 60-70 graduates per year, though I will say that there are some nursing students that fail and decide to change majors. However, you can absolutely still get all A’s (though you must be VERY dedicated, and even then you can’t always expect an A) and have a social life at the same time. It’s all about balancing the workload.
The factors of your grades vary by class, but most classes consist of exams, quizzes, papers and presentations. They are all weighted differently depending on the class and professor.
All of your nursing classes (the vast majority of your classes) will be just with nursing majors. At TCNJ, you’re required to take certain liberal learning courses (like history, art, etc.) and in those classes you will have students of other majors.
Yes, you can minor if you are a nursing major, though I would strongly advise you to figure out what you want to do and what classes you would need ASAP. It can be extremely difficult, depending on the minor. I am minoring in Spanish right now and the requirements can be very difficult to achieve with the nursing schedule. Meet with your advisor or someone that could help you figure out your schedule from freshman to senior year; it’s very important to plan it out ahead of time. But I would definitely encourage it!
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<p>Hey bmwmed19, I just ran into this thread today on this website and gosh you offered a lot of great insight into the nursing program at TCNJ! Personally, I’m interested since I’m currently a sophomore at Rutgers, but I’m looking to possibly transfer out into other schools in NJ with nursing programs and one of the schools I applied to was TCNJ. I guess I’m just posting a reply here because I have some general questions about nursing transfer students. You said that your class size is somewhere between 60-70 students - do you know if a lot or any of them are transfers? Do you personally know any transfers? If you do, do you know if they’re generally held back a year since they haven’t taken a lot of prereqs? Thanks, any response would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Hi ajanchetax! Glad to hear that the thread helped you! 
I do know of a few transfer students from other schools. There are definitely a couple in each year. I don’t know them more than by name, but that’s probably just because I didn’t have classes with them before they transferred here and they aren’t in my clinical group now. Those that are in their clinical group probably know them very well in and out of clinical. If you’re worried about transferring in and then not having nursing friends or fitting in, I would not worry about that at all. It’s a close-knit, yet very welcoming and friendly group. Everyone gets to know each other pretty well.
To be honest I have no idea how the transfers work, I’m not sure if they’d be held back. It probably varies by school program, since each school has a different course load. I’d imagine that you might be held back a year because I doubt that every class would transfer to fulfill our requirements, but I really can’t say. Sorry I can’t help you more there!</p>
<p>Thanks so much bmwmed19! You are really helpful!</p>
<p>bmwmed19, wow thanks for the quick response! That sounds very comforting that you guys are very welcoming to transfers By any chance, would you happen to have an estimate as to how many transfers are part of your graduating class now? Decisions come out in a couple of days, but I guess I’m just trying to gauge my chances of getting in lol. But thanks for all the info, and hopefully I’ll be finding out in a few days that I got accepted to TCNJ nursing!</p>
<p>If I had to guess, I’d say there are 5-7 transfers from other schools in my graduating class. That’s a total guess though and I could be wrong. But there’s definitely a few. Good luck, I hope you get in! Let me know if you have any other questions, nursing related or not!</p>
<p>bmwmed19, what science courses did you take in high school? Were they AP or honors, and if you don’t mind my asking, how did you do in them? I want to take Anatomy/Physiology and Microbiology next year (college prep level), but my guidance counselor and my mother are pushing me to take AP Bio. I have taken Honors Bio, honors chem, and am currently in honors physics and AP chem. Do you think that just taking CP-level science electives would hurt my chances at getting into nursing?</p>
<p>I took accelerated (not honors) biology and chemistry, vertebrae anatomy honors, and human anatomy honors (AP was not offered for those last two). I did not take physics. I got high As in all of them. You mean your high school offers Anatomy/ Physiology and Microbiology? That would be great; I would take those so you will be more prepared freshman year.
I can’t say if taking CP-level science electives would hurt your chances, because TCNJ will also look at many of your other stats as well: not only what classes you took and how difficult they are, but your GPA, SATs, involvement, etc. So as long as everything else (especially GPA and SATs) are looking really good for you, I’d say don’t worry about it. But again, I’m not in admissions and couldn’t really say. But consider that I did not take any AP science courses.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info (: Also, how are your clinical experiences going? Are the professors very helpful?</p>
<p>My clinical experiences have been going very well! It is important to have all the experience in the hospital. As a sophomore it definitely starts out rough but I think that everyone feels that way because at first you don’t have enough education to know what you’re doing; providing nursing care is something that takes years to develop and get right and it will be scary at first. But it absolutely gets better and now I (almost!) look forward to it.
Your experience will also depend on your clinical instructor; some students absolutely love theirs and some don’t- again, something I’d imagine every school has. I would definitely say though that all of the professors are very helpful, you can ask them for help or any questions you have.</p>