Help Choosing a College!

College Search & Selection
1

I need help choosing a college!
I got accepted to:
CSU Fullerton’s direct admit nursing program,
San Diego State University’s direct admit nursing program,
and CSU San Bernardino’s non-direct admit pre-nursing program with a full-ride scholarship!

I don’t qualify for any financial aid so the full-ride would be amazing, but their program isn’t a direct admit so I risk not getting into their nursing program!

Is it worth the financial debt to have a guaranteed spot in a nursing program? Or should I risk it and go to CSUSB on the full-ride?

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Is it a full ride or full tuition?

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Full Ride
"a tuition scholarship of $6,900 per year for four years of study at CSUSB. Additionally, PAES Scholars receive the following:

· An annual $1,500 stipend for books and other school-related expenses;

· A one-time award of $7,664 for on-campus housing on the Residential Honors Scholars floor of Coyote Village during the first year;

· A one-time award of $3,000 for a full meal plan for the year of housing; and

· A one-time $1,000 stipend for an internship done in the summer after the junior year."

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A total of $45,264

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Congratulations on your acceptances.

What are the requirements to get into CSU Bern’s nursing program? If you meet the requirements is that automatic entry, or is it competitive (not everyone who meets the criteria gets in)? How many students successfully make the transition?

Looks like it’s a full ride for the first year, then full tuition thereafter. Still great, but make sure to use the correct numbers when doing the analysis.

You say you don’t qualify for FA, but would CSU-F and SDSU be affordable? I also lean toward accepting one of the direct admits…pending the answers to the above questions.

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Wow that is a hard decision. I would have said definitely San Diego State is the best option of those 3, but then I saw everything San Bernardino is offering. Have you looked at both schools. They are in very different places. SDSU is near the beach, the other 2 are not. Personally I would say skip Fullerton when you have those other 2 options. You really have to weigh how much debt you would have and if that is most important to you.

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What’s your parents’ budget?
How much would SDSU cost?

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CSUSB pre-nursing to nursing admissions. Note the 3.5 college GPA requirement to apply.
https://www.csusb.edu/nursing/prospective-students/admissions-process/bsn-admissions

SDSU nursing information is here. It is not obvious what college GPA requirements there are to stay in the program, so contact the department directly on that.
https://nursing.sdsu.edu/programs/bs-in-nursing/curriculum/entering-freshman-curriculum/

CSU Fullerton lists college GPA and grade requirements to stay in the nursing major:
http://nursing.fullerton.edu/programs/elfreshmen/curriculum.php

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According to the SDSU Course Catalog, you need the following:

  1. B- (2.7) or better for all biology courses, C or above for all others. These courses cannot be taken for credit/no credit (Cr/NC). The grades for Biology 211 and 211L must average B-. Students may not proceed to Biology 212 if they receive a C- in either Biology 211 or 211L regardless of the average of the two;
  2. Have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or better in the nursing major
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Just to clarify: SDSU is 20 minutes (in good traffic) via Interstate 8 and subsequently Interstate 5. It is not on the beach. It is really a nice campus. There is a hospital just east of campus housing on Alvarado Road and there is another hospital within 5 miles heading east.
Fullerton has a range of clinical experiences given the area that it’s near.

San Bernardino is inland from the coast. The weather tends to be warmer in that valley area.

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If it were my kid I would pay the difference and do the direct admit. That being said, I don’t know your financial situation. I would go for SDSU for a fuller college experience. Just remember to stay focused and what you are there for. Fullerton is a great school but an admit to SDSU nursing is no joke. I would take advantage of that.

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12

It’s competitive to get in and my family would struggle but get by paying for SDSU

13

Thanks everyone, I think that I’m going to do to CSUSB. My mom and I toured all the campuses and it seems like the best option- I’ll risk not getting into the program but financially it’s probably best for us.

I got a lot of input from manu different opinions that are really good to think about

Thanks everyone in this topic!