help me add schools to my college list nursing

College Majors Nursing Major
1

Hi everyone!

I’m an incoming senior researching schools. I’m applying as a nursing major.

Stats:
old SAT: 1990 total - 670 CR, 690 M, 630 W
GPA: 3.8 uw/4.00 (I calculated this, my school does not calculate out of 4) I’m an IB candidate.
ECs: volunteering at animal shelter, hospital, art classes; violin; school newspaper

I’m from California and there’s not a lot of direct entry program that are not as competitive.
Could you please take a look at my list of schools I plan to apply to below and suggest any changes?
Any schools I should check out?
And do you know which schools on this list have good merit aid?
And anything else you have learned from experience applying?

REACH

UCLA
UC Irvine
McGill University
Case Western Reserve University, OH

MATCH

Seattle University
Miami University, OH
USF
University of Pittsburgh
University of Texas, Austin
Rutgers University, New Brunswick
McMaster University, Ontario
University of Alberta

SAFETY

Duquesne University, PA
University of Scranton, PA
Saint Louis University

Thank you!!! :slight_smile:

2

And which schools do clinicals near the school? I tried to find schools in cities so that I wouldn’t have to commute far for clinicals? Which schools are close enough to be able to rely on public transport?

I’m also not sure about co-op programs, because I rather not stay there during summer breaks.

3

I’d try looking into Dominican U in California. I believe they have a direct-entry program, but I am not 100% sure. I know that you’ll get quite a bit of money because of your grades and test scores. Also look into APU, which I also think is a direct-entry, but again I’m not 100% sure. Here is the link to their merit aid chart: http://www.apu.edu/onestop/finances/aid/academic/ I believe you’d be eligible for the Dean’s scholarship which is $16,000 a year for 4 years.

4

I think Canadian colleges use the same nursing certification exam as the US colleges, but I would look into that, and see if there are any downsides to a Canadian nursing school.

I only looked into northeastern US programs.

From what I have read, Rutgers-New Brunswick is probably a reach for most people, particularly out of state students, because their demand is so much higher than their number of seats. There are not many nursing programs in NJ.

Other people on this site have had good things to say about Duquesne and U. Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is full of health care facilities, so I imagine you could reach clinicals by public transit or carpooling. Pittsburgh is a great place to go to college, and the cost of living is low. I imagine you could probably get affordable flights from there to California.

Check for air fare rates from various cities during holidays when you would want to come home, when they go up in price.

There are two or three hospitals within close proximity to U. of Scranton, plus a rehab hospital a few miles away. U. of Scranton has spent a great deal of money upgrading their buildings and their campus. However, it is not really a fun city for young people.

Case Western might be more of a match than a reach.

Other people have reported that Duquesne, Case Western and U. of Scranton all provide significant merit aid.

I just imagine Alberta to be really really cold and dark during the winter months. Some northern cities literally have fewer hours of daylight during the winter. That can really get depressing by March, when spring is still far away.

You might also check out public universities in Arizona and Utah, which are often affordable out of state. There are some agreements that may reduce public university oos tuition in some western states for California residents.

5

McGill is English language but it is in Montreal, where many people primarily speak French. It may be a bit of a barrier dealing with some people if you don’t know French.

6

Miami University Ohio’s nursing program is very competative and I don’t believe it is on the main campus–it may be at the branch. If Ohio interests you look at Otterbein University and Capital University. Both direct entry. D16 will be a freshman @Otterbein in the fall, I got my MSN there and was adjunct faculty there as well

7

@uclahopefull I added APU to my list! I researched Dominican University; it is not direct entry.

@Charliesch Thanks for your detailed answer! The reason that I’m looking at Canadian schools is because I’m a Canadian/American dual citizen, so the tuition is a lot lower. I believe that the RN exams are not too different. From what I have read, McGill is the most internationally recognized and many graduates move outside of Canada, so I was hoping it will prepare me for the american NCLEX.

@kandcsmom Thank you for the information! I’m not familiar with Ohio, I read that Miami University Ohio’s nursing program is at the Middletown or Hamilton campus. Do you know anything about the environments of these cities? I have been having a hard time finding specific information about the ease of transportation and the surroundings of various schools.

8

I think you have put together a well thought out list with not too many reach schools. I have a few suggestions:
First, I just looked at the Miami U. of Ohio website. I do not see where they offer nursing as a major, unless I am missing something. Are there any direct admit nursing programs in Vancouver, which would be an easy commute to CA? You may want to talk to the Board of Registered Nursing in Sacramento about taking the RN NCLEX in CA after graduating from a Canadian college to see if there are any requirements necessary to qualify to take the exam in the U.S. that a Canadian nursing education does not provide or would you have to take the RN exam in Canada & then apply for reciprocity in the state you are interested in practicing in? You may want to look at Texas Christian U. - with merit aid it may be more affordable than UTexas - Austin & easier to gain admittance. Recruiters from the Univ. of Delaware & the Univ. of New Hampshire came to CA last fall & my daughter interviewed with them. They were both very interested in recruiting CA students. Since their in-state populations are small then they take alot of OOS students as does the UVermont & UMaine. All of these schools provided excellent merit to my daughter. I would probably take Rutgers off the list since there would be too many in-state applicants for a limited number of placements. Take a look at Gonzaga & Creighton also - good merit. Creighton, Saint Louis, UTexas - Austin, UCLA, UC Irvine, CWRU, & Pitt have their hospitals either on or adjacent to their campuses. Simmons in Boston is a little gem with high NCLEX passing rates & walking distance to the Harvard affiliated hospitals- they give good merit. Downside to some is that it is an all womens’ college but it is in the heart of Boston among 250,000 college students so it would be easy to meet students from neighboring colleges. Duquesne uses UPitt hospitals for clinicals - about 10-20 minutes away. Seattle U. is close by the U. Washington affiliated hospital. Univ. of Portand would probably give you alot of merit but hospitals are 20 - 30 minutes away. The Catholic colleges were all very generous with merit aid for my daughter as were the smaller population state schools looking for OOS students. SLU recruiter is very active in CA - try to get as many interviews as possible with the recruiters. CA students are in demand if you are willing to go OOS & there is alot of merit available.

9

@1bostonterrier My S16 will be entering the nursing program at Pitt this fall. The clinical locations are either within walking distance or a short bus ride away. Pitt students have free transportation on the public buses with their ID.

Pitt has rolling admissions and the application is open now. Apply early. My S knew he was accepted in September for this fall. Good luck!

10

In Philly there are many colleges that fit your stats. TempleU,Holy Family, Widener all have good programs and all have access to teaching hospitals

11

@blueskyforever Thank you for your detailed response! This is where I found the nursing program at Miami University Ohio:
http://www.units.miamioh.edu/reg/bulletins/generalbulletin2012-2013/nursing–bachelor-of-science-in-nursing.htm
The process seems complicated because I would have to separately apply to the nursing program after I am accepted to the university. I will read up on the Canadian schools and the NCLEX. Vancouver was my first choice in Canada because of its closeness to CA and the weather, but the only school I looked at was UBC which does not have a direct entry program. I appreciate your very informative response because I’m lost in this process. Nobody in my school has recently majored in nursing and I don’t know any nursing students. Where did your daughter decide to go for nursing school?

12

@RyanG1207 Yes, I started the UPitts application today. Why did your son choose to go there?

@fleishmo6 There are so many universities with nursing programs in PA! I will look into those.

13

@1bostonterrier My son chose to go to Pitt because of the strength and reputation of their program, the high number of clinical hours (~1300 clinical hours), and the urban location. He also wanted to be in a city that was walkable, affordable, had a good public transportation system, museums and opportunities for outdoor activities (green space, rivers, etc).

I should add that you can visit both Pitt and Duquesne since they are both in Pittsburgh. Duquesne does provide merit aid.