I don’t think Western CT is Direct…
@bmcmom I understand that IUP may be farther than your daughter wants to go. I guess I saw that your daughter’s list included JMU and thought that IUP wouldn’t be farther than JMU. As you most likely realize, JMU’s nursing program isn’t direct entry.
thank you @kidzncatz - i smiled when I read your latest post, because the wild card here is the mind of a seventeen year-old. She has friends at JMU, but since applying has become more focused on going to school closer to home. So our recent additions to her list have been closer. She is applying to some schools that are direct entry, some that aren’t, and some that don’t even have nursing. This is going to be quite a process to see where she gets in, then go for visits and see how her thoughts evolve. Thank you @ECmotherx2 - we are looking into western CT, it seems like a heavily commuter school which right now is also not high on the list for my daughter.
@djzluck if you are willing, would be great to know where else your daughter applied and if she gets in to bloomsburg! Good luck!
My oldest daughter is currently a non-nursing major at JMU. At JMU, you apply to begin their nursing program junior year.
I’m not sure what percentage currently get in, but I have heard numbers ranging from 50-65%. She reports that the pre-nursing majors are completely stressed that they won’t be admitted. She said that some who aren’t admitted end up at small Eastern Mennonite University, which is right in Harrisonburg, VA with JMU. They do their clinicals in the same places at the JMU students.
So, if you go to a non-direct admit, look at what smallers schools are in the same location as the larger/more competitive ones, and give them a try. (For example, Drexel probably does clinicals in the same places at U of Penn, because they are blocks from each other, but Drexel is far easier to get into)
@bmcmom Our daughter also applied to Misericordia University and King’s College. Both schools are about 15 minutes apart, with Misericordia in Dallas, PA, King’s is in downtown Wilkes-Barre, and both are direct admits for Nursing. We spent a weekend doing open houses at both schools last month and she left in love with Misericordia. Misericordia’s Nursing Director said they accept about 60 for a class of 50 nursing students.
King’s College has a brand new 1-2-1 Dual Degree program with Luzerne County Community College where students spend their Freshman and Senior years at King’s and their Sophomore and Junior years at LCCC. They’d be enrolled at King’s all four years and stay on King’s campus (if not commuters), but take a shuttle to LCCC for their Nursing classes. One benefit of the program is that they’ll take the NCLEX at the end of their Junior year and could start working as an RN the summer before Senior year, which would basically be a year of RN-to-BSN classes. King’s Nursing Director explained that right now they only have 25 seats at LCCC but are trying for more.
We’re happy to report that our daughter was accepted to both schools! We’re still waiting to hear back from Bloomsburg, though…I’m employed there and REALLY hoping to take advantage of our free tuition benefit!
Community College of Philadelphia has a very highly-ranked nursing program and may have dual admission agreements with Drexel nursing (they do for other degrees). I have been told it is very, very competitive, though, to get into as well. If your daughter struggles with standardized testing, have her take the Accuplacer practice test to make sure she can test into basic classes before she tries for a community college transfer program just so she knows ahead of time what she has to study since she won’t be able to avoid that test.
Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA. Highly regarded nursing program. Excellent merit aid.
My niece got a nursing degree by going to a community college for two years, applying to that community college’s nursing school (which was very competitive) and successfully completing the program in the standard two year period. Upon graduation, she had three job offers to choose from.
So, if you don’t have a great GPA or SAT score and don’t think you will get in to the major universities, or want to reduce costs, a community college could be a viable and much less expensive solution.