Same here. I haven’t seen it as a requirement for any of the nursing programs that we were looking into.
Queens Univ. of Charlotte [NC] is NOT a direct admit nursing program. I just read through the admission requirements.
Arizona State has minimum requirements for direct admit [GPA 3.5 or higher & SAT 1100 combined math/CR]
I have probably looked at the admission requirements for at least 100 BSN programs. The only 2 schools that I have found that require physics are UConn & Univ. of Iowa. I called the nursing dept. at UConn to ask if the physics requirement is set in stone & I was told it is. Why… I don’t know?? Physics is not needed for nursing - I don’t know why these 2 schools are stuck on a physics requirement. UConn requires chemistry, phyics and algebra. There is no mention of biology as a requirement for admission??? UConn should probably re-assess their nursing admission requirements & get with the program.
Thank you for all your work. Weird. My d is not great with math, so I don’t think Physics would be her cup of tea. So, we will steer clear of those schools. Thank you!
@blueskyforever I have an associates degree (and a BSN, and a Masters) in nursing. I took elements of chemistry and physics in my AAS and had to prove physics for my Bachelors, or take it at Ohio University. My BSN was 8 years ago. You might want to look at the curriculum if physics are a struggle. And yeah, we use it.
And @nancy211005 there is plenty of math in nursing. College algebra is the minimum she’ll need to master. Food for thought.
My background is all math. Physics is a different beast than algebra. If only two programs are requiring it, I’m not worried. Thanks! All my nursing friends at huge hospitals in the north east, 40 year careers, say NO to physics being used, so I guess they just don’t know they’re using it!
This is from Queens University of North Carolina & is typical of many programs listed as Direct Entry but with minimum requirements. As someone else posted, it is best to check each web page.
BSN Direct Admission
Queens offers incoming traditional undergraduate students the option of being directly admitted to the BSN program.
• Eligibility: To be considered for admission, in-coming students must meet all of the following:
• Minimum unweighted high school GPA of 3.5.
• Combined SAT critical reading and mathematics score of 1100 or ACT score of 24 (effective for incoming freshman fall 2015).
• Incoming freshman may not transfer into this program after initial admission.
• Transfer students are not eligible.
• Applicants are automatically screened for eligibility.
• Progression criteria for students who accept BSN Direct Admission:
• You must meet current course requirements of the pre-nursing course plan in 4 semesters.
•Academic Achievement Criteria:
o Maintain cumulative GPA of 3.0.
o Maintain pre-requisite course GPA of 3.0 (excluding Chemistry and English) and earn a grade of C- or better in first attempt at pre-requisite courses.
o At the time of transition to the upper division, meet the current Presbyterian School of Nursing Technical Standards and criteria for enrollment as stated in the PSON Student Handbook. This includes but is not limited to criminal background checks, drug screens, and immunization status.
• Students who do not meet progression requirements may continue with pre-nursing course work but must apply for admission to the upper division through
my daughter said that physics is required at her HS. (public). So maybe the school districts in Iowa or CT also require HS students to take it. I never took physics but figured it only mattered for engineers. I have not seen it on any nursing curriculum.
does anyone know what the larger direct admit schools are? Im finding not many more than 150 seats available so I’m thinking we also have to apply non-direct since some have more seats.
Many states post the RN test rates online, with a list of the percentage pass rates for each institution within their borders. That information also tells you the number of students from each college that took the test. That will give you good information on the size of each class at each college. However, they mix together regular 4 year BSN students plus any students who already have a bachelors who are now doing a RN program. Last time I looked, one of the larger programs in PA. was LaSalle University.
As far as competitiveness, the programs are usually less competitive in states with large numbers of programs. I believe Pennsylvania has more programs than any other state — and almost all are direct entry…
ok thanks. the schools i found in PA were very small, like 4-5K students and those are affordable but she wants a larger school. We are still researching. Villinova sounds great but too much $ and Drexel is in the city which she does not like philliy.
She might want to consider the Univ. of Delaware in Newark, Del. It’s about 45 minutes south of Philly just off Rt. 95. It has about 16K students, has one of the best Nursing Programs on the East coast, and is 10-15K cheaper than Villanova. The freshman Nursing class is composed of about 130-140 students and even though it is a Flagship State University over 2/3rds of the freshman Nursing class is made up of OOS students. Most all the freshman dorms have been recently built and it has one of the most beautiful campuses on the east coast. It might be worth a look.
yes applying to to del. we have family that went there. With all these programs taking anywhere fro just 70-140 (+/-) admits and large numbers applying, I feel like we need to cast a wide net.
@cali60 Have you considered Pitt? The incoming class is not large (110-120), but it is a highly rated/recognized program. My son has already been accepted for next fall.
Keep in mind that some, but not all, public universities reserve a substantial percent of their nursing seats for in-state residents. U. Del. does. Penn State and Pitt do not.
Villanova is known for not offering good financial aid. You can find comparable numbers among colleges for “percentage of financial aid met.” Just keep in mind that for Division I sports universities, the athletes probably take up much of that aid, leaving less for everyone else.
If you google the name of a college and “common data set” you can find data on the amount of need-based aid, merit-based aid and athletic aid offered by each college. Not every college posts that data.
Drexel offers tons of merit based aid. It also is in a pleasant and interesting part of Philly, right next to U. Penn and lots of hospitals and health care uses. It is known as University City. Drexel has been investing heavily in their campus - it is no longer ugly,and the surrounding neighborhoods have greatly improved over the last 15 years.
If you want some mid-sized public universities with good nursing programs, you might look at Indiana University of PA. and West Chester U. West Chester is now up to 14,000 students. They are supposed to be building a building on their main campus for their nursing program - right now it is housed in the south campus. However, I have no idea when it will be built.
@cali60 I have been trying to find the recent PA NCLEX results without any luck. That would tell you how many tested at each SON. Somewhere in the nursing threads there is a link to it. Are you just looking at schools just in PA? Duquesne U. in Pittsburgh takes 150, as does Loyola - Chicago, Michigan & I believe Marquette takes about 130. I have counted 25 direct entry programs in PA. Here in CA, we only have 3 direct admits - so our list of 25 direct admit schools to apply to has been dwindled down to 15 & my dd is only applying to 1 in-state school & the other 14 are in 13 different states.
@paul5705 Thank you for pointing out that Queens Univ does have a direct admit program for those who meet their criteria. I guess I wasn’t reading between the lines & missed that. I just wish there was more transparency & they would give a number figure as to how many direct entry spots there are. UWisconsin - Madison on their website says there are 20-25 Freshmen Direct Admit spots available & the remaining 125 spots are for junior year admit. Also, the Univ. of Utah on their website gives a figure of 10-30 spots for fall 2016 in their Nursing Early Assurance Program for freshmen admit & the rest of the class will be admitted junior year. For fall 2015, they had only10 spots but I am glad ts see it has now increased for fall 2016. Besides reading the admission requirements very carefully, sometimes a phone call to the SON may give more details as to the actual numbers for direct admit entry.
@kandcsmom If a high school does not offer AP Bio or AP Chem then physics would be good to take in addition to bio & chem since most colleges want 3 - 4 years of lab science. Just seems like that the majority of schools want bio, chem, AP bio, AP chem if it is offered by the HS. I guess if a student can handle 2 sciences in a year then they could squeeze in physics but that would be difficult.
@nancy211005 For several months I was looking at the admission requirements for each school of nursing until I stumbled upon College Confidential maybe a year ago & found the list of direct admit BSN programs. Well, I appreciate all the work done by everyone putting that list together. I just wish I had found it sooner - I would have saved so much time - LOL. It has really helped us with our search. Thanks everyone!!!
@blueskyforever My daughter is having a fit about applying to so many schools. she won’t go past 11 and thinks that is too much. Most are direct and some non direct. Wont apply to UPitt but will to Duquesne. Talked to Marquette and they are really expensive as is Univ of MI. Not much aid I hear. Where are you applying? Message me if you like. She is really picky but just going by web search and we will visit once she is accepted. She will not apply at a school under 10K. Feels she won’t be happy though I think it will be for the best.
I spoke to a nursing program in the south (non direct) and they said they get a lot of people trying to transfer in from TX, Georgia, CA because the students were wait listed for nursing…too many people. Not sure if anyone heard this before or how accurate it is.
@charliesch added west chester but she does not like philly and refuses applying to Drexel.
@cali60 Of the 15 direct admit schools my dd is applying to, 9 are large state universities. Even with OOS tuition, they are less money than the privates. Of the 6 privates, 5 are religiously affiliated. If you go back & read the nursing threads for the last 2-3 years, there is mention of highly rated programs such as York College in PA, Bloomsburg in PA, Penn State - main campus, Penn State @ Altoona & others in PA & surrounding states. In NY, Pace & Aldelphi have been mentioned too. How far is your dd willing to travel for school? If you live in PA, you are lucky to have 25 direct admits to choose from - many of which are public & probably over half the direct entry schools are on the east coast. Here in CA, we have 3 direct admit schools for 36 million people. BTW, Arizona State with OOS tuition is extremely reasonable. It is direct admit if GPA 3.5 or higher & SAT is 1100 combined Math/CR. Of the 15 schools my dd choose to apply to, 10 are on the Common App which makes it easier.
I have also looked at quite a few Nursing programs last year definitely not over 100+ @blueskyforever . @cali60
I certainly don’t have any data to back this up but I feel that the minimum SAT 1100 & the min GPA can be misleading in many cases… the minimum won’t cut it unless there are other factors involved or if the schools are accepting lots of students. Ask what the admitted students GPA & SAT scores are.
The minimum can give a false sense of security when compling a list of schools.
We were glad our applications process were over and have admission offers to choose from.
I have a feeling that the direct admit programs or any programs that already admitted a student CAN continue to weed / wash out students through very hard grading scale & very difficult classes. So if a student is not well prepared in high school or in his/her pre-req classes up to entrying the program, they could be faced with lots of difficult materials.
I would also check and ask them how " easy " it is to maintain the grade needed to stay in the program and I wonder if they will tell you how many students drop out after a while.
As of last year, York College of PA was accepting around 100 direct admit freshman for the 4 year BSN program,. and I believe about another 25 for the 4.5 year long program. They started the 4.5 year program so they could have more room to meet the demand, considering clinical scheduling, etc. I was told they have almost no room for BSN transfers.
Here’s the latest pass rates for graduates of PA nursing programs. It also shows you how many students from each program took the exam, which gives you an idea of the size of the program. Many programs had a drop in pass rates a year ago because of changes in the test, which the curriculums did did not immediately catch up to. Keep in mind that some programs are extremely selective in admissions, while others are not - so that affects the pass rates. Also, in some programs, many of the students are older and have years of experience working in health care before they take the test.
Many states post similar lists on their websites.
thanks! Ive called most schools that she will apply to and she is competitive. It really depends what the applicant pool likes like and some schools look at more than grades and tests. York is too small for her and no interest in Penn State. The list will include about 7 direct and 4 non direct as backups but now I wonder if they should be all direct. This is my 3rd to go thru this college process and time is the most difficult process. I wasn’t involved with my other kids.