@Charliesch Thanks for sharing that list!
@cali60 for non-direct pre-nursing programs, look to see if they offer Guaranteed Admission, usually has a seperate form to fill out & with an earlier deadline than their regular admission deadline
A schoolâs NCLEX score is important to be aware of when applying to any Nursing Program but it is important to keep in mind that the scores reported are for first time takers of the exam. Many students, and I suspect most, are able to pass the exam after taking it again (so it is not âpass it for the first time or bustâ).
Another thing related to this issue is that there is an exam that is given at most all Nursing Programs to 4th year BSN Nursing students called the HESI exam. It is a pre-NCLEX exam which gives a student the percentage odds they will pass the NCLEX exam and also identifies areas where they are weak. This exam is used by most schools to help students prepare for the exam but there are some programs that require students to score high enough on the HESI exam before the student will be given their Nursing degree (and without the Nursing degree you are not eligible to take the NCLEX exam, so you canât get a Nursing license, and its 4 years of college for Nursing down the drain). Most schools who do this give students at least several attempts to score high enough to meet their identified requirement. If not I understand students are given a bachelors degree with some other health care designation but it is not a Nursing degree. I would recommend that when applying to Nursing Programs that you find out if the Program does this (I have never seen this advertised with any schoolâs program description). It appears these schools do this to ensure high NCLEX scores to elevate their status.
Good luck to everyone applying.
^^ about the HESI exam
for ex: the program one of my D is in required them to take the HESI every semester to prepare them ahead of time.
I think I heard that Drexel does this: HESI exam with stated minimum grade, or you are out at the end of your nursing degree.
@flowermom thanks for the tip
I found a few 2+2 programs that donât just evaluate you on GPA to move up but also require you to take the HESI and use that score w/gpa from pre nursing in determining if yu can move to the upper div of nursing. They felt is more fair than GPA alone.
cali60:
The HESI exam you are referring to is not the same exam as that given to 4th year Nursing students. There is a separate HESI Nursing Program Entrance Exam which is the one used by the 2+2 Programs.
@blueskyforever D16âs school doesnât have AP chem or bio, but she has taken honors bio, honors chem and honors O-chem and is taking physics and anatomy with cat dissection lab this year. She hated foreign language so she only has 2 years of spanish. Sheâs taking psych 1 and 2 this year too (semester for each)
Yes, Iâd be suspicious of a school that has a 100% first time pass rate, particularly if they have many graduates. As noted above, ask whether they let everyone take the RN exam, or whether they find a way to kick out the people who might only pass on the 2nd or 3rd try.
After they had one year of lower pass rates, my daughterâs program has placed a greater emphasis on prep and practice testing for the RN exam. However, they donât kick people out of the program if they donât score well on those practice tests.
@CHARLIESCH what school is your daughter at for nursing? and why did she go with that one?
Im finding most schools say if you donât maintain a 3.0 then you are kicked out. And if you are in 2+2 then you are better to have really high gpa to advance . some also require tests, interviews (one having students make a video), âŠto bad there are not more educators to take care of this shortage. Im sure there are wonderful students that could have made great nurses.
York College of PA.
Yes, nursing programs do have minimum requirements to stay in the program. One of the nice things about York College is that if a student needs to repeat a required course, they can fall back into the 4.5 year schedule.
I know nursing students need to do well academically to stay in the program, but I donât believe they all have a specific 3.0 cutoff.
Nursing is a difficult and time consuming major at any college. Therefore, there is something to be said about selecting a college where your non-science and non-nursing classes will not be overly competitive. Many of my daughterâs general requirement classes were not that difficult, which made it possible for her to concentrate her attention on her demanding science and nursing classes. During one semester, she had two demanding science classes that each had labs, but she had a liberal arts class that was really easy. York also allows you to take online non-nursing community college classes during the summer, which allows a student to lighten up their schedule during the school year. That is important because they require 128 credits.
@charliesch Sounds good and something to take into consideration. If you are from PA, is your daughter going home on wkends? We our out of state, and I was told most kids are from PA and donât stay there much on the wkend.
We live a couple hours away. My daughter only comes home on breaks. York College has a large number of students from Maryland and NJ.
my daughter is a high school junior with a 3.2 gpa and will probably graduate with a 3.3 or 3.4 gpa. She has taken several honors courses. What direct admit nursing schools would be her best chance for acceptance? Preferably with 8 hours of NJ.
@NDSdad the most current list is on page 17 of this thread
thanks, just wondering which ones might be her best options for acceptance with her current grades and scores?
Nursing admit is always tough especially for direct admit. It may say you need a 1500 SAT but there may be more 1500 SATs than seats. Seats should be limited in a good program. I am a Nurse Practitioner and my D16 has been accepted into a direct admit seat in my state. My advise to you is to print out the list, figure out what you can afford thatâs within your travel radius, and see what the criteria is.
There is an unusually large numbers of direct admit programs within the eastern half of PA, which you will see on the list. Many of the private colleges offer merit or need-based aid, so donât be too limited by the tuition sticker price, but make sure you have some in-state public options. Apply to a range of reaches, matches and safeties. My daughter applied to 10 schools - including some last minute safeties I added out of fear. While it may cost $60 to apply to another college (including sending test scores), you may end up saving thousands of dollars in tuition from that choice. It is good to apply to multiple schools to compare net prices too, and because a studentâs preferences may change between September and April.
My understanding is that Rutgers and CNJ are very competitive for nursing admissions, so you need to look out of state too.
Every nursing applicant should take both the SAT and the ACT. Many nursing students do better on the ACT because it has a substantial science section but less emphasis on math than the SAT. In addition to admissions, these test scores can make a big difference in merit aid, so it is worth taking a test more than once.
In eastern PA, Iâd suggest looking at West Chester U., Bloomsburg U., Misericordia U., York College, among others. If you are willing to consider Pittsburgh, many people on this site have had good things to say about Duquesne U. Penn State has nursing programs in State College and Altoona, and they surprisingly do not give any admissions preference to PA. residents.
thanks, appreciate the helpâŠsheâs got her heart set on WVU Nursing and I was extremely surprised at the Nursing school requirements compared to the rest of the school.
@NDSdad Iâm a senior, and I have similar stats to what youâre predicting your daughter will have; a 3.3/4 GPA and a 24 ACT. I got into Duquesne with a 17k scholarship(itâs a medium sized private school in Pittsburgh, a great town for nursing and a great town for college students). I got into York with a 6k scholarship (itâs a relatively inexpensive private school in PA, about 3 hours from north jersey) and University of Massachusettes at Lowell and Iâm waiting for scholarship info (urban area in Massachusettes. Very diverse.)
Hopefully your daughter tests higher than I did and is eligible to apply to more âup thereâ schools like UMass Amherst, West Chester, etc. I totally recommend Duquesne no matter what her scores are, the nursing lab is really nice and the area /campus is gorgeous. The important thing to remember is that a BSN is a BSN no matter where she goes, and should go where sheâll feel safe, happy, and spend as little money as possible 