My head's spinning!

College Majors Nursing Major
1

<p>I'm a junior right now, and I know I want to go into nursing. But I'm freaking out a little because I'm looking at a bunch of different programs and trying to factor in all kinds of different things and I haven't even taken my ACTs or SATs yet. (Going to take them in the next couple of months... which is probably a big reason why I'm so stressed!) Can anybody help me?</p>

<p>My parents don't have a whole lot of money, so I'm mainly looking at public colleges (although out-of-state public schools sometimes aren't that much less expensive than private schools) with good scholarships and financial aid. I'm lucky in that I live in Colorado because I've heard that Denver's nursing program is one of the best, so if I can get in, that'll cost me relatively little. But the question is, can I get in? (Not really sure how selective is selective, plus I'm a white female, so that probably makes it a little harder because there's already so many of us in nursing.) And somewhere on that list of priorities is gay-friendliness. It doesn't have to be like an NYU "everybody's gay!" thing, I just don't want to have to worry about getting beaten up/shunned on top of everything else. So basically I'm looking for a strong nursing program that I could conceivably get into and doesn't cost an arm and a leg and also is nice to lesbians. Ow, my achy-breaky head.</p>

<p>My GPA right now is 3.7 (weighted). I've taken 8 honors classes (three in science, three in English, two in Social Studies) and while I haven't taken any APs yet (I know, I know - heresy), I'm on track to take AP English Lit and AP Biology next year. Also next year, I'm planning to take a human anatomy and physiology course if that counts for anything. I go to a very good public school, I'm involved in three clubs (none of them medical in nature, though) and have volunteered at a local hospital and also an animal shelter. </p>

<p>Here are the programs I'm looking at:
University of Colorado-Denver
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Washington
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
University of Illinois-Chicago
University of Texas-Austin
University of Iowa
Michigan State University
Ohio State University</p>

<p>Anything you could tell me about those programs - or other programs that might fit me - would be AWESOME. Thank you for reading my novel. Off I go to cram some more.</p>

2

<p>I’ve been looking around at nursing schools too! I’m a senior, but I’m thinking of taking a gap year and applying to nursing schools in the fall (I already applied to regular schools, but I just realized I want to go into nursing). </p>

<p>What I’ve noticed so far (though my advice should be taken with a grain of salt. I really don’t know much – this is just what I’ve read / heard. Hopefully some other CCers who have actually applied to nursing school can offer you more constructive advice). </p>

<p>1st thing to check: are these programs direct entry? Unless it’s in-state, you don’t want to apply to nursing school, get in, go for two years and fulfill the requirements, have to apply again, and then get rejected. That’s stressful.
There’s a master-list of direct entry programs in the forum, a couple of threads down. Look through that and see if any schools interest you.</p>

<p>2nd: Two schools to thinking about adding (simply because I really like them): Case Western – it’s private, but they offer a lot of merit scholarships to nursing students (plus they have a cool program where you get to do a lot more clinical hours). U Pitt – pretty reasonable out of state and a really great nursing school. Plus they also give a fair amount of merit scholarships. Also another point to think about, if you’re looking for NEED-BASED aid (calculate your EFC sometime this spring/summer), private schools actually tend to give more because they have larger endowments. But not always – so apply to a wide variety of schools. Have a discussion with your parents about how much money they’re willing to pay/ take out in loans for college BEFORE you apply. </p>

<p>3rd: a lot of these schools are early action / rolling. Apply to the schools that have EA, EA if you can. And apply to the rolling ones AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. Then you’re more likely to get accepted. Plus, you’ll hear sooner, so you won’t have to deal with the long wait. (Do your applications this summer if you can). </p>

<p>4th: You’ll definitely have a leg up getting into Denver because you live in-state, and it’s usually easier to get into your own state school than another out of state. How big is the nursing program? I know that in my state, MA, it’s pretty selective (only 50 students). </p>

<p>5th: Beef up your health-related ECs if you can. What are you doing this summer? If you can, try to volunteer at the hospital a few hours a week, or do another health-related activity.</p>

<p>6th: I really don’t know much about gay-friendliness in nursing schools… I’m interested in that too, so please let me know what you hear (go lesbian nurses!). I know Simmons (in Boston) has a great nursing school and is really lesbian friendly (I have a lot of queer friends there and a couple friends in the nursing program and they love it) BUT it’s private and I don’t think they offer a lot of merit money. I think they’re really good with need based aid though. </p>

<p>GOOD LUCK! You’ll be fine. Don’t stress. Just keep researching and try to stay on top of things – you’re already five steps ahead of most everyone else, you know what you want to do, and you’re already looking at schools this early during your junior year. You’re totally on the right track! Just keep on going!</p>

3

<p>Thanks for all the advice! </p>

<ol>
<li><p>I checked the master list thread… only one of the schools, according to the list, is direct entry (University of Michigan). :::facesmack::: I had no idea that nursing programs could be anything <em>but</em> direct entry. (I literally just started looking at schools, like, a week ago. So I’m not really <em>that</em> far ahead of everyone else.) I guess I’m back to square one then. The good news, though, is that Michigan was already shaping up to be my favorite. So I get to keep investigating that one.</p></li>
<li><p>I’ll definitely check out Case Western and Pitt, and a bunch of the other schools on that master list. Again, thanks for that. I really should learn to read before posting. But I thought I had a nice big list of schools. <em>sigh</em></p></li>
<li><p>Not sure how big the program is, but I’ve heard it’s “very selective” - whatever that means.</p></li>
<li><p>Definitely gotta do that. I was thinking of seeing if I could get a summer job at a hospital - then I’d have more health experience <em>and</em> make a little money.</p></li>
<li><p>I’ll check out Simmons for sure. I know my parents have ~$10k set aside for my college education. That would almost completely pay for four years at UC Colorado Springs (as if I wanted to go there, but just sayin’). Out-of-state is way more expensive, and it looks like out-of-state is what it’s gonna be. So I’ll have to look at need-based aid. I don’t think I’ll be able to stash away $30k+ in the next year or so. Oh, and anything I hear about gay-friendly nursing schools, I’ll definitely come back and post it here!</p></li>
</ol>

4

<p>Colorado’s public colleges have a number of nursing programs that aren’t direct entry, but they are very, very inexpensive. It would be worthwhile to investigate each of them to learn about the chances for getting into the BSN program and what is required. A number of Colorado community colleges also offer RN programs.</p>

5

<p>Sorry if I confused you, but if you can go to a college IN-STATE and it’s that much cheaper, do! college is expensive and a degree in nursing can really get you anywhere, it doesn’t matter what school you went to undergrad. IMHO if it’s in-state, but not direct entry, definitely still apply. Apply to a couple in-state if they’re good and they exist for that matter. And for the OOS schools, I would only apply to direct-entry programs, but if you get in, in-state (and you don’t get insane $ from elsewhere) go! It’s probably worth the stress to save that much $. You should check out the acceptance rates into the nursing program after the first two years though.</p>

<p>Apply often. You’ll be surprised at what you might get, $-wise! And find an aid calculator and calculate your EFC with your parents, trying to fill in as many actual numbers as possible. This will let you know around what colleges expect you to pay and give you a better idea of what places to look at / consider.</p>

<p>GOOD LUCK… and keep us posted. I <em>might</em> be applying to nursing schools with you in the fall, depending on how things pan out for me…</p>

6

<p>Also, the “direct-entry” list isn’t by any means complete. Check out the web site for each school you’re interested in and you should be able to figure that out. Then, if it is direct-entry, please add it to the list!</p>

<p>I would assume most schools would be lesbian friendly ( and really, should just be not interested in anyone’s private life ), but I might worry about Catholic schools because of the Vatican’s official stance.</p>

7

<p>If you want to apply to direct entry nursing programs, I would also suggest that you submit more applications than you think you’ll need. You won’t be able to rely on the GPA and SAT numbers that the universities publish when figuring out which schools are a match, since the nursing programs are going to be even more selective. After all, most of them are limited to small entering classes. If a school says its average GPA is a 3.0 and SATs are a 1000, for example, their nursing program’s average GPA may be a 3.5 and its average SATs a 1300. Some of the nursing schools will tell you their average stats, but some of them will not. Sme of them will tell you how many applications they get for each spot. The only one I remember right now is Duquesne, which told us at an open house that they receive almost 700 applications each year for their 100 spots.</p>

<p>Also…keep checking the schools throughout the application process, and be flexible. One of D’s top schools had been a 2+2 program that had offered a nursing program guarantee as long as prenursing students maintained a required GPA. It recently elmininated the guarantee and went to a straight 2+2.</p>

8

<p>Thanks for the advice, everyone! Neonzeus, I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Now I have a couple more questions:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>What are the drawbacks/benefits of doing RN-to-BSN vs. a BSN? On a totally selfish level, I kind of don’t want to do that because I want The College Experience: living away from home in a dorm with a bunch of other college students, meeting new people, going to games with them, all that stuff. So just because of that, I’d rather not start out at community college unless there’s definitely no other way to get money for college. (And yes, catsrule, my parents are going to be calculating my EFC with me tonight!) But in terms of how good an education you get and how good it looks on your resume, is there a big difference?</p></li>
<li><p>How risky is it to go to a school for a BSN program that isn’t direct-entry? What do the students who don’t get in do?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>“I would assume most schools would be lesbian friendly ( and really, should just be not interested in anyone’s private life ), but I might worry about Catholic schools because of the Vatican’s official stance.”
greenwitch, you’d be surprised. A lot of the Christian/Catholic universities actively discriminate against gays, and will kick students out if they find out they’re gay. (See: Soulforce’s Freedom Rides) I’m definitely staying away from Catholic and even Christian-affiliated schools because of that. But I’m not worried about the school itself so much as the climate on campus: if a lot of the students who go there are very conservative and wouldn’t accept a gay student.</p>

9

<p>My opinions (again, so take with a grain of salt b/c I haven’t applied to nursing school yet).</p>

<ol>
<li>Go to a BSN program if you can!!! IMHO, it’s much much better. One, because you’re away from home, which is definitely a HUGE plus, and you’ll get to have the “real” college experience. Two, it’s a slightly more respected degree, so you’ll have an easier time getting jobs and going to grad school (that’s not to say you won’t with a BSN… plus the pay might be slightly higher.). And it will make you a more educated and more well-rounded person…</li>
</ol>

<p>YAY!!! I wish I had done this last year… sat down with my parents and seriously discussed the $ before applying to colleges (though this sorta is a moot point now, because I’m probably going to reapply to nursing schools). </p>

<ol>
<li>Not sure about this one. Though I do know that it’s getting more and more competitive… Sorry…</li>
</ol>

10

<p>When we started this process, I had many of the same questions. I had posted a question about whether D should be looking at the RN to BSN route, or if the 4-year BSN program was the best way to go. I got some really great answers explaining why my D should pursue the BSN:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/821017-some-questions-about-nursing-major.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/821017-some-questions-about-nursing-major.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>(I’m not sure how to link to this College Confidential thread in the parents’ discussion, so I just posted this link.)</p>

<p>As I went through the college process with D, I began to feel very strongly about the 0-4 year programs instead of a 2+2. Some of my reasons for hoping D would pick a 0-4 program:<br>

  1. some of the 0-4 nursing programs offer a lot more nursing classes. That can only be good, right?<br>
  2. the competition to get into the 2+2 BSN programs seemed very stiff. Not only are you competing against the kids who were sure about nursing as freshmen, but you’re also competing against transfer students, graduates coming back to school, and biology and chem students who woke up and realized that they needed to get a job someday.<br>
  3. if you don’t get into your own school’s program, you might have to apply to other schools and transfer. Having had a kid who transferred colleges, I know that it’s not great to leave friends behind and start over. 4) the nursing requirements include classes which the premed and engineering students may also be taking (biology, chem, etc). Those classes may be graded on a curve, and the competition will be tough, which might make getting a good GPA harder. Since a good GPA is necessary when applying to the upper level classes, this can be scary.</p>

<p>On the negative side, a 2+2 program lets you experience more of a college experience before you disappear into the small world of the nursing major.</p>

<p>D is still waiting for one deferred decision and one waitlist, but I think my days on CC are coming to an end. Hope this info has been helpful, and that your path to college goes well.</p>

11

<p>I’ll throw something else out there to consider…</p>

<p>During the “nursing” presentation at Accepted Students Day for Pitt last weekend, the host told us that there are only three states whose RN licenses/certification are accepted by all other states. If you are originally licensed in PA, NY, or CA, and want to practice nursing elsewhere, you simply request to be licensed in the new state and it’s just a matter of filling out the paperwork. If you are originally licensed in one of the other 47 states, you may have more barriers to move from state to state.</p>

<p>I haven’t confirmed this. Since D2 will be going to Pitt, my reaction was “wow, I guess she’s lucky – she chose a PA school based on other criteria and she got a bonus”.</p>

<p>Can any current RN’s confirm / refute the claim? If it’s true, this might be something to think about if one’s final decisions are between schools in PA/NY/CA and other states.</p>

12

<p>I know that for licensing in NY/PA you can easily move from state to state. I have a friend who is graduating in May and looking for jobs down in Philly partly because of that, but also because they are in need of psychiatric nurses which is what she’s interested in.</p>

<p>But thinlizzy - Not all Catholic schools are like that! I go to a Jesuit college, and we are very gay friendly! Many of my friends are gay or bi…and actually, I even have a friend who is transgendered. Nobody really cares. My school is probably more than you would like (about $35,000/year including room+board)…but the nursing program is great, there are really good merit scholarships, and, if you sign a contract with the hospital that we do our nursing classes and clinicals at, you get a fairly large tuition waiver in exchange for working for them for 3 years after graduation.</p>

13

<p>Hey thinlizzy,</p>

<p>I’m a current freshman at U of M’s School of Nursing and would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the program.</p>

<p>As for my experience applying to nursing school, I really didn’t know much about the differences in programs until I started looking into them. The major thing that influenced my decision was that UMich is direct admit. With that being said, I do have a lot of friends that are going the 2-2 rate, but for me it was just too risky. Also, one of the perks of being in the program already is that I’m in all my classes with the same group of people (there’s 120 of us) and I’ve managed to make some great friends. Also, we’re not competing against each other to get into the program so that really lowers the stress level. </p>

<p>Additionally, U of M has an amazing hospital and I really liked the idea that I would be super close to a hospital (it’s literally behind my dorm building!) and wouldn’t have far to go to clinicals. Also, the School of Nursing itself is super cool and the advisors and teachers are amazing so far. (As you can see I love my program =))</p>

<p>Good luck with your searching! And again feel free to ask any questions you may have!</p>

14

<p>

So ALL of your clinicals will be at the hospital behind your dorm? Are you sure?</p>

15

<p>I’m a junior looking for nursing schools too. Here has been my “action plan.”</p>

<p>First, try a website like collegeboard.com to find colleges. Do you want to go to one close to you are far away? Do you need to commute? Etc. They have a great search that lets you put in all kinds of information about yourself and then it will bring up colleges that match.</p>

<p>Second, do a few web searches that are something like “how to find a good nursing school.” I found a lot of great questions to ask the nursing schools.</p>

<p>Third, visit. It is honestly not too early for you to start visiting, say, this summer since you will have to apply to colleges next year (senior year). Besides taking a tour of the campus, you should also make an appointment with someone in the nursing department to talk about everything. Most importantly you should ask for a tour of the labs that are used.</p>

<p>Hope you find a great school.</p>

16

<p>U of M has a network of hospitals, so the majority of my clinicals will be at the hospitals on my campus. I will have to go off site for some of them, but from what I’ve seen of my options for the next three years most of them are very close. Also being so close to the hospitals has made shadowing a lot easier too.</p>

17

<p>^^^
You are doing shadowing as a college nursing student?</p>

18

<p>Yes, with so many fields of nursing available the university highly recommends shadowing different nurses to start getting an idea of what type(s) of nursing you like best.</p>