NHS, how prestigious??

Colleges and Universities A-Z Georgetown University
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<p>Okay so I got accepted to Gtown's School of Nursing and Health EA. I applied only because I knew I wanted to do pre-med and I was too lazy to write an actual "Why Georgetown?" essay for the College and I already had an essay lying around that fit the NHS prompt perfectly. </p>

<p>But when I spoke to my alumni interviewer a few days ago, who graduated from the SFS, he was all like, "which school did you apply to again?" and when i told him, he was like "oh. well, uh, congratulations then."</p>

<p>and then overall in general, nursing schools seem to lack respect/prestige/competitiveness in terms of admissions. i mean even penn nursing ahs a 40% acceptance rate. </p>

<p>So can someone please give me a frank and honest answer: how prestigious is Georgetown's School of Nursing and Health really?? and how competitive is it to get into? do students in Georgetown's other schools like look down or not think as highly of NHS students?</p>

<p>and please spare me all that crap about how i shouldn't care about prestige and reputation and what others think, and how i should look at a school for itself when deciding where to go. i know NHS has a lot of amazing qualities and tons of great opportunities for me as a pre-med student. I just want to get an idea of how others really view it so I can figure out how spectacular (or not spectacular) my EA acceptance to gtown's NHS really is.</p>

<p>thanks=)</p>

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<p>While I am aware a lot of nursing schools are great, I guess I just never thought of nursing school as the best avenue to medical school.</p>

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<p>Actually I have heard that both Penn and Georgetown's Nursing Schools are a great way to Med school especially with the experience that you gain at both who have a philosophy of getting the students work experience from the get-go. I'd do some research because I think it's a great avenue to med school.</p>

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<p>there are a few pre-med nursing majors in NHS, and remember that you can major in anything you want, including nursing, and apply to medical school, as long as you finish the pre-med courses and take the MCAT. Some people may wonder why you would be a nursing major with no intention of practicing nursing, when there is a shortage, though some may work a shift or two during medical school. Also, the nursing approach to a patient is different than the medicine approach, and you'll have to relearn thought processes in medical school. However, pre-med nursing majors do exist and do get accepted to medical school.</p>

<p>Who cares what the other schools at Gtown think about each other?? The NHS science classes that you will take as a nursing major are known as among the most difficult courses at Gtown, especially Human Biology I and II. Mention the name "Angerio" and many non-NHSers know who you're talking about. NHS applicants apparently compete with Penn nursing applicants (probably b/c of the East coast-top college undergrad nursing that is hard to find). NHS has similar admissions rates to the other schools at Gtown, and is still VERY selective (2007-2008 EA acceptance rate was 19.6%, overall was 21.1%).</p>

<p>With nursing you'd get into the hospital in your first year, and see really if it's where you want to be. You'll see it from the nursing point of view, but you'll still see how the physicians and med students work, to see if med school is what you want to do. You'll get lots of clinical skills, some of which you'll be using in med school anyway, and you'll learn anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, microbiology, etc., which will give you some background to do well in the more indepth med school versions.</p>

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<p>Do Human Biology for Pre-med, the the school of nursing and health studies... most ppl neglect the "health studies" part... nursing is only one program within the entire school... it's a great program, this girl I knew got into Hopkins Med... not to say everyone in NHS will, but work hard, study and maybe you can too</p>

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<p>I would definitly reiterate sophomore12's comments. Getting into the NHS does not require you to do nursing, as many seem to be assuming. There are plenty of other avenues, like International-health, and Human Science.</p>

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<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I graduated Georgetown from the McDonough School of Business (MSB) in May 2008 and I think that the view of the NHS really needs to be clarified.</p>

<p>First of all, within Georgetown, there is a definitive distinction between the schools. Many college websites talk about these distinctions. Like most stereotypes, these are more often than not, false, but in general, many have adopted the following views of Georgetown’s four schools:</p>

<p>SFS - The most “elite” and hardest-working students go to this school. After all, it is one of the best schools of foreign service in the world. I had a very pretentious classmate who would often times state that he doesn’t go to Georgetown - he goes to the SFS at Georgetown. He thought this was equivalent to saying one does not go to UPenn, but they go to Wharton. Whatever.</p>

<p>MSB - Has the reputation for being the most relaxed and a school full of slackers. Many athletes choose majors such as Marketing and Management within the MSB since they are considered easy. Majors in Finance and Accounting, however, are some of the most difficult majors at the University. Either way, the MSB students have a reputation for partying and being more focused on careers and job placement than actual education. Again, this is a stereotype.</p>

<p>College - If I could redo my experience, I would have been an Econ major in the college. Very broad liberal arts experience, and this is the traditional Georgetown experience. But, like any other liberal arts colleges, there are majors that are considered jokes. The students in this school are your typical Joe Hoya’s and are the most down-to-earth and tend to be very scholastic (although, there is a mix).</p>

<p>NHS - Finally, the school you are most concerned with. Honestly, the students at this school still remain an enigma to me. They are very much isolated from the students of the other schools since they take mostly science and health classes at St. Mary’s (a building on the edge of campus.) They also have a very rigorous and difficult curriculum. They are very far and few between since they are the smallest proportion of the student body. I did not know many people in the NHS so it is difficult for me to comment on the personality type.</p>

<p>What I can confirm, however, is that every school at Georgetown has a core liberal arts requirement that forces students to experience classes that are roots of most college majors. For example, as a business school student, I still had 60 credits of General Ed classes such as philosophy, government, english, etc. No school at Georgetown is a joke. What I have heard, though, is that many students try to get into Georgetown through the NHS since the application rates are smaller. Once in, many students transfer schools. Transferring schools within Georgetown is not a difficult process and many of my friends transferred from College to MSB, College to SFS, etc. I have heard they have begun cracking down on the NHS transfers though, as many students have used this as back root entrance to the University.</p>

<p>I hope this is helpful. I just want to clarify that since Georgetown is relatively small and has some very prestigious programs (namely, the SFS) there is a lot of rivalry among the schools. Again, if you go in with an open mind, it really doesn’t matter. I had friends of all majors in all schools.</p>

<p>Good luck with the college process.</p>

<p>Joe</p>

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<p>As far as people applying to NHS as a backdoor, I don’t think that “many” people have done this. Because NHS is so specialized to health studies, as well as there only being 4 majors, unless you have demonstrated interests in health studies, you really won’t have an easy time gaining admission. They also look for interest in and success in science courses, since 3 of the 4 majors require multiple science courses. So while there may be a few people that do this, I don’t think it’s “many” that have actually gained admission.</p>

<p>Also, from being a student in NHS, the majority of people that transferred out of it usually did so after freshman year because they couldn’t handle Human Biology I and II, which are really rigorous courses (look up Dr. Angerio on ratemyprofessors.com). The people I’ve known that have done this all were pre-med, then decided they didn’t want to be anymore (generally based on the difficulty of the NHS coursework). A number went to the College or to SFS, and became government, pre-law, etc. So at least from my experience, the out of NHS transfers did so b/c they gained new interests, and they sincerely wanted to be pre-med or focused on health science when they started. Also, there are a couple that transfer into NHS from the other schools. I did from the College, as do multiple others, and one guy I know transferred from MSB.</p>

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<p>I agree with most of what you said, Jason. I’d even take it another step and suggest that the NHS has one of the most rigourous curriculums and the science courses at Georgetown are not easy.</p>

<p>I do believe, however, despite how commonplace it may be, that the NHS is sometimes used as a “backdoor” into Georgetown because the applicant pool is much smaller. I do not recommend this, obviously, but I have heard this from several people. It’s all hearsay, I guess, but I spent 4 years teaching SAT prep to students in the most prestigious Maryland schools, and many had mentioned this as a tactic for gaining admission when one is on the border of the requirements.</p>

<p>Just food for thought…</p>

<p>EDIT : Many was probably the wrong word to use there.</p>

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<p>I agree. I remember in high school when I went to NAIMUN, the Gtown model UN conference for HS students, we had discussion time with the moderators (Gtown students), about life at Gtown, admissions, etc., and one or two of the moderators said that we should apply to NHS as the easy way to get in. I really think this is more of a rumor than anything. And the acceptance rates between schools aren’t drastically different to warrant someone applying to one over the other to have an easier chance. So yeah, I’ve definitely heard people say the same thing, but from my experience with people transferring out of NHS to another school, the majority or all do so for different reasons.</p>

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<p>Joe mentioned that NHS students seem to be isolated because all of the science classes are St. Mary’s… Jason, did you feel this at all? When I visited, I really didn’t get this vibe at all and I certainly hope it’s not the case, as I want to be a part of the bigger community, not just the NHS one.</p>

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<p>You won’t be isolated… I didn’t mean to say that to scare you. It was more the sense that I was isolated from the NHS students (ie. I had no NHS student friends), but when you do the math it makes sense. I was in the business school and even if 30-40% of my classes were General Ed classes with other schools, the NHS is such a small minority that the chances of me befriending people in those classes were slim. Even though your science classes are in St. Mary’s you will have plenty of other classes and mingling else where. Just get ready to walk far :wink: (if you are not in Darnall)</p>

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<p>You won’t feel isolated. Yes, you’ll be part of the NHS community, b/c you’ll have many of your classes with the same people, in the same classroom(s) for 4 years. But you’ll have friends from your floor, from activities you join, etc. I would say the NHS community feeling is strongest for nursing majors, as they not only take all/most of their classes together in a defined way, but also go to clinicals and have experiences that bond them together in a way that is different from other majors. Also, because NHS is so small compared to the whole university, you’ll definitely be making friends with non-NHS students. And don’t worry, you’ll come to like being in NHS, whether it’s coffee and bagels in the morning in St. Mary’s, NHS bbq’s, the simulation center, research conference, NHS t shirts, mugs, etc., really knowing your classmates, faculty, and advisors, etc. The fact that NHS is so small really adds to its amazingness if you’re interested in health fields.</p>