(Im not at UMass but many nursing schools have clinicals at several facilities and yes, its not uncommon to have to drive. With covid, many hospitals and other facilities are limiting clinical placements so nursing schools are having to get creative. As for your other complaints, I would ensure you are seeing both sides of the story. Are their cruddy professors? Absolutely! However, many nursing professors can no longer meet with students to go over old exams and students may not be able to see their actual exam. And for emails about whats on the test, professors get countless emails typically asking the same thing. Professors may or may not give a study guide but they do cue students into what topics are on the test. For your student, perhaps suggest they ask a particular question to see if they get a better response.)
Robert has your daughter checked out Creighton in Omaha? My daughter is now half way through her sophomore year. We have been so impressed with the nursing program. We are also from CA as are manY of the students on the program. Their Dean of Nursing was formerly Dean of the Nursing program at San Diego State and she got her nursing degree at Creighton. There are around 100 nursing students in each year group and they have some nursing specific classes from freshman year. She will finish her sophomore year with a CNA and can transfer this back to CA. Creighton is highly regarded for its nursing students and health sciences generally. They are building a new health science building right now and have a second campus they just opened in Phoenix. Itâs an easy commute - lots of flights - she normally goes via Denver and Creighton is only 15 mins by uber from the airport. My daughter had similar stats to yours and got a great scholarship. Cost of living is much cheaper in Omaha so she and some friends have rented a beautiful house for her third year. We are so thankful she chose this school. Reach out if you have any questions.
His daughter was admitted to Creighton. 
Acceptances so farâŠ(update)
All mentions are for the schools of nursing
3.7+ UW, No Test Scores
U of Portland, $17,775 merit
Marymount University, $23,500 merit
Creighton, $19,000 merit
Pacific Lutheran University $29,000 merit
Xavier, $20,000 + cost of all required text books
I am not looking for a debate. I gave a brief overview of my studentâs experience because I was asked. There are many more instances and reasons why I donât recommend this program. My student has friends at several other nursing schools who are not experiencing whatâs she is experiencing. We have several nurses in our family who understand these programs and are also disappointed. Since you donât know the whole story, you really canât speculate. I was asked for my experience and I gave it. I wish I would have had some inside information when my daughter was deciding which school to attend.
And as for your comments about the test- professors are supposed to have office hours for students. If a student is reaching out for help they deserve an answer. As for asking specific questions- you canât do that if the professor refuses your request to meet. As an educator myself, I would never refuse a student who is asking for help because it means they want to learn. The nursing program is tiny at this school so the professors are not inundated with students.
Hi,
Wish I had seen this thread while doing our research. My daughter isnât a great test taker so decided to only apply test optional. Sheâs got a high GPA Here are the direct admit schools she applied to with any decisions so far:
Jacksonville University - Accepted with $34K merit
Loyola New Orleans (not direct admit but auto admit if 3.0 after first year - Accepted with $24K merit
Quinnipiac University - Accepted with $24K merit
URI
UVM
U of Delaware
Sacred Heart
SUNY Plattsburgh
We were able to tour all the schools with the exception of Loyola.She liked FAU in Boco Raton but they required testing and she fell a little short of their requirement. Florida Southern was another we toured but she just couldnât see herself there. Good luck to all!
Her first rejection today, Penn State (we are in state). Offered alternate campus but thatâs not something sheâd ever consider.
@lass71 Thanks for the recommendation to Creighton. We have not visited Creighton but like others have shared on this message board, we have only heard good things coming out of Omaha. From what I can tell, students are very well supported, have a full but manageable load of classes the first two years (17 units each semester), and relatively low cost of living off campus. We are very glad our D was admitted. Thankful for the merit money. Itâs definitely a solid option. I will definitely reach out to you later. We already registered for the Admit Day in April after things thaw out.
Not debating, just offering multiple viewpoints. I understand both sides.
Please do. Actually Omaha doesnât get much snow! We bought her snow boots snd a north face parka and they werenât worn till January and then only for a week. The winds can be rough but my daughter doesnât complain.
First year dorms arenât amazing though new one is being built right now. But they do have windows!! Sophomore year ones are a huge step up. My daughter just had to buy her stethoscope for next term. Itâs all getting very real and exciting.
Thank you for the information. My D has been accepted to the Creighton traditional BNA program in Omaha for Fall 2022. We have visited twice and like what we have learned so far. My D is not ready to make a decision yet. We have advised her to keep her mind and heart open until she hears from all her schools. One Creighton specific question: I believe you mentioned that your daughter will have her CNA at the end of sophomore year. Do all Creighton sophomore BSN students end the year with their CNAs? If not, what has to be done to achieve that? We also have two questions for all the programs, including Creighton. Have you heard⊠(1) âŠabout preceptorship matching? does the school help with this and do the kids all get matches, and feel content with their match ups? (2) âŠabout NCLEX prep? With Creightonâs clinical hour requirement being so high (1000+ hours), just wondering if the school supports the 4th years with their NCLEX prep. Thank you for any insight you have. I think you shared that your student is a sophomore, so her direct experience wonât supply the answers to the latter two questions (yet), but perhaps she has heard from older students and has an idea re: the answers (or you have heard through parent groups). Again, thanks!!!
Hi there
My daughter just mentioned the CNA last week. She is very excited to be qualified and fortunately it can be transferred to other states including CA. I believe you gain it if you satisfactorily complete all your required nursing classes ( grade c or above).
Unfortunately I canât fully answer your other questions but I will see if I can find out for you. Their NCLEX pass rate is very high - over 96 percent at first try and 100 overall so I think they are well prepared. That is one thing Creighton prides itself upon - that their nurses truly are ready to go. Secondly on preceptorships I know these are guaranteed and organized by the school which is not always the case. They also require a lot of hours. But I donât know if everyone gets their first choice. I assume some areas are more popular than others so not everyone gets option 1.
I believe most students stay on and do their initial training after graduation in Omaha.
I should have said excited to get qualified as sheâs only half way through sophomore year
Thank you.
Thank you for the feedback. That is very good to know. I honestly feel like my daughterâs chances of getting accepted are slim but if accepted it probably would have been high on her list as her 2 older siblings are currently at UMass (non nursing).
Any chance you care to share the schools her friends are at that are having more success?
Thanks again for taking the time to respond!
Is there a way for me to message you instead of posting publicly? I left position to be helpful but received a lot of comments. So Iâd rather just message you privately. My daughter has lots of friends and different nursing programs.
We are in the midst of this process and likely in the same area, so Iâd love to learn this information as well. I also work in the college system in Massachusetts (not UMass) and there have been challenges during the pandemic.
I think I sent you a private message. Havenât tried that before. Thanks so much!
@lass71 It looks like we are one year early for Creightonâs freshman dorms which will be ready Fall 2023. Darn!
If anyone applied for Saint Louis University, admissions for early action apps for their university (not school of nursing) were released December 2nd according to their FB page. We got the admission letter in the mail today.