Thanks for the info!
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Anyone from the New England area with a good handle on the nursing programs.
Daughter (4.1w gpa 1200 SAT) planning to apply to
UMass Amherst (big reach), UNH, UMaine, UMass Boston, Fairfield, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, Westfield State and Salve Regina. Most likely not sending SATs to UMass Amherst, UNH or Fairfield.
Anyone have a child with similar stats that applied to same schools and had good luck. I feel like there is no such thing as a safety school when it comes to direct admit nursing programs.
Any guidance much appreciated. Good luck to all!
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I donât have a ton of experience with those schools, but wanted to at least drop a line. We did a good bit of homework on UVM and Fairfield but D22 ended up not applying. Ultimately she decided Vermont is too cold, and Fairfield too small for her preference.
I totally feel/felt your pain about the competitive nature of direct admit nursing. My daughter has similar stats (3.98 UW, 27 ACT) and she just got notice of acceptance to her top choice, so stay positive!!
Nice! Congratulations. Do you mind sharing where she ultimately decided to apply and where she ended up? My daughter also considered UVM but ruled it out after a visit.
Sure! Some safeties and reaches all mixed in.
She applied to:
Delaware
Duquesne
Scranton
Clemson
Temple
Villanova
Penn State
U of SC (not DA)
James Madison (not DA)
Pretty sure she is accepting her spot at Pitt as itâs her first choice, but she may wait to see what the next few months bring.
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Can you talk about some of the ECS related to nursing that you showed? Itâs been difficult doing any community service related work to nursing to do the pandemic. The pandemic for her started her Sophomore year and is still continuing. So the last 2 years of high school has been effected.
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Hi! So the ecs I did related to nursing were mostly back before the pandemic happened. I volunteered at a hospital every Sunday for a year and I also shadowed different kinds of nurses after every shift Iâd volunteer there. I was the the president of the premed club though before and throughout the pandemic. Since your daughter has been effected by the pandemic for a long time, I wouldnât stress too much about this though because most of the other applicants will be in the same boat as her. The admission people will definitely understand this and know that she wasnât able to take up as many opportunities as students in earlier years.
What I would focus on though is getting leadership roles and honestly any other ec that she is interested in. In her essays, she can always relate those activities and what she learned from them back to nursing and how that will make her a perfect nursing student and future nurse. A couple of other ecs I talked about in my essays had nothing to do with nursing (e.i. starting a tutoring business, being president of science club, having a leadership role at the Red Cross) but I was able to relate it to nursing when I was reflecting on those activities.
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My DD is also searching for direct admit BSN programs. Weâre in OH, so looking at some slightly different schools. DD was already accepted into WVU for direct admit nursing. She will also be applying to U Louisville (10 direct admit spots / 3.0 to maintain your spot), Miami University (I think itâs only a C or higher in all classes to keep it) and Akron.
Itâs kinda crazy just how competitive these programs have become. The ASN program at a satellite campus located close to home has become competitive and isnât even a good fall back anymore. DD is a URM with good grades and an âokâ ACT score and she recognizes that sheâs better off taking a direct-admit spot to a school sheâd be okay attending than going pre-nursing to her dream school and possibly having to transfer or change major.
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Be sure and check the schoolâs NCLEX pass rates for the last few years. That is a pretty important stat not to be overlooked.
Have her look at UMiamiâs nursing program. When we were there visiting, one of the students in the info session was a nursing major and she made all of the adults in room want to go back to school to go there for nursing. They have a 4 story simulation hospital. She had helped âdeliverâ triplets that morning. It sounds like they are really doing some amazing work.
They meet 100% of need and offer merit. I think your daughter is well positioned to get a decent amount of merit from them. They also take the DE credits which is great.
Also, make sure to apply as a freshman not a transfer as transfer info does not come in until much later with most schools.
Thank you for your suggestions. Hoping the fact that she has lifeguarded and had 2 saves this Summer might help. Other then that not much medical volunteering. None of the hospitals are allowing any type of volunteering especially for minors. Iâm sure the schools know this though.
If you are in Ohio, consider the University of Cincinnati (where my daughter is a BSN senior) and Xavier - both direct admit. Also, there are several smaller schools in Ohio that are direct admit that my daughter applied to and was accepted - Walsh University (her second choice), Otterbein, Capital, Ohio Northern, and Wright State. My information is almost four years old, so doublecheck requirements. One of the issues with Ohio DA schools is where clinicals are done - for example, a university where we live is DA, but she decided not to apply because the clinicals for peds would be almost two hours away. I really canât say enough about the experience she is getting at UC - her clinicals have been at nationally ranked hospitals, and she is currently on a co-op at one of them.
Thanks for the additional info. DD already looked at and rejected UC and Xavier, but I will look into the others. Her boyfriend is a factor in her school choice even though I really, really wish he wasnât and that is complicating things as well.
My D22 was just accepted into the direct entry nursing program at IUP (Indiana University of PA). She has a GPA of 89UW, 91W and an SAT score of 1030 (submitted). She is a half-day Vo-Tech, half-day online student who has taken no honors or AP courses; one dual enrollment course in Medical Terminology, for which she received an A. Her highest grades are in her vocational courses (Nursing Assisting). I was concerned that she wouldnât be accepted to any direct entry program, so Iâm relieved. This is a good choice for students with modest stats; requirements are a 3.25 GPA and 1030 SAT (or test-optional).
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RNmomto4, you mentioned lots of admits to PA and OH schools on another thread. My kid only applied to PA and OH schools, heard back from two so far - Pitt and Duquesne. What others did your daughter apply to in PA and OH (and heard back from)?
@Crankymom, these are just the OH and PA schools she applied toâŠ
Admits:
Duquesne
Akron
Bloomsburg
Indiana U of PA
Clarion
Youngstown
Applied but havenât heard back from:
Cleveland
York
Xavier
U of Scranton
Thanks. The only two on your list that my kid applied to are Duquesne and Xavier. Duquesne merit makes the COA similar to Pitt (we are in-state). Weâll see what happens with the other schools.
Duquesne only gave her 19K. Did send FAFSA so perhaps there maybe more but with only 19K is not in the running due to being to $$$
This is posted on their site
$19,000 - $25,000
Minimum qualifications: GPA 4.0, ACT 28 or SAT 1310
She has a 4.0 but didnât submit test scores? Maybe thatâs why she got the lower amount?
Merit can be a gray area at a lot of schools. At some public universities, a very clear chart of GPA and test scores is published, and you can tell what youâll receive. Even then, you may not know if they recalculate GPA (though this would not apply in your case).
Your DD has applied to a lot of schools, and already has at least one acceptance with really good merit - I wouldnât worry about it.