I just rescheduled our admitted student days so that Case, Pitt and Michigan are all in the same week! It will be a long week but hopefully we can make a decision at the end of it. She definitely decided to eliminate Villanova and Ohio State this week so we are officially down to 3 top schools.
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Does anyone know the typical size of Michigan’s class? Do they ever award merit to students?
Assuming you are asking about the size of the U Michigan BSN (yearly) class, I believe it is around 150 (at least that’s what my notes say from an on-campus info session from last year). And, my OOS daughter received a small but not totally unsubstantial merit scholarship shortly after her admittance.
I am also not sure of the size but all of the programs my daughter is interested in were all in the 150-200 per year range. Michigan gave her $10,000/year merit which is the same as what she got for Pitt. For us, CWRU is the cheapest option with merit since we are out of state for both Michigan and Pitt. Villanova was the most expensive option since it costs the most upfront and they essentially give out no merit. We ultimately decided it was not worth the extra cost as it was the only one on her list not associated with a hospital and didn’t seem to have some of the extra opportunities available as her other choices.
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Thanks for info. Sounds like you’ve got some great options. My son is in at UMich but waiting on UVA which I hear is a smaller class size. Good luck to all!
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Do you mind sharing stats? My kid is in a super competitive prep school (Avg ACT is 34-35) but isn’t at top of her class. Hard class schedule, decent grades but not all A’s. Kids from her school get into Michigan COE with 3.75. Trying to figure out if same for nursing at competing schools but nobody from her school ever goes that route. We are lost for deciding schools (luckily we have some time).
Sure. 34 act, 4.0 uw, took top curriculum offered but for social studies, 2 sport varsity athlete, lots of clubs and strong leadership primarily focusing on service, medical shadowing and volunteered at a hospital, started a service organization during covid. I really would say her two strengths more so than stats are the number of service hours and really strong essays.
Appreciate. And congrats - great options - but more important, she sounds like an amazing kid. Well deserved.
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My daughter has remarkably similar stats and background as webwoman’s, and I also second the large number of hospital volunteer hours (which was particularly difficult to obtain in our state due to Covid restrictions) and lots of time spent crafting solid essays. She applied and got accepted to a wide range of direct entry bsn programs and has probably narrowed it down to Michigan, Iowa and Case, though still waiting on a very small handful still.
A handful of schools have ranges for their nursing students (Minnesota and Penn come to mind), though most do not but sometimes attend the BSN info sessions provides those numbers (eg, Michigan). Nursing school is funny because at some schools it is MUCH harder to get into the nursing school as compared to the rest of the school (Iowa comes to mind in particular; I think probably Cincinnati and NYU too), while others, it is somewhat easier than at least the “normal range” for that school (eg, Penn, Michigan, Purdue).
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Wow-- I had no idea Nursing was ever easier than the “normal range” at a few schools like the ones you mentioned. We never really thought about that angle because my D22 was mostly applying to schools that were generally, on paper, “targets” or “safeties” -but the question was would she get into Nursing?
Legit DA BSN programs really do muddy the application waters for so many schools. It’s an interesting concept to be chasing prestige for a BSN program.
Many on this forum have strong opinions suggesting, ultimately, in the professional world, no one will ask or care where you went to nursing school. The many nurses in my family attest to that. Advice: Go to the best nursing school you get into for the lowest COA.
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Just trying to contribute the experience we had given someone specifically asked for that (and since numbers are so hard to find, which was our experience as well). I tried to keep it to schools where we had actual comparison and hard data from, but I guess I’ll just keep it to myself going forward.
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Same-- just trying to contribute- aren’t we all? I am sincerely surprised by the info you shared. I am not & was not being sarcastic. I truly meant nothing disrespectful or snarky. Just sharing thoughts from different experiences as well. I apologize if it came across offensive.
I would be one to absolutely agree that at this point in time hospitals do not give much weight as to which school you obtained your BSN from. They care more about previous work experience (medical asst, nurse extern, etc) to get your foot in the door.
If grad school is in your future, again, BSN program really doesn’t matter, as long as it’s accredited and you did very well academically. An MSN program will also take your nursing work experience into consideration more so than where you obtained your undergrad degree.
If you (general you) want to go to the prestigious school and can afford it, then by all means the choice is yours. If you prefer to save money while getting your degree, the less expensive public or state school will fulfill what you need to obtain a hospital position as a nurse after you graduate.
I’d be more concerned about historical and current NCLEX pass rates and job placement from schools then I would school name for a nursing degree.
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I worry that she won’t love nursing once she gets there. And so I’d prefer that she is in a school that at least has some “prestige” however defined - could be local (ie our State school) or a more prestigious state school (Michigan, etc), or something like CWRU, northeastern, Georgetown or Penn. But I had no idea if those were even possibilities for her.
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I know what you mean! My husband and I say the same thing about our senior. What if they go and realize they don’t like it?? LOL! We definitely want him to be somewhere well regarded where he can pursue something else, if needed.
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I am more referring to those students who know they definitely want nursing and are trying to figure out the difference between attending a nursing program at a prestigious institution vs a less expensive option. I’m just saying nursing is one of those fields where prestige typically does not matter when looking for an entry-level nursing position at a hospital. The education will be very similar as nursing curriculums have to follow an established blueprint in order for them to be accredited. If you are afraid that your student might not want to stick with nursing and needs other options then that is a different conversation. In that realm, depending on the major they might switch to, then prestige of the institution might make a difference. Many students who go into nursing feel it is a calling and choose to stick with it.
I don’t want those particular students to feel they will receive less of an education or have less job opportunities available to them if they choose to save money now vs attending a more expensive, “prestigious” institution to get their BSN.
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It’s true that prestige doesn’t matter for entry level positions, which is why I know several kids who felt called to nursing and have chosen the ADN route. They can start working faster, make money earlier, and get a BSN later, while working, if they determine they need it.
If minimizing costs is the priority, wouldn’t that be the better route?
It sounds like virtue signaling to criticize people for choosing a so-called prestigious college. If someone is choosing the BSN route and if they can afford it, what is wrong with them choosing to have the best fit experience for them (location, the classmates they will have in gen Ed classes, the sports teams, the extra curriculars, etc.)?
There is more value to a college education than the dollar amount of the starting salary. It doesn’t mean your priorities in selecting a school are inferior, but neither are those who choose differently.
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You are totally taking my post out of context. I am not criticizing anyone for their choice of school. I even stated that if one can afford such a school and wants to go the prestigious route it is their choice. No one is virtue signaling here. I am just pointing out that a BSN has less expensive options and the job opportunities will still be there if they choose that route. Not everyone can afford nursing school at an expensive institution.
As far as going the ADN route, another great option. However, in some areas, the BSN became the entry level degree for employment. I do believe COVID has changed that, though, in order to have a larger RN pool available for hire.
If one can get into an ADN program, it may be a less competitive route to a BSN than the usual BSN route, since ADN/RN → BSN programs are often less competitive to get into. Also, if money is tight, having an ADN after two years means being able to work as a nurse and save some money before continuing to finish the BSN (versus someone halfway through a BSN does not have as much in the way of job options).
As competitive as DA-BSN admissions are, lots of students change their minds and/or don’t see it through for various reasons. That is usually built into the acceptance rate and long-term yield. Some schools even plan on a few openings for transfers into the Nursing major.
UNH said they generally have 8-10 openings for transfer per cohort, while URI, UDel, Plattsburgh, as examples, do not allow for ANY transfers into Nursing at any time, internal or external (…this was in the 2022 application cycle info.)
UMaine, on the other hand, welcomes transfer applications and is encouraging students at the smaller UMaine campuses to start the Nursing pre-req’s and finish at the flagship.
It’s a FANTASTIC idea to choose a school that has a back-up major of interest (for my daughter it was Nutrition and Phys Ed). This is something to consider when deciding where to apply- really helped her narrow down her list of schools she was initially considering!
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