Nursing: Fun over sure thing?

Parents Forum
1

My son has been accepted into a number of nursing programs for Fall 2015, some regular admit (1+3) some direct admit. As we get closer to decision time, he actually brought up a point I never considered.

From his perspective, the problem with the direct admit offers is that none of the campuses really excite my son. He wants to go to a big college with big sports and live the classic big school experience. His 2 favorite public picks are Ohio State and Kentucky. Even though we live in OH, UK is gaining momentum. He’s convinced he has a great chance to be accepted into nursing his sophomore year because a 3.3 gpa usually makes it at UK, plus his ACT puts him in the top quartile. So, he thinks he will be smarter than his competition on average, which gives him confidence. He has a nice scholarship to UK, bringing our total price for tuition, room, board to $16k per year.

OSU is cheaper @ $12k per year due to a really nice diversity/academic scholarship. However, he’s on the lower end of the ACT spectrum @ OSU, and they requires a 3.7 to be accepted into nursing. However, if he missed out on nursing, OSU has a great deal to offer in terms of other majors. He loves the campus, but is nervous about the 3.7 rqmt freshman year.

He has a number of direct admit offers in OH, but doesn’t like the campus environments for various reasons. The most economical direct admit choice is $19k year. None of these schools are on par with UK or OSU in terms of size, sports, or extracurriculars.

I believe my son is serious about nursing, and knows he will have to work harder than many of his classmates, especially freshman year. He gets that, but wants to be at a place that is fun to him.

So, is it crazy to consider an somewhat less prestigious 1+3, and select UK over OSU? Both nursing schools have good reputations with 95%+ NCLEX pass rates. OSU accepts 125 out of 250. UK accepts 160 out of 350. He also know some 3.3 nursing students that were recently accepted at UK, which gives him more confidence that he can make the grades there.

Also, is it crazy to pass on direct admits if my kid really isn’t jazzed about the campuses? I appreciate the mature and reasoned responses on this board. Plus, you guys are great at pointing out things which are easy to overlook. Note, we can swing the annual prices listed here from current income, so paying for college is not an issue. Thanks for reading.

2

Your son needs to check the %ages of students actually admitted to the nursing programs at UK and OSU. He needs to fully understand that he might not get admitted. His admittance will be compared to the others applying…and he has no way to know the strength of the application pool at the schools.

OTOH, I’m a strong believer in location, location, location. A student will be happier in a location they like. And there are plenty of majors at those schools should nursing not work out.

3

You know, the nursing prereqs on a 1+3 are really difficult. And that program that accepts the 3.3 students is still looking like the admit rate is below 50%. I’m guessing that 3.3 in pre-nursing isn’t nearly as easy to get as your son thinks it is. If the direct admits are unaffordable, that’s one thing, but a nursing major who turns up his nose at a campus that’s not a fun, big sports campus suggests someone who is really not all that certain about nursing. Now, that’s not necessarily a problem as lots of kids pick a major just to have one and change after a semester or so.

I think I would probably let him pick his school according to whatever parameters you have established. If he opts out of nursing (let’s face it, even on a fun campus, it’s not a major known for giving students time for fun) either OSU or KU have lots of other programs.

4

If he goes to OSU or KU, he’s not highly likely to have the “classic big school experience” AND complete the prerequisites with high enough grades to get into the nursing program. The gpa’s they list are minimums, and many students with higher gpa’s are turned away. But if nursing isn’t really that important to him, OSU and KU are great schools to do something else.

5

Images of birds in hands and those in the bush come to mind. As has been pointed out, he needs to do a bit more homework to get a truly realistic assessment of his chances of getting into the nursing program at the bigger schools. But as one of my British friends frequently says, “There’s often a slip between the cup and the lip”. There are no guarantees here, and he could find himself on the outside looking in. It is really difficult to get into nursing these days.

6

Maybe you should ask this on the Nursing forum if you haven’t already

You did all the right research about NCLEX pass and such. As a nurse practitioner I get a little pause about an RN student who says “well, if I don’t make it in I could do something else” without knowing what the something else is. I’m in Ohio and are familiar with OSU’s program and some of the others in the state. D16 is favoring UK for premed, but because of research possibilities. Feel free to PM me or ask on this thread any specific questions you have.

7

As someone mentioned, you might want to nail down whether the GPAs you mentioned are the official required minimum or what it’s actually taking to get in. My nursing school required GPA was 3.25 or so, but the competition was so fierce that it actually took a 3.8.

This is an important detail.

8

What would hurt him more to give up - the “big school experience” or the nursing career? Or, if he can’t get accepted into a BSN program is there an RN program at a local hospital that might accept him? He could then later take courses to earn the BSN while working.

He may not have the time to engage in a lot of big school experiences if he has to hit the books in order to get as high a GPA as he needs to be accepted. I certainly wouldn’t let him go in with the attitude that a 3.3 is “good enough”; he should get as high a GPA as he possibly could.

My kid (now a PA) was encouraged to room with students who had majors as difficult as hers so that she would not resent (or be tempted to relax by) the amount of free time that students with less difficult majors could enjoy.

The OSU or KU could possibly frustrate him more than give him joy.

9

Based on the above and your other thread at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1754110-nursing-direct-admit-or-regular-admit-plus-cost-considerations.html , it looks like the choices summarized are:

  • The Ohio State University, $12,000 per year, not direct admit, need at least 3.7 GPA.
  • University of Kentucky, $16,000 per year, not direct admit, supposedly some admitted at 3.3 GPA.
  • University of Cincinnati, $19,000 per year, direct admit.
  • other schools which are probably too expensive.

If he goes to tOSU or UK, what alternate major and career would be acceptable to him if he did not get into the nursing major?

10

I think your son needs to awaken to the realities of how competitive the Nursing field really is. Nothing wrong with wanting some fun – but can he do it while getting a superior (3.7) GPA in a tough curriculum? Nursing isn’t just some throw away major he can just dabble

11

For the freshman year nursing pre-reqs he would be taking chem, O-chem, microbiology and A & P will all the people who want to go to medical school, be dentists etc. At a state flagship those classes can be giant and cut-throat with a curve designed to winnow the numbers. It is not for the faint of heart and no guarantee. That is great advice to remember that 3.3 (or whatever it is) is the floor not the ceiling for admitted nursing student GPA.

12

He will likely have WAY more fun knowing that he’s already in and just maintaining the required GPA in those classes

13

“For the freshman year nursing pre-reqs he would be taking chem, O-chem, microbiology and A & P will all the people who want to go to medical school, be dentists etc. At a state flagship those classes can be giant and cut-throat with a curve designed to winnow the numbers. It is not for the faint of heart and no guarantee. That is great advice to remember that 3.3 (or whatever it is) is the floor not the ceiling for admitted nursing student GPA.”

And you should look to see if at U of Cincinnati he doesn’t have to take " prerequisite" classes with premeds. At several 4 year nursing programs there are separate o- chem and other prerequisite type classes in the nursing school or which are different from the premed class.