Nursing @ Many Colleges.

College Majors Nursing Major
1

Hi!! This is my first post on CC, and I am wondering what precautions I need to take to succeed in a nursing program at colleges. To give you guys a little insight, I am a high school
Sophomore, and have fairly decent grades. some classes I’m taking this year are
Bio 1
geometry honors
Spanish II
Computer Graphics
US American history
English 10
GPA:(as of last year) 3.692
My school does Not do weighted GPA for honors and AP/IB courses.

I was wondering what I need to do, and what courses I should take to be successful in being accepted into nursing schools in the future, schools I hope to apply at are

Duquesne
Pitt
OSU
Ohio University
Youngstown State

What GPA is optimal? I’m not in many ECs besides band, not really a sports type of person.

If you can answer my questions I’d appreciate it!!!

2

Most students want to enter a direct entry program if possible. That involves being accepted as a nursing major directly from high school, instead of having to competitively apply during your sophomore year of college. I believe Ohio State, among others are is not direct entry.

3

Thanks Charliesch! Is direct entry to go along with certain college requirements or is it all through how well you did in HS?

4

@hopefulnurse1 Generally, you have to have certain high school requirements to get into a direct-admit program and a minimum college GPA to stay in. Usually that’s a certain high school GPA and test score to enter, but the bar is generally far above the stated minimum for direct entry.

In my daughter’s program, it’s a 3.0 college GPA to progress to sophomore year. I think freshman to sophomore is the biggest hurdle to overcome. You should see the amount of work she has lol.

A direct admit freshman in my daughter’s program (University of Cincinnati) takes two nursing classes as a freshman. They are not clinicals, but basic nursing classes they all have to take that talk about theory and time management. Those who do not get in as direct-admits take all the same classes except those two. If they petition and get in, they still have to take those two classes (my understanding) on top of the sophomore classes.

Ohio State is NOT direct admit anymore (that was confirmed over the summer). If you are considering bigger schools in Ohio, look at the University of Cincinnati where my daughter is. Wright State, maybe closer to where you are, is also direct entry. Youngstown State, when we looked at it, had an odd (to me) definition of direct admit.

I can also help with smaller schools in Ohio, but it sounds like you might be in Western PA? I know the daughter of @Charliesch attended York, and speaks very highly of it.

Depending on what your high school offers, here are some additional classes to look at: anatomy, chemistry, higher-level math, statistics, psychology, sociology. I would highly recommend anatomy and stats, since many nursing programs require them and you’ll go in with at least a passing familiarity. Depending on the program, you might be able to use AP credits in some of these.

Also figure out ways to show interest in nursing. You are not limited to candy striping. You can do EMS work, volunteer in nursing homes, or other things that show you’ve looked into nursing and it’s what you are interested in. Many hospitals allow shadowing, or even sponsor medical exploring programs.

I can answer anything you’d like to ask about UC … I kept all my notes from admissions and nursing talks, so I can give you actual admission statistics from the last year or two. PM if you’d like.

5

Pitt main campus is very competitive for nursing admissions, has a good reputation, and is direct entry. I don’t know about the other programs you listed.

It is good to start with in-state publics, and then add to your list of colleges from there. Some private colleges can be close in net cost to publics if you are eligible for substantial merit aid. Most private colleges (except the most competitive ones) offer large merit aid scholarships.

First look at admission requirements for the colleges where you intend to apply. For instance, most will require bio.

Please look at the nursing curriculum of a couple nursing programs, and try to take some of the same courses in high school. It is much easier to learn the material the second time. AP bio is probably the most useful class, but most people take that as a senior. Anatomy can be helpful. A year of high school chem is valuable, but AP chem is not essential. Stats is valuable, but calculus serves no purpose for a nursing student. A psychology and a sociology class would be helpful.

6

Most direct nursing programs require 3 or 4 years of a science, including chemistry, (many have grade requirements in chemistry), and at least bio or physics. They will require at least 2 science lab courses. Math requirements are usually at least 3 years including Algebra I and II. (These are the minimum). Try to aim for the most rigorous classes where you will be able to get good grades. The GPA and standardized test scores are usually higher for the direct admit program than what is listed in their common data set for the university as a whole. Review each nursing program requirements in the schools that you are interested in.

7

https://www.nursing.pitt.edu/admissions/high-school-requirements

Here’s an example of application requirements, for Pitt main campus BSN program. I think most successful applicants exceed these requirements. The site also notes: “Two units of foreign language as an elective are highly recommended. School of Nursing faculty recommends that students also consider taking any of the following elective courses if offered: Statistics, Anatomy and Physiology, Genetics, or any Computer Class.”

I’m surprised to see Genetics on that recommended list - I don’t think most high schools offer it. AP bio is the most important class, and that covers some genetics.

Spanish is helpful in every part of the US for nurses.

I don’t think computer programming would be that useful, but courses that teach how to use standard business computer programs would be worthwhile.