<p>Hello! My oldest is going into her senior year and looking at nursing programs. We are in MA and she originally wanted to stay in NE but I think we have convinced her to widen her search!</p>
<p>She is currently considering:
UNH
UVM
Northeastern
Salve Regina (safety)
UDel
Quinnipiac
Sacred Heart
UMass - Amherst
Uconn (?)
URI (Safety)</p>
<p>and after some more research I am suggesting UPitt </p>
<p>She is ranked 26/168 and her SAT is 1630. 540 reading, 510 math and 580 critical writing. She is working with a tutor this summer and will retake the test in early October. </p>
<p>Although $$ is a factor it is not a determining one. We really want her to find a school that is a great fit for her.</p>
<p>She has mentioned applying early admission (not sure that is what it is called but the one where you are not committed to the school). The Common App came out yesterday. Should she be applying now? Is the fact that she is retaking the SAT's an issue?</p>
<p>Feedback on the above schools? Am I missing any really good ones? So far she really liked Quinn and UNH. UMass felt very big but she did like the program and campus. We are planning trips to visit the rest early Fall.</p>
<p>Help! She is our oldest and things have changed SO much since I did this!</p>
<p>I think U. Del’s nursing program would be an extreme reach as an out of state student. Some more details on their admissions are on a recent post on this nursing part of CC. U Del also won’t release out of state admissions decisions until March. </p>
<p>Some state universities save most of their nursing seats for in-state students. That can skew admission statistics. </p>
<p>Everyone should take both the SAT and ACT. Many students do better on one than the other. The ACT is particularly good if you are better in science than math.</p>
<p>For Nursing it generally is recommended that applicants apply as early as possible as soon as the schools begin to accept applications. You can always send in subsequent SAT/ACT scores and schools usually use the higher of any scores. You D might want to consider taking the ACT exam. Some students do better on it than the SAT, especially if they are better in he sciences than math. Of the schools you mentioned Northeastern, UDel, Pitt, UConn, UMass-Amherst are extremely competitive for admission unless you are an in-state resident (for the public schools). URI, UVM, UNH, and Quinnipiac are also pretty selective. Most schools tend to look primarily at CR/Math SAT scores so your D’s combined score of 1050 is unfortunately relatively low from a competitive perspective. She really needs to work on improving the scores (or trying the ACT exam to see if she can do better on it). There are a number of direct entry Nursing Programs in the Northeast. Check out the Master List for Direct Entry Nursing Programs on a post in this Nursing Forum. You should be aware that UDel announces all admission decisions in early to mid March (it does not have rolling admissions nor does it have early acceptance/decision). Good luck to your D. Competition for 4 year BSN Nursing Programs is becoming insane.</p>
<p>A friend’s daughter who had lower SAT scores but a high GPA was able to get into Fairfield’s nursing program. Fairfield is SAT optional including nursing. However, Fairfield is extremely expensive before any financial or merit aid. Some SAT optional schools like Scranton however DO require SAT scores for their nursing program.</p>
<p>I’m surprised that she doesn’t have Simmons or Salem State on her list. Unfortunately, with her SAT score I don’t think she’d get into the nursing program at Simmons, nor are they known for financial aid…but I’ve heard nothing but good things about Salem.</p>
<p>Regis College accepts very few students into their direct-entry program, but her stats are average for the program.</p>
<p>Either way, she should absolutely try the ACT and re-take the SAT.</p>
<p>Fairfield is also a good choice - I know 2 girls going to Fairfield for nursing, one of whom had slightly higher stats than your daughter but not spectacular.</p>
<p>We have talked to her about Simmons but she is agains all-girls:( Her late aunt and great aunt went there and did very well … may at least get her to apply to see if she gets in. We are related to a former Dean at UDel - does that ever carry any weight? :)</p>
<p>Salam State in MA or NH? I will have to look into that.</p>
<p>I know … her scores are not good:( She took a prep class but just is not great at standardized tests. She is working with a private tutor and I really hope that will help her scores. We decided not to do the ACT because she really didn’t have enough time to study for that along with the SAT - does it make sense to take it anyway just to see what she will get?</p>
<p>She does have a ton of extra activities - she is doing an internship at a Major Boston Hospital this summer, works at the local library and for my husband, is in student government, theater, runs track and is a very active member of NHS. </p>
<p>I truly had NO idea how competitive this field is! Crazy!</p>
<p>Yeah, it’s incredible how competitive it is…one of my future college classmates had roughly the same GPA, an 1870 on the SAT (so in the mid 1100’s M+CR), and barely got into Northeastern (not sure if she got nursing), waitlisted at ZooMass for nursing, got into Emmanuel w/ scholarship (but they don’t have nursing), and got into Simmons but got no merit money and didn’t get into nursing when we met in March (however, she now speaks as if she got in - I believe she appealed). I was originally thinking of nursing and my stats were just above hers. I doubt I would’ve gotten in at many places.</p>
<p>Also, Salem State is in MA. Don’t think there’s a Salem State in NH.</p>
<p>Agree that UDel is out of reach, and Pitt is not an option for her either. I’d suggest adding more safety and match schools based on her current SAT scores. (Nursing school admission stats are typically much higher than for the university as a whole, so a “match” for general admission can be a “reach” for nursing.) </p>
<p>You can look up NCLEX results for the states that you would consider, to identify schools that you might not have on your radar yet for safety schools.</p>
<p>Ugh. I feel so inexperienced! Most of our friends kids are much younger so this feels so foreign to us - very different than when I did this in 1990!</p>
<p>Is there a place to see general admission criteria for the different nursing programs or at least a profile of the previous year? I fear it may come down to a nursing program in a school that is not a top choice or a better liked school with a maybe Bio major (we talked about that at one point if she doesn’t get into a nursing program).</p>
<p>Is Salam State better than say URI or UMaine?</p>
<p>Don’t overly despair quite yet. I really would recommend your D take the ACT exam. She might do better on that exam than the SAT. She could still continue to prepare and take the SAT again. I am not aware that any Nursing Programs publish the exact scores just for their Nursing students. Sometimes when you visit school Nursing Programs they might give you some general ranges for their students. As a general rule (IMHO) you probably need to increase the scores published for all students at a particular college by 10-20% to get a better approximation of the scores for students admitted to the Nursing Program at the school. You don’t necessarily need to get into a “top school” (however that is measured) to get a good nursing education. Colleges like URI, UNH, UMaine, Salem State, certainly have good Nursing Programs and trying to identify which one is “better” is most probably in the eye of the beholder. A lot would also depend on what type of college your D is interested in attending (large verses small, private verses public, and many other things). She should also look for a school where she feels she “fits in” best with. IMHO the quality of a Nursing education a student can get at any accredited Nursing school is more highly correlated (in most cases) with the effort a student puts into it rather than just with the “ranking” of the college. Just my perspective. Don’t give up quite yet. Good luck.</p>
<p>The ACT is definitely worth taking, even if you don’t have much time to prep for it. My daughter received many merit aid offers based upon her ACT score that she would not have received based upon her SAT score. It is a completely different test from the SAT, but it is not so complex that it needs a great deal of prep. My daughter really liked the organization of the ACT, while she hated the SAT. If I remember correctly, the ACT has a $20 prep course that you can do online.</p>
<p>If you are looking for some less selective direct entry nursing programs to add to your list, check out Misericordia U., Wilkes U., Neumann U., DeSales U., and Alvernia U. in northeast PA. If you prefer a very religious conservative Protestant college, Messiah U. near Harrisburg PA also has a direct entry nursing program that does clinicals at Penn State’s huge Milton S. Hershey medical center. And let me put in one more plug for York College of PA.</p>
<p>Hi, MomtoKTandJ!</p>
<p>From your list my D is applying to Northeastern, UD, UConn, and Quinnipiac. Did you visit URI and UNH? Wondering if we should take a look. I think we didnt at first because we heard that they are party schools (I guess what school isnt?) and my daughter really isnt into that scene. But maybe we should check it out anyway!</p>
<p>Also–my D took SATs 3 times and went up 100 pts each time. She took ACT 2x, and found it much easier than SAT.</p>
<p>^ UNH is definitely a party school. When the admissions guy came to visit our school, he referenced this by mimicking himself chugging a beer. But then again, you could say the same about ZooMass and almost any large state flagship. </p>
<p>When I visited I got the vibe that since those schools are so large, it is just as easy to find parties as it is to find people and/or activities that don’t involve that. I’m sure her fellow nursing majors would share a similar mindset, which makes it much easier (and any that do, will find themselves gone very quickly).</p>
<p>A friend of mine going to Saint Joseph’s College in Standish, ME, mentioned that about a third of his entering class are nursing majors. If she does not mind a small school, the location is great and I have heard good things about the school from others as well.</p>
<p>Just thought I would post this again (with some minor changes) from another recent post of mine on another thread if anyone has an interest in UD for Nursing:</p>
<p>The Univ. of Delaware is unique among all Flagship State Universities in that the majority of students there (2/3rds) are from OOS. As a result they do provide a reasonable amount of financial aid to OOS students (obviously it varies by a students stats-especially SAT/ACT scores). OOS admission to Nursing at UD is extremely competitive (Nursing and Chemical Engineering are the two most competitive majors for admission there). UD gets about 1500 applications for Nursing, accepts around 300 students, and usually ends up with a freshman Nursing class of around 135 (around 80-85 are OOS students). The OOS acceptance rate for Nursing is below 20%. While I hesitate to give specific numbers I would estimate that most OOS students would need a minimum GPA of 3.7-3.8 (in major academic course with as many AP/Honors courses as possible) with a minimum SAT score of 1900 (M/CR of 1300+) or ACT score of 29-30 just to be marginally competitive for nursing admission (obviously no guarantees). Hope this info is helpful. Good luck to all Nursing applicants.</p>
<p>I’m so worried now D: I took the ACT in june and got a 30 and decided not to take it again, but i feel like that is so average compared to others’ scores. I deeply hope that won’t jeopardize my chance of being admitted into nursing school…my GPA is not exactly stellar either.</p>
<p>30 ACT score is very competitive for most direct entry programs assuming your GPA is comparable. </p>
<p>Good luck and apply early.</p>
<p>Nursing Programs at all colleges are intense and time consuming. Based upon my academic connections IMHO the most academically rigorous 4 year direct entry National University BSN Nursing Programs in the Northeast include BC, Northeastern, UMass-Amherst, UConn, NYU, Rutgers-NB, TCNJ, Villanova, Drexel, Penn, Pitt. Penn State, Delaware, Georgetown, and Catholic University. You can add UVA and UNC if you want to go a bit further south. If one attends any of these schools you need to be aware that you will be in an educational atmosphere with Nursing classmates who are all very smart, highly competitive, and extremely compulsive. As a result you need to be aware, and be prepared, to work your butt off to do well if you attend any of these schools. Academically once you are at any of these schools HS stats/SAT scores will mean nothing, its how you perform at the school that will count. So be forewarned. If you don’t have the motivation to give it your best effort+ (and realize it is going to be extremely challenging) it probably would be in your best interests to consider attending other schools. Just my perspective. Good luck to all applicants.</p>
<p>Excellent advice Mwallenmd! Students should keep in mind when applying that even if you get into a reach school, the competition (grade curve) will be intense.</p>
<p>Yesway777 - We did visit UNH and D really liked it. She liked the size better than UMASS and thought it was a great campus and location (about 1.5 hours from home). My husband went there and I really don’t think it is any more a party school than most other large state universities. We have not gone to URI since that is not a top choice of hers but may visit in the Fall.</p>
<p>I went to UMASS Amherst and really didn’t think it was that crazy - yes there are parties everywhere but there are lots of other things to do. D liked UMASS much more than she expected but is a little nervous about the size - but it is a great program so if she gets in she will most likely go. We are instate for UMASS so hope that helps her.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how UNH, URI, UVM and UMaine compare to UMASS or UCONN?</p>
<p>Thanks, MomtoKTandJ! I think we will look into UNH then. Nursing seems SO competitive! She is planning teaching as a back up if she does not get into any of the programs, but hopefully she will!</p>