We recently entered the world of nursing schools. I had no idea they were so competitive! We have a master spreadsheet and are comparing all kinds of data. We realized that our flagship state school is a reach for the nursing program. Data on here says they have 1400 applicants with 275 accepted to enroll 50 to 60. I’ve seen the GPA cut off to be 3.8 on 4.0 (? if that is accurate).
Can you give me ideas nursing direct admit safety schools for her? We do have a direct admit list. It is just hard to gather the nursing schools stats.
Here are here stats:
weighted GPA 4.17, unweighted 3.7 on a 4.0
SAT 1260
ACT 28 (taking again in Oct, confident she can raise to a 29 or 30, should be received by 11/15 deadlines)
Broad range of extracurriculars (sports, band, language club officer, NHS, has a job) and silver and gold awards for volunteer hours
AP/IB classes, very competitive HS which doesn’t rank but she is likely in the top 15%
Since her discovery of a nursing career is new she does not have volunteer hours in a nursing related position.
We are looking for schools where she could likely get merit aid. The dream being a cost of less than $30,000/yr.
Is she certain that she wants a BSN right off the bat? Check the community colleges in your state for ASN programs. Often the admission to those programs is competitive, but it won’t be as competitive as at the 4-year institutions. A solid ASN program will prepare her well for RN licensing, and she can finish off a BSN (often on the employer’s dime) later on.
Thank you happymom. We do have a community college that offers an ASN. She hasn’t considered it as she would like to go right for a BSN. But it certainly may be something she needs to think more about. I work for a hospital and they only hire BSN nurses. I am wondering which employers hire ASN RNs and who does tuition reimbursement. (I saw a nursing 2024 thread so I posted it there as well)
You may want to look at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA. It’s an all women’s college on the undergrad level (co-ed graduate school). They have a highly regarded BSN nursing program. Cedar Crest offers generous merit aid as well.
I’ll echo what @happymomof1 says. Direct admit programs are the ideal, but are very competitive.
One alternative to direct-admit is going to a 4-year and taking the pre-nursing program and then applying for the BSN program there (as well as applying to xfer to other colleges with a BSN). But if you don’t get into a BSN program after 2 years you are kinda out of luck, and admission is quite competitive.
A great alternative is to get an RN at a community college (an ADN or associates degree in nursing) and then go to one of the RN->BSN programs. Look for a good NCLEX pass rate at the CC. I know nurses that have done this. RN->BSN programs tend to much be easier to get into than direct-admit or nursing from pre-nursing BSN programs. I’m more familiar with the CA programs but expect it would be similar elsewhere in the country. One CSU campus says
As to where she may get hired without a BSN she should check with the ADN programs as part of her research into this path. But there is no requirement to enter the workforce, it is possible to continue straight on. Some BSN programs are online only, but it is possible to find ones where she can attend in person. For example the Penn State system offers this https://www.nursing.psu.edu/rn-to-bsn-degree-program/
@happymomof1 Around here (in Pennsylvania), admission to community college nursing programs (usually not direct entry) is much more competitive than admission to most of the public and private direct entry 4-year programs. Of course, that may be due to the lower cost of community college and the fact that Pennsylvania has over 50 direct entry 4-year programs.
@NHfall You may want to check out Pennsylvania schools with nursing programs. Many private colleges offer substantial merit aid. York College of Pennsylvania has a good nursing program, tuition is reasonable, and merit aid is available.
I am a fan of direct entry programs. Waiting until Junior year adds a lot of risk. I would look at the non flagship state schools. If you are in NY, NJ or CT you get instate tuition at Western Connecticut.
The U of Cincinnati has an award for targeted states (CT, MD, MA, NJ, NY, PA) that could get the cost in your range. Cincinnati has the #2 Children’s Hospital if she is interested in pediatric nursing.
I’ll chime in that Cincinnati’s merit/financial awards are not all that. They have some big awards available to a limited demographic, but most of the Cincinnatus Scholarships are a couple grand a year. They are, however, a state school which helps mitigate that.
That said, the program is very good (my daughter is a sophomore nursing student).
My daughter had much lesser stats and was accepted to several affordable direct programs. And my idea of affordable is just a tad less than yours. PA has several that should be a shoe in for your daughters stats and she may even get more aid than mine did.
Mine is a sophomore at York College in PA and she also got a nice aid package at East Stroudsburg. We just thought the York program was a little better.
A few accessible but excellent nursing programs in southeastern New England
University of RI. Great nursing school and all the bells and whistles of a dynamic flagship uni. Sports clubs beautiful campus and academics. Price is good too.
Salve Regina. Small and formerly all women’s college in Newport ri. Google Newport mansions and that’s where it’s located. Right off the famed cliff walk. Awesome little school.
Both have access to major medical facilities and lab work in Providence and Boston. My niece went to uri and interned at Boston children’s. She had offers for pediatric er nursing all over the country. She lives in Hawaii now and is only 24. Loves it. Is coming back in a year or two and has zero fear of finding work. It’s a great career.
Ursuline College In Pepper Pike (very affluent suburb of Cleveland) would be both a financial and admissions safety for your daughter. Ursuline, mainly because of a VERY strong dean of nursing, has THE best nursing school rep here in Cleveland. The hospitals fight over their students for their clinical slots. While Ursuline students do not have the stats of nearby CWRU, ursuline’s approach creates nurse leaders and their NYCLEX pass rates are sky high. It is a very small school (but a big campus for its number of students) and is strong majority female. A large proportion of students are commuters. It’s nursing program is a gem, but it won’t have most of the traditional college experiences (no tailgate parties on game days). It is about 10 miles east of downtown Cleveland. Ursuline students feel very cared-for by the dedicated and caring faculty. Worth a look.
Look at Umass Lowell, Umass Boston and Salem state. I think she might be competitive for a few more programs but merit might not work. UNH is getting more and more competitive as a lot of high stats kids from MA that want the flagship feel apply there since it is closer to Boston than Umass Amherst.
Stockton University in NJ
TCNJ
I would definitely focus on direct admit BSN programs and avoid ASN programs because a BSN is now the required minimum for most nursing jobs. ASN can work in nursing homes and maybe outpatient clinics but not much else.
Thank you for all of your input! I read them all. Our flagship is UNH and I read here admission was a 3.8 on a 4.0. We have 15 to 20 schools on the list. A number of the ones you mentioned. She is working on early action applicaitons now.
The UMass Dartmouth program is very good and would be in your target budget. There are a slew of privates but they might be expensive including Simmons, Endicott, Emmanuel (new program), University of New England, quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, Curry, and Fairfield. I work at a community college and getting into a program at my college would be more competitive than any of these and that’s pretty much true at any CC.