<p>Hello! I was wondering what colleges are good for me as an undergraduate for an RN or a pediatric nurse. I am currently a junior in high school in California.
Freshman: 3.7
Sophomore: 3.67
Junior: 3.88 (1st sem. weighted, 2 AP's)
SAT: 1610 (I'm attending satprep over summer break & hopefully achieve at least 1900)
I have already heard that UCLA is the "best" for people residing in Cali, but the acceptance rate for them is extremely low & you would need at least a 4.0. I heard that UCI is the same as UCLA for their nursing program.
I've looked up many nursing programs in colleges for undergrad: UPenn, NYU, Temple University, USC, and so forth... But I'm not exactly sure what is the best college for someone who doesn't exactly get straight A's but doesn't get straight B's.
(I also don't mind the cost of the colleges or distance)</p>
<p>If you can get your SAT scores up to the following range (1800-2000) I could suggest the following colleges with excellent Nursing Programs on the middle East Coast: Villanova, Catholic University, Univ. of Delaware, Rutgers-NB, George Mason Univ., The College of New Jersey, and UConn. Hopefully your past HS courses included as many Honors/AP etc. courses as possible. Your Sr. year should also include similar types of courses. Nursing has become an increasingly popular major at most all major universities and the competition has therefore become incresingly intense. Good Luck to you.</p>
<p>You’re right, UCI and UCLA have very competitive programs. However, when looking at the “best,” you can’t just go by school rank alone. Most of the cal states have nursing programs, and these offer a lot of hands on practical experience. I think (although don’t quote me on this because I haven’t actually started attending UCLA) the main difference between the two programs is that with the cal states, it is designed to put nurses out on the hospital floors right after 4 years, whereas UCLA and UCI have programs that encourage students to pursue more education and really be leaders in the field, so to speak. Don’t quote me on that though, it was just my general understanding from the school of nursing open house last Saturday. So I’d recommend looking at your goals after graduation. I know the UC’s work on preparing you for more education than just a four year degree, which was ideal for me because I know I want to get my masters.</p>
<p>Something else to consider–at cal states, you are admitted as a “pre-nursing” major, and after 2 years, you must apply to get into the nursing program. So admission to a cal state program as a freshman does not guarantee that you will be admitted to the nursing program, which is actually the only reason why I didn’t have a very hard choice to make between UCLA and cal state long beach. At UCLA and UCI, you are admitted into the nursing program as a freshman, although you don’t start taking nursing classes until your junior year. But still, that made my college decision very easy.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if you already do, but I’d highly recommend getting involved in a volunteer program at a hospital or some kind of healthcare setting. I think colleges see this as a commitment to nursing, and I know my volunteer work was one of the major strengths of my application, especially since my test scores aren’t that high. (multiple choice is my downfall in any subject. grrr…)</p>
<p>Sorry I can’t comment on any other schools. My parents gave me three options for college: community college, cal states, or UC schools, so those are the only ones I know about.</p>