I am going to be a senior in high school and I want to be a nurse midwife or a neonatal nurse. I live in Southern California near Fullerton California and I want to commute to college. What colleges have entry level nursing that are near me? I am also a fairly average student with an unweighted GPA of 3.5 and a weighted of 4.2 will colleges still want me??
there is a nursing sub-forum here you should post your question on (and read). You should also do a web search on “how to become a nurse” and you’ll find lots of info.
you are putting way too much restriction on your choice of colleges if you expect to live at home and become an RN. You probably can find local programs to become a LVN though.
If you are interested in becoming an RN then you should put programs called “direct admit” at the top of your list. These admit you as a frosh and guarantee you will become an RN if you pass your classes. Many schools don’t offer this; instead you enroll and after 2 years apply to enter the RN program. Spaces are limited, and if they turn you down then you are out of luck.
also you should get experience in health care now if you haven’t already. Many programs at 4-year colleges expect applicants to have real-world experience so they know what they are getting into. This summer would be a good time to start at a volunteer (or in paid work if you can find it).
CSU Fullerton has a direct admit nursing program but it is very competitive and the requirements are listed below. They also offer the Pre-Nursing program where you take 2 years of pre-req courses and then apply for the Nursing program.
You can also take the Pre-Nursing pre-req courses at a local CCC and then apply for transfer to a CSU or UC school.
All Nursing/Pre-Nursing programs are very competitive and impacted for the CSU’s.
For Direct Admit program:
Complete High School Courses
Complete the required high school A-G coursework.
Find out more about high school A-G courses
Complete H.S. Chem And Bio
Complete high school level Chemistry and Biology each with a grade of “B” or higher (if AP then “C” or higher) by end of junior year in high school (11 grade).
Complete SAT Or ACT Exam
The minimum eligibility index for the program is: 4200 (SAT) or 1010 (ACT).
The eligibility index is the combination of test scores and grade point averages.
EI= (CSU GPA x200) + (ACT composite x10) or (CSU GPA x800) + (SAT Math +CR)
For Pre-Nursing to Nursing school:
UNIVERSITY ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Completion of at least 60 transferable semester units
Cumulative, transferable Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 2.75 (on a 4.0 scale). At the university’s discretion, the GPA criteria may vary depending upon allotted enrollment limits. Please refer to CSUF Admissions and RecordsOpens in new window for more information about university GPA criteria.
Golden Four basic general education requirements
Oral Communications (CSU GE A.1)
Written Communications (CSU GE A.2)
Critical Thinking (CSU GE A.3)
College Level Math (CSU GE B.4)*
*The School of Nursing recommends completing a CSU GE B.4 certified Statistics course as this will also then satisfy the Nursing Statistics prerequisite with the same course.
SCHOOL OF NURSING ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
An Associate Degree in Nursing (or equivalent) from an accredited institution
Current California RN license or be eligible for a California RN license.
To be eligible to complete the Full-Time (3 semesters) Study Plan, students must obtain a CA RN license by March 1st in their first semester if admitted for Spring or October 1st in their first semester if admitted for Fall.
Eligible for university admission as outlined
Completion of college level courses in the following areas with a grade of C or better
Anatomy with Lab
Physiology with Lab
Microbiology with Lab
Chemistry
Statistics
Below is a link for which Cal States offer Nursing programs (all are impacted and SDSU is a direct admit with Freshman acceptances only)
https://www.calstate.edu/sas/documents/impactedprogramsmatrix.pdf
I wouldn’t recommend becoming an LVN/LPN at this point in time; most hospitals are hiring primarily RNs and are kind of phasing LPNs out. Furthermore, most community colleges are probably offering RN programs instead of LPN programs anyway. Most college students do live at home and commute somewhere close, and many community colleges offer associate’s degrees in nursing. There are a lot of community colleges in the Los Angeles metro area. Then after then ADN, you can do an RN to BSN program.
There are also several four-year universities close by that offer it - CSU Fullerton, Los Angeles, and Long Beach; UCLA; and Mount Saint Mary’s University. A couple of other CSUs are a little further afield and might be a bad commute.
If you look at the graduation rates for commuter schools, the likelihood of graduating from such a rigorous curriculum is very low. Can it be done, sure but the odds are against it.
Do not waste $$ on an LPN degree. In some areas the only gainful employment is in nursing homes and Drs offices.