My D - junior - is interested in nursing schools and we’re trying to collect information such as the size of the school, the admit rate, average stats, etc. Some schools have the information on their web-sites, but many don’t. Short of contacting the schools, is there and easier way to find this information? Any books or guides that I’m not finding? My older child went the convenational route and it was easy to find.
This forum has been incredibly helpful for getting us started and introducing us to schools! Thank you all!
Since I posted this, I have found the Peterson’s guide which does give me more information, but at least the version I found at the library, doesn’t have average stats or admit rates. Thanks.
I found on most schools you had to either dig really deep to get that info on the website, or just contact them directly. Sometimes I could find that information from googling, but who knows how accurate that is.
I asked very pointed questions of the admission folks, and I did get information that was not readily available. Hard admission facts for nursing, not the school as a whole. Average GPA is good, but I also asked for the range of stats like test scores, GPA, etc.
If you are looking at non-direct admits, you might want to tailor your questions that way. They don’t like to talk about the fact that your kid could spend a year or two there and not make it into the program.
Most states list the pass rates for the RN exam for each institution. That chart not only tells you pass rates, but lists all of the programs, and tells you how many graduates were from each institution. The larger programs are usually a little easier for admission.
For larger schools, you can go to the CC site for that college, and look for information posted by admitted students for nursing to get a sense. In general, assume that nursing students are above the middle 50% admission stats that are posted for most colleges. For example, if the college says that the middle 50% of admitted students had scores of X to Y, assume that a score higher than Y would be needed for nursing.
Good advice. I did end up contacting some schools today and the admissions reps were great about talking about what they look for - not just acceptance percentages, gpa, etc. which was what I originally asked, but what classes they would like her to take her senior year and what other factors would make her competative. I will plan on doing that with others!
I would also recommend that once your daughter is done with school this year that she make some of the phone calls herself as well . I have found that the nursing departments and/or admissions love when the students call or even email instead of the parents . I know it’s tough when they are in school but just a suggestion. Good luck ! It’s such a process !
@werety and @NJMOM3 - can you please share a bit about who you contacted in the nursing departments (what role) or was it the general admissions you contacted? Did you call or email?
My daughter is a sophmore and we have toured a numbers of schools - now we want to try and get more detailed information specific to nursing for the ones she really liked. Thanks so much!
@kchamp I started out contacting the general admissions people (these are in-state schools, so a lot of them had admissions rep for our general area). I figured they were there to sell me on the school, so they had an interest in getting back to me.
They were pretty good about getting specific answers … a few times they sent them to the nursing folks, who at times were less polite but did answer my questions.
I found that for the most part the admissions office is the department making the decisions on who is admitted based on criteria that has been pre- established by the nursing department . i normally had my daughters call the admissions department (but I’m sure emailing is ok too ) to ask for the specific requirements needed for nursing . These are often higher than what is expected for other majors just because of the limited number of spots . It also helps to go to as many nursing open houses as you feasibly can to get the most specific information you can for each school . I know that becomes time consuming and costly so I would only do that for schools she has a great deal of interest in . We did contact the nursing dept itself for one of my daughter’s schools because it was indirect and we were trying to get a true number for the GPA required to progress to upper division …those numbers are usually difficult to get since they only publicize the minimum GPA required which is often not the actual GPA required . That’s only for indirect though . Normally the nursing dept itself is not the one actually admitting the student but they decide on the criteria admissions uses .( at least that was the case for the colleges we looked at ) We looked at all larger schools so maybe small schools work differently though .
At most colleges, nursing is one of the most popular fields for applicants, so the general admissions staff should know the important info, such as percent admitted. However, you will need to go to the nursing dept for many questions, such as the types and locations of clinicals.
@Charliesch I have found that now that we are getting to the nitty gritty the clinical locations are very important to us.
For example, the new program here in my town sends kids 2 hours away for some clinicals - they were having to get up at 3 a.m. to drive to them. My DD will still apply there, but is generally focused on the programs in bigger cities where she has a better chance of being placed closer. It may still be an hour away (especially considering city traffic) but clinical placement is becoming a more important factor for her.
As for who I contacted, I just called the general admissions office and in both cases (UVM and Boston College) the nursing liaison was in the office. I didn’t identify myself - I also agree that’s for my daughter to do once she settles down and is out of school. It’s particularly hard since we are on one coast looking at the other. But right now she had no idea whether it was even a possibility and was trying to get some ideas before school ends and she doesn’t have access to her college counselor.
That being said, we did go to a small college fair near our house and she talked to two schools she was interested in, and neither of the general admissions folks were able to answer her questions, so she is following up with email after getting their cards.
I’m a firm believer in having her be the main contact with the schools (as was my other kiddo.) However, to the extent I can do some of her advance work/research for her I will, particularly until we get through finals! It will be a busy summer on the college front.
Bearcat - Yes, the distance to clinicals is a consideration, particularly since some clinicals start very early in the morning. For one set of clinicals, my daughter had to travel to the hospital on Sunday evenings, when there was no public transit available. For one set of experiences, my daughter had to follow around a nurse during that nurse’s 12 hour work days, which meant coming home at 3 am. Fortunately, they can usually arrange carpools for longer trips, but at most colleges, they will need their own reliable car once they start clinicals (which for her was 4th semester).
Some colleges have a small local hospital that does not have room for all of the nursing students to do local clinicals. It is common to travel for some specialized clinical experiences even if there is a major hospital nearby.
Hi @werety I can’t stress enough about having reliable transportation. Clinical locations can be right at the college or it can be 20min drive ( local traffic ) or it can be 40min to an hour away from campus or it can be in some less desirable neighborhood doing the Community Health clinical.
And it starts really early in the morning,
during snow storm with dangerous icy road condition on secondary roads
( that’s right )
or heavy thunderstorm / hurriance / bad weather etc…
they have to show up on time.
Good luck & hope you get all the info you need
We attended a couple of info sessions & asked some questions. Also try to talk to the current nursing students if possible.
Best wishes
My daughter is graduating and accepted a position as an ER nurse. She is buying a car with high clearance and all wheel drive, because she won’t have the option of sleeping in during a blizzard.
Clinical locations were a big factor in narrowing down schools for us. I have a rising sophomore in nursing at Pitt and clinicals start this fall. All 8 clinical locations are either walking distance or accessible by bus - within 20 minutes I believe. The freshman nursing students were required to visit each location this spring and provide evidence that they had been there (picture).
Congrats to your daughter @Charliesch! Just curious - is her job after graduation a place where she has worked or done clinical(s) or a completely new place? Since my daughter is looking at some schools a few hours away I am wondering if new grads stay where they did clinicals or start new places.
Kchamp: She’ll be working at the hospital where she did most of her clinicals and where she also worked during the summer and part-time. She had an offer from another hospital for more money, but she really likes the people where she will be working.
That is why is desirable to go to school near where you want to work - because it provides the student a chance to check out the atmosphere of various hospitals, in addition to helping the employers get to know you. Some hospitals reportedly are unpleasant places to work.