Please reverse chance me, I am a high school senior who is considering taking a gap year because I am not happy with my college results

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics
US citizen from Virginia, public high school, white female.

Intended Major(s)
Nursing

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Projected 3.9 unweighted, school doesn’t rank, 1390 SAT first try (710 RW, 680 math) (willing to retake).

Coursework
Eight APs: biology-3, psychology-4, microeconomics-3, US government, statistics, human geography, computer science principles, physics 1. One dual enrollment: english composition I/II, six credits. Thirteen honors courses, all in core courses. I got up to Spanish 3 and statistics will be the highest level of math I have taken.

Awards
AP Scholar

Extracurriculars
Member of Society of Next Women Engineers my senior year, member of the National English Honor Society my senior year, member of my school’s poetry club my junior and senior year, volunteered for six hours at a 4H camp for kids with special medical needs.

Cost Constraints / Budget
My estimated financial contribution is $65,400 per year but my parents can afford up to $40,000 per year.

Schools
Accepted: Virginia Tech, James Madison University, University of Kentucky, Ohio State University, University of Maryland, Virginia Commonwealth University, Auburn University

Awaiting: William & Mary, University of Virginia (deferred), West Virginia University, Belmont University

I didn’t realize that I wanted to nursing 100% until last month. Belmont and WVU are my only potential freshman admit options, as I didn’t apply to UVA for nursing. Also, WVU may not even give me direct admission since I applied past the priority deadline. I plan on getting my CNA license this summer and working full time during my potential gap year. I would prefer to mostly apply to freshman admit nursing programs. What are some other things I could do to make my application stronger? What are some good match, safety, and teach schools I could apply to? I don’t care where I go to school but I would prefer that the weather would be nice.

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Congratulations on your acceptances! I would wait to see if you get into the nursing program for your two schools. There are lots of direct admit nursing programs, but the ones I know are in the northeast. I believe Clemson and Tennessee are direct admit? I am not sure about how competitive those are though. I would look at the Nursing major forum here as well! Good luck!

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Did you apply for nursing at any of the schools you were accepted at?

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Yes! I did at Kentucky and UMD (they have a program with UMD-B) and I can afford Kentucky but it’s not direct admission. I can get into their nursing program guaranteed if I keep a 3.6 overall and science GPA my freshman year but I am hesitant about this.

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I will browse the forum, thank you for the recommendations! I’m definitely looking at UTK because I believe I would earn enough in scholarships to be able to go.

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I would contact Kentucky nursing program and ask what percentage of students who obtain a 3.6 gpa get into the nursing program.

I think Id take my chances this year versus gap year.

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Are there schools with direct admission if that’s wha tyou want where you can still apply - Alabama, UAH, Arizona - not sure if direct admit.

As for UTK - i think you are too late (at least for scholarship consideration). But not the above three.

I think you’re being way overly critical.

You have great admits - and you can figure out how to make it work. And if you work hard, you’ll get into a non-direct admit program. If you don’t, it likely wasn’t for you then anyway.

I wouldn’t take a gap year because you missed direct admit.

Kids constantly change majors and you may again!!

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Thank you for your input! You’re probably right, but I am pretty set on healthcare and nursing seems like the best thing I could do in that field realistically. I do have great options, I am just nervous about programs being so competitive these days. Thank you for your kind words!

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Pennsylvania has at least 50 direct entry BSN programs, many of which aren’t very selective. My daughter, with much lower GPA and SAT scores, was admitted to 3 of them, all with merit aid. It’s possible that some of them may still have openings, especially the smaller private colleges. See below for a list of Pennsylvania nursing programs. I’d suggest calling around to check on any possible openings.
file:///home/chronos/u-1bb2d5c4cb261a5d91812d4a2b2658adb0635417/MyFiles/Downloads/List-RN-Programs-2021.pdf

Edited to add: I’m sorry, I don’t think that link will work but you can google Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing Approved Nursing Programs

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Check Bama and UAH - aren’t far - not sure if they are direct admit. You will be “well under” your budget on both…well under and you can still apply.

Your tuition at Bama, for example, would be $7.5K with merit - so you’d be $22K or so total.

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I wouldn’t take a gap year. You could look at the NACAC list in May for schools with openings. Look at Cincinnati. See if they’re filled. Tons of programs in PA. The PASSHE schools should be affordable.

WVU could be a nice option. You would be competitive there even without direct admit. They have a level 1 hospital on campus with the medical school. They’re growing. A lot.

Some schools have agreements with local CC’a. Do your first two years at CC and transfer.

For all your schools look at the clinical side. Which ones have easy access? The good thing about nursing is prestige doesn’t matter at all. Do well, get good clinical experience and pass your boards. You’re all set.

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Another option if none of your admissions are suitable for nursing (either don’t have it or it is too competitive to get into nursing later, or direct admit program has aggressive weed-out) is to do a community college ADN/RN program, then do an RN → BSN program at a four year school.

However, unlike most community college programs, ADN/RN programs are often competitive to get into.

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I am just nervous about programs being so competitive these days.

You’re concerned that programs are competitive.

UMD, Va Tech and more solid schools - guess what - you are competitive!!! Don’t doubt yourself.

Good luck.

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Thank you very much!

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Thank you for this!

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Look into Arizona State. I believe they have a direct admit program for nursing and they offer excellent merit scholarships for students with your GPA. Plus, sunshine!

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You have great stats and great admittances. Congratulations on all the hard work that is now paying off! I definitely wouldn’t take a gap year at this point. You may well get into a nursing program at a school you’ve already applied to, or get in later on (and you could always transfer if you decide nursing is for you and you don’t get entry at the college of your choice).

Quoting myself from a different thread, here’s another possibility to consider:

This would be in a warm climate and would be well within your budget (and is still taking applications). I’m not sure if it’s direct admit, but it appears as though you only need a 2.8 GPA to advance in the program. With your current stats you would qualify for the Magnolia Scholarship which has an out-of-state waiver plus $2400/year for tuition for 4 years and $5000/year for 2 years for housing. If you’re able to boost your SAT score to a 1420 then you would get the Live Oak scholarship for $2600/year for tuition and $10,800/year for room & board (appears to be all 4 years for both) plus have the option of a campus work-study job. Tuition & fees is by the credit hour, but if you took 17 credits/semester then your tuition & fees would be $11,600 minus the amount covered by the scholarship.

Best of luck to you!

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Arizona State University nursing has an aggressive weed-out policy. Direct admit students must earn a 3.50 college GPA in prerequisites in each of the first four semesters to stay in the program: Traditional Prelicensure Clinical Nursing Program | Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation

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OP- you sound like a wonderful person and student. But it is a common misconception among HS kids that if you are interested in healthcare, your “best” options are either becoming a doctor or a nurse.

Absolutely not true! There are dozens and dozens of fantastic healthcare careers that are not either of those things, and if you’ve only decided on nursing recently, I’d encourage you to explore some of them. I have a neighbor who is a genetic counselor at a major cancer research center. She works on a research team AND works directly with patients. Not a nurse- BS in Bio, Master’s in Genetic Counseling. I have friends who are PT’s, OT’s, Speech therapists-- the speech therapist specializes in stroke victims; fascinating work. The PT works with amputees at a VA hospital.

On the business side of healthcare (so not clinical work) there are also dozens and dozens of options- there are professionals who recruit patients for clinical trials (it is challenging work- you’d think it would be easy, but working with doctors to identify which of their patients have the correct profile, and then working with the family to assuage their concerns, and then maintaining follow-up with the patient-- not always an easy thing to do). There are people with degrees in psychology who work at large drug companies on effective dosing recommendations (a huge percentage of patients do not take their meds correctly- why? How can we help them do it better?) and people with degrees in finance who manage large departments at hospitals. The CEO of a huge hospital near me started life as a CPA, then got a Master’s in Health Administration.

I’m not discouraging you from pursuing nursing- but pointing out that not getting in to a direct admit program if you are not 100% committed to nursing- might be a blessing in disguise!!! You’ve got great options on the table- work with your parents to figure out what’s affordable and if nursing is right for you, you will ace your classes and get admitted to the program once you’ve gotten a semester or two under your belt.

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Given your stats, you’d do great at UK and their nursing program is excellent! VCU and George Mason in Virginia have extremely strong nursing programs also- honestly I can tell you that gmu’s nursing is harder than Georgetown’s and much better prepares students. You are better off not doing a gap year unless it’s really to get CC credits/savings and just going into a program even without direct admit, but networking with nursing dept and volunteering while you are there. UK will likely give you a very generous a scholarship based on your stats, it will be essentially instate tuition and within your budget without taking loans. They are transparent on the webpage about costs/scholarships.

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