I’m soon to be graduating senior (June 2020), and I have begun receiving acceptances to all the schools I’ve applied to. My GPA in High School wasn’t anything special. I had a 3.3 and an 1130 SAT. I only applied to CSUs and a few privates. For Pre- Nursing I applied to and got admitted into:
Sacramento State
Chico State &
Cal State Channel Islands
I know nursing is hugely impacted, and I would have to apply after I take all my prerequisite courses. I understand I would basically have to be a perfect student due to how competitive it is, and I’m nervous because I see all these statistics of those who get in and those who don’t.
I live in San Fernando, California, so all of these schools are far away, and I don’t have the benefit of prioritized admission as I’ve heard some of the CSU’s give priority to the nursing program to those who live in the surrounding areas.
Community is an option for me. There’s plenty of good CC campuses around me that I would be willing to attend.
Price differences between the campuses aren’t super drastic as I’m receiving good financial aid, and CSUs have affordable tuition, so finances aren’t a significant factor in my decision.
I wouldn’t mind going to any of the three campuses. My decision is going to be based more on where I think I would succeed and where I would eventually earn a BSN.
I think I have what it takes to be a successful student, I don’t think my GPA is the best reflection of my potential, I just got complacent in high school, and It’s something I regret.
What I’m asking here Is basically just for some advice on where I should try my chances.
Being a big fish in a small pond can be an advantage as a Pre-Nursing student so where does your test scores and GPA put you in comparison to other students at each of these campuses?
Being closer to a large city could be an advantage if pursuing volunteering/hands on-patient contact. Also later when you are in the Nursing program, easy access to your clinical rotations.
Have you researched if there are differences academically in applying to the Nursing schools at each of these campuses?
Also check how many current students at each campus are accepted into their Nursing program each semester or yearly or are the majority of students CC transfers or transfer from other colleges.
We visited Sacramento State - my duaghter loved it but decided not to apply as its so impacted and for nursing you are only allowed to apply for expression of interest in nursing. I wasn’t even sure she would get her gen educ classes easily. Their nursing program is highly regarded but very competitive to make it in. My daughter decided not to apply because of this. She did apply to Chico but has decided not to go that route - I would call them and ask how many years to finish degree, how many apply and are accepted, if they prioritize Chico over transfer students.
Check if its not too late to apply to Reno. Offer WUE rates if you meet certain criteria and at least first two years of classes are not impacted. It is competitive to get into last two years of nursing but you do get two tries. Better odds than some schools.
best of luck to you!
a little dated - but it looks like CSUCI took 44 of the 500 applicants in 2017, i believe its still that selective. My understanding is that Chico and Sac are similarly selective. There simply aren’t enough seats for nursing students at CA publics. I wouldn’t count on getting into any of them.
Most students change majors more than once so, it may make sense to go the the campus she’s most interested in and get a BA/BS in something other than nursing. If she’s hell bent on nursing, a CC, or a gap year while she applies more broadly to private or out of state schools.
So an alternative route is to earn an ADN at a community college and become licensed as an RN (which can allow working as a nurse starting then), then later do an RN->BSN at a CSU.
However, some of the ADN programs may be overloaded as well.