My D20 has recently changed her intended major. Until recently, she was considering engineering. Recently she realized she cannot work in a cubicle, and she really wants to help people. She is now interested in Nursing. Very interested, it seems. From the research I’ve done, she has the stats to get into any of the direct admit programs. She has good, not great, ECs. Lots of community service. Where she is lacking is any EC related to nursing. So, my question is, given the limited time left before submitting applications next fall, what can she do to improve her chances of being accepted to a direct admit program? Also, her time is somewhat limited due to being a 2-sport athlete, so we need to factor that in as well.
If her stats are great she will not have a problem to get in to several direct admit programs. Maybe not the ultra competitive programs (I mean UPenn, UCLA and such) but still. My D (also decided late to apply to nursing) had great stats, great ECs but nothing really nursing specific except for a generic hospital volunteer program and she was accepted to competitive programs such as our flagship, Boston college, UNH, Villanova etc. and to all other schools that she applied for her safeties. From my experience stats and good general ECs are enough for admissions. When you consider the ultra competitive programs then yes you need to have some type of a “hook” and perhaps amazing in depth nursing ECs. The schools she applied to did not even ask for specific nursing related essays. Her common app essay was not related to nursing either. She applied early action and by Thanksgiving she was admitted to several programs so she did not even apply to all programs she was planning to. She is a frosh now and thriving!
At this point for your daughter I would add really “any” nursing related EC (hospital volunteer, shadowing etc) mostly for her to decide if she still likes it. Feel free to send me a PM if you want to ask more questions.
She can also use her essay to explain her recent change of heart. Not everyone knows immediately what they want to be when they grow up (and some of us never figure it out!) so personally I think it’s okay that she recently decided to pursue nursing.
Her essay can also tie any and all extracurriculars back to nursing. While my daughter did have ECs related to nursing, her essay also used her other experiences to tie it all together that nursing was her passion.
Some programs will like to see some indication that an applicant knows what they are getting into, since nursing is a tough major and calling. About 50 kids dropped out of my daughter’s program the first two months of school. I agree with @am9799 that anything will help - even a medical explorers club. There also might be opportunities at an ambulance corps, nursing home, etc. Hospital volunteering can be very competitive and political.
She can discuss how her ECs / varsity sports showcase the strengths and characteristics required in the nursing field (ie critical thinking, performing well under pressure). My D didn’t have the typical nursing ECs but she did write of clubs she led or started or electives or community service volunteering that presented her passions for bonding with those in need, inclusion, caring for others, etc.
@bearcatfan Is 50 kids dropping out the norm? perhaps that’s common among some programs but it sounds like a lot. how many students are in the program? Some programs like UCLA’s have a target first time freshman enrollment of only 50.
@Banker1 it was an over-enrolled program, so it was just as well. They had more acceptances than they were expecting, so I think they are getting closer to where they were expecting.
In the old days, when nursing admissions were easier, I think there was a higher drop out and fail out rate.
In my daughter’s program, I remember her saying that one guy got kicked out for violating rules during clinicals. A number of students needed 4.5 or 5 years to graduate because they failed a required course or didn’t do well enough on the required test prep classes. However, I don’t think many dropped out.
@Charliesch with my daughter’s program, a lot of people met their match with the first semester anatomy class. It’s required, and you have to pass with at least a C (but if that happens there is little room for error on your other classes). If you drop it or get dropped due to grades, it is time for a re-appraisal of your major. They might get a second chance with taking it again, but I’m not sure - thankfully my daughter was not one of them.
The program was surprised that many more people accepted admission than they were expecting. At orientation they said they had room for everyone they offered admission to, but expected around 200 to come from previous years. At the beginning of the year they had closer to 300 enrolled. I’m not sure how many are enrolled now, but it’s still more than they were expecting. It might right-size even more by the end of the school year.
That means there are fewer spots available for pre-nursing majors to enter the program - another plus for direct admission.
@bearcatfan glad your D survived Anatomy. Mine is looking forward to starting it next month in her program.
@Banker1 It’s actually a year-long class. She has more next semester. The guy is tough, but they definitely know their stuff when he is done with them.
Ok, I just took a look at both 4 year schedules and see that UC refers to the classes as Anatomy/Physio and Anatomy/Physio II whereas SDSU calls it Anatomy and then Physio. The Anatomy class is regarded as the hardest (very few A’s given) in the entire program at SDSU. My D had Microbio in her first semester whereas it looks like that is taken 2nd semester at UC. Interesting how the curriculum is laid out at different programs.
- do you mind me asking what your daughter’s stats were? I’m in MA, too and my dd will be applying to many of those same schools. (Couldn’t figure out how to send you a pm.)
@2020Nurse if you click on a user’s name (handle) you can then click the message button next to their avatar. Here’s last year’s thread that shows a lot of applicant stats, schools applied, acceptances, merit amounts and final decisions. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/nursing-major/2039571-class-of-2022-nursing-admissions.html#latest
Try doing some shadowing of medical professionals. Either friends of the family, practices you go to, or ask at specialties she is interested in.
My daughter did this to confirm her interest and learn more. She ended up with about 100 hours of shadowing, which was far more valuable to her than volunteering at the welcome desk at the hospital.
Woah, I missed the updates to the thread. Thanks everybody. She’s done a little work, and landed a summer volunteer position at the Children’s hospital in our city, and has set up a shadowing opportunity at a rehabilitation institute as well. She has lots of service hours already, focused in one area, so hopefully that helps as well. I agree, @vamom4 I think additional shadowing opportunities will help her decide what’s right for her.