Safety Schools for Nursing!

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everyone! I am currently a sophomore student in California looking for the best nursing schools in the west coast. I’ve been aiming for UCLA, USF, and University of Washington, but I’ve been extremely scared about my chances in getting in! It seems like every nursing school is very hard to get in to, especially since I am an Asian female :frowning:

UW GPA: 3.96
W GPA: 4.29
Rank: 5/627
SAT: 1660 (hopefully it’ll raise during junior year!!)
ACT: 26 (same with SAT :frowning: )

AP Classes:
2 this year
(assigned for 4 next year and 5 senior year)

Concurrent Enrollment:
Sign Language I at LMC

Sports:
Varsity Track

Clubs:
Math Club (2 years, 1 Secretary)
National Honor Society (2 years, 1 Secretary)
Key Club (1 year, 1 President)

Awards:
Mt. Diablo Peace and Injustice Creative Writing Award
poem published in Creative Communication
Student of the Month (November 2014)

Volunteering:
~50 hours for organizations like American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, etc.
~10 hours locally like our annual pumpkin patch
~10 hours as a personal helper for a local organization called All in Need

Additional stuff
I don’t know if this will help but my school (public) has four academies and I am currently in the Health Careers Academy! As a senior, you’ll have a class for an internship.

Thanks so much to everyone in advance!!

2

You should look for some test optional schools. My niece is applying to St. Anselm in Massachusetts. Apparantly it is a top program and test optional.

3

From what I’ve read here on CC, admission to many West Coast nursing programs is quite competitive. I don’t have a good answer to your question, but if you decide to expand your search to the East Coast, look into the many public and private direct-entry nursing programs in Pennsylvania. My S15 was accepted to IUP’s program with a B+ average and 1570 SAT.

4

West Coast nursing programs are impacted, particularly in Calif. I bet UWash’s is as well, plus it’s pricey OOS.

how much will your parents’ spend?

You’re only a soph, you have time to raise your scores.

5

If you are looking for a direct admit nursing program on the West coast, you will need around a 2100+ SAT score or 31+ ACT score for schools such as UCLA and UW. Since you are a Sophomore, you have plenty of time to increase these scores. Arizona State University and SDSU also offer a direct admit nursing program if you meet their requirements. If you cannot get your scores up into a competitive range, many Cal States have the pre-nursing major and if you meet the 2 year requirements, you can apply for their nursing program such as SDSU/CSULB.

Work hard the next year and good luck.

6

OP I want to encourage you about standardized test scores. My 2 DDs (similar to your profile) were able to raise their ACT scores which was immensely important on scholarship - we had a baseline of both at end of sophomore year; they did better on ACT with moving the score up. Did a lot of test prep, tutoring and practice tests. Evaluate after 2nd SAT score if ACT is where you should concentrate. Kept testing during junior year. Getting the final best scores happened during first semester of senior year. Try to leave enough room in your schedule then - make it a priority. The key we found on ACT is to improve even what areas you are best at so your higher scores can carry the lower. You also will get familiar with pacing yourself and typical questions, and not making the mistakes that can be avoided.

It is possible that if your ACT/SAT is high enough, you can go to a school where you can meet your goals. My DD1 is in her senior year of nursing school. PM me if you want more individual information.

How much parents are willing to pay is key to where you can consider - enough to supplement FA/scholarship at schools you can include on your application list that are private or OOS.

7

How do you find out if a school is direct or non direct? I did not even know there was such a thing as non direct until I read it on CC. I would like to look for direct entry schools in Texas.

8

Here is a good way not to overlook any nursing program in any state. For example, with TX, google Texas State Nursing Board - each state has one. They should have a comprehensive list of LPN, ADN, BSN etc programs. Then you can research each school/program.

Some programs have a scholars program - for example UAB in Alabama. The scholars nursing program has an application - and has a deadline (in the past it was Dec 1 of HS senior year). If accepted into the nursing scholars program, and you meet the academic qualifications during fr/so year (gpa for sciences and gpa for other classes) you will have a seat in junior year clinical nursing. UAB then fills the rest of the class with other students (UAB and transfer students) - and typically those students have a higher GPA than the minimum required by the scholars program. That is the program my DD is in. It does give a student peace of mind.

Many schools are wanting to have top students choose their nursing program, so they offer these kind of programs.

If you go into nursing, you do need to do well in the pre-req courses, biology, chemistry, anatomy, etc. An indication will be how well you did in sciences in HS - if you were a strong student from a strong science program.

The schools can provide stats, like average GPA of the students in their clinical level. Some schools have an application process during sophomore year, with interview, etc.

Going into HS senior year, having done enough research and school visits, hopefully can find the right school/right program that meets your budget.

If your family is on a shoestring budget - I know a smart but financially strapped gal that got her ADN at commuter community college, then funded her way (working as a nurse) through BSN and Nurse Practitioner programs.

I have BSN (from WI), and niece has BSN (from MN). Can PM me if you have specific questions based on your circumstances. I also worked as a RN in TX.

9

Practice for your SAT and ACT.

10

26 is not bad for a sophomore. You should be able to add 3-5 points as you mature and are challenged in your classes. Just practice.

11

To indicate how much one can move ACT test score, one DD went from 23 end of HS soph year to her goal of 28. Other DD went from 24 end of HS soph year to her goal of 30. It was not easy peasy - test prep, practice testing, test tutoring. A lot of excellent students get stuck on ACT 29. There is variability in the test as well, so some ACT dates may be easier for the student than others - and try to take the ACT on the test date when many schools mandate their students take the test because scores are based on the test population and it may give you that little edge.

12

Start by visiting the websites of all the CA (or West Coast) nursing schools and finding out how they select applicants. If you go to Irvine, for example, you will see

Build a list of what you need to be doing; classes, experience, clubs, etc. You’ll find that experience in a healthcare setting is going to be important at most schools. You don’t have this volunteer experience yet, you should start this summer. Some of the CSU have a point system and you can see exactly what they count.

As part of that volunteer experience you’ll get to know real-world nurses and you can find out whether the school you get your BSN from matters. You say “looking for the best nursing schools” and while I am not involved in health care in any way, my sense is that getting your license from any decent BSN is enough. But when you volunteer you’ll be able to find out from the people that really know.

Many colleges also have information sessions, and these days even if you can’t attend in person they often broadcast them online too. So keep an eye out for these. Sac-state, which I think is more or less in your area, is one that holds these sessions for prospective students.

13

@mikemac thank you so much! this was extremely helpful. I’ll definitely start looking thoroughly on CSUs and other California schools. May I ask you questions if I get confused along the way?

14

sure, post away here. But I’m not an expert by any means, just pass along what I’ve read and picked up. There is a forum here dedicated to nursing that you might want to start reading and posting on: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/nursing-major/

Best of luck!

15

There is a master list of direct nursing schools that a poster compiled on the nursing forum. I would strongly advice a direct admit program only. The competition for slots is incredible and there is no guarantee that there would be an opening if not a direct admit.

16

May I suggest to try Pace University, Westchester. You are likely to receive a $20,000 merit scholarship, therefore, bring down the cost to around $30K. Go to their NPC and find it for yourself.

Pace is not as selective as other schools mentioned above, but it has an excellent direct admit Nursing program. Nevertheless, to graduate from it is not easy especially if you want to keep the merit scholarship.

17

@artloversplus sounds like a great school but I am only allowed to stay on the west coast :frowning:

18

I agree asians do face terrible discrimination at many schools but those schools are the ivy league and other elitist schools, those schools are more interested in a social engineering agenda. there are some really amazing schools out there that will not punish you for who you are. if you leave the west coast you could look at these schools.the west coast is over 1200 miles long tell your parents 1200 miles east is the same as going 1200 miles north along the west coast.
http://www.bradley.edu/academic/departments/nursing/
bradley is a good school

http://www.nova.edu/nursing/index.html (more than 1200 miles)
(nsu is amazing school and will soon have an MD as well as a DO medical school, two med schools!pharmacy school,dental school, as well as nursing and they are building a new large med research center, and great weather…10 minutes from the beach in fort lauderdale)

http://www.nursing.pitt.edu/ also a great school, in the “comeback city” connected to one of the best hospitals/med schools in the world. and pittsburgh has lots of college students with multiple colleges in the city.