Suggestions for nursing schools to suit my stats?

College Majors Nursing Major
1

Hello! I am a second-semester Junior/rising senior in Texas looking for nursing schools to apply to. I’m applying to UT Austin (in state tuition is much too tempting) and TCU (very generous merit scholarships). I would prefer a direct entry nursing program, and warmer weather is one of my pet wishes (I am definitely not a cold weather person). Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Stats:
SAT: 2250 (750 CR, 770 M, 730 W, 11 on Essay)
SAT IIs: none so far
GPA: 4.0 UW, 118/130 W (my school has a really weird weighting system where they take your numerical grade for a semester and multiply it by 1.1, 1.2,or 1.3 depending on the level of the class; 130 would be taking all AP classes since freshman year and making 100’s in all of them, which I’m pretty sure is impossible)
Rank: 1/609
Other stats: I have taken 4 AP classes since sophomore year (Human Geo, World History, French Lang, and Psychology) and made 5’s on all of them. This year I’m taking AP Lang and Comp, APUSH, APES, and AP Art History; if I make at least a 4 on all four of those exams I will qualify for National AP Scholar by the end of my junior year. I scored a 1500/1520 on the 2015 PSAT, which hopefully will set me squarely in NMSF territory for Texas. I have played the flute since sixth grade and have competed at the state level for solo and ensemble since freshman year, I am currently a drum major for my school’s marching band and won an Outstanding Drum Major award at an area marching contest, I have been on the band leadership team for two years now, I am in the National Honor Society, I have placed in the finals at state-level French contests since freshman year, I’ve won some school awards for fine arts/social sciences/foreign languages, etc.
Hook (if any): first generation college student, my mother recently graduated with an associate’s degree and my father completed his associate’s degree through prison correspondence

Location/Person:
State or Country: Texas
School Type: Public, not especially competitive
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female

2

Most programs in the southeast are 2-2 programs, while most programs in the northeast are direct entry.

You look like you would be competitive for UVa’s direct entry nursing program. It is not a warm climate during the winter, but it is usually mild. UVa and UNC are the only two publics that meet full financial need for all out of state US students, although UVa does typically expect an out of state student to take out a total of $28,000 in loans and include work study as part of the package.

You might also look for some colleges that offer large merit scholarships for your SAT scores. Some of those scholarships are automatic.

3

I would recommend looking at the University of St. Thomas in Houston and Texas Woman’s University.

The UST BSN program is relatively new but has a good reputation. It is also located near the Texas Medical Center and offers tons of merit scholarships for high test scores. Classes are quite small (less than 50 for even intro courses) and it’s easy to develop a relationship with professors.

On the other hand, TWU is larger and is known to be one of the best nursing programs in the state. My mom went there for both her BSN and MSN and loved it. They have locations in Denton and in Houston. It’s also a public school, which means lower tuition.

4

Thank you for these suggestions! I’ll be sure to look into UVa and TWU Denton; my grandmother went to TWU for her RN and she liked it as well. I live in Houston right now so I’d like to relocate in college just for a change for scenery.

5

Hey! If you’re considering out of state schools at all I might be able to help!