I wanted to know my chances of getting into the nursing program in UC Irvine since it is a very competitive major to get into.
I just finished my junior year in highschool. My cumulative GPA is 4.0 weighted but I managed to get a 4.4 weighted second semester of junior year.
My SAT score is pretty low, 1390, but I am planning to take it again on October. I am also planning on taking the Subject tests for Chemistry and Math level 2. (What are good scores for those?)
I took 3 APs this year and am waiting on those scores.
I don’t have too many ECs but I was in track and tennis for the past three years and was in varsity on both junior year.
And lastly I have been volunteering at my church every Sunday for the past two years volunteering as a leader for 3rd graders. (I love my students they are so cute ahh)
That’s basically what I have. UC Irvine nursing program only accepts about 80 people out of around 2000 applicants and I am really scared that I won’t get into my dream school. What are my chances??
Is your GPA listed, your UC GPA? Have you tried volunteering in nursing related activities such as a hospital, nursing home, rehab center? https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Your chances appear quite low. Had you gone to the UC Irvine website for nursing and read the admission criteria you would have seen this
nursing schools don’t want to admit students that have not taken part in a healthcare setting because they don’t really know what they’re getting themselves into. Med schools are the same way, experience in healthcare is an unofficial requirement. Here UC Irvine nursing explicitly says that experience is an important factor so they actually make it an official part of the selection criteria.
You don’t have any healthcare experience which likely means they will be admitting from your competition that does. You could do volunteer work this summer, I suggest this if you want any chance of admission.
There is another problem. They mentioned as an important factor leadership and you don’t list any leadership activities. Same with honors and awards. When you’re picking 80 out of 2000 you can afford to look for those that satisfy all the criteria.
since my previous post may have felt like a bucket of cold water, let me suggest some positive paths forward.
First off, don’t make any concrete plans until you actually have experience this summer volunteering in healthcare. Maybe it will convince you that nursing is absolutely right for you, but maybe you’ll find it isn’t the fit you had hoped.
Next, if your goal after that is still to be a nurse then explore paths that get you there. This probably means casting aside any notions of “dream schools”, you need a program that will accept you. Your preference in 4-year schools should be direct-admit programs.
Since 4-year nursing programs are very competitive, there are alternate paths. The end goal is to end up with a BSN, the pay is better than for just an RN and increasingly it is a requirement for promotion.
One option is to going to a 4-year and taking the pre-nursing program and then applying for the BSN program there (as well as applying to xfer to other colleges with a BSN). In fact you could look up what nursing schools require to transfer in and take those classes at most 4-year schools, you don’t have to initially enroll at a school with a School of Nursing. But if you don’t get into a BSN program after 2 years you are kinda out of luck, and admission is quite competitive.
Instead of a 4-year program at one school you could get an RN at a community college (an ADN degree) and then go to one of the RN->BSN programs. Look for a good NCLEX pass rate at the CC. I know nurses that have done this, RN->BSN programs tend to be easier to get into. See http://www.rn.ca.gov/education/rntobsn.shtml for a list. Many are part-time and/or online, but some are campus based. Fullerton, for example, offers both online and on-campus and says
If you go the CC->BSN path you are a RN and are highly likely to get a BSN if you continue, the downside is the college experience is not quite the same as the 4-year path.
I would add to @mikemac 's great advice, there are only a few direct admit Nursing programs in California and all are very competitive: CSU Fullerton, San Diego State, Azusa Pacific, UCI, UCLA, University of San Francisco, Dominican University and Mt Saint Mary’s.
If you are willing to go the 2+2 route, then it opens up more possibilities: Many of the Cal States, some privates and the above mentioned community college route to a BSN program.
@Annyyyoo, great advice here. Nursing is super-competitive, yet we need lots more good people entering the profession, so please stick with it if this is your calling. I am interested in this topic because i have two daughters in high school who will need guidance toward a career in health care. Several nurses that I work with say that the CCC–> BSN route is now the way to go. The direct admit programs have so many qualified applicants that they have become a bit of a lottery. Try all pathways, then go with the one that works for you. Best of luck.