Hi everyone.
Just about to start my senior year of high school and looking to apply to nursing schools. Can anyone tell me anything they know about WCU nursing? I see that WCU’s average accepted student’s GPA is 3.52 — does that also hold true for the nursing major also?
Any info you have about WCU ( or any other PA state school nursing programs ) will help!
Admission to West Chester’s nursing program is much more competitive than admission to the university. Admission to Bloomsburg’s nursing program is also competitive, probably less so than at West Chester. IUP has a good nursing program that is not hard to get into. My son, who graduated from high school this year, was admitted to IUP’s nursing program with average stats.(B+ average, 1570 on SAT). You may want to post your question in the Nursing major forum.
(too late to edit, but wanted to add): If you decide to apply to IUP, you should do so early (like now), since admission to both the university and major are on a rolling basis. Unless things have changed since last year, IUP requires no essay or recommendations, only a basic application, transcript, and SAT/ACT scores. West Chester and Bloomsburg have different admissions processes, as noted on their websites. East Stroudsburg, Mansfield, Edinboro, and Clarion (Venango Campus) also have nursing programs, but I’m less familiar with those programs. You can find information about NCLEX pass rates on the PA State Board of Nursing website.
For most colleges (including West Chester), it is harder to get into the nursing major than the university as a whole.
Bloomsburg has a highly rated nursing program, but it is much less popular location with students than West Chester, so it would not be as difficult for admission.
I think Penn State- Altoona now has a 4 year BSN program. There is a large hospital about a mile from the campus.
Last time I checked, Mansfield’s program sends you to a different rural county for the last year or two.
Thank you for the information! Do you have any idea what kind of stats would be needed to get into West Chester ? or even bloomsburg? I’ve been looking, but can’t find any specifics on admission data just for nursing
As far as publics: my daughter got into Indiana, Bloomsburg, West Chester and Penn State main campus for nursing with a ACT of 28, a few AP classes, and being in the top 10% of her public high school. U Del only accepted her for biology, not nursing. Most of the smaller private colleges offered her 50% off of tuition merit scholarships.
What was her GPA? Also, where did she end up going? I’m leaning towards West Chester right now mostly because of affordability 
Just went through this entire process with 2 daughters ( one is a freshman nursing major and one is starting her clinicals and junior year ) both girls applied to West Chester and were admitted but they go elsewhere . Both had 4.0 unweighted GPA s and both were top 1-2 percent of class . West Chester is pretty popular and the gpa expected for nursing is actually higher than for other majors as stated above . My freshman d had many students apply from her school this year to West Chester’s nursing and many were very surprised (some shocked)when they did not get in as they thought it was a safety for them . These were very involved students with decent stats, A/B averages however they may have been in top 15-20 percent of class and not top 10 . Based on what I’ve seen when my d s have applied I believe you may need a fairly high gpa and above average test scores for West Chester as well as some other programs . Pa seems to have many options though. It’s a great idea to contact each college you are applying to and specifically ask for the gpa / sat/act scores they are specifically looking for for nursing as it is often much higher then expected for many other majors due to the demand for that major right now . You may not find the information on the website and may have to call admissions directly and ask them what the average gpas/test scores were of the students admitted to nursing this fall…ask what the lowest gpa is that they will accept …try to go to any nursing open houses you can as they will often give you the range they are looking for . At some schools it does simply come down to numbers as they are getting many many applications for a small number of spots . Just have many options and make sure to apply to several schools .
My daughter attends York College of PA. She is very happy with the nursing program and science classes (which is what matters), but a couple of the other classes have been weak. If you are eligible for their best merit aid, the cost is close to in-state West Chester. I don’t remember her GPA, but it was over 3.6, before it was weighted by AP and honors classes.
Last time I checked, Bloomsburg had an on-campus housing shortage, with all freshman living in triples. It may have loosened up since then because many of the PA. state universities have seen drops in total enrollment.
Also, keep in mind that housing costs vary much more from college to college than they used to. In particular, upper class housing is often much more expensive than freshman housing. In some places, such as West Chester, off-campus housing can also be expensive.
Also, most colleges are now adding extra tuition and fees for the last 2 years of nursing. These can total $2,000 or more a year.
^^ that is so true about the extra fees . My d who just started clinical had 2500 to 3000 Added to this semester s bill at the last minute for nursing lab charges etc !
This is an old thread, but for those looking at Nursing and West Chester now and in the future [I know looking at old threads helped us.] D1 just got in! Her first acceptance!!! We are out of state. ACT28, GPA 3.77 weighted and 3.67 unweighted. Excellent essay about her hospital internship, though. I think applying early is key.
Yes, many nursing programs fill up early. Students should try to get applications in soon to most colleges. As a few years ago, a similar program to West Chester at Bloomsburg stopped taking nursing applications at the end of October. Some colleges also offer more aid to persons who apply early.
This is an old thread but just wondering how long it took to hear back- I applied to WCU nursing on Sept 10 and still haven’t heard anything back yet.
Very quickly! This was the 1st school we heard from. Applied in August and heard in September. You should call.
There are some colleges that quickly admit some highly qualified students, but have other students wait for a later decision.
@college0827 did you receive an email today from WCU?
My son got a letter in the mail yesterday - denied admittance to WCU Nursing. We are bummed. His GPA is 93/100 and SAT (superstore) is 1210. Quite a few Honors and a couple AP and Dual Credit courses on his transcript. I guess this will mean “No” as well from Temple and PSU and Pitt Nursing? Any opinions out there?
West Chester is the most popular state-owned university, and receives tons of nursing applications. I would guess that Temple would be less competitive than Penn State main campus and Pitt main campus.
I suggest immediately submitting some more applications - you might look at Penn State Altoona, Clarion, E. Stroudsburg, Misericordia, Wilkes, Alvernia as backups. I think there is one Pitt branch campus with nursing. Some nursing programs are already full for next year.
Another idea is IUP. My son was admitted to the nursing program there 2 years ago with an 89 GPA and 1570 (1060 Dr and M) SAT. My daughter’s friend was admitted a month or two ago to East Stroudsburg’s nursing program with an 86 average and 1000 SAT. She was denied at West Chester and is waiting to hear from Bloomsburg and Temple, but she expects to be denied from those two as well. I’ve seen acceptances to Penn State’s nursing program with stats about the same as your son’s. If he isn’t accepted to main campus, he may be able to go to one of the 5 Penn State branch campuses that offer nursing programs, of which Altoona and Erie (Behrend) are the largest and most residential. Pitt’s Johnstown and Bradford campuses also have nursing programs, and there are many private schools in PA with nursing programs. If he hasn’t already, he should apply to several less competitive programs as soon as possible.
Yes, IUP is another good choice.
Penn State Altoona is a pleasant campus that is 10 minutes away from a large hospital. It also is only 45 minutes away from University Park, so you can still enjoy some of the athletic and other events of the main campus.