I live in Illinois (Chicago area)
If I did go to a CC, what route would i take if i wanted to transfer to a university?
Regarding UT Austin, they admit 75% of their students through in-state auto admission for residents who are in the top 10%. For OOS it’s extremely competitive. I’m not going to say you have a 0% chance of getting in, but it’s going to be virtually impossible with your current stats. Even harder if you major in Nursing (since the nursing major is already hard enough to get admitted into).
Also, something else to note about UT Austin is that they don’t award merit scholarships at all. The cost for OOS students is going to be about $50,000 a year. Even if you get admitted, this school would be way too expensive to attend.
Truman State is a good suggestion.
Chatham would be good - lots of good programs for what you’re interested in.
What’s your parents’ budget?
I would have to go to Oakton Community College (IL) but I kinda don’t want to because community college is kinda looked down upon and I feel like my mom would be disappointed in me if I went to a CC. 
I feel like all my hard work and my parent’s sacrifices would’ve been for nothing.
If you don’t want to go to CC (which imo would be the best option here), you would need to take the SAT and score well on it/ or retake the ACT and definitely work on getting at the bare minimum 2 letters of recommendation from teachers that will help you. Unfortunately, a semester of senior year won’t change your GPA that much even with a theoretical 4.0. Unless you have an extraordinary EC, it would be difficult to get into nursing in a college
I have a very good friend attending a CC who is shooting for nursing. She intends to transfer after 2 years. Please don’t exclude CC from your consideration because of some archaic stigma about those schools. They are a cheap and efficient way to gain admissions to a 4 year university especially for those with lower end grades.
Thanks for that! If I do go the CC route for nursing, what type of classes would I take my first 2 years in order to be able to transfer out into a big university? Would my ACT scores and high school credits still matter when I transfer?
My belief is that ACT and SAT score requirements vary by college so I would call the admissions office of the big university you’re considering and ask them directly what they require from transfer students.
I also am 80% positive that high school grades no longer matter when transferring from CC. As long as you have the HS diploma, you are okay because only CC grades are considered. Unfortunately, I can’t help you with what types of nursing classes you would need to take. Sorry!
Also I just wanted to comment on the rigor of your new HS. Your guidance counselor will select on their report to colleges whether the courses you took at the HS are considered to be either low, mid, or high rigor. If you had difficulties adjusting, you want to both mention that in your special circumstances essay when applying and you also NEED to show a strong upwards trend in grades. Your family’s income should qualify you for a good amount of need based financial aid.
At my old HS, my grades were a mix of A’s and B’s but with 1 C in 1st Sem Chem and 1 C in 2nd Sem Adv.Geometry. I improved in some of my classes. At my new HS, my grades were pretty much the same both semesters. went from a C to a B in history. Still got 2 C’s in Pre-Calc. Only A’s i got were in classes that didn’t matter like PE and Art. i hate myself.
I apologize if this is not you, but as an Asian male myself, I completely understand the parental push towards excellence that, although commonly stereotyped, was absolutely true for me and was strongly imprinted into my own desire to succeed. You need to understand that not everyone gets straight As and that’s okay. The friend I mentioned above was, and I’m only saying this because there is 0 chance anybody here will know who she is, at the very best a below average student. I would say that she would get Bs and Cs consistently and she’s told me quite often about scores she’d get in the 70%s.
But, she wants to become a nurse just like you, an arguably better student. High school is behind us now and she is going to enroll in our local CC, transfer in 2 years, complete her degree, and once out, nobody will even know she went to a CC.
Don’t give up because of some high school grades because we’re all more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.You’ve got a bright future ahead of you because you realize your mistakes and seem motivated to change them. I wish you luck whatever school you choose!
Well, there seems to be a ton of RN to BS pathways through Oakton: https://www.oakton.edu/studentservices/advising/transfer/dual_agreements/index.php
And maybe you feel that CC is looked down upon, but you can only afford what your parents can afford, so you have to determine how serious you are about achieving a goal.
Speaking of which, you still haven’t said what your parents can afford.
I want to give you some encouragement. Not all nursing students go as direct admit and receive a BSN in 4 years. There are many routes to take with great flexibility. The CC route that may be a good option is an Associate Nursing degree. You would graduate from CC with an associate degree in nursing and sit for the NCLEX exam. At that point, you may choose to work, or to transfer to a BSN program. Again, there is tremendous flexibility in how this would be accomplished. You could attend full time or part time. Many states, (not sure about OH), will accept all of your CC credits and apply them toward the BSN degree. At any rate, you will still be a licensed RN.
Hi, I am an incoming senior. Asian Female. I want to go into the healthcare/medical field. I’m open to being anything that makes a good salary. Some careers I have in mind is Physician Assistant, Occupational Therapist, or Nursing. I don’t think I could get into a direct program. My gameplan is to apply to a lot of colleges and go to the best one I get accepted to. My ideal college would be a large, diverse college in an urban/city environment but I am still open to a small school if that means I get into a good program and I get scholarships. I live in Illinois and I would like to go out-of-state. Some of my dream colleges are Michigan State, UT Austin (TX), Marquette (WS), Daemen College (NY), Nova Southeastern (FL), Loyola University of Chicago (IL), St.John’s University (NY).
GPA: 3.0 (hopefully it’ll go up my senior year)
ACT: 25 (taking it again in Sept., hopefully, it’ll go up)
EC: Lots of clubs, no sports, honor roll freshman and sophomore year, lots of volunteer hours (Nursing homes and other random events), Art show, Freshman, and Sophmore Cabinet.
Advanced/Ap Classes: Advanced Geometry Class, AP Lang, AP Biology
Bad Grades: C+ 1st Semester Chemistry, C+ 2nd Semester Adv.Geometry, C+ 1st Semester US History, C+ 1st and 2nd Semester Pre-Calculus. Got mostly B’s but some A’s.
Letter of Rec: Was never really close with my teachers or counselor but I’ll ask my counselor
** I transferred high schools right before my Junior Year. The high school I go to now is a more academically challenging high school (that’s why my GPA is so low) so maybe colleges will see that when I apply. It was difficult adjusting to the new school. Didn’t join many clubs/activities. **
I have lots of questions so, please just give me as much information as possible.
-What colleges will accept me?
-Should I do a pre-program?
-Should I just go into Nursing so I will have a job when I graduate?
-Can I get any scholarships/financial aid money?
- Small, diverse schools? ( I don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere)
-East Coast/West Coast schools?
-Safety/ High Acceptance rate schools?
Hi, I am an incoming senior. Asian Female. I want to go into the healthcare/medical field. I’m open to being anything that makes a good salary. Some careers I have in mind is Physician Assistant, Occupational Therapist, or Nursing. I don’t think I could get into a direct program. My gameplan is to apply to a lot of colleges and go to the best one I get accepted to. My ideal college would be a large, diverse college in an urban/city environment but I am still open to a small school if that means I get into a good program and I get scholarships. I live in Illinois and I would like to go out-of-state. Some of my dream colleges are Michigan State, UT Austin (TX), Marquette (WS), Daemen College (NY), Nova Southeastern (FL), Loyola University of Chicago (IL), St.John’s University (NY).
GPA: 3.0 (hopefully it’ll go up my senior year)
ACT: 25 (taking it again in Sept., hopefully, it’ll go up)
EC: Lots of clubs, no sports, honor roll freshman and sophomore year, lots of volunteer hours (Nursing homes and other random events), Art show, Freshman, and Sophmore Cabinet.
Advanced/Ap Classes: Advanced Geometry Class, AP Lang, AP Biology
Bad Grades: C+ 1st Semester Chemistry, C+ 2nd Semester Adv.Geometry, C+ 1st Semester US History, C+ 1st and 2nd Semester Pre-Calculus. Got mostly B’s but some A’s.
Letter of Rec: Was never really close with my teachers or counselor but I’ll ask my counselor
** I transferred high schools right before my Junior Year. The high school I go to now is a more academically challenging high school (that’s why my GPA is so low) so maybe colleges will see that when I apply. It was difficult adjusting to the new school. Didn’t join many clubs/activities. **
I have lots of questions so, please just give me as much information as possible.
-What colleges will accept me?
-Should I do a pre-program?
-Should I just go into Nursing so I will have a job when I graduate?
-Can I get any scholarships/financial aid money?
- Small, diverse schools? ( I don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere)
-East Coast/West Coast schools?
-Safety/ High Acceptance rate schools?
I was also thinking Business Administration with a minor in Marketing. Eventually get my MBA too. Could I get into Indiana University or Purdue or DePaul (I live in Illinois) or something close for that? Never took a business class (except Consumer Ed) so I don’t know much about the profession. I’m a creative person, can communicate well, organized, focused and would love to travel to cool international places for work in the future (maybe work for an airport or large corporate company?). My cousin works for the DFW airport and she has a cool job and she went to UT Austin. UT Austin is one of the top business schools and I know I can’t get into there. Is it worth going into business if I don’t go to a big business school? I’m also afraid I won’t get a good paying job and won’t move up (become a manager/leader?) because I am a woman and a minority and a lot of other smarter people are going for the same jobs I am going for. I don’t want that to stop me from having a great job.