I’m a senior in high school and not really sure which college would be best for me. I plan on being a pediatric nurse practitioner (secretly desiring to be a fashion designer but asian parents). I got into USF, UCF, UNF, and FSU. Didn’t apply to UF cause I knew I wouldn’t get in. I was set on UCF because I wanted to have the college experience and live away from home. However, that is not a good enough reason to want to pick a college in my opinion and my parents can’t really afford room/board (they can but saving is better). If I went to UNF, I would be staying with my parents and be saving money. So my questions are…
is nursing SIGNIFICANTLY better at UCF or UNF?
is the whole “college experience” worth it? because it is a once in a life time thing…
not a question but USF is too far and FSU is not appealing so not going there
I really loved the atmosphere of UCF and could see myself walking around there. I would also have some friends from high school there so we could hang out on the weekends. I get really pissed when the kids at my high school scoff at “UNF” because it’s not as popular as UCF or FSU but I’m going there for nursing which I hear is really great there. I am an asian girl and only child with immigrant parents that never went to college so this is their first and last go at the “college” thing.
I took a quick look at both schools websites and while the info is not exactly clear, it does not look like either is a direct admit school. According to the page at https://sites.google.com/site/directadmitnursing/list FSU is direct admit. Rethink going there, IMHO.
If I were you, I’d go to a direct admit program. Pass all your classes and the NCLEX exam, you are a nurse. At other schools, including the 2 you are choosing between, you go to college for 2 years and then apply for the nursing program. The problem is you get a few C’s or perhaps mostly B’s your first year while you’re getting used to the pace of college work, you may very well be out of the running to be selected. And then what will you do?
As far as comparing colleges, what really matters is the NCLEX pass rate. This is the national licensing exam. You can see the rate for Florida schools at http://media.miamiherald.com/static/media/projects/2015/higher-ed-hustle/nclex.html However be careful when comparing direct-admit schools to others. Direct admit schools are likely to have a lower rate because they chose their students as frosh and everyone making it thru the program is eligible to take the exam. In contrast the other schools get to cherry-pick the best students after 2 years of college; naturally, their pass rate is going to be higher.
BTW there is a sub-forum for nursing majors. You are more likely to get answers by those knowledgeable about nursing over there.
UNF’s requirement seems unnecessarily money-grubbing. I’ve always wondered if those studies that show that living on campus is tied to all these better outcomes are adjusting for socioeconomic status/family income, because it seems to me that students who live on campus are more likely to be the ones from wealthier families - so of course they do better. They usually don’t have to work to support themselves and can focus fully on school.
Anyway, it also says
So there’s that to try.
Direct admit nursing programs are nice, but frankly the majority of nursing programs are not direct admit. That’s because there’s a nursing faculty shortage and nursing programs are also expensive, and most universities need to manage the number of students who participate in the nursing program somehow.
It looks like Florida Atlantic University has a direct admit BSN program, but the deadlines for this year are passed (last one was February 15). Otherwise I think all the other public nursing programs in Florida are 2+2 programs.
I checked the website and it said living on campus is encouraged, but not required. I believe it’s a new thing in FL to not require freshmen to live on campus anymore.