I am in hell

U.S.A. Arizona

Published

Specializes in ICU, ED.

So I recieved my *second* rejection letter from ASU's BSN program last week. I applied with only 4 Bs and got both 80% on the math and reading sections of the net. For some reason, I got a 50 on my essay. I got a 5 on my AP english exam in high school, used to write for the newspaper in high school, and get full credit on all essay questions on exams. Im going to apply one more time but I do not know how to help myself improve my essay because we never get to see what was wrong with it :angryfire :o

I at least want to have a fighting chance this time, I was .15 from the cutoff of 5.9, and now theyre only letting in 140 students instead of this application pool's 150. So will this mean that the less students admitted, the higher the application points (out of 7)? How can I get a better score on the essay?

I really want to become a nurse. However, now I am regretting my major switch from sociology. :o What should I do?

Thank you

Are you opposed to trying out one of the community colleges or skill ctrs to get nursing school started? I've chosen this route, and will get my bachelors after my associate because I've heard its a bit easier to get in.

Sorry for your loss. I know it's really frustrating.

Specializes in Critical Care.

My advice: work on your essays. It doesn't matter how well you write if it's not the same critieria being looked at.

Find out how they grade them. How? Ask. Ask. Ask.

It doesn't matter how well you write - if that is the area of your weakness in your 'package', then that is what you must address.

Chuck the defensiveness and work on it. R.K. Rowlings had 18 editors tell her she wasn't publishable before Scholastic bought the rights to H.P. - but it didn't matter how great a writer she is to those 18 editors that thought otherwise. And all you care about is what your current editors (reviewers) think. So, find out how they think and give them what they want.

~faith,

Timothy.

It's ridiculous that a school that large can't grow the nursing student population. Unfortunately ASU College of Nursing as we now know it will always be behind the demand curve. Its big and bureaucratic. The new dean of nursing's mission is to be a top-ranked nursing school with research recognition. They really need to break the school up so each campus (Main, East, West, Mayo) can have their own mission and possibly serve the community better.

I fear that as long as they receive hundreds of nursing applications and don't substantially increase the number of seats, the entrance requirements will keep rising.

On the bright side, as others have said, try to work on the writing portion. When I applied several applicants knew the topic and had in their mind exactly what they were going to write. It saved them a bunch of time and they did well. The topic is usually about how you see yourself in nursing or why you want to be a nurse. Don't give up, you just need a tiny improvement in an area or two!

Specializes in ICU, ED.

Thank you all for the advice. It is unfortunate that ASU turns away so many excellent potential nurses. And it is even sadder that some of those denied decide to forego the whole nursing thing all together because they are so discouraged. Im at that point right now, but want to give it one more shot. Kabin, that was the topic for the essay for the last two times I took the NET and I hope that it is the same topic this time because I am re-writing it over and over. Did you formulate your essay based on intro, thesis, facts, conclusion, or did you write about your passion to become a nurse. According to my pitiful essay score, the advisor that I saw last semester misguided me on how to formulate my essay. :uhoh3:

Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

There are other schools in AZ; Northern AZ U comes to mind. Try applying to one of those.

I think I tried to personalize it and explain why I wanted to be a nurse, but then again, I didn't get a high score on it. I did in the 30 minute timeframe so I did a quick and dirty scratch paper first with several bulleted items and then forumulated it on the paper which was scored. I made the bulleted items paragraphs and then added an intro and closing. I used personal hospital experiences where nursing was very positive. I was expecting to be able to do it on a computer and was a bit miffed I had to write cursively with a paper and pencil. :rolleyes:

I'm so sorry, I know how discouraging that can be. It sounds like you're getting some good advice to increase your chances for next time. Have you checked into Grand Canyon? I've heard they don't have much or any waiting list and I think the cost is similar to ASU (but that may only be for people with a prior degree). Also, why not put your application in at a community college? Right now you probably wouldn't get placed in spring but you'd have a pretty good chance of getting placed next fall, and if ASU didn't work out, you'd have that route.

I never applied to ASU, I plan on completing my BSN while working as an RN (it only takes a year, one night a week). From what I've heard about the essay portion of the Banner application, which has similar questions, it helps if you concentrate on what you can do for the patients, you know, "I've always had a desire to help people etc, etc" maybe that's what ASU is looking for also.

Good luck, it sounds like you'd make an excellent nurse, it's just getting there that's the hard part. :)

I heard that ASU also looks at your penmanship of the essay portion. Do you think that it can affect a person's score? Someone told me that the essay question involved describing what nursing meant to you and how your past experiences will help you succeed in nursing. Does it change every term?

Specializes in ICU, ED.

Thats the one I wrote 2 time prior, but Ive heard of other ones being assigned. The whole penmanship thing, Im not sure. Wouldnt suprise me though, theyre good at formulating ridiculous admissions criteria.

So I recieved my *second* rejection letter from ASU's BSN program last week. I applied with only 4 Bs and got both 80% on the math and reading sections of the net. For some reason, I got a 50 on my essay. I got a 5 on my AP english exam in high school, used to write for the newspaper in high school, and get full credit on all essay questions on exams. Im going to apply one more time but I do not know how to help myself improve my essay because we never get to see what was wrong with it :angryfire :o

I at least want to have a fighting chance this time, I was .15 from the cutoff of 5.9, and now theyre only letting in 140 students instead of this application pool's 150. So will this mean that the less students admitted, the higher the application points (out of 7)? How can I get a better score on the essay?

I really want to become a nurse. However, now I am regretting my major switch from sociology. :o What should I do?

Thank you

I would try another school. Maybe start with an ADN and then go from there. As a long time RN, I'm so unbelievably frustrated with the state of nursing these days. If we are so short of nurses, why are we making it so hard to become one or stay in nursing?

No offense, but just get over it. By all means, keep rewriting your essays - provided you have the time and energy to do so. But sometimes it just isn't worth it. Maybe you don't write well enough. Maybe the grader was in a bad mood. Who knows? And given the plethora of non-BSN options in the Valley of the Sun, who cares?

If you were applying to an organization you had your heart set on, like the Phoenix Fire Department, I can see going through the application process over and over. But ASU is certainly not the only game in town. Provided you can't relocate, the BSN out of the gate may not be worth it. Get the Sociology degree - it is an easy major - if you really want the ASU degree now. Meanwhile, you probably have every bloody pre-req to apply to an ADN program. Better yet - apply to an acclerated 16 month program (Banner will pay for it). That way, you will have both your ADN and BA. I'll daresay you probably have the other pre-reqs for the BSN. So you can do the ADN-RN program once you have the ADN. That is one day a week for 14 months or so. So in the end, you will have the BSN from ASU - just will take a bit longer. I wouldn't delay your nursing career just to have the BSN from ASU. I found it wasn't even worth my time going through the process - I'm going the ADN route notwithstanding I already have BA/MA.

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