Military experience help in graduate admissions?

[EMT-2-RN]

For those of you with military experience as a nurse who later went on to a APN program, do you feel that military service as an RN helped you gain admission to the program of your choice? Specifically in the civilian world, and not regarding a military program, do you feel having experience as a RN in the military you had, not wanting to say an advantage, but do you feel your service made you look like a stronger applicant to the program you wanted to get into than if you only had civilian experience?

[Miss Mab]

Well, as a reservist who plans to begin an MSN program one day soon, I guess I'd be jumping the gun to truly answer the question.

However, anecdotally from friends, co-workers and even former professors, I truly don't know of any MSN program where you would need any 'bump' such as prior military experience in order to gain admission and buff the application.

It seems to me that even top notch Ivies and UCSF, UW, etc.(and we can debate the use of rankings in a whole other thread) are generally fairly straightfoward w/admissions provided you meet the GPA, GRE BSN pre-reqs, good LOR, etc. The only place I've really seen w/impacted or difficult graduate nursing admissions is with the direct entry NP route--which doesn't apply here.

Can you elaborate on what program type you are thinking of and perhaps we can get more specific?

(Personally in this regard, I feel sorta stuck at a standstill because I waited too long to start my graduate work and now my brain is back on the whole NP/PA/MD treadmill. Argh!!)

Good luck to you.

[EMT-2-RN]

I graduate in dec. from an ADN program so I have plenty of time to think things through. I want to work in the icu after graduation and would like to go army after finishing my bsn. One question I have for you is if I were in my RN to BSN program could I join the reserves without being deployed until graduating from the BSN program or would there be a chance of having to stop in the middle because of deployment? After finishing my BSN I would like to go active in the army as an RN. Long term I would like to go to either NP or CRNA school after getting out and was just wondering if the military experience would give an applicant any extra appeal to schools. I understand having a good gpa, gre and the rest of the pre-reqs are what they will be looking at but do you think active service as an RN for say 4yrs or so would benefit someone in this position?

[Miss Mab]

Well, certainly it will likely appear as favorable experience to a potential adcom. I suppose unless you ran into someone with real patriotic aversion or something. Highly doubtful....

I guess I did understand your original question. I just don't think it's something you will "need' to boost your app. at any school after you have the BSN and some great clinical experience to boot.

Hopefully someone will be able to give you some better answers. Also, I am on the AF side so I really don't know how the Army reserves work. I think that very schooling question may have been discussed in a post not too long ago, though.

Best!