Best West Coast BSN Programs?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hi all, I'm a high school senior, and I'm planning to get a BSN at a four-year, private college. I feel this is the best way for me to go, but I was wondering what colleges best prepare their students for the NCLEX and their careers? I'm mostly looking at colleges in the Pacific Northwest, although I live in California. I've looked at colleges like George Fox, Concordia, U Portland, Pacific Lutheran, Seattle Pacific, Point Loma, and Azusa Pacific.

Can anyone vouch for any of these colleges, or perhaps suggest better ones? My high school stats include a 3.7 unweighted GPA, 5 AP classes, 2150 SAT, over 100 hours of volunteer work at a hospital, member of National Honor Society, and varsity cross country and track athlete, if that helps.

Any feedback is appreciated.

I chose CSU Bakersfield because I'm close enough to commute, and they have an excellent program (NCLEX pass rates are in he 90% range), and the program isn't as competitive a some of the others mentioned. If I remember correctly there's about 70 spots for around 150-200 applicants with an average 3.6 a GPA and about 85-87 on the TEAS V. Plus they're a 1+ 3 program instead of a 2+2. So your first year you take only prerequisites, then you apply to the program for your sophomore year and you do nursing classes and gen ed at the same time for the last 3 years, which I think is nice because then you're not being hit with a bunch of nursing at once.

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I chose CSU Bakersfield because I'm close enough to commute, and they have an excellent program (NCLEX pass rates are in he 90% range), and the program isn't as competitive a some of the others mentioned. If I remember correctly there's about 70 spots for around 150-200 applicants with an average 3.6 a GPA and about 85-87 on the TEAS V.

Bakersfield isn't exactly in my top 10 dream destinations, so I don't think I will apply to school there. Can you tell me more about the TEAS V? How exactly does that work?

And are all CSUs 1+3?

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No, Linfield offers a BSN degree for undergrads but part of their program is you spend your first two years on the McMinnville campus and complete your pre-reqs and then transfer to the Portland location for actual nursing school. To my knowledge they to offer a seamless program.

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Bakersfield isn't exactly in my top 10 dream destinations, so I don't think I will apply to school there. Can you tell me more about the TEAS V? How exactly does that work?

And are all CSUs 1+3?

Yea, Bakersfield isn't really great as far as location goes. Not really a "college town." For me, I'm used to it (like I said, I'm within commuting distance from the school) but for most people it's definitely hard to get used to. Not much to do anywhere close (closest thing is magic mountain an hour away) and the summers are blistering hot and winters are dreadfully cold. For me it was really just a money issue.

The TEAS V is the test of essential academic skills. The V is just a Roman numeral stating that it's version 5 of the exam. It's basically one of the two common tests used for entrance to a nursing program (the other being the HESI). It covers math, reading, science, (and I think writing?? Can't remember right now). Some schools will require one over the other, some schools won't have a preference. Most people chose to take it toward the end of their prereqs because it does cover a little of the prereq material (I heard the science section was pretty heavy on anatomy). I haven't taken it myself yet so I'm not exactly an expert on it, but those are the basics according to my understanding.

And no, not all CSUs are 1+3. CSUB is the only 1+3 program I know of, actually. Most are designed to be 2+2. I suppose you could call the nursing department for the schools you're applying to and ask an advisor if it would be possible to do something like that, if it's something you're interested in. One thing I've learned about college is that, just because they don't advertise something doesn't mean you can't do it. So they might be able to offer you a roadmap similar to CSUB's program, considering they don't require that you already have your gen ed done before entrance to the program (there's just no way you could get prereqs AND gen ed done in one year).

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Specializes in Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner.
Honestly, I'm not very informed as far as the private universities go, but I saw you mention csula/lb and uci/ucla and just wanted to give my two cents since these ear schools I looked into a lot when I was a junior/senior in hs.

As as far as the two CSUs go, if it comes down to where you have to decide between the two of them (which I'm sure won't happen if they're just backups, your stats are great) then I would personally go with LB. Their program is VERY highly regarded, it's generally considered THE best program in the entire CSU system by most people. I've heard some bad stories about csula and I just got a bad vibe from it while I was researching it. As far as getting accepted to these two for pre-nursing, you should have no problem. I was accepted as a pre-nursing student at csulb with lower stats than yours (3.7 weighted GPA, and 1840 SAT -- CSUs won't give your volunteer work consideration at this stage, though it will give you brownie points while applying to the actual nursing program). Csulb was my second choice (sfsu being my first). I was accepted to both for pre-nursing but ironically I ended up not going to either because the housing was too expensive.

For ucla and uci, they're both very tempting because they're direct entry programs, I believe the only two DEs in CA. I know more about uci than ucla, so I'll talk about that. I applied to UCI's program (and got rejected. Definitely very competitive. About 80 spots for ~2000 applicants). After I applied I looked into the program more and began wishing I didn't waste the $70 app fee. Their NCLEX scores weren't the greatest, most of the CSUs had higher scores than UCI. I began talking to people who went to uci for nursing, and a lot of them said that they felt uci focused too much on the science and not enough on the practical applications of what they were learning - the program was very textbook. I think the main reason people are drawn to uci is because it's direct entry and they're regarded as a good science school, but it seems like they focus on the science bit too much for nursing..I've heard similar stories about ucla, but I couldn't give much detail about it as I didn't find myself intentionally researching ucla's program very often (I wasn't going to waste my time on a school that wasn't going to accept me)

Sorry, I know you were mainly interested in info about the private unis, but i saw you talk about these specific schools and wanted to interject to give you some advice/info from a person who has had some experience with the schools (at least in the application and financial processes). Whatever you decide you can't go wrong. Every school has ups and downs, you just have to fund out what you value more in a university. Good luck :up:

I'm a student at CSULA in the ABSN/ELMN program, not the BSN program, but I have nothing but good things to say about the program itself. Any problems I've encountered are with the school (fin aid, etc) instead of the nursing department. I was actually accepted to both UCLA and CSULA's program, but declined UCLA for CSULA. Name isn't everything. I'd suggest also looking at NCLEX pass rates, and cohort size.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.
Thanks for your input (again! I remember you helped with another question of mine).

How important is it to graduate near where you want to live? Would it be reasonable to go to a CSU then move to another state? Can I do prereqs at a CC here and then transfer to WA or OR? I have several concerns about this plan of action, namely, that I won't get accepted into a nursing program at the place where I'd actually want to study. And even if they might not offer preference, at least by going to the same school for four years, I'd have the proper prereqs.

Also, is there any other active forum (excluding allnurses) where I can read reviews of specific programs? I've been doing research on some colleges but I was wondering if there's a good place for that.

Also, I apologize for all the questions, and I appreciate all your help.

Sorry it didn't respond sooner, I just saw this. :)

It's helpful to attend school where you want to work, if only for the sake of networking and school reputation. It's nice to build relationships while in clinicals, which can be helpful when it comes time for job searching.

It's certainly reasonable to attend school here then move. It's probably the most economical way to go. I would have to imagine your prereqs and such would transfer (I had stuff from out of state that all transferred here), but your best bet would be to talk to the school to which you'd be transferring.

How many schools are you planning to apply to? The wider your net, the better your odds.

I don't know of other forums like that, but you can check out the California forum or search key words and see what comes up. Google might yield a list as well.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.
Bakersfield isn't exactly in my top 10 dream destinations, so I don't think I will apply to school there. Can you tell me more about the TEAS V? How exactly does that work?

And are all CSUs 1+3?

There's a whole forum here just for the TEAS, so you can get a good sense of it there. I really liked the ATI study manual, because ATI is who administers the exam, and the book is in EXACTLY the same format. There were a few questions that weren't in the study guide, but they were things you'd know from your prereqs.

Can't say I blame you for your opinion on Bakersfield. Yuck. However, the central valley CSUs are generally less competitive than the coastal regions for the sake of desirability of living. Just one thing to think about. There are several schools to choose from, at least.

No, not all of the CSUs are set up the same way. Many are still 3 years, but some offer 2 or 2.5 years. Last I checked, Long Beach had both 2 and 2.5 years.

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Sorry it didn't respond sooner, I just saw this. :)

It's helpful to attend school where you want to work, if only for the sake of networking and school reputation. It's nice to build relationships while in clinicals, which can be helpful when it comes time for job searching.

It's certainly reasonable to attend school here then move. It's probably the most economical way to go. I would have to imagine your prereqs and such would transfer (I had stuff from out of state that all transferred here), but your best bet would be to talk to the school to which you'd be transferring.

How many schools are you planning to apply to? The wider your net, the better your odds.

I don't know of other forums like that, but you can check out the California forum or search key words and see what comes up. Google might yield a list as well.

Hi, sorry I just saw this. I'm in the middle of the college app process right now, actually.

I'm applying early action for George Fox, Concordia (Portland), Linfield, Azusa Pacific, and Point Loma, and regular decision for Northeastern, Seattle Pacific, and Pacific Lutheran.

I'm also applying to CSULB and CSULA, and considering applying to UCI or UCLA.

I've heard a lot about prereqs and such not being able to transfer, so that is a concern of mine.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.
Hi, sorry I just saw this. I'm in the middle of the college app process right now, actually.

I'm applying early action for George Fox, Concordia (Portland), Linfield, Azusa Pacific, and Point Loma, and regular decision for Northeastern, Seattle Pacific, and Pacific Lutheran.

I'm also applying to CSULB and CSULA, and considering applying to UCI or UCLA.

I've heard a lot about prereqs and such not being able to transfer, so that is a concern of mine.

I haven't heard that, but as long as you went to a school that's legitimate for your prereqs, and they're considered transferable courses, you should be okay.

Good luck with your apps! :)

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@Get2theChoppa I have an interview this week for the ABSN program at CSULA. I ultimately want to be an FNP, but I am getting nervous about some things I have heard about the program (disorganization, having to find your own preceptors, etc). I was also hoping that we would be able to work part-time during the MSN portion of the program, but I have read that it's impractical to do so, due to the way the curriculum is set up. As student in this program, do you have any insight regarding these issues? Please see this thread about CSULA for reference: https://allnurses.com/nurse-practitioners-np/fnp-cal-state-711988.html

Thank you SO much!

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