Direct Entry Programs- How hard to get in?

[GoodyNurse2b]

Thanks for all of your responses to all of my previous posts. As you probably assume, I'm evaluating all of my options including ADN, BSN, and Direct-Entry MSN. The direct entry programs look extremely appealing, but seeing that they are at the best of colleges, I don't know how easy they are to get in.

Does anyone know what the typical GPA, scores, acceptance rates of these programs are? Anyone have any experience applying?

I'm in MD, so I'd consider Hopkins, but Columbia, MGHI in Mass, Case Western, Vanderbilt, Pace, and Yale also look appealing.

Seeing as nursing traditionally isn't an "ivy league" profession, are the credentials required for these programs less than what a typical "ivy" student would need?

I'd love to hear experiences with any programs.........

[Jess RN]

Hey Laura! I'm going to Columbia too. Are you going to the visiting day in March? I screamed like a beauty queen when I opened that deceptively thin envelope and saw what it was, especially after getting rejected from both Penn & UCSF..

As far as UCSF, I also didn't get an interview, with a 740v/670q/5a GRE and 3.4 gpa, with experience in health education. I think they must have a strong weight on prior direct care experience, as I know a girl who went to Cal and graduated with a 3.9 (don't know her gre's) and didn't get an interview either. Weird!

Hey two for Columbia! Contrats to Elizabells and Burinlura!!!! Woo hooo!!!

-Jess

[elizabells, BSN, RN]

Congrats!! I was practically in tears when I saw that thin envelope on the floor. When I opened it I screamed too and then misdialed my dads phone number to tell him. :chuckle I don't know if I'll be able to make the visiting day (I really want to go to it though) since I work on mondays, live in cali, and am already in sticker shock over the cost of the first year. I don't even have 10% of the cost in the bank yet. yikes!

You're doing better than me, pumpkin! :chuckle If you do decide to go, PM me and maybe we can get together for coffee or something. Otherwise, see you in June!!!

[pancake]

I just got the response to my application to the Generic Masters in Nursing at San Francisco State and I've been wait listed. I feel so bad.

I applied to UCSF too, was interviewed and am now waiting for their response. I feel like the first rejection is a bad sign. https://allnurses.com/forums/#

crying2

[dream2nurse]

Hi Seahorse,

Well if you did not get into SFSU then I KNOW I didn't! lol I did not even bother to apply to UCSF because I figured I had no chance. My GPA is only a 3.3.

You may be suprised... you could very well get into UCSF. It is funny... a few years ago my best friend was applying to grad schools. She applied to about four or five schools, but her top choice we Cal. She ended up getting rejected from all the other schools, which were ranked much lower for her program, and got into Cal which was ranked the highest. I think it was her life experiences that got her in.

From what I have read on this thread, is appears that UCSF does not take in students based just on their academic record and scores. Anyway my point is chin up, there is still hope.

BTW, have you applied to any other schools? I am applying to five other JCs in the Bay Area! It is so much cheaper, and for me it would help me to be able to work part-time while going to school. Three schools are still accepting apps - EVC, Ohlone and CSM. You could still start nursing in the fall!

Don't get too sad or discouraged... the lady has still yet to sing. :)

[Jess RN]

I just got the response to my application to the Generic Masters in Nursing at San Francisco State and I've been wait listed. I feel so bad.

I applied to UCSF too, was interviewed and am now waiting for their response. I feel like the first rejection is a bad sign. https://allnurses.com/forums/#

crying2

Hi Seahorse-

Hang in there! I know it is dissapointing- but at least it's not a flat out rejection letter. I don't know if there is anything you can do to "lobby" yourself off the wait list- but I would sure try! Send letters to the dean in charge of the program, the dean or director of your specialty, call the coordinator in charge of the program to see how the wait-list process works. I would get your name known by as many people in the program as possible. It can't hurt and might help.

As for UCSF- I read if you got an interview you have a 50/50 chance of getting in. Those are great odds for the #1 ranked program in the country!

Sending good thoughts your way!! :)

-Jess

[smile123]

I just got the response to my application to the Generic Masters in Nursing at San Francisco State and I've been wait listed. I feel so bad.

I applied to UCSF too, was interviewed and am now waiting for their response. I feel like the first rejection is a bad sign. https://allnurses.com/forums/#

crying2

Hi Seahorse,

Please don't feel bad. One friend of mine had gotten rejected from USD and UCSF, but she got accepted at Hopkins and Columbia. So now she's going to Columbia! But Columbia didn't give out acceptances until just last week, so she was thinking all these early rejections were bad signs. They are not!

The fact you got an interview at UCSF means you DO have a 50/50 chance of getting in! UCSF weighs life experience very heavily - in fact, they weigh health care life experience very heavily! What background do you have? How did you think you did on the interview? Did you feel confident? Were you on top of your game?

UCSF doesn't give out acceptances until after March 1st; so there are a lot of people who send in deposits to keep their slots at other schools that they already heard from and are waiting for UCSF. Once those letters go out, there will be a lot of shifting going on. People will drop their slots for other schools and the people on the waitlist will move up. It's like dominos - one can effect the rest. So please don't give up! :)

P.S. Where else have you applied? And have you thought about applying for just the RN program at a CC? It's better to apply to several schools instead of 1 or 2 to increase your odds of getting in.

Smile123

[olijam]

Hello everyone, I've been reading these threads for the past month waiting to hear if anyone had been accepted to UCSF and finally decided to post. I interviewed on 1/21 at UCSF and felt that I did well. We were told we would know by 3/1 if we were in or not. UCSF is the only school I applied to because of it's reputation and the fact that I live in SF. I have a 3.8 GPA, but average GRE scores, maybe even below. I've worked in healthcare for over 10 years, since I was 17. I think this is a major factor. From my interview with a faculty member, it seems they want a student that knows what a nurse is and does and will not be surprised and discouraged when they start the program. I think they are looking for genuine candidates not just bright! Let me tell you, I felt a little discouraged after hearing everyone's background(i.e. Ivy league degree, research in foreign countries, Master's in this and that), but after the interview I felt at home. I'm checking the mail everyday looking for that UCSF logo. Good luck and congrats to everyone! Feel free to send me a message. Thanks.....

Hi Seahorse,

Please don't feel bad. One friend of mine had gotten rejected from USD and UCSF, but she got accepted at Hopkins and Columbia. So now she's going to Columbia! But Columbia didn't give out acceptances until just last week, so she was thinking all these early rejections were bad signs. They are not!

The fact you got an interview at UCSF means you DO have a 50/50 chance of getting in! UCSF weighs life experience very heavily - in fact, they weigh health care life experience very heavily! What background do you have? How did you think you did on the interview? Did you feel confident? Were you on top of your game?

UCSF doesn't give out acceptances until after March 1st; so there are a lot of people who send in deposits to keep their slots at other schools that they already heard from and are waiting for UCSF. Once those letters go out, there will be a lot of shifting going on. People will drop their slots for other schools and the people on the waitlist will move up. It's like dominos - one can effect the rest. So please don't give up! :)

P.S. Where else have you applied? And have you thought about applying for just the RN program at a CC? It's better to apply to several schools instead of 1 or 2 to increase your odds of getting in.

Smile123

[Gennaver, MSN]

I just got the response to my application to the Generic Masters in Nursing at San Francisco State and I've been wait listed. I feel so bad.

I applied to UCSF too, was interviewed and am now waiting for their response. I feel like the first rejection is a bad sign. https://allnurses.com/forums/#

crying2

Hello seahorse,

I hope you have read all the wonderful responses. Great advice, please don't give up. As Jess said, you were not rejected! As another posted mentioned, waitlists have a way of shifting by the time the program starts and also, as you said you are waiting for another program too!

It reads like there is more in your favor. Truly though, I am starting to understand the worry though, there is a lot on the line, (at least it feels like it!)

I finally got my application packet complete and in the mail today for University of Illinois in Chicago. My fingers are super crossed over here.

Good luck!!

Gen

[ChrisA]

It's just waiting, now, for UCSF to get back to me one way or another. I think if I don't go this year I'll try to do a year's training in Clinical Pastoral Education (which is essentially training as a hospital chaplain) if I can get in (all the seminaries over in Berkeley probably take up the slots) and then apply again. As an out of state student, UCSF is going to be, possibly, financially unfeasible for me this year. Anyway, plan for the worst, hope for the best. I do wish everyone the best of luck and the highest of spirits!

[pancake]

Thank you all so much! What a wonderful surprise to come home from school and find so much support. It means a lot to me and I really appreciate it. I was so down in the dumps, and kind of feeling like I wasn't good enough . . . it's easy to forget just how insanely competitive it can be getting into any nursing school.

It was so reassuring to hear that other people got rejection notices, only to later get accepted elsewhere. I'm applying to community colleges just in case, although they can be tough too.

Although I rarely post, I've been reading everyone's experiences, and I think you're all such great people. I wish you all the best. Thanks.

[Jupiter]

Hi, Seahorse!

Just wanted to say that I agree w/ everyone else...don't give up! Every school is so different w/ their admissions criteria. Also, waitlists definitely DO shift often! That is *awesome* that you got an interview w/ UCSF - you must be a terrific applicant. From everything I've heard about them, it sounds like the specialty you're applying for can have a lot to do with it. If I had know then what I know now, I definitely would have applied to more than 1 school...

As for SF State, I also heard that you cannot get financial aid (Federal loans for grad school) in the first year of the program, so you have to come up w/ the $ through private loans, etc. - so maybe you wouldn't want to go there anyway! (I read that in an old newspaper article- you might want to double-check to see if that is still accurate)

Anyway - good luck w/ UC! March 1 is getting closer...

:)

[elizabells, BSN, RN]

Thank you all so much! What a wonderful surprise to come home from school and find so much support. It means a lot to me and I really appreciate it. I was so down in the dumps, and kind of feeling like I wasn't good enough . . . it's easy to forget just how insanely competitive it can be getting into any nursing school.

It was so reassuring to hear that other people got rejection notices, only to later get accepted elsewhere. I'm applying to community colleges just in case, although they can be tough too.

Although I rarely post, I've been reading everyone's experiences, and I think you're all such great people. I wish you all the best. Thanks.

One more word of encouragement: Like others, I got rejected from UCSF and UPenn, was making plans to look at community college programs, and BAM, there came the acceptance from Columbia. I think that where we are, at the level of even thinking of applying to these programs, that it's not about numbers anymore, especially if you got an interview. We're all good enough and smart enough (and gosh darnit, people like us!), it's just that there are all these other factors, like how many people applied for your specialty track. So keep the faith, darlin! And let us know how it turns out.