Is the ECONOMY effecting your NURSING SCHOOL?

tfleuter, BSN, RN · Mar 27, 2009

I'm guessing more people will attempt to go to school (if they money/loans are there to do so) and that many more will consider nursing and other health professions because of all the nursing shortage/recession proof hype you see in the news. More people applying means longer wait lists and more competition;

but if you want to become a nurse, you won't let that stop you. You'll either work a little harder to get that competitive GPA or wait a little bit longer for your turn to start school. If you are a 3.8 student, chances are you could be a 4.0 student too. If you're willing to wait 2 years on a list, chances are you won't let an additional 6 months stop you either :wink2:

dreamon · Mar 28, 2009

At first I assumed the economy would work in my favor and perhaps the admission rate would drop a bit, but it doesn't seem like it to me. Of course I have no hard evidence. I know people are losing their jobs but there are grants and loans in place to get those through a nursing program.

I'm not going to begrudge anyone for wanting to go down the same path I'm headed but I do admit it would have been nicer to see the applicant pool drop a bit.

UVA Grad Nursing · Mar 28, 2009

Applications to our BSN program rose over 10% this year. Applications to the Direct Entry MSN and specialist MSN programs are also at record numbers.

Scooter321 · Mar 28, 2009

Our acceptance/rejection letters are two weeks late (and still waiting). The head of admissions told me it was because they had had so many more applications than they normally receive. An unsubstantiated rumor I heard from a fellow would-be nurse is that the usual 600-applicant pool had swelled to 1,000 this year. There are only 60-80 slots (I can never remember exactly how many). Gulp--can you say "terrified"? :eek:

At first I couldn't see why the economy would affect THIS year's application process, as it takes time to get all those pre-reqs done, and in our school you'd better have the co-reqs done also or you don't stand a chance. Then I figured it is probably because we're a CC, and many who would "normally" go directly for their BSN are trying the less-expensive and slightly faster route and applying with us. Our nursing school also has a stellar reputation, so that helps swell the numbers.

sunray12 · Mar 28, 2009

Not specific to nursing but my local cc is sooo crowded these days - library, common areas, testing center, parking, etc, you name it. It could be that more and more people are choosing to start at cc before tr'ing to 4 yr schools and add in the career switchers and it is making for a lot of congestion. They are adding a new building though so I suppose the increase in enrollment was projected and not a surprise. Hopefully this will open up more seats in the health care programs in general.

dreamon · Mar 28, 2009

What would be interesting to actually know is how many of those applicants are actually qualified. There could be people just applying to get into these programs without having done everything that is needed to gain entrance.

tfleuter, BSN, RN · Mar 28, 2009

Hopefully this will open up more seats in the health care programs in general.

I hope not. I would rather compete with people to get into nursing school than compete with new grads for a job in an overflooded market.

Agrippa · Mar 28, 2009

I would say that schools wont feel this influx from our clear dive into the recession for another year or so considering it would take that long minimum (usually) for people to finish up pre reqs. I'd hate to say it, but theres no point in dwelling on wishful thinking. People will always go back to school in the midst of a recession (historically true) and healthcare is one of the only sectors left that is still growing. So although the nursing market may not be as good as it use to be, it is doing far better than other fields like say...finance and banking.