Just appled for Spring 2010!

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I posted this in the general nursing student section before... got passed over a bit. So I figured I try my luck over here.

I turned in my application for spring 2010. Applications aren't due until Oct 1st, I have a long wait ahead of me.

I'm new on here, so here's my story.

I graduated a few years ago with a BS in Biology (barely). But I ended up with a great job as a molecular biology tech just after graduation. I loved the science, but I didn't love my job. I didn't feel like I was serving any real purpose. So I quite and worked in a gym helping members develop fitness plans. That job was great, but the pay sucked. So I started looking for any job that I could get with my degree. I ended up getting hired as a clinical research assistant. It turns out they hired me more for my volunteer experience. I've done all sorts of things... mentoring, tutoring, rape crisis hotline, AIDS/HIV awareness and counseling, food drives, and all of that. My supervisor told me that they way I talked about my volunteer experiences in my interviews showed that I was a genuinely compassionate person and that's what they were looking for. Once the study gets going, I start meeting with and watching the nurses and thinking to myself... I would love to do something like this. But I figured since I went through hell and high water to get my first degree, I should just stick with it. A few months go by and my supervisor breaks the bad news that we may have a gap between studies, meaning I would be out of a job for a few months. I immediately go into panic (because that's what I do sometimes). Then one of the nurses that I've gotten to know pretty well suggests I look into nursing. I had never even considered it. But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. I looked into ABSN, and BSN programs... but right now, none of those would work for me, so I looked as ADN programs. I found one associated with one of the local hospitals that seems to be a good fit for me and I applied (I also applied to the local community college, but I'm not a fan of the waitlist).

I'm a bit worried because my previous GPA, is terribly low. In high school I graduated at the top of my class and did very well my first 3 years of undergrad. But during my senior year I found out my grandfather had lung cancer, he went through surgery, and ended up passing... all within 3 weeks :cry:. He was my #1 supporter for everything, so afterwards and I suffered alot of emotional, family, and financial problems. Alot of it being my remaining family members telling me to "suck it up" whenever I had a problem or needed to talk. It took a few years, but I've worked these things out as much as I could on my end and I've become a much stonger person. I've realized my limits, that I can't be a superwoman, and that at times I need to take a time out. Just sucking it up doesn't always work. And over the years I've also been blessed with a much better support system :)

Anywho, sorry for the mini book and thanks for listening/reading! :heartbeat

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Good luck LadieTee! It sounds like nursing will be a good fit for you. I too am in the waiting phase right now, for finding out about the spring nursing school start. I also am going for the ASN because that seems to work best for me, compared to the 2nd degree BSN program that is around here. The BSN program is 3x as expensive and I just can't get past that right now. Anyway, best of luck to you!

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Good luck to you also!

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Specializes in Hospice & Palliative Care, Oncology, M/S.

It sounds like you've gone through quite a bit during your journey. :) I can relate.

I hope you find everything you're looking for as you start this journey... keep us updated! I'm waiting to hear for Spring, too.

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Good luck!

Some schools don't rely so very heavily on grades and will take into consideration all aspects of your application. Whereas some do weight the gpa more.

All of your volunteer experience is stellar! :yelclap:

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Thanks! I have alot more volunteer experience than I listed. I had never really considered that those experiences would eventually help me. I was just really loving the things I was doing. It was an escape from the coldness of being in the lab all day. I could get out and be a part of the world, lol.

I really hope this school is able to look past that bad couple of years. I don't remember what my GPA was before my grandaddy died, but I know that even with 4 semesters of F's (a total of 16)... I still graduated with a 2.4 GPA. In all of my pre-requisites I have A's. and my major GPA is a 3.6 (Biology). So I'm not a bad student.

I also have great references. So I think that may help too.

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Good luck, MissLadieTee! I also applied to my school's RN program for the Spring 2010 start. Hopefully the waiting will fly by for all of us who applied!

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Specializes in Home Health, OASIS Review, Home Infusion, Wounds,.

Hi MissLadieTee :D

Congratulations on completing your nursing application early! I too completed mine early for the Spring 2010 session, and I am awaiting my acceptance letter, which should be out to me sometime around October 15th :( I feel like this waiting game is a bit much, but what else can we do?

I was also worried about my undergraduate GPA hurting my chances of getting into a nursing program, and since my BS was in mathematics and physics, I had a few prereqs to complete before hand, so I used the prereq time to strengthen my cumulative. Your story is very interesting as, I had a very hard time in college during my sophomore and junior years, when I found out that my grandmother had breast cancer and she passed 2 weeks before my return to my sophomore year of college :zzzzz She was my only support during college, soooooo I had to get a job and ignore my feelings in order to maintain...needless to say...it took me until my junior year to get things right and by then the damage was already done to my cumulative :banghead:

Good luch with your acceptance, and I hope you share your great news with us :D

What school did you apply to?

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I also applied recently to a few area schools and I have no idea when I will hear from them.

But, it sounds like your volunteer work will be able to help you overcome some of the obstacles.

If I was an admission counselor I would definitely look at the whole picture and not just grades.

Best of luck to you.

Dee

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Thanks to all for the encouragement. And good luck to everyone that is also applying!!

I went to speak with an admissions counselor today. Overall I have a strong package, but my low gpa could hurt me. Luckily I had the forethought to explain my grades in the application because alot of students have extreme circumstances and think maybe they'll be able to explain with an additional letter or interview. But the admissions comittee only looks at the application, transcripts, test scores, and references. Any additional info sent in is disregarded.

Worst case scenario-- I don't get into the nursing program, but can still be admitted for the associates in science: pre-nursing track. Because I've already taken all pre-reqs and most of the co- reqs, I could take an additional psych course and a healthcare leadership course. Then I can apply for a change of major for Fall 2010.

Still she told me it's not impossible for me to be admitted for the spring.

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I also applied recently for the nursing program at the local schools here in Arizona but they have that darn waiting list. I was around number 2020-2024 on the list, geez! I also applied at the local hospital here (for spring 2010) that has an alliance with the community colleges and they will pay for school and I will have to work for them for 3 years, no problem. I got a call from them asking if I wanted to interview for a October 2009 spot and so i did on Monday and on Tuesday I got an email saying that I was accepted :). So keep your hopes up. I didn't think I was going to get it since they only have 120 spots available for the hospital program and employees are applying as well. If I didn't get this I would have been on that crazy wait list forever. Good luck!----Kelli

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Good luck, wish you the best!! I also applied to a program for Spring 2010!

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