Applying to UW BSN program this yr-any tips?

HRM672 · Jul 25, 2005

Hello to all,
My apologies if this is a duplicate. I am new to this site.
Currently I am finishing up Micro, and planning on taking Pre calc and Organic Chem in the fall. This will finish all my pre-req's needed. I am also volunteering at UWMC. I will be applying the end of this yr to UW, SU, SPU and PLU. My first choice is UW. Does anyone have any tips for getting in? I will be just hitting the 100 hour volunteer mark, and my GPA is about 3.5. I will have community service time logged though.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

You might consider posting this message on the Nursing Instructor Board on this site for a better response. I am starting a BSN program in Atlanta this fall, and I found the application process to be quite competitive. I would recommend that you appply to several schools, not just your primary school of interest. Good luck!!

Summitk2 · Aug 3, 2005

I applied to UW's BSN twice and was denied both times. They appreciate ethnic diversity, so this might be good for you or it might be bad. They also love community service, so this is good for you. I would recommend more hospital volunteering - 100 hours is the minimum and nearly all accepted applicants will have much more (I had 450 with my 2nd app. and was still denied). The essay and recommendation are crucial. Spend a lot of time on the essay and think hard about what UW wants to hear rather than what you want to say. Choose your recommender carefully. If you are invited to the proctored essay, be sure to have a friend do a mock essay with you prior. Go to the info session - they will tell you what they're looking for. A&P and Micro grades are key. And if you don't get in, don't worry too much about it... they have a ton of excellent applicants and are required to turn down excellent applicants due to limited slots. Most accepted applicants have applied once or twice before. They also have very limited seats for post-bacc students (if you're post-bacc, pm me).

Good Luck!

December716 · Aug 4, 2005

I also am hoping to go to the UW School of Nursing. On their website, they have a few profiles of applicants that have been accepted. Here they are:

Profile 1
Transfer student from community college and another four year institution. Applicant completed 5 natural sciences prerequisites at the time of application with a gpa of 3.0. Resume included experience as a CNA in a nursing home, volunteering in a homeless shelter, student advisor for freshman at a 4-year university, numerous workshops in caring for elderly. Strong recommendation letter outlining maturity, problem solving skills, patient care experience and cultural sensitivity. Personal statement and proctored essay answered questions and demonstrated maturity; insight into personal strengths and weaknesses; appropriate balance between caring for clients and self; sensitivity and understanding of client needs and conditions.
Profile 2
Current UW student with transfer degree from community college. All prerequisites completed with a 3.85 gpa. Extensive CNA experience at three different long term care facilities; international experiences, community involvement with homeless populations and events coordinator for HIV/AIDS
education training. Reference from RN Supervisor reports performance above expectations, lists problem solving skills, maturity, patient care involvement and taking responsibility above and beyond required job responsibilities. Personal statement and proctored essay are articulate, well written, clearly respond to questions and list good examples to demonstrate points.
Profile 3
UW student with all prerequisites completed with a 3.30. Volunteer experience at UWMC for seven months, volunteer tutor for elementary school children, training and leadership experience in a retail facility, bilingual. Good recommendation from UWMC supervisor. Personal statement and proctored essay demonstrate maturity and insight into own behaviors and demonstrated reflection and personal growth. Applicant demonstrated ability to balance own needs vs. patient rights and needs.
Profile 4
Current UW student with transfer credits from community college. Five out of six natural sciences prerequisites completed with a 4.0. Volunteer experiences at 2 large Medical Centers and Bailey Boushay House. Extensive involvement in UW student activities, residence halls, and extracurricular activities in music and dance. Good recommendation from RN at one medical center. Personal statement and proctored essay responses are well written and respond concisely to all questions.
Applicant demonstrates cultural sensitivity, appropriate balance and insight of strengths and weaknesses and ability to see a "big picture" in relationship to others, including patients and health care professionals.
Profile 5
Current UW student with transfer degree from community college. Applicant is a re-applicant and improved application in all areas including increasing health care experience, completing prerequisites and increasing gpa and seeking out workshops, classes and involvement to strengthen cultural awareness. Natural science gpa is 3.50; applicant speaks 3 languages. Experiences in inpatient and outpatient facilities. Leadership and teaching experience in retail as well as student activities at UW and community college. Personal statement demonstrates maturity, insight, reflectiveness and sensitivity toward others in an outstanding manner.
Profile 6
Community college student with 3.75 cum gpa and natural science prerequisite gpa of 4.0. Health care experience as CNA, in assisted living facility and through client home visits. Extracurricular activities
including athletic coaching, communication training, training classes through employment. Very strong recommendation from RN supervisor. Personal statement and proctored essay demonstrate personal growth, ability to look at complexities and come up with solutions demonstrating caring for self and others in a balanced manner as well as sensitivity to others.
Profile 7
Current UW student with transfer credits from community college. Prerequisites are all completed with a 3.20 gpa. Resume includes volunteering in a variety of positions including escort, unit volunteer,
two nursing homes, needle exchange, overseas mission, fundraisers, and outpatient activities. Extensive teaching and training experience through church activities, community festivals, youth camps for disabled young adults. Very strong recommendation from clinic supervisor. Personal statement was insightful, articulate, demonstrates extensive cultural awareness and sensitivity as well as applicant's motivation to learn from new environments, embrace challenges and stretch comfort zone.
Profile 8
Community college student with a 3.50 gpa in natural sciences prerequisites. Health care experience as medical assistant for 5 plus years, community involvement through sports activities, church functions,
and organizing community events. Very strong recommendation from Nurse Practitioner. Applicant's personal statement demonstrates ability to overcome obstacles by turning them into opportunities for personal growth and character strengthening. Applicant demonstrates leadership, ability to balance own needs vs. needs of others as well as caring for others in a sensitive manner.

This was all taken from http://www.son.washington.edu/eo/bsn_app-info-2004.asp.

You have to be a VERY well rounded candidate to be accepted. My GPA is good, but I don't have that extensive of work. I plan on applying for fall 2007, so I hope to have a better application by then with more experience and volunteer work.

radbird · Aug 4, 2005

Great! Thanks for the great tips!

It is really nice to know who the type of applications they are accepting.

Thanks for the link and good luck on your application!

I also am hoping to go to the UW School of Nursing. On their website, they have a few profiles of applicants that have been accepted. Here they are:
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This was all taken from http://www.son.washington.edu/eo/bsn_app-info-2004.asp.
You have to be a VERY well rounded candidate to be accepted. My GPA is good, but I don't have that extensive of work. I plan on applying for fall 2007, so I hope to have a better application by then with more experience and volunteer work.

radbird · Aug 4, 2005

Thank you!

I did end up going to the advising session and it was full of great info.

Thanks! :)

I applied to UW's BSN twice and was denied both times. They appreciate ethnic diversity, so this might be good for you or it might be bad. They also love community service, so this is good for you. I would recommend more hospital volunteering - 100 hours is the minimum and nearly all accepted applicants will have much more (I had 450 with my 2nd app. and was still denied). The essay and recommendation are crucial. Spend a lot of time on the essay and think hard about what UW wants to hear rather than what you want to say. Choose your recommender carefully. If you are invited to the proctored essay, be sure to have a friend do a mock essay with you prior. Go to the info session - they will tell you what they're looking for. A&P and Micro grades are key. And if you don't get in, don't worry too much about it... they have a ton of excellent applicants and are required to turn down excellent applicants due to limited slots. Most accepted applicants have applied once or twice before. They also have very limited seats for post-bacc students (if you're post-bacc, pm me).
Good Luck!

December716 · Aug 4, 2005

I went to the information session even before I had enrolled in any pre-req's, a year ago. It was very useful, especially since there are so many myths about UW SON. People have said to me that you must have a 4.0 to get accepted and so on, but that's just not the case. During the information session I attended last year, the instructor told us they had never accepted someone with a 4.0 GPA, because they are usually lacking in the other areas. My GPA is currently 3.7 with a 3.95 in the sciences, so I'm glad I still have a shot.

Anyway, good luck with your application, and keep us posted! I would love to here about your progress. I've been wanting to find another prenursing student who is applying to the UW too, but I haven't been able to.

radbird · Aug 4, 2005

I went to the information session even before I had enrolled in any pre-req's, a year ago. It was very useful, especially since there are so many myths about UW SON. People have said to me that you must have a 4.0 to get accepted and so on, but that's just not the case. During the information session I attended last year, the instructor told us they had never accepted someone with a 4.0 GPA, because they are usually lacking in the other areas. My GPA is currently 3.7 with a 3.95 in the sciences, so I'm glad I still have a shot.
Anyway, good luck with your application, and keep us posted! I would love to here about your progress. I've been wanting to find another prenursing student who is applying to the UW too, but I haven't been able to.

3.95 in the sciences?! That is insane!!! GOOD FOR YOU!! I am currently taking Micro, and BARELY squeeking along a C! How did you do it?

December716 · Aug 5, 2005

I haven't finished all the science pre-req's yet. I'm sure after I take Organic Chemistry it won't be a 3.95. I did really well in Chemistry, but I didn't much like it, so I'm NOT looking forward to Organic Chemistry. I LOVE Microbiology though. I actually considered majoring in Microbiology at the UW. They have a double major in Microbiology and Medical Technology that was quite tempting to the science lover in me. But I LOVE nursing. Even though being a CNA at a LTC is HARD and I come home extremely tired, and some days it seems like no one appreciates what I do, I feel so good about what I do and I know I have a lot to offer as a nurse.

Where are you taking your pre-req's? I'm at Shoreline right now. There's lots of pre-nursing students there, although a lot of them are for Shoreline's ADN program, which is quite competitive to get into.

Anyway, good luck!

westcoastgirl · Aug 9, 2005

hi, I guess I got incredibly lucky in that I got into UW on the first try, although I was originally on the waitlist within days I got a "regular" spot. I decided to go to another school instead however it was nice to have gotten into UW SON.

I'm not really sure what gets you into UW, I can only list my own efforts here:

1. I did hear that you need LOTS of volunteer hours and not just in a hospital or medical setting. I did community service volunteering on top of hospitals

2. Diversity? Well from what I gather it only "helps" you if you're from an UNDERREPRESENTED group, which from some hints I gathered were Native American, Hispanic, and maybe African American?

3. My GPA was 3.8+ I think that was science only. Higher for all prereq.s

4. I didn't practice the essay (although that's a great idea!). I found this rounds questions to be kinda hard to answer if you weren't in some healthcare position before, just my personal opinion.

5. Recommendations - boy those were long questions weren't they? I had to think carefully about the RN to ask, because they will take lots of time to answer in any detail. Might not want to ask somebody who's always too busy

6. Get your CNA or EMT, some type of certification in healthcare.

7. Have a back up plan, apply to other schools!

good luck!

thida · Aug 30, 2006

Westcoastgirl, do you mind giving me some ideas on how to write the essay? I think the questions are HARD.

j450n, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 14, 2009

I am reviving this thread, as it is a few years old. I wanted to seek advice from more recent applicants and see what the applicant pool has been like. I know it varies from year to year, but I just hope to see how competitive I will be.

I've taken General Chem, A&P 1, A&P 2, Lifespan and came away with 4.0s, except for getting a B in Chem since I took it early during my undergraduate career where I didn't have my priorities figured out yet. Currently, I am taking Micro and I am doing well in it (knock on wood). So by the time I apply, all I will need is: Nutrition, Stats, and Organic Chem.

I hope to get a strong recommendation from my RN supervisor and my first degree was in liberal arts, so I feel confident that I'll be able to do well with my personal statement and the proctored essay. Sometimes, I actually prefer to write a long essay, than take a multiple choice test. I've been a CNA at a local hospital for 2 years on the float pool, so I've been exposed to a myriad of nursing specialties. I worked in student government during undergrad and serve as an adviser for a leadership development program for underclassmen by the time I was a senior. This included community service throughout all four years. I also became involved with student government at the Graduate/Professional level as well. Lastly, I was the Vice President of a Southeast Asian student commission and now serve as an Alumni Adviser.

Anyway, any comments or advice that I can get on the application process will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks!