A few questions!

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Hi all, I was wondering if anyone could help me with a few questions I had. First off, just for some background about me, I'm a 23 year old, college graduated (Anthropology BA, 3.18 Undergrad GPA). I first became interested in Nursing when I attended EMT school a couple of years ago, and I LOVED it. Loved my clinicals, and loved being in the hospital and helping people. I currently have a 4.0 in my pre-reqs(AnP1, Dev Psych, Speech, Nutrition, Chem) and I will hopefully be taking Micro, AnP2 next semester. Anyway, my questions are:

1. Since I have a previous bachelors, I have been looking into Accelerated BSN, and MSN programs. Most of the MSN programs are entry MSN's, so you do not get an additional bachelors, but you get an MSN. How do hospitals look upon this? Is it more beneficial to get your BSN, and then move up?

2. My Undergrad GPA isn't too hot, but my pre-req GPA is good(hopefully it stays that way!) I know all programs are different, but do colleges focus more on the post bachelors work? Or will they consider my undergrad work very heavily?

3. About a year and a half ago, I went through EMT school ,and graduated 2nd in my class(out of 102 students). Since I was in the top 3, I was guaranteed a recommendation from the program director anytime I needed one. The thing is, I became certified but was not able to find a job after graduating from the program(Ambulance companies around here are on a hiring freeze), and thus have no actual job experience. Should I still list this on my application, and should I still consider asking him for a recommendation considering I didn't gain employment as an EMT?

4. I was considering applying to some programs right now, while I had my pre-reqs still in progress(micro and AnP2), but would it be better for me to finish these up, and apply for entry the following year considering my low undergraduate GPA? Achieving good grades in those last pre-reqs and being able to put them on my application would make me a much more viable candidate, would it not?

5. Regarding Volunteer and extra-curricular activities, I was in a National Co-ed service fraternity in College and performed over 300 hours of volunteer work, but that is about it. I am considering volunteering at my local hospital beginning in January. Does anyone else have any suggestions regarding volunteer opportunities, or anything I should look into?

6. Last but not least, I took a statistics course about 3 years ago in which I received a B-. Would I be able to take a statistics course at my CC this upcoming semester to replace that grade? On what basis do most schools look at situations like that? Would getting an A in a stats course currently make any difference?

7. Last question, I promise. I know that I am trying to enter into a female dominated profession, and I was wondering if anyone could comment on how the atmosphere is with regards to male nursing applicants? I'm not exactly sure how to phrase my question now that I think about it...I was just wondering as to what I could expect?

Ahhh. So many questions. I will probably have a lot more as I continue on this journey. Sometimes this can be so overwhelming, so many schools, and so many options. Thanks again for any help, I really appreciate it!

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Hey man! what up? Well I don't have a BS/BA yet, but I do have an A.S. degree in Health, and I'm 19 years old in nursing school. Here's what I've got to share with you when I went through what you are going through.

1. Hospitals love it when you have at least a BSN. An MSN will be better though; however, if you want to advance your scope of practice into nurse practitioning or nurse anesthesia, you'll need a BSN.

2. they look at your over all college GPA and mostly at your prereq GPA. Keep 'em hangin' high!

3. List this dude! Definitely man! This is great to put on an app.

4. Apply now. Some schools allow some prereqs to be in progress. Others say that you must complete them. make sure you complete your prereqs early and fast too. apply, apply, and apply! apply as soon as you are able to and don't get discouraged if you are rejected. I applied to 3 schools and I was rejected in one of them with a prereq 3.8 GPA. Luckly, I was accepted to the one I wanted to go to.

5. I don't have suggestions about volunteer/work experience, but this is great to put on an app. Also try to get some health/medical related experience. Community service is great too, dealing with the poor, sick, dying, homeless, minorities, at-risk youth, alcoholics, etc... Foreign language proficiency is great as well. I did all of those :smokin: and it was smokin' sweet!

6. Some schools say that you cannot repeat a prereq, others say that you are given 1 chance. Some say that you must retake prereqs after a certain amount of years. If I were you, I'd check to see if the school is ok with repeating stats. If they are, go ahead and repeat it. If not, well that's life. I took stats and I was mad as a cow's disease when I got a B+ :angryfire the only B I got on a prereq! GRRRR!! and I was so close to an A- :crying2:. I could not repeat it since one of the schools that I was applying to said no repeats of prereqs unless you want to be less competitive.

7. Hmm, nursing schools want diversity and a chance for minorites to enter, so being a male is a big plus. I'm a male too, and I gotta tell ya dude, I love it!:D In most of my prereq lab classes, I was the only male :heartbeat and my lab mates were all sweet chicks:cool:. Being the only male has it's advantages... plus some of the nursing admissions people I spoke with were happy to see me more too :imbar.

Remember, just chill-out, relax and you'll cruise on just fine as long as you stay focused and on top of things. Sacrifice is a must in this journey, but in the end is very rewarding. Trust me bro. If you need anything else, feel free to contact me. No one said it was going to be an easy route...

S.Snake BSN-RN student class of 2011!!

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To our fellow male nursing students........us ladies love having you around ;) Being in a room with all females can get overwhelming, lol.

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GoodLuck

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Specializes in Stepdown.

Thanks for all the great advice. Anyone else have any input? I am thinking about applying to some Accelerated BSN programs once this semester is over and grades have posted(Dec. 28th). Do you guys think I would have a chance to get into an accelerated program with my background or should I just try for an ADN program? Also, my end goal is to be a CRNA, so I'm going to be looking at BSN for previous degree holder programs primarily. Does anyone have any recommendations for schools that focus heavily on pre-requisite grades? Thanks again.

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Thanks for all the great advice. Anyone else have any input? I am thinking about applying to some Accelerated BSN programs once this semester is over and grades have posted(Dec. 28th). Do you guys think I would have a chance to get into an accelerated program with my background or should I just try for an ADN program? Also, my end goal is to be a CRNA, so I'm going to be looking at BSN for previous degree holder programs primarily. Does anyone have any recommendations for schools that focus heavily on pre-requisite grades? Thanks again.

sweet! I'm trying to be a CRNA too. You can try which ever program you want to try in reaching your goals eventually. Any accredited RN program will do. Since I live in California, some programs that I know are UCSF's accelerated BSN, SFSU's accelerated MSN, CSUB's (my school) BSN program for 21 months too, and a few others.

Good luck

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1. To my understanding, I think you have to have a BSN first before you can get your MSN - you can't just "go get" your MSN. A lot of MSN classes build upon things you have learned in your BSN curriculum. You would have to obtain your BSN first and if you choose to go for your MSN, then go for it! Since you already have a degree, you could opt for the accelerated BSN program, but I'm warning you, it is a lot of work! But extremely worthwhile :) (and btw, there is nothing wrong with having two bachelor's degrees! ;))

2. I have a couple of friends who have bachelor's degrees in other areas that decided to pursue nursing. Some of the classes that you took for your other degree may count for credit towards additional gen ed classes that you have to take for your undergrad, such as history/humanities/area studies classes. At my school, they focus on your undergrad, not post-bachelor's work. My school also focuses on your science pre-req GPA. They take your science-related prerequisite courses (at the time I was applying it was biochem 1 & 2 and principles of microbiology with A&P 1 & 2 as co-requisites...now they changed it to biochem 1 & 2 and A&P 1 & 2 with microbiology as a co-requisite), obtain an average and rank all candidates based on their average. They decide a mean average from that average which is basically a "cut off" point...those who are above that will be admitted and those below that will be placed on the waiting list. It is different at every school so I would talk to your advisor or someone in the nursing program and be familiar with what their requirements are.

3. I would definitely list this!

4. Apply now. Some schools allow pre-reqs to be in progress. For example, we apply during spring semester when we're still taking pre-reqs, but of course we didn't find out until summer after all of the grades were in and after doing the whole averaging out process and whatever else they might do.

6. Ask your advisor. My school allows you to retake a class ONCE for better credit and they will always take the highest grade.

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Specializes in Stepdown.
1. To my understanding, I think you have to have a BSN first before you can get your MSN - you can't just "go get" your MSN. A lot of MSN classes build upon things you have learned in your BSN curriculum. You would have to obtain your BSN first and if you choose to go for your MSN, then go for it! Since you already have a degree, you could opt for the accelerated BSN program, but I'm warning you, it is a lot of work! But extremely worthwhile :) (and btw, there is nothing wrong with having two bachelor's degrees! ;))

2. I have a couple of friends who have bachelor's degrees in other areas that decided to pursue nursing. Some of the classes that you took for your other degree may count for credit towards additional gen ed classes that you have to take for your undergrad, such as history/humanities/area studies classes. At my school, they focus on your undergrad, not post-bachelor's work. My school also focuses on your science pre-req GPA. They take your science-related prerequisite courses (at the time I was applying it was biochem 1 & 2 and principles of microbiology with A&P 1 & 2 as co-requisites...now they changed it to biochem 1 & 2 and A&P 1 & 2 with microbiology as a co-requisite), obtain an average and rank all candidates based on their average. They decide a mean average from that average which is basically a "cut off" point...those who are above that will be admitted and those below that will be placed on the waiting list. It is different at every school so I would talk to your advisor or someone in the nursing program and be familiar with what their requirements are.

3. I would definitely list this!

4. Apply now. Some schools allow pre-reqs to be in progress. For example, we apply during spring semester when we're still taking pre-reqs, but of course we didn't find out until summer after all of the grades were in and after doing the whole averaging out process and whatever else they might do.

6. Ask your advisor. My school allows you to retake a class ONCE for better credit and they will always take the highest grade.

Thank you for all of that. Very helpful. I appreciate it. May I ask where you attend? Thanks!

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some schools offer an accelerated MSN program if you already have a BS/BA from another field that is not nursing, so you can get your MSN which prepares you to be an RN, but with an MS degree. Some schools offer that same accelerated program too, but for a BSN. So there are RNs with no BSNs but with MSNs, and a BS/BA in another field. They work like normal RNs, but can take on higher positions than the BSNs and ASNs.

I know for sure that there are such programs because I've attened a univeristy that offered an accelerated MSN... and universities schools did too... well for California schools, that is.

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Specializes in Stepdown.
some schools offer an accelerated MSN program if you already have a BS/BA from another field that is not nursing, so you can get your MSN which prepares you to be an RN, but with an MS degree. Some schools offer that same accelerated program too, but for a BSN. So there are RNs with no BSNs but with MSNs, and a BS/BA in another field. They work like normal RNs, but can take on higher positions than the BSNs and ASNs.

I know for sure that there are such programs because I've attened a univeristy that offered an accelerated MSN... and universities schools did too... well for California schools, that is.

Yeah, I saw some programs that allow for that. The thing is, since my end goal is CRNA, I should get my BSN right? I'm actually starting to consider ADN CC programs now...so much cheaper. But they're all 2 years... So many decisions...ahh.

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