Accelerated BSN & Direct Entry Masters - Where do you go?

curlyfries · Sep 16, 2005

Izzy,

I've made the appointment to go in and talk with the admission officer at the school of nursing about my GPA. She said that if they have a lower applicant pool they'd admit me into the program. However, if they have a higher applicant pool, they admit people with higher GPAs. This year and next year she is expecting lower applicant pool. For example this year she only got 40 applicants but 60 slots to fill. Last year she had 300 applicants, the same 60 slots to fill. It all depends.

So make an appointment to talk with the admission officer at the school of nursing. Go to their open house, I am going to one next week. I have several doctors that will support me, even talk to the University to admit me. It helps to have doctors that will back you up that is also connected to the university. I am kidney transplant patient so I am pretty well known at the hospital! LOL

Don't let that GPA requirement scare you. It's just there, it's a nice requirement but not the greatest measurement to use. High GPAs don't translate better nurses! Funny once you're in the program they expect C or better grade in all of their courses. Masters is a whole another world, you gotta have a B to pass! I've taken two masters level courses, I passed one and didn't do well in the other. It was in health system management courses.

Moi!

christianRN · Sep 16, 2005

I "go to" the University of Southern Indiana, but it is all on-line. I am in an RN-MSN bridge program. I won't earn a Bachelor's, but skip it and get my Master's quicker. If you go full-time, you can get the grad courses done in 2 years. I'm taking 3. I didn't have to take the GRE. The Master's of Science in Nursing degrees they offer have focuses in either: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult Nurse Practitioner, CNS, Leadership and Management, or Nurse Education.

I would reccommend it to ANYBODY. They have been so helpful. Some of my classmates live in Virginia, Missouri, and Saudi Arabia!

Izzygal · Sep 16, 2005

Izzy,
I've made the appointment to go in and talk with the admission officer at the school of nursing about my GPA. She said that if they have a lower applicant pool they'd admit me into the program. However, if they have a higher applicant pool, they admit people with higher GPAs. This year and next year she is expecting lower applicant pool. For example this year she only got 40 applicants but 60 slots to fill. Last year she had 300 applicants, the same 60 slots to fill. It all depends.
So make an appointment to talk with the admission officer at the school of nursing. Go to their open house, I am going to one next week. I have several doctors that will support me, even talk to the University to admit me. It helps to have doctors that will back you up that is also connected to the university. I am kidney transplant patient so I am pretty well known at the hospital! LOL
Don't let that GPA requirement scare you. It's just there, it's a nice requirement but not the greatest measurement to use. High GPAs don't translate better nurses! Funny once you're in the program they expect C or better grade in all of their courses. Masters is a whole another world, you gotta have a B to pass! I've taken two masters level courses, I passed one and didn't do well in the other. It was in health system management courses.
Moi!

What a great idea to simply talk with the admission officer! Once I know where I would like to go, I will do this for sure. Please let me know how that goes for you and how you feel about it. Even being in the preparation stages is very exciting for me. Since I am looking at Direct-Entry programs, as I am a non-nurse with a bachelor's degree, I have to be prepared for the fact that it's very competitive! Good luck to you - keep me posted! :)

Izzy

Izzygal · Sep 16, 2005

I "go to" the University of Southern Indiana, but it is all on-line. I am in an RN-MSN bridge program. I won't earn a Bachelor's, but skip it and get my Master's quicker. If you go full-time, you can get the grad courses done in 2 years. I'm taking 3. I didn't have to take the GRE. The Master's of Science in Nursing degrees they offer have focuses in either: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult Nurse Practitioner, CNS, Leadership and Management, or Nurse Education.
I would reccommend it to ANYBODY. They have been so helpful. Some of my classmates live in Virginia, Missouri, and Saudi Arabia!

That sounds like a great program, unfortunately as a non-nurse, they just don't have online programs for people like me. Great to post out there to other nurses though, who may not know about this program yet! :-)

Izzy

Izzygal · Sep 19, 2005

So I just wanted to share that I have orientation tonight to volunteer at a local clinic... I'm really excited and I'm sure this will be great experience for me! Happy Monday!

Izzy

Jess RN · Oct 18, 2005

What school do you go to (and where is that?)? Boston College

What program are you in there? Master's Entry to Nursing- Women's Health Specialty Track

How long is your program? 24 months, but I am on a 3-4 year plan

If you are willing to share: What was your cumulative undergrad GPA and/or GRE scores? BA in Eng. Lit, GPA: 3.5, GRE: V710 Q580 AW6

What was the best thing you did that you feel made your application more competitive?

Volunteer experience, high post-bac gpa in the pre req classes

Any general recommendations or comments to future applicants?

Make sure to demonstrate in your essays that you know what it is that an advance practice nurse does and clearly articulate your interests and professional goals.

-Jess

jeepgirl, LPN, NP · Oct 19, 2005

Hello,

I am going to University of Missouri - Columbia. They have an RN-BSn option online and MSn online. WE had classmates from all over the US... cali, boston, etc. Tuition for the programs through MU direct (the distance programs...) is the same no matter location... so no paying "out of state" tuition. So that is something to chew on.

www.mizzou.edu

Gennaver, MSN · Oct 20, 2005

Hi Izzy,

What school do you go to (and where is that?)?

DePaul University in Chicago!

What program are you in there?

Master entry to nursing program

How long is your program?

two years total and you graduate with your RN-MSN!

If you are willing to share: What was your cumulative undergrad GPA and/or GRE scores?

I think my GRE were verbal 560 and quant 530 and aw 4.5, (yeah I just made it! but it counts) My undergrad in Soc/Psych and Associates in Biology had a total cumulative gpa of about 3.85, I am too busy studying to recall right off hand exactly what they were but, it includes my pre-reqs.

What was the best thing you did that you feel made your application more competitive?

I just persisted and called and was kind and understanding at how busy they were yet, I made sure they knew how determined I was. Luckily I got in just before orientation and I hadn't had all my paperwork in until just before classes started! I also added a couple of letters of recommendation which they didn't require.

Any general recommendations or comments to future applicants?

Do not limit or inhibit yourself on where you apply. I am so glad that my first choice college passed me up, SOGLAD!! Had I not applied to DePaul I may have passed up a great opportunity. Turns out they ARE the place that I should have only applied to and not wasted my time with my other attempt.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to do this!

ParalyzeDragon · Oct 23, 2005

What school do you go to (and where is that?)?

The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN

What program are you in there?

Generic Masters

How long is your program?

3 years...1.5 for the BSN and 1.5 for the MSN

If you are willing to share: What was your cumulative undergrad GPA and/or GRE scores?

3.03 for GPA Chem Eng and 700/M, 450/V, 4.5/W for GRE

Any general recommendations or comments to future applicants?

Limited on the MSN concentrations. And you can quite after the BSN if you want to go somewhere else for the MSN...which I plan.

BCzito · Nov 7, 2005

Well I am at BC in the masters entry program.

My undergrad major was neuroscience and my GPA was a 3.5 , howver my GRE was only 1150 with a 5 on the writing. I felt my essay based on my experiences that let me to choose nursing (including why I ruled out other fields) helped a great deal. I also was involved allot and had a wide variety of experiences working in pharmaceticals, clinical research, academic research, and publishing my first journal article before I graduated (lots of work), I also volunteered, and finally took a job for a year related to what I wanted to go to nursing school for. I was surprised I must say since my GRE score wasn't so great that I got in to such a great nursing program. I'm glad though because I don't feel that my scores on standardized tests have ever predicted my outcome in the real world.

BC is a 2 year program for masters entry, or 1 year for traditional masters.

good luck all!

npoprn · Nov 3, 2010

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/pdf/APLIST.PDF

Is this the publication you are referring to? It is not the NLN but it is the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. These are the accredited schools or nursing.

There are several not listed that I have seen advertised as they start their program and seek accreditation from state BON. A student who graduated from an unaccredited school cannot sit for the NCLEX. This puts students in a risky situation but the acceptance rate may be better and almost all schools are granted accreditation in time for the first class to graduate. My LPN class was like this. Look at the small print and you may see "pending accreditation" or "when granted BON approval".