Advice for a potential MDE student

verdiothello · Apr 1, 2018

Hi all,

I'm another non-traditional potential nursing student, interested in getting into an MDE program. I have a bachelor's degree in the social sciences from a prestigious school but ended up earning a GPA of 3.2, which I know may not be that great. My career was in IT before this & is something that I am very proud of, because I can show progress in my career. Unfortunately, my transcript is littered with some withdrawals as well as leaves of absences that I took to deal with some health-related family issues (supporting my dad while he was sick on another coast, and dealing with his death). I also worked full-time while I was studying.

I'm planning to start taking the prerequisites this Fall and am wondering what I can do strengthen my application for these MDE programs. I'm particularly interested in Columbia's MDE program but would plan to apply to other programs as well. Here are my questions:

Will these programs take school reputation into account? For instance, should I justify spending extra money on courses from a school with a great reputation? To be honest, I'd rather just take the courses from the closest 4-year university that I can afford but would consider other options if it would help strengthen my application. I'm also concerned that taking the prerequisites at a school that isn't as prestigious as my alma mater will reflect poorly on my application.
What do these schools look for with regards to the academic rigor of the prerequisite courses?
I have years of volunteer experience for a couple of healthcare organizations, and still volunteer now. These experiences are what motivated me to consider a career switch to nursing. I am wondering if this will help supplement my application.
What other things can I do to strengthen my application? Should I try to take a full-time course-load to show that I can handle it, or is it all right to go part-time?
Would it be better for me to consider ABSN programs? I'm not totally turned off by them but though it would be nice if I could get into a master's degree program instead. I find the idea of getting another bachelor's degree kind of odd but I'd go along with it if it turns out that I'm a better candidate for those instead.
I was told by someone at the admissions office at a local university that I could apply as a second degree biology student, and may have only about 30 credits to complete it. Is this something that would help support my application at all or should I just focus on the prequisites?