Affirmative action for single mothers?

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Jan 23, 2006

i used both the pill and a condom when i was out there to be careful...and she gets in because she's a single, never married mother?

i love that!! i don't mean to laugh, but it's one of those seinfeld things (it's so true that it's funny).

i can see if she got in on her own merits, then they chose to give her a full waiver on tuition to compensate for the difficulty of being a single mother. that sounds reasonable to me. but to admit her because of this?! oh, and she's now pregnant again with #3. she's 22 years old. never married. i am not trying to make judgments on those who have never been married and are single mothers. i just don't think you should get admitted to a nursing program because of it! am i in left field here? what do you all think.

i don't mean to be judgemental either (but since you are, i will be too). but i can't possibly see her getting through this, especially if she admitted her grades are nowhere near the required gpa for acceptance. forget about her home situation (caring for 3 kids on her own), that's not even the issue here. she may have the best support system in the world to helpp her through it (regarding child care). but she's going to need to stay in the nursing program on her own merits. and the national council is not going to give a rats a$$ how many kids and lack of fathers she has (if she even makes it to nclex, which is highly unlikely, imo).

i can understand why this is bothering you, but try to take it with a grain of salt. and by all means, keep us posted.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Jan 23, 2006

Like most places, the competition to get into nursing programs is huge where I live. I met a woman in one of my classes who told me she has been accepted at the community college, and the U of --. Problem is, the wait list here for the CC is up to 3 years. She told me how she got into the U of --. She said to me, you have to have something special about yourself. I asked her, what do you mean? So she said "I got in because I'm a single mother." So I said to her, "I bet you have a really good GPA. I know the average GPA for those accepted is 3.7. Maybe you are underestimating how much you impressed the interviewers." She looks at me and rolls her eyes and says "My GPA isn't near that. They let me in because I'm a single mother." How do you know that I asked. She says "the professors both told me that I was being admitted expressly because I'm a single mother which makes life harder for me."
Excuse me? I have to admit this pisses me off! I used both the pill and a condom when I was out there to be careful...and she gets in because she's a single, never married mother? I can see if she got in on her own merits, then they chose to give her a full waiver on tuition to compensate for the difficulty of being a single mother. That sounds reasonable to me. But to admit her because of this?! Oh, and she's now pregnant again with #3. She's 22 years old. Never married. I am not trying to make judgments on those who have never been married and are single mothers. I just don't think you should get admitted to a nursing program because of it! Am I in left field here? What do you all think.

No i don't think you're in left field. If that's truly the reason she got in (assuming she doesn't have her facts wrong or isn't yanking your chain), i'd be a little peezed too, for the same reasons.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2006

Thank you. I felt the need to vent. I am working hard (like everyone) and I'm probably going to have to move to another state for nursing school because of the wait lists here. So this just set me off. This woman is clueless regarding so many things. I don't think it occured to her that she shouldn't go mouthing off about getting in due to this. She is talented, in that she completed A&P I, A&PII, Chem, and algebra, all in one semester. That's 16 credits. She said she leaves her two children with her mother every day, who watches her own children (the students siblings) with them. Total of 15 children.

While she knocked out 16 credits of heavy pre-reqs in one semester she seems impaired regarding human relations. One of our classmates who is in a wheelchair was commenting that it is difficult for her to get on the elevator at school because the students swarm on the elevator before she can wheel in. So pregnant student says to her..."oh no...you are mistaken, the students here are too nice to do that." giggle giggle. Everything she says is followed up with *giggle*giggle*. So the student in the wheelchair makes a comment like well, I wish I could get out of this chair. Giggle giggle preggers says to her, well, I wish I had curly hair. You always want what you don't have, huh." Giggle giggle.

This person is going to be a nurse. Truly scary. Thank you for letting me vent.

wt2001 · Jan 23, 2006

Like most places, the competition to get into nursing programs is huge where I live. I met a woman in one of my classes who told me she has been accepted at the community college, and the U of --. Problem is, the wait list here for the CC is up to 3 years. She told me how she got into the U of --. She said to me, you have to have something special about yourself. I asked her, what do you mean? So she said "I got in because I'm a single mother." So I said to her, "I bet you have a really good GPA. I know the average GPA for those accepted is 3.7. Maybe you are underestimating how much you impressed the interviewers." She looks at me and rolls her eyes and says "My GPA isn't near that. They let me in because I'm a single mother." How do you know that I asked. She says "the professors both told me that I was being admitted expressly because I'm a single mother which makes life harder for me."
Excuse me? I have to admit this pisses me off! I used both the pill and a condom when I was out there to be careful...and she gets in because she's a single, never married mother? I can see if she got in on her own merits, then they chose to give her a full waiver on tuition to compensate for the difficulty of being a single mother. That sounds reasonable to me. But to admit her because of this?! Oh, and she's now pregnant again with #3. She's 22 years old. Never married. I am not trying to make judgments on those who have never been married and are single mothers. I just don't think you should get admitted to a nursing program because of it! Am I in left field here? What do you all think.

Guess what? I am a single mother of two young boys that was accepted into nursing school based on my GPA. Also I worked hard and paid my own tuition until my last semester which is when I applied for a scholarship through the hospital where I had busted my butt for the past 7 years. Don't be salty because this person got in for being a single mother, but I really don't believe that bull.

moonischasingme1 · Jan 23, 2006

So the student in the wheelchair makes a comment like well, I wish I could get out of this chair. Giggle giggle preggers says to her, well, I wish I had curly hair. You always want what you don't have, huh." Giggle giggle.
This person is going to be a nurse. Truly scary. Thank you for letting me vent.

!!!:uhoh21:omg! I can't believe anyone would say something like that...GEEZ. :nono:

AnnaN5 · Jan 23, 2006

How did the school know that she was a single mother? I know they ask for your age, sex, and ethnicity on applications but I didn't know any schools asked about marital status & children. It seems like that would come up after you are accepted and applying for financial aid.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2006

You are interviewed by 2-3 nursing professors. This student is visibly pregnant, and was so at her interview. She seems to bring up her single mother status quite often, as she has done in conversation in our class?! She said she discussed it during the interview with the nursing professors. She seems proud. She should be proud of completing all those pre-reqs in one semester. She was stressing to me that with so many applicants, in her words, you have to be 'special' in some way to stand out from the other applicants. She said this is what made her 'special'. She also alluded to her disadvantaged background (poor). She is caucasian, light skin, light hair. So it's not a racial issue.

**SKM-NURSIEPOOH, BSN, RN** · Jan 23, 2006

this all sounds quite personal to me...affirmative action (aa) for single mother (s)~ it sounds more like you have problems with liking *this* particular person rather than how she was admitted into school as a single mother :rolleyes: .

aa often benefits females...regardless of them being single mother, white, black, asian, etc. please don't make generalizations regarding aa if you truly don't know all the facts regarding how aa works.

cheers,

moe

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2006

Moe, I happen to support AA. I have had the AA arguments before, and I believe in AA. I do not want this thread to devolve into a debate about true AA. My irritation with her is a secondary issue. The primary issue, and issue of this thread is her getting admitted instead of other students because she is a single mother. Her bizarre statements to the wheelchair student happened the next day in class, while I was stewing about her telling me how she got in. I was stunned that someone with so little insight got into such a competitive program.

In retrospect I wish I hadn't titled this thread AA. *Please don't let this degenerate into an argument about actual AA*

AnnaN5 · Jan 23, 2006

Well hopefully she takes this opportunity to turn her life around for the better and will be able to provide for her 3 children. It seems like if she got an interview she was qualified in some way unless they interview everyone who applies.

I am glad with the acceptance system that our school uses. It is all a point scale, you get X amount of points for gpa, credits, work experience, if you live in district, and if you have a prior bachelors or associates degree. The max points you can get is 90 points and they take the top 164 students each year. With this system you can't tip the scale in your favor through an interview or other factors which I like since everyone is given the same opportunity.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2006

I went out to dinner last night with a friend, who brought her friend, who is a professor (not nursing, a psychology professor). I vented this story. The psych professor said that college admissions are not only on merit. She said that what they need is diversity. I just never knew that diversity applied to things like being a single caucasian mother. The prof said that while it's true that another more qualified student lost a seat to this student, than the need for diversity trumps fairness on merit alone. I just don't think diversity should include admitting single mothers ahead of others with better GPAs, etc.