Applying to RN Programs in Ontario (From BC)

future_hero · Oct 1, 2011

Hi there Paraston,

This is a great forum for advice and insight on anything related to nursing or pursuing the profession.

I have TWO pieces of advice:

FIRST is to APPLY EARLY. I can not stress that enough and the reason being is because it makes a major difference in your application.

It is important to apply early (even NOW if they are accepting applications) despite the fact that you are upgrading is because the demand to get into nursing in any college in Ontario is EXTREMELY competitive. Of course your marks are everything to decide whether you get in or not. I strongly believe that you being out of province is a myth. It would be biased if a college or university rejected you simply because you are out of province. Majority of all 4 year nursing programs are classified as "Grades only programs" which means they only look at your grades period.

My SECOND piece of advice is try to get those courses done ASAP and advise the schools you applied to in advance that you are currently in the process of completing the courses. That's why it is important for you to APPLY EARLY.

I applied as early as January of 2011 (which is the normal time that high-school students in Ontario apply through their Guidance office). I applied with an 86% average to GBC, Centennial and Ryerson. I was wait-listed for all three campuses and unfortunately I did not get accepted to any of them for Fall 2011. The level of competition gets tougher every year as you are going against applicants who did not get in last year, International Students who have degrees, high-school students, as well as mature students doing upgrading too.

So I urge you to have the slight advantage by simply applying early as you want to be in the pool of applicants who get offered early acceptance.

So I STRONGLY recommend this to you to have the slight advantage:

FIRST: APPLY AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE

SECOND: GET THE UPGRADED COURSES DONE ASAP with that 89%

Fact: For every accepted applicant into a nursing program in Ontario, 2-3 QUALIFIED applicants are turned down. (Reference from the College of Nurses of Ontario)

Last years cutoff was somewhere in the Mid to high 80's where I applied which is well above the required averages to be considered. And every year it gets higher and higher.

I wish you luck in pursuit of an education in nursing.

future_hero

Paraston · Oct 1, 2011

Hi future_hero

Thanks so much for the response!!

Sorry to hear that you didn't get accepted this Fall. That's what makes me nervous--seeing people with great averages not being accepted.

I definitely plan to apply early. I'm trying to finish my courses by the end of October, so I should be able to apply by the beginning of November (which I think is when OCAS starts sending the applications to the schools).

I really hope you're right about the schools going by grades only! The reason I was concerned was because I had read in another post from the beginning of this year that someone who had applied to Mohawk was sent a letter acknowledging their application had been received, but said that they would not be considered because they were out of province (or something to that effect). I don't want to rely on that information though just because if I don't try, there's definitely no chance of me getting in! It makes sense that it shouldn't matter where your from...especially because I plan to stay in Ontario for work as well.

So does applying early (say in November) really put me ahead of people applying in January? I thought that with February 1 being the equal consideration date, that everyone who had applied before that were in competition with each other. But that definitely would push me to get these courses done right away!

Thanks again for your response...lots of great info!

future_hero · Oct 1, 2011

Truthfully that is such a shallow thing for a college or university to do - To reject a qualified applicant simply because they are Out of province. I don't think any college/university would want to have the image of being shallow.

Just so you know my friend came from Vancouver and studied at the University of Toronto and came out with a Bachelors degree in Nursing. That pretty much tells you that what you heard are rumors or some form of misinterpretation.

I am pretty certain that all nursing programs are grades only. All 3 that I have applied to were grades only programs. If you want to double check you can simply call the college/university and simply ask the question. "Is the nursing program offered at ABC college a grades only program?" (Which means they only look at grades)

About the equal consideration date, you are correct. The equal consideration date goes for all programs. However you must pay attention to the fact that all nursing programs are oversubscribed.

Here is the advice from Seneca College regarding over subscribed programs:

For programs shown in this publication as “Oversubscribed Programs”, apply before February 1, 2011.(THERE IS A REASON AS TO WHY THEY SAY THIS!)

Nursing is on that publication. and here is why......

So even though the equal consideration is indeed Feb 1 2011, believe me that Admission offices are already opening envelopes looking at qualified applicants who applied in October-November and providing them with offers. Don't be the one that waits until last minute and be submitting your application on January 31 as I am confident that these admission offices have sent out what they call "Early Offers". Once again, here is an experience i went through. I submitted my entire package the same time as secondary school applicants to the colleges and universities I applied to. The admissions officer had advised me "that EARLY OFFERS have been sent out" In my head was "wait a minute... isn't there a equal consideration date of Feb 1 ?!?!?!. That is very much true, however some students forget to read the fine print which says that For programs shown in this publication as “Oversubscribed Programs”, apply before February 1, 2011. (in other words, we are giving out early offers...but they would never say this to you or put it on the record)

Logically it makes total sense for these admission offices to provide early offers to qualified applicants especially when a program like nursing is overflowing with applications. As the deadline approaches, their line of work becomes more hectic and they will need to have sufficient time of looking at all the other thousands too. So why wait and when they can offer these qualified applicants now and reduce the stress of choosing some else later. I call this pool of applicants the " early bird offer for those who qualify and submitted their application early lol.

Please do take into serious consideration what it is that I am advising you. The sooner the better and once you get that offer, all you have to do next is lay back and sit pretty until the fall lol.

Hope this helps. If you do get an early offer, I also recommend that you start working on the the electives during the summer before. First year I hear "separates the men from the boys" so to speak.

Good luck!

Paraston · Oct 1, 2011

Ah good points! Alright, so I'll finish my courses as soon as possible and try to keep my average up there and apply in November. Then just I'll just have to play the waiting game!

Thanks again for all your help! :)

future_hero · Oct 3, 2011

your welcome and good luck!

joanna73, BSN, RN · Oct 4, 2011

While all schools look at your grades, and the grades are definitely important, they only have so many seats. You are also competing with many mature students who have the grades, life experience, and work experience. That makes a huge difference.

When I applied in early 2006, I applied as a mature student. Aside from the grades, we were required to submit a resume, along with a letter outlining our interest in the program. Just keep applying, and apply to as many schools as possible. Eventually, you will get in somewhere.

Fancypants09 · Oct 5, 2011

I am surprised that OP has not added universities to the list!

Have you looked at the Ryerson University RN Collaborative program, York U RN Collab program, Humber college collab program, McMaster Uni collab, Lakehead Uni, McGill Uni, University of Western Ontario, etc. These universities all offer an RN program.

I strongly suggest you either call or e-mail the registrar's office at each institution of interest in order to get a feel for their admission policy for out-of-province students. Remember, applying as early as possible is in your best interest! Best of luck to you.