Applying to school

PLEASE take the time to actually investigate the job prospects for entry-level masters (ELM) new grads in your area. Don't rely on the school's recruitment spiel. In my area of the country, ELMs are not being hired. In my organization, hiring managers are actively avoiding ABSNs & ELMs based on poor outcomes. Their poor results on NCLEX are a matter of public record - even worse than ABSN programs. My organization also utilizes a standardized assessment of clinical skills to customize & evaluate new nurse orientation... so we have clear evidence of the "practice readiness" for graduates of different types of nursing programs.

Overall, there is enormous confusion about the purpose of an ELM degree. In our profession, graduate education means advanced skills/knowledge in a specific area (clinical &/or functional) of nursing practice but this is not the case with ELM grads, and calling the degree a Master's in Clinical Leadership does not fool anyone. In my area, ELM grads are competing for exactly the same jobs as everyone else, and (generic or bridge) BSN grads are the odds-on favorites with hiring managers in acute care.

I am in a similar position except I graduated with a bachelors in psychology- went to graduate school for a semester for counseling- decided I wanted to do nursing. The school I graduated from has an accelerated nursing program for people who already have a bachelors which is nice, but they really look for experience. I have no health care experience at all! So I am started my month long CNA class tonight while taking some of the needed pre-reqs at a local community college. No need to spend a ton of money on those! I suggest you get your CNA because that will look better on your nursing school application and will help you get a job after you are done.

Hm, OK. Thanks for the input so far.

HouTx: Well, my only choices for applying would be ABSN or ELM, right? I already have a bachelor's degree in something else. I figured that simply getting another bachelor's degree by doing ABSN isn't worth the time because I might as well just get a Master's degree... I don't know. :|

ashieb90: Do most CNA classes take a month? It'd be nice if they were shorter, haha... One of my plans was to go to Taiwan for a bit in March, and then apply to schools in Fall or something. If that plan goes through, would that mean I wouldn't even have enough time to do stuff as a CNA? I'm sure only having someone working for less than a year doesn't sound too appealing. Maybe I'll just have to look around for CNA opportunities regardless.

Talk with hospitals or places you want to work before getting the Masters with no hands on nursing experience. In my area you can't get a job without a nursing license and you can't pass the NCLEX without clinical experience.

[quote=GuiltyLove;7710442I figured that simply getting another bachelor's degree by doing ABSN isn't worth the time because I might as well just get a Master's degree... I don't know. :|

Don't think of it as "another bachelors" just as a path to the RN.

I already have a MS in Occupational Therapy, but the most reasonable way for me to enter nursing is to go into an ABSN program; I'm waiting to hear back for Fall 2014.

Hey GuiltyLove,

Check out the ETP program at Columbia U School of Nursing! Or at NYU, Hopkins, Rochester U or Dukes. You've got plenty of options and all the preReqs. All of them have great accelerated pathways for your 2nd bs. They sound perfect for you. Research the diff programs and use your free time to volunteer at a local hospital. You can get a good 6mo-year done by the time you'd start any program. Try different areas and see if nursing is really for you. Discover which specialty you'd like to pursue. (plus great for your resume) best of luck!

Some CSUs are accepting second bacc students for BSN applicants- I know there are several in my program. The NCLEX pass rates are high in the CSUs, and they're less expensive than UC or private universities. Many programs, mine included (and I know Long Beach) are down to two years.

Our program also requires CNA certification before the program starts, so that's helpful if you want to look for a job while in school or getting ready for school. The work experience can be very helpful when looking for jobs. CA has one of the most competitive markets in the US, unless you look at the Central Valley or rural nursing jobs, so entering the job market with zero experience would not be ideal.

I'm not sure if you plan to stay in CA, but that's a heads up on the job market. :)

If you want a masters, I would suggest considering Samuel Merritt University. It is a two year program, in which the first year you get your RN license, and the second year (depending on which program you apply to) complete the case management portion or the nurse practitioner portion. They also have an accelerated program for second bachelors where you just get you RN. They have campus locations in San Fransisco, Oakland, and Sacramento.

Also, you could consider looking at the California State schools many of them allow second bachelors to apply to their traditional nursing program. For instance, Sac State allows second bachelors to apply to their traditional program. Also, San Francisco State has an entry level MSN program.

You can further research California's RN programs at:

Board of Registered Nursing - RN Programs

Thanks for the comments, everyone. :)

Yeah, I would ideally want to stay in California, but... that sounds difficult if it's so competitive. If I wanted to be a CNA in the meantime, would I just have to look online to find programs or something?

I was thinking about Samuel Merritt, but the problem is that they want an Interpersonal Communications class and don't accept public speaking, which is what I have... :/

I was also looking at Columbia, Rochester, and other schools on the East Coast too. Hope it won't be extremely difficult to get in...

How many nursing schools do people generally apply to? I've been looking online for some programs and so far there are around 10 or so that I was thinking of applying to. Is that enough or should I apply to more to be safer? I'll probably use up a lot of money doing that, but if I can get accepted, it should be worth it...

I applied to 10 CSUs when I first applied, and got into 2. It can be pricey, between application fees and transcripts, especially when you have several transcripts from different schools like me! But it's worth it.

Yeah mine is only three weeks then a weekend of clinicals. I really think it's worth it because then you get some experience. It is definitely not the most fun class I've taken but it's a means to an end. You could always do it over the summer too! I don't have any healthcare experience so having a cna will help a lot in getting a job and on nursing school application.

Honestly it depends on what your GPA and scores are. If you are looking at more state schools you must have a high nursing GPA and high teas test score. I know the average for Sacramento State is 3.8 GPA and 87% on the TEAS. A lot of people apply to the state and community college programs in California; however, since the private schools cost much more, they get less applicants and some are not as competitive. Also, many of the community colleges in California use a lottery system to select their applicants. For instance, at my local community college 900 people apply per semester to the RN program, and the program uses a lottery to select 30 qualified applicants.

Personally, this coming semester I plan to apply to the four programs in my community, and depending on the results I will apply to more schools. Ten schools sounds good enough to me as long as you select schools where you are a competitive applicant.

For the CNA license I would suggest looking at community colleges, since the cost is the least there.

Here is a a list of CNA programs in California that may be helpful to you:

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/services/training/Documents/CNATrainingPrograms.pdf