Are all Allied Health programs as competitive as nursing?

[CourtneyLR]

I have noticed that almost everyone I have classes with is pre-nursing. My school has the same pre-reqs for many allied health programs, so I expected more of a mix. But it's nursing, nursing, nursing. Has this been your experience? Are other allied health programs (respiratory therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc.) just as competitive? I don't know where those students are but I have yet to meet one on campus!

I was admitted into a Dental Hygiene program years ago in another state which was extremely competitive. The vast majority of those in the program had 4.0, and they selected solely based upon GPA with county of residence as a secondary factor. My current school has a program for DH, but I've only met 1 pre-DH student who dropped the class after 2 weeks.

Thoughts/experiences?

[NewSN13]

All of the health science programs at my school are pretty competitive. When I was taking pre-reqs, it seemed like pre-nursing students were dominant but the nursing program is also the biggest - 60 students accepted twice a year versus 25 for fall start only for both rad tech and respiratory therapy. We don't have dental hygiene but I understand that the closest program is super competitive, too.

I think it's interesting that some students think of the rad tech or respiratory therapy programs as back-ups to nursing. I am in an interdisciplinary class with students from those programs and I can tell you, they are no joke.

[CourtneyLR]

All of the health science programs at my school are pretty competitive. When I was taking pre-reqs, it seemed like pre-nursing students were dominant but the nursing program is also the biggest - 60 students accepted twice a year versus 25 for fall start only for both rad tech and respiratory therapy. We don't have dental hygiene but I understand that the closest program is super competitive, too.

I think it's interesting that some students think of the rad tech or respiratory therapy programs as back-ups to nursing. I am in an interdisciplinary class with students from those programs and I can tell you, they are no joke.

Class size is a valid point that I didn't really consider. Nursing students are entered into the program multiple times per year, as compared to the other programs which enter once per year. Also, there are two Universities offering nursing very near to my college and many students choose to complete pre-reqs at my school instead of the Universities because it is cheaper. It stands to reason that more people would be completing the re-reqs for nursing than the other programs because there are more spots to be had between the three schools.

On the other hand, you would think that would make other programs more competitive (such as my Dental Hygiene example in my original post). I guess there must not be as big of a demand.

Which begs the question...why do so many people seeking healthcare careers choose nursing? A loaded question, I'm sure...