Are Nursing Programs harder to get into?

[Akamnonu8]

I believe so; moreover, because certain programs will not even look at your application if you do not have this astronomical GPA it does discourage future applicants from even applying and cause anxiety for applicants who are applying. I have had several colleagues who would have taken the harder Anatomy class or the harder Microbiology class, but did not because they were afraid that their GPA's might suffer they decided to take the easier teacher. This kind of competition in my opinion does not make students try harder, but makes them try to find the easier way to get those GPA points. In Earlier years, programs would have students accepted with very low GPAs, but as the years progress so has there standard which is a good thing, but I believe that too much emphasis is put on the GPA. Because a lot of emphasis is on the GPA, many students may not want to search for healthcare experience because they know that will hinder their ability to make good grades. A nurse should be a well-rounded person because just because a person is book smart it does not mean that they are ready to be a nurse. If anyone has anything to comment feel free to share your thoughts or if you are in a nursing profession please share some of your experiences.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Harder than what? Than it was to get into a decade ago?

Less demand, greater supply means that programs can afford to cherry-pick from an abundant applicant list.

There's no shortage of nurses, no shortaage of prospective students, so....why make it easy?

[roser13, ASN, RN]

My thoughts exactly.

Harder than what?

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

I am also taking an easier class than I would have liked due to the fact I want to keep my GPA high for the transition program I want to get into. I see both sides of the fence. Especially since there are so many Nurses and people wanting to be Nurses. Oh well.. If I really want I can take the class once I'm through with school, but I doubt it.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Depends on the school. The really good ones (and less expensive ones) can be choosey. But some schools will take just about anyone who agrees to pay the bill.

...and back in 1973, when I started college ... About half of all students in my nursing program had graduated in the top 5% of their high school graduating class. (I can't remember the exact figure, but it was something like that.) Many had been class valedictorians. So good schools were hard to get into in the olden days, too.

[Everline]

Why shouldn't it be hard?

[emmy27]

Unless applications are being processed by robots, they will likely take the demanding nature of the courseload in to account. In my own program (albeit lo these many years ago!) we got extra "points" on the application evaluation for having already completed the more challenging prereqs, even though you could technically be admitted without having completed them and finish them during your time in school. So if you waited to tackle micro and A&P, yeah, you might protect your 4.0, but you also ranked lower than someone who had already taken those courses, even with a less-than-perfect GPA.

Admissions officers aren't dumb- they know that a student who has avoided challenges to stay "perfect" isn't as good a prospect for a challenging program than one who has already met them head on.

[scaredsilly, BSN, RN]

Different schools are different regarding attendance. There are two major nursing schools here with years long waitlists. They get 400-500 applicants per year for less than 100 spots. They can afford to be picky. Some schools have a seamless transition where you start on your pre-reqs right out of high school and if your gpa is high enough you are automatically in nursing school. They only take ppl with a 3.8 or higher in high school. I went to one of those, over half of the students failed out during the pre reqs even coming in with a gpa that high. A&P kicked butt.

Nursing school is hard. Nursing as a career is hard. If they weren't strict about who they let in, there would be more students failing than there are now.

[sunshinerainbows]

What I think is harder (than other programs) is that the pre-requisites vary so widely (I've only been looking at the programs for people who already have degrees in other subject, so...)

It seems like most everyone wants Anatomy 1 & 2, microbiology, intro to psychology, and statistics, but the chemistry requirements vary from a general introductory course to a year of inorganic plus a semester of organic! Most want developmental psychology, but one does not and instead wants introduction to sociology. Some want medical terminology, others introduction to communications. Some want ethics while others want medical ethics and some want philosophy. Some want the science of nutrition not straight up nutrition, some want pathophysiology, some want you to be a CNA... Some want a college level math class and don't offer a way to test out of that. Some accept CLEP. Some want your old ACT/SAT, some want new GREs.

I don't mind taking the classes, but I would spend years and years trying to get them all done, not to mention the cost. I wish they would either become a little more consistent, a little more flexible about a non-science course, i.e. ethics vs. medical ethics vs. philosophy, or allow me to take the class after being accepted into the program. I hate to keep spending the time and money to take these classes when half of them are going to turn out not to be necessary for my eventual program.

[Undone]

It seems that the lower the tuition, the harder it is to get in.

From what I have seen, staying in and making it through the program is the hard part.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

You can't "pad" your GPA where I go. You have 4 classes that are requirements to get done before entering the program. They look at those 4 classes only. Your GPA can not be below 2.5 but in these 4 classes you need all A's to get in. They also go off your Teas score. So there is no taking of lower classes to get in. It is hard to get into my program and I think it should be. I don't want just any yahoo off the street taking care of me in a life or death situation. Chances are that if you care enough about your grades to make the effort to get into the program, you will take that same level of caring and pride into your job. People who are nurses need to be confident and have pride in their work so they will do a good job. We will be in charge of people's lives. It's probably the most important job out there.

[elkpark]

There used to be less emphasis on GPA and more on "well-rounded" applicants who were considered likely to make good nurses. However, that's a subjective measure, and a lot of schools changed their criteria when people started suing for not getting accepted. Schools have to use v. objective and concrete measures, like GPA, aptitude test scores, and the "point" systems that many schools used in order to be able to defend their acceptance decisions in court if necessary. It's sad that it's come to that, but it has. Plenty of people are perfectly happy to sue because they got an answer they didn't like.