Are nursing schools saturated, less applying?

[I'm_no_Genius_but]

Is it just me...or have you also noticed a significant drop in the number of applicants applying for these nursing schools, especially at the BSN levels...but including ADN's and LPN's?!

I ask this question because, I remember years ago on this very site, pre-nursing applicants would attend information meetings, and come back and post some astronomical numbers of applicants who had filed. Along with that, they would post some ridiculous numbers of years you had to sit on a wait-list pool of applicants. Numbers would be like, 600 to 1,580 potential applicants, but taking only 55-100, somewhere in that neighborhood...with a waiting list of 3-5 years away. Now you hear 200-300 applicants applied, maybe 58 taking... and sometimes no wait-list at all...maybe a roll over to the next application year's date!

However, recently you hear someone on this site (threads) being so sad on their school's threads, because they were put on a wait-list...and approximately three weeks later they are back on this site...yelling, Wow Yep Yay...I got in, they accepted me off the wait- list. Is applicants just getting smarter, and just applying at as many schools as possible...thereby decreasing that wait-list...and decreasing the numbers?

Do you think the demand is decreasing, so much so, because there has been so many nurses that have graduated within the period of 2002-2011, that the market has been so over saturated, and not been able to accommodate that much of an increase in numbers of applicants in our field?

Do you think the school are purposely attempting to make the requirements so competitive that it makes it easier to persuade the applicants to go elsewhere, thereby, discouraging and decreasing the numbers of applicants to apply. If this is so...I agree...we want the best of the best working on us...that is, if that is the schools true and actual reasoning. And...I would love that title of being 'A Great Nurse'.

I say this only because so many nurse instructors and educators on these threads, have indicated quite clearly, that most(some often) 4.0 GPA's nurses have great memory skills, but can not implement them to critical thinking modes. Which don't necessarily make them the best nurses. I guess they would know..they are the ones who are the educators who oversee their training.

What do you think is happening to the nursing field applicants numbers...or is it just the bottom line...Money, and the increase COST to attend nursing schools?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I think last time I looked each hospital where I'm from had over 50 RN position open…..We have close to 10 hospitals in the city

Just because the postings exist doesn't mean the hospital intends to fill them.

OP, each student should be responsible for researching the potential job field of the major they choose. College students, with few exceptions, are adults. Research for a potential career field is an adult's responsibility, and that means looking past all of the propaganda out there that nursing is in demand and recession proof. My hospital was actually going to go to layoffs last year if enough people didn't quit in order to close units. That does not speak to a nursing shortage at all.

[unionnurse12]

Every city state region is different……..I haven't heard of a new grad having a problem getting a job right out of school here and most are being offered multiple jobs. My state is even funding a loan forgiveness program for nurses going to get their MSN in nursing education because of the lack of available nursing instructors

Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation

Also 2 programs are currently building bigger schools so they can double their enrollment

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

My state is even funding a loan forgiveness program for nurses going to get their MSN in nursing education because of the lack of available nursing instructors

Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation

Might be worth a mention that I have seen instructors leave teaching because they could make considerably more doing hospital work. Being paid by the (actual) hour instead of a salary makes a huge difference.

You might say that there's a lack of available instructors in my area, but NOT because there aren't enough MSN-educated ones: it's because they don't PAY enough to keep them.

[unionnurse12]

Education isn't for everyone that is for sure! I know I couldn't do it.

If there isn't a need for nurses why would 2 schools (public state run schools) be building brand new multi-million dollar buildings so they can double enrollment to service a larger number of students IF these nurses were not needed…...

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Education isn't for everyone that is for sure! I know I couldn't do it.

If there isn't a need for nurses why would 2 schools (public state run schools) be building brand new multi-million dollar buildings so they can double enrollment to service a larger number of students IF these nurses were not needed…...

I can't speak for Tennessee, but I don't think I'd correlate the building of more schools/adding onto enrollment with a dearth of qualified professionals. SO MANY schools have popped up, or added nursing programs that didn't have them, simply because people WANT them. Yes, if you build it, they will come

State schools make money, they don't keep the doors open by losing it. People pay for their education, sometimes too much when compared with the income return later down the road.

Perhaps in your specific area, there is a need for nursing beyond what is needed in pretty much the rest of the country, I don't know. But honestly, expansion of nursing programs (speaking for the majority of the country) just means that people are willing to slam down the bucks to go. And hope there is a job that will make it worthwhile in the end.

[I'm_no_Genius_but]

Not shielded, but shied away, or rather intimidated to go into a major and career that is over-saturated and extremely competitive. Nursing is a very demanding job that requires a certain love for compassion and caring. But for a lot of people, they want to go into nursing merely for the pay or the job security -- but when they find out the pay or job opportunities isn't as glorious and bountiful as they heard it was...maybe they've changed their mind?

I am sorry that I misread your word 'shied' for 'shielded', and I respect you even more in the way you have correct my mistake and kept it moving...to the issue at hand, thank you!

And...you are right again, nursing is a very demanding job that requires a certain love for compassion and caring.

I would add, if one wants it bad enough for the right reasons they will and should do their best to know what is ahead of them.

[ShelbyaStar]

I think different fields go through fads where they're considered THE business to get into, and nursing is on its downward slope and everyone will move onto something else soon enough.

Around 2005 I remember being told if I would just go into nursing I would be guaranteed a great job where I'd make a ton of money. And that was just with an associates! Previously I never knew there was such a thing as a BSN and met a lot of students going that route. Even more people swarmed in after the economic crash it seemed.

Before nursing, it was flipping houses and before that it was the dot com. Ebb and flow, one business seems to be stable and decent so people flood it until it's no longer profitable.

I think when it first got to be such a popular major, it wasn't as competitive. Now it's very competitive and many students find they can't hack it when they're working on their prereqs, and that's another reason for drops in applications for nursing school.

[unionnurse12]

If your heart isn't into nursing you won't last very long that is for sure! whether you burn out during school or soon after you start working.

[I'm_no_Genius_but]

The word is still misspelled (assuming you were talking about valid being misspelled....?)

At any rate, it is not up to any school to give a lecture or hand out information about what the job market may be like for anyone registering for classes. Why should they? They are there to provide education....what any one student does with that education is up to them. I'm sure you wouldn't expect schools to explain to prospective students how competitive it might be for them to find work as advertising copywriters....graphic designers.....actors? Yet schools offer these programs, too.

And honestly, anyone who goes through the effort required to get into a nursing school today has no excuse to NOT know what he or she is up against....how does one choose a future occupation and be clueless about the prospects? Yet, it comes up time and again.

Oh, hey, in case there are any theater majors out there....I hear it's kinda tough to become a rich movie star in Hollywood

Let me take this moment to apologize to everyone on this posted site for my misspelled word 'Valet' for the word "Valid'. I was lazy and copy pasted the vary word that I was apologizing to Heathermaizey for misspelling. I also misspelled the word 'mis-spelled'. Again everyone my apologies, for now and in the future...I will try to do better.

Misspelled | Define Misspelled at Dictionary.comverb (used with object), verb (used without object), misspelled or misspelt, misspelling. to spell incorrectly. Origin: 1645–55; mis- 1 + spell 1 Dictionary.com ...

dictionary.reference.com/browse/misspelled

RNsRWe you speak with very logical wisdom, which, I wish we all had an abundance of. If there was an anthem for all pre-nursing students it would be exactly the words you have posted...except for your last sentence(smile)...and then again...maybe they should hear that too. I truly believe what your post is what every potential nursing student should hear.

However, am I hearing a touch of 'I had to do it, and they can too'; 'I got mine, let them get their's'; or better yet, 'Buyers Beware'. I am not accusing ...I am just asking. There are two sides to every coin.

Does an educator have an obligation to educate you with the tools to go forward...to keep you informed.

Nursing institutions, Hospitals, etc... are supplying the national data systems with the information that there is a shortage of nurses. They also get the messages when there is no longer a shortage.

What exactly would be the purpose of the nursing institutions to withhold this vital information to an applicant who is contemplating their future in nursing, with that institution? Where does responsibility start and stop...and with whom?

I also believe there are certain factors for each state school. However the fact remains...somebody is inflating the number of applicants applying for the nursing programs all over U.S.A. Why?

[LeapBaby]

I'm a 'microfishe-aged' woman who has been getting my pre-reqs completed for nursing school in the Sacramento, CA area. I started in 2010 and have seen many of my classmates apply to various nursing schools since then. Many who applied to the community college ADN programs were declined time after time because those programs *were* based on a lottery system and not merit-based. Some classmates that had the GPA, TEAS score, and volunteer hours/ work experience applied to CSU or private colleges (like Samuel Merritt) and got in on their 1st or 2nd attempt. The community colleges in this area have mostly become merit-based in the past 2-3 years. American River College has kept 33% of it's accepted students on a lottery admission. I applied to American River College ADN, Sacramento City College ADN, and CSU Sacramento BSN programs for the Fall 2014 semester. I haven't heard from Sac City or SacState as of yet, but I was accepted as an alternate for Fall 2014 which guarantees me a seat in Spring 2015.

To answer your question about the apparent decrease in applicants, I believe we are seeing that in this area with all of our programs, but especially with the merit-based programs. Sac State has had a reduced number of BSN applicants over the past few semesters, but experienced a higher number of better-qualified applicants for the Fall 2014 semester due to allowing 'second bachelors' students to apply to the program for the first time in a few years. The heaviest weighted items on your nursing school applications are your GPA and your TEAS test score. Any students who can't achieve a high GPA are pretty discouraged to apply to any RN school since the migration to merit-based admissions. The application pool is filled with 3.5 GPA's and higher. Anyone who doesn't have a 3.5 GPA is left to wait it out in a lottery-based program... and those institutions are becoming few and far between. I also think a few are shying away from the profession because they hear paranoia-filled stories about the direction of healthcare after the ACA implementation... maybe?

My friends and family who work in healthcare say "don't bother applying for a nursing job unless you have your BSN." The deans and keynote speakers at the UC Davis Pre-Med/ Pre-Nursing Conference in October 2013 said the same thing. However, a friend of mine who just graduated from an ADN program with Sutter got hired with only her ADN at a Sutter Hospital and is making very decent money. They're even offering to pay for her BSN. It sounds like times are a'changin' and only the cream of the crop of pre-nursing students (high GPA/ high TEAS score/ work or volunteer experience) are getting into these programs. Personally, I'm okay with that. I worked my tail off to put myself in the position I'm in... and I would like any RN who treats me when I'm in a hospital to have done the same. :)

Sorry for the long rant... just a good thread! :)

*steps off the soapbox*

[I'm_no_Genius_but]

I think depending on what part of the country you live in would depend on if there is a nursing shortage or not. I think last time I looked each hospital where I'm from had over 50 RN position open.....We have close to 10 hospitals in the city

Unionnurse12 I think you make a valid point.

Do you believe it is the different states that has the need? Are they using that information of the other nursing schools in different states to inflate the shortage of nurses, so that they can increase their number of applicants who are applying to the nursing schools?

[I'm_no_Genius_but]

Just because the postings exist doesn't mean the hospital intends to fill them.

OP, each student should be responsible for researching the potential job field of the major they choose. College students, with few exceptions, are adults. Research for a potential career field is an adult's responsibility, and that means looking past all of the propaganda out there that nursing is in demand and recession proof. My hospital was actually going to go to layoffs last year if enough people didn't quit in order to close units. That does not speak to a nursing shortage at all.

You are so right...knowledge is power!

Do you believe that potential nursing students are now during their homework, and not playing into this propaganda about the shortage of nurse, and in fact, it is not recession proof...thereby causing the decreasing numbers of nursing applicants to apply to the nursing schools?

Where the schools use to get 1500 applications, they are now getting 300 applications, does this indicate that the schools see a pattern and is failing to address it?