Auburn BSN

symphie · Aug 28, 2010

Auburn accepts about 100 people to interview each fall and spring, and then accepts 48 of those into the program. They only look at your GPA (science course scores especially), interview score, and whether or not you have healthcare/volunteer experience. They also give preference to boys (good for you!) and people who have taken most or all of their pre-reqs at Auburn.

This is the first year that they've accepted people in the fall and the spring. Before, they just accepted about 90 people once a year. So obviously all of their "acceptance statistics" are changing drastically right now.

If it helps your perspective any, I applied last fall and spring and was given an interview (you only have to interview once a year, but can apply to both fall and spring with it) but wasn't accepted into the program either time. I had taken all of my classes at Auburn, had a 3.4 GPA, and had volunteer experience.

It is EXTREMELY competitive to get in, but if you really rocked the interview, a 3.1 might give you a fighting chance. The program is very well-established and has almost a 100% pass rate for the NCLEX for their graduates. Good luck with everything! And War Eagle!

ucfknight · Aug 28, 2010

Thanks for the insight, symphie. Much appreciated. Any idea how many guys are in the program?

symphie · Aug 28, 2010

For Fall 2010, I know there was only 1 guy out of the 48 people accepted. For Spring 2011, I heard there were 3 or 4 in that group of 48, but I'm not certain.

ucfknight · Aug 30, 2010

Yikes, it must be super competitive - and probably only going to get worse next cycle.

What about the AU Montgomery campus program, did you apply there? I just wonder if it still feels like you go to Auburn. I'm going for the Auburn/South Carolina game next month - my first visit. As you say, War Eagle! :cool:

symphie · Aug 30, 2010

The AUM program is less competitive, but from what I understand, follows the exact same curriculum as the AU program. I was accepted to AUM's program for Spring 2011 and it's a really easy application process if you apply to Auburn's as well. All you do is check a box on Auburn's application and if they don't select you for their program, they send all of your information to AUM to be considered there. Also, if Auburn selects you for an interview, your interview score counts for AUM as well so that you don't have to do it at two different campuses.

I've only been to AUM's campus twice so far (I'm not positive I want to go to nursing school there yet. I'm waiting on an answer from UAB first.) and the nursing school definitely has a completely different atmosphere than the rest of the campus. Everyone in the nursing school is really dedicated to their studies and the faculty does everything they can to make sure you succeed. It doesn't feel like Auburn, but there are 3 or 4 of us in the Spring 2011 group that live in Auburn and plan on commuting to AUM for class. It's not a bad drive at all (about 35 minutes) so it's not uncommon.

Hope you enjoy the game! Game Day in Auburn is the best way to experience it! :)

sykesem · Sep 3, 2010

Hey friends! I just graduated from Auburn this past May and I will say they have a GREAT program going. All of the people I graduated with passed their NCLEX the first time, the faculty are great and helpful, and the community I felt with my class definitely helped throughout the two years.

As far as the highly competitive nature of getting into school, it may be tough, but it's possible. I know the program is changing a lot now because they don't have the accelerated program anymore and now they are accepting fall and spring.

The major advice I have is to work REALLY HARD in your core sciences (AP 1 and 2, Microbiology, Chemistry and Biology) and maintain the highest GPA possible. I only made I A and the rest Bs in my sciences and did not have any healthcare volunteer experience and I was accepted. Also, have a backup plan: I applied to UAB and AUM nursing program at the same time as Auburn's.

Also a side note: Auburn is amazing, you will LOVE your time there.

If you need more help, just ask!

inactiveRN · Sep 16, 2010

I have a daughter at Auburn looking into the nursing program. She will most likely apply with a 3.4-3.5 and it is discouraging to read these posts. She is currently trying to decide how to proceed. Wondering if she is not accepted should she pursue another degree at Auburn and then look at a 2nd degree program? OR apply at Samford, UAB and AUM. I know she loves Auburn and would be sad not to receive her degree from there.

Symphie, Is it realistic to commute to AUM? Were you accepted at UAB? Is Samford University any less competitive?

Thanks for the advice.

symphie · Sep 16, 2010

I have a daughter at Auburn looking into the nursing program. She will most likely apply with a 3.4-3.5 and it is discouraging to read these posts. She is currently trying to decide how to proceed. Wondering if she is not accepted should she pursue another degree at Auburn and then look at a 2nd degree program? OR apply at Samford, UAB and AUM. I know she loves Auburn and would be sad not to receive her degree from there.
Symphie, Is it realistic to commute to AUM? Were you accepted at UAB? Is Samford University any less competitive?
Thanks for the advice.

Honestly, I would agree with the poster above and tell your daughter to focus on her science grades. Those are a little more important to them than the GPA as a whole. If her science grades are good, then she probably has a fairly good chance at getting in with that GPA.

Personally, I LOVED Auburn, and was devastated to find out that I wouldn't be getting my degree from there, but I also knew that my calling is nursing, and I wasn't willing to change my major or to spend time getting another degree I didn't really want while I waited for an accelerated degree program.

The commute to AUM is not bad at all. I'm still not sure whether I'll be attending UAB or AUM for upper division (I won't hear back from UAB's program until the first of October), but the drive doesn't bother me. It takes about 40 minutes on average, give or take 10 minutes for traffic and such, and there are 3 or 4 people besides me that are commuting from Auburn as well, so hopefully we'll be able to organize a carpool or something. Honestly, I would tell your daughter to apply to as many programs as she would realistically be willing to go to (AU, AUM, UAB, etc.) because it's nice to have back-up plans. It's all up to her though. My back-up plan was to attend another nursing school. My roommate's back-up plan was to just stay at Auburn and change her major. It's all up to your daughter.

I don't know much about Samford's nursing program. When I looked into applying there, I got super confused because their undergrad classes are so different, and it just wasn't worth it to me at the time to try to figure out all the transfer credits. I know it's possible to transfer, because a friend of mine just started nursing school at Samford and did her two years of pre-reqs at UA, but I didn't personally look too far into it.

Good luck to your daughter! Let me know if you need anything else! :)

inactiveRN · Sep 23, 2010

Sympie,

Thanks so much for the advice. Would you please post how it goes with UAB? I am a former UAB School of Nursing graduate and would love to see my daughter attend there. I am just curious where the bar is set for their admissions.

However, she loves Auburn and I think she may decide to pursue another degree such as a Human Sciences degree in Child Life. I am not really sure what job opportunities are available with this degree but it sure seems popular at Auburn. Many of the classes will transfer so thats another benefit.

If she chose to do this, I assume she could then apply to UAB or Samford's 2nd degree BSN program. Does anyone know if they are any less competitive? She would already have the sciences completed. It would be a long road and a lot of money, especially if she chose Samford!

Good Luck to you! Whatever you decide, please post. I am interested in hearing how it goes at either place and it will help us decide on a plan.

Thanks again!

Calalilynurse · Sep 29, 2010

average gpa for auburn;s nursing school is like a 3.8. so no.

Calalilynurse · Sep 29, 2010

to InactiveRN,

hi I just graduated from UAB last month. It sucked. But both it and Samford were less competitive than AUburn and Bama. Most of my classmates transferred from those school. P.S. I have a license and no job. They dont care about helping you get one. There were 100 people in my graduating class only 20- 25 had a job.