BSN application essay questions

Pompom · Oct 18, 2006

I find that the BSN program requires a lot of papers to be written in APA format. That said, I think they are evaluating the quality of your writing in addition to the answers. Start with an introductory paragraph, answer the questions in paragraph form explaining your answers and summarize in a conclusion paragraph.

casi, ASN, RN · Oct 18, 2006

I recently went to a informational meeting for the BSN program I want to get into next fall (U of MN) and they told us that while they look at grades and transcripts and all that fun stuff what they REALLY look at are the essays. They've had people with GPAs of 2.8 get into the program because of their amazing essays while people with 4.0s didn't because their essays were sloppily thrown together.

If I remember correctly our questions were very simular about why you wantted to be a nurse or what work experience you have that will help you along your way to becoming a nurse.

Tonight if I think about it. I was going to post an essay help thread and see if we could get it stickied for those of us who want to write amazing, you can't send me a rejection letter essays.

shock-me-sane · Oct 18, 2006

this is weird - in the e mail I received regarding your post, it said that this was your response :
Dear chicagrl72,
shock-me-sane has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to
entitled - BSN application essay questions - in the Pre-nursing student
forum forum of allnurses.com Nursing for Nurses.
This thread is located at:
https://allnurses.com/forums/f198/bsn-application-essay-questions-184330-new-post.html
Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************
to me that sounds like write an essay making sure to hit on the
following points.
***************

yup, that is because i didn't read closely and edited it about 10 seconds after i posted :rolleyes:

lc3 · Oct 18, 2006

Hi everyone!
I posted in this forum b/c this topic seems to fit here but I hope to get some input from those who are a bit more seasoned in the nursing world as well!
I searched the archives for threads on this topic but nothing quite answered my specific questions.
Sorry to beat a dead horse ......
The schools I am applying to have multiple questions to answer (not pick one or two) They are also very straight forward questions which almost seem to duplicate each other , for example:
1/ why do you want to be a nurse
2/ what life experiences have led you towards the nursing field
3/ what academic challenges have you faced
and so on....
My questions:
should I number my responses and just answer the questions?
that seems so lame . I wanted to be all creative and prolific but maybe that is not for nursing school applications :)
May I write an essay and incorporate all the answers in the same orderthey are asked, but without the question/answer format?
Is it appropriate to bring up my family - I would not want to refer to my boyfriend as my "baby's daddy", "boyfriend" or anything that I actually do refer to him as IRL. :) Using the word partner does not work for me and I certainly would not refer to him as my husband. IRL I don't care what people think as far as the fact that we are not hitched but I feel like I need to be so conservative in expressing myself on the application.
HELP !
Thanks for any advice!

Well, I would number and write the question with the number. Answer the questions directly, but there should be running themes in all three essays. My school emphasized leadership, diversity and independent decision making skills and so those were my themes. I would label each section because it shows organization and you have to remember the nursing school probably reads hundreds of applications, you don't want them to have to figure anything out. It could be very fustrating.

good luck

MB37 · Oct 19, 2006

A lot of what they're looking for is probably writing skills. At my old school as part of the interview process, we had 5 minutes to respons to a question in essay format. They told me that the content didn't matter at all, but that you had to prove you had decent writing skills or they would not accept you into the program. Unless you have a really compelling story to tell, not the "when my mother/child/grandma/etc. spent time in the hospital, all the nurses were really great to her..." that probaby half the applicants write, I would answer honestly and really focus on your writing style. And I think "the father of my child" sounds better than baby daddy... :rolleyes:

HeartsOpenWide, RN · Oct 19, 2006

"please respond to each of the following....
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Your responses should not exceed more that 4 pages"
that is the exact wording
does that means short answer?

With the questions there are asking you I could come out with 30 pags. So in four I would guess short to the point answers.

why do you want to be a nurse

I would write an antire essay on this!

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 19, 2006

"please respond to each of the following....
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Your responses should not exceed more that 4 pages"
that is the exact wording
does that means short answer?

OK, I am leaning toward this being an essay. The reason being, when I applied to 4-year Universities in the past most had a section for short answers that were separate from the essay section. Sometimes the essay section asked multiple questions but the admissions committee wanted an essay that responded to all of the questions well and creatively.

I am expected to write an essay for my application to the RN-BSN program. My guess is you cannot go wrong writing an essay but you can easily shoot yourself in the foot submitting short answers.

If you are really confused, contact the nursing department (do not leave your name). Tell the person who answers the phone that you are an applicant and you want clarification as to what you are to do. If you are told that it does not matter, then be sure to write an essay! Good luck.:wink2:

Cherish · Oct 19, 2006

Honestly it should be an essay. Yes I understand that it is numbered and has quite of few questions but you can relate these questions and write a 2 page paper (anything more and they will probably not read). Make sure it has an introductory and conclusion paragraph. Relate everything, I just completed my essay last weekend for my application and I started the Intro. with a true story that happened to me. ALWAYS START OFF WITH SOMETHING CAPTIVATING!!! The first paragraph should be the most interesting and captivating. I've always used the reverse triangle method. It has always helped me. I LOVE to write, and can really pull an essay out of my butt, lol. Possibly start it off with a story of why you want to become a nurse.

For example, if you realized while your mother (when you were a kid) was hospitalized that thats when u were introduced to the health field and to nurses then write about that and include the points they want somewhere in there. Like the beginning could be, "As we were rushing along following my mothers trail, all I could remember was background noise, and how bright and sterile the environment was. Then the Doctor's came in (blah blah).....I remember a more calming person a Nurse....etc. etc."

Now don't lie but start it off with a TRUE story that happened in your life. Thats exactly what I did and I had no problem with my essay. Make sure you use the resource center at your college, spellcheck is NOT important when it comes to grammar. REREAD your essay outloud when your done. You will catch grammatical errors when you do this. Hope this helps. You can message me if you still are having problems.

P.S. Do an outline (not a big one) but with just points and ideas and what paragraph it will be in. This will take about 10 mins. It will be longer to come up with what you want to do though.

chicagrl72 · Oct 21, 2006

Thanks to everyone for all of your input! I have decided to go with an essay format incorporating the answers to all of the questions in order (for the most part)

Good luck to all those applying to schools right now!

Galore · Oct 29, 2006

Would anyone be willing to proofread mine? It's 2 pages so I'd prefer to email it. I feel my writing skills are decent but I'm having trouble with a great introduction, and worry about sounding like every other applicant. Any help would be appreciated!

LaceyRN · Oct 29, 2006

Hi everyone!
should I number my responses and just answer the questions?
that seems so lame . I wanted to be all creative and prolific but maybe that is not for nursing school applications :)
May I write an essay and incorporate all the answers in the same orderthey are asked, but without the question/answer format?

I had 3 questions to answer also, VERY similar to yours and I highly recommend that you write an essay that creatively incorporates the answers. That's what I did and during my interview I was told it was "beautifully written."

You will set yourself apart from the others by writing an interesting, fluid and well structured essay. It's your chance to show them you are articulate and can communicate well though a written format.

Good Luck!

masstudent · Oct 30, 2006

mixy wrote "i had 3 questions to answer also, very similar to yours and i highly recommend that you write an essay that creatively incorporates the answers. that's what i did and during my interview i was told it was "beautifully written."

i am trying to write an essay that combines all the different questions that a school asks be addressed. the following is pretty much a standard question that most schools ask "why do you want to be a nurse, how are you going to manage grad school, special interests, plans, strengths, and weaknesses. my concern is that in trying to address each part of the question my essay is becoming choppy. i don't want to fail to answer any part of the question but i also am having trouble getting it to flow. i feel like my essay should be focused on one theme, like an experience that made me decide i want to enter nursing but if i do that several parts of the question most likely will go unanswered.

any response would be greatly appreciated.