I'm a college freshman who wants to transfer to CSULB's nursing program in the near future. I was wondering if anybody knows the average GPA for their nursing transfer students. I am worried because I took two courses at my community college this summer, and I already received a B in one of them; that leaves me with a 3.5 GPA. However, I plan to bring it up as the year progresses.
I would also appreciate it if you can provide a list of nursing schools that offers nursing programs for transfer students (preferably cal states).
Thank you B52-H for the detailed, thorough response. It is very disheartening to hear that you among many recent graduates have yet to find a job. It's definitely a Catch-22. You need experience to get a job, but you can't get a job unless you already have experience. I definitely agree with you with the problem worsening with the current backlog of unemployed new grads exponentially increasing as hundreds of RNs graduate every semester.
If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing now? Have you been able to use your degree for anything?
I am doing medical record reviews atm for a company contracted by the government. I thought it would be a good way to keep my medical knowledge up but sadly it requires the most basic and simple medical knowledge (Stuff I learned from first semester of nursing school). I would be better off with something completely unrelated to medicine and save myself the long commute.
Actually, my degree and/or license has hurt my non-nursing job prospects more than it has helped. The nursing shortage is so ingrained into public perception, that I struggled for a long time to even find a minimum wage retail position because "RNs can get hired anywhere". A lot of employers think you are critically flawed because you are an unemployed RN. I have stopped putting my degree on non-nursing applications; explaining that my long employment gap was due to school and I never graduated.
You will get tons of advice to volunteer, network, cold call, move out of state etc. but its really situational. Its really hard to volunteer when you have bills to pay and networking/cold calling only gets you so far. Everyone is trying their best to get their foot wedged in the door and having people hang up on you or tell you to "Stop calling" means everyone is following the same advice. Moving out of state I really tried for when I hit rock bottom but the job market is bad everywhere and most hospitals are giving priority to in state applicants first (which is only fair). As far as working as a CNA, sitter or medical assistant, you won't get hired. They won't hire anyone to work below their license; I think they are afraid you will step outside of the guidelines set for those positions (LVNs are having a very difficult time right now too)
I don't know what to do. I have not slacked at all in my job search and the one job I thought I was a lock for turned me down. I applied for a new grad position at unit I preceptored at with a recommendation and couldn't even get an interview. I will have been out of school over a year by the time the new grad programs began accepting applications in the summer. Hospitals are starting to ask that you have not been out of school for more than 6 months, a change from the 1 year previously.
IMO this future nursing crisis will turn out to be like Y2K. Lots of hype and commotion but in the end will pass by without much of a hitch. The amount of new grads we have available along with older nurses who are working longer will meet the demand from this impending disaster I keep hearing about.
You can really let this situation eat you up and sink into a deep level of depression. I have been there. You have to stay positive and treat everyday as an opportunity to maybe get a really good lead. Having someone tell me to stop calling or hangs up I treat as a benefit; I can cross them off my spreadsheet and its one less place I have to worry about. The situation new grads are in is not my fault and I can't do anything to change it. No point in being upset over something I can't control. I need to be angry at the people who bought houses they couldn't afford hahaha
What does the first semester of CSULB nursing look like? I fractured my talus in January and it's going to be a slow recovery (i.e. I have to use crutches for a while), I'm wondering if they start clinicals the first semester? I have an interview next Monday for the program and want to be prepared for some questions about whether or not I can even function in the program on crutches. Thanks in advance!
Noellenana - There will be clinical during first semester, after about 5 weeks of hand-on training + skills exam. Clinical won't begin until mid to late September so hopefully you'll make a fully recovery before then.
CluelessNursingGuy
280 Posts
Thank you B52-H for the detailed, thorough response. It is very disheartening to hear that you among many recent graduates have yet to find a job. It's definitely a Catch-22. You need experience to get a job, but you can't get a job unless you already have experience. I definitely agree with you with the problem worsening with the current backlog of unemployed new grads exponentially increasing as hundreds of RNs graduate every semester.
If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing now? Have you been able to use your degree for anything?