how to change my major to nursing CSUSB

ParkerBC,MSN,RN, PhD, RN · Dec 2, 2014

Hi there-

I don't know anything about your school, but let me tell you of the experiences I have had with administrative staff in the admissions office. It used to be that anyone who was interested in the nursing program needed to see a counselor in the admissions office. Once our department learned that many students were applying without having completed the correct prereqs, we decided to provide counseling at the beginning of each semester to any student interested in nursing. I learned that several counselors did not have up-to-date information or simply did not have a clue, but counseled the student as if he/she did know.

For you, it very well could have been a policy change. Policy changes happen frequently in higher education. It can be frustrating to the students and staff alike. My theory is this- if I have conflicting information, I go directly to a supervisor. When I went to school for my undergraduate degree, I was told I needed to take remedial English and Math. I took AP English throughout high school and completed a year of Calculus. So, I challenged the "test scores" only to be told the counselor read the results incorrectly. Not all counselors are bad. You must be an advocate for yourself!

hbwahine · Dec 2, 2014

Not sure if this helps but...down in southern CA, CSULB (Long Beach) nursing program will not accept you as a nursing major/student until you have finished all of the required pre-req's, have applied to the nursing school itself, and been accepted into the program.

Because the nursing programs in CA are so impacted it is very difficult to get into them. For instance, at CSULB, I've heard that there are an average of 1,000 applicants (includes current and transfer students) each semester and only around 90 get accepted. Those 90 are the students with the highest GPA's (4.0 in all science classes).

This could be why they are not letting you change your major to nursing just yet. It could have to do with registration and only allowing students with "nursing major's" to register for the nursing classes once accepted into the program.

Good luck!!

ba15mommy · Dec 2, 2014

They told me the same thing! I am a freshman and when I went to go see an advisor for nursing, she assured me there was absolutely no way to changing my major. She even talked about transferring out of CSUSB to a CC and then transfer BACK to csusb.

I know a girl in my class and she did all the pre-reqs, earned a high GPA, applied for the nursing program and got accepted. So that is what I'm doing. Hopefully all goes well for me and you.

Let me know if you find anything else out! Thanks.

Nienna Celebrindal · Dec 2, 2014

Let me tell you something about this school, you need an outstanding GPA. Its full of prenursing majors and a lot of people who are there for pre-med will change their mind and apply to the nursing program. Its INSANELY competitive. I don't say this to scare you but you HAVE to get your GPA up. Because realistically (per the previous Dean of Nursing who just retired this summer) if you are there with less than a 3.75 you will not get into their program. Ever. The lowest GPA in the cohort that started this quarter was 3.89. And its been 3.8 or above for a while, so really a 3.75 might not help you. And this has to be your cumulative GPA, not just nursing pre-reqs. Now that I have properly terrified you, its a great program, great teachers, and the new Dean of Nursing is wonderful! We all love her. Don't let this scare you, but know it and use it as motivation.

aigoo · Dec 3, 2014

For you, it very well could have been a policy change. Policy changes happen frequently in higher education. It can be frustrating to the students and staff alike. My theory is this- if I have conflicting information, I go directly to a supervisor. When I went to school for my undergraduate degree, I was told I needed to take remedial English and Math. I took AP English throughout high school and completed a year of Calculus. So, I challenged the “test scores” only to be told the counselor read the results incorrectly. Not all counselors are bad. You must be an advocate for yourself!

Thanks for repyling, and yes I think I will have to talk to the head of the nursing department for this, since I'm not going anywhere with this. But first I really need to bring my GPA higher, before requesting to change majors (I don't think I have a strong case to request to change)

----Off topic, but man! You have an impressive resume!

aigoo · Dec 3, 2014

They told me the same thing! I am a freshman and when I went to go see an advisor for nursing, she assured me there was absolutely no way to changing my major. She even talked about transferring out of CSUSB to a CC and then transfer BACK to csusb.

The nursing advisor said I could change it, and I think it is possible from the looks of it. Just do well on all your classes, especially the pre-reqs! You don't want to have to retake a class (like what I'm about to do -_-).

I'll keep you posted if there's anything else happening. Let me know how you do too!

aigoo · Dec 3, 2014

Let me tell you something about this school, you need an outstanding GPA. Its full of prenursing majors and a lot of people who are there for pre-med will change their mind and apply to the nursing program. Its INSANELY competitive. I don't say this to scare you but you HAVE to get your GPA up. Because realistically (per the previous Dean of Nursing who just retired this summer) if you are there with less than a 3.75 you will not get into their program. Ever. The lowest GPA in the cohort that started this quarter was 3.89. And its been 3.8 or above for a while, so really a 3.75 might not help you. And this has to be your cumulative GPA, not just nursing pre-reqs. Now that I have properly terrified you, its a great program, great teachers, and the new Dean of Nursing is wonderful! We all love her. Don't let this scare you, but know it and use it as motivation.

Thanks for replying

I know that my gpa is definitely not enough to get me into the nursing program. I'm trying to bring it up, but that means I have to retake A&Pl (B-) and A&Pll (B).These classes are really killing my gpa right now. All the other pre-req classes, I have solid As except comm(A-) and Eng (B+). I have an A in Math115, but they changed the pre-req for math to math165, so i haven't taken that yet(next quarter)

I was wondering if I retake the A&P courses at a community college, would they take the higher grade, even though I didn't fail those courses at CSUSB? And if they do, can i just take A&P l, or do both of the courses have to be taken together at the same school? Does it matter how many times you retake a class, as long as it's at a different school?

I thought they only looked at your pre-reqs grade for CSUSB? I know certain Cal states schools look at both.

--Geez, sorry I have so many questions!

Nienna Celebrindal · Dec 3, 2014

They won't swap out one grade for another, every class you take anywhere you submit records from feeds into your GPA. You're probably better off taking an easier class or something else you are interested in.

And what I was told by the Dean is it is now cumulative due to the high number of pre-nursing students. Call and check, but make sure you are being told this by the right person. My one complaint about the nursing department is they are not all on the same page, and that can be a pain in the tush. But some key people left over the summer and new people are there or stepping up to new roles so hopefully things will smooth out.

mrsboots87 · Dec 4, 2014

In many schools, your major can't be "nursing" until your are accepted into a nursing program. And honestly, your major plays no role in acceptance so I don't see why it is so important to you to change. Your major could really be anything that covers the required pre Reqs for the programs you're interested in, then once you are accepted to a program, your major will be changed to nursing. Until then just focus on better gases and not what administration has your major down as.

aigoo · Dec 4, 2014

In many schools, your major can't be "nursing" until your are accepted into a nursing program. And honestly, your major plays no role in acceptance so I don't see why it is so important to you to change. Your major could really be anything that covers the required pre Reqs for the programs you're interested in, then once you are accepted to a program, your major will be changed to nursing. Until then just focus on better gases and not what administration has your major down as.

What i meant was pre nursing (sorry!) I thought it was like that too, but when i went to the BSN informational session, the presenter said that students can only apply to the nursing program, only if they are pre nursing majors. I don't know how much of a big deal it is to change my major to pre nursing, but that's why I'm trying to change it