CSCC online track admissions

foreverLaur · Jan 23, 2010

My best friend had ~3.4 cumulative GPA, a 4.0 CSCC GPA, a 4.0 prerequisite GPA, and over a 90% on her Hesi entrance exam and she was rejected two years straight and applied the minute the application period opened.

She also had 2+ years health care experience and some great recommendations and essay (I read it).

The people that I have heard that got in had near perfect GPAs and test scores. It must be REALLY competitive. I decided not to even bother applying after hearing that. The online program isn't any faster and being an online student now, I think I'd rather have a professor I could talk to face to face on a regular basis so I decided two weeks ago to move to Cleveland and I'm starting at Tri-C in August.

And yea, the advisors stink!! They said to meet with an advisor to come up with a plan of courses to take while you are waiting to start. The advisor looked at my transfer courses and goes "well, looks like there is nothing - sorry!" and said I had to go because other students were waiting. Thanks?

lou_tango · Jan 23, 2010

I agree about the advisers! I spent 1 semester at UT, 1 year at OSU-Lima and the remainder at OSU in Columbus for my first degree. Never did I have such a problem with advisers! When I called during the 4th week of autumn quarter at CSCC just to get an advising appt with a half-brained general adviser (since we can't see nursing advisers yet), they told me there wouldn't be any more appointments until winter qtr! What! I live 2 hours from Columbus and am mostly doing online classes with a once-a-week trip to campus until I move to Cbus in the spring. That makes walk-in appts out of the question with no time between my classes on my one long day in Columbus.

Why don't they have at least one or more advisers that are specifically for pre-nursing...especially since there are literally hundreds of students applying to the nursing program each application period?

Anyway, thanks for the input. This makes me very nervous. I graduated with a 3.3 GPA from OSU in '05 and so far have a 4.0 at CSCC, but haven't taken the HESI yet. Arrgh...didn't realize I'd have such competition!

lou_tango · Jan 23, 2010

By the way, I can't remember who, but I know another poster in another thread mentioned that CSCC told her any qualified student will get accepted to the online track on a first-come, first-served basis. Are you sure your friend didn't submit the online app at like 9:23 instead of 9:04 because of a bogged-down slow internet connection? ...because its possible that the timing could make a difference, although its a crappy way of deciding admission.

foreverLaur · Jan 23, 2010

If you aren't opposed to moving to Cleveland, I'd look at applying there too. You could do Tri-C's accelerated program which is only 15 months (versus the 27 months at CSCC). Their traditional and evening/weekend programs are 24 months. I've had really great luck with getting my questions answered there.

You will definitely want to rock the Hesi A2. I've heard the anatomy/physiology section is definitely the hardest. Seems silly that CSCC requires you to pass that portion AND base your admission on it when they don't require you to take those classes until you are admitted!

I agree with you - they should have a pre-nursing advisor. The one I talked to was pretty much clueless.

I've been trying to get an academic advising job there. It is a true passion of mine and something I'm really good at. I've been running a self-owned business advising high school students/parents and early college students for almost 4 years now. I have a full year of University teaching experience (at OSU) and they STILL won't hire me simply because I don't have a master's degree. Who cares? No amount of education can teach you to be any good at academic advising. Argh... they could certainly use someone good too!!

foreverLaur · Jan 23, 2010

By the way, I can't remember who, but I know another poster in another thread mentioned that CSCC told her any qualified student will get accepted to the online track on a first-come, first-served basis. Are you sure your friend didn't submit the online app at like 9:23 instead of 9:04 because of a bogged-down slow internet connection? ...because its possible that the timing could make a difference, although its a crappy way of deciding admission.

That is true of the traditional program. It is first come first serve (hence the 1.5-2 year wait list). The online program is competitive. Once all applications are submitted for the online program, they review them and pick out the best applicants. Or at least that is what I was told when I e-mailed the nursing department.

I was with her when we submitted the application. We kept refreshing over and over again to get in there the very second it opened. We did it on my computer because I have a wired connection with Road Runner Turbo at about 14 Mbps which is about as fast as you can get :)

lou_tango · Jan 23, 2010

Thanks for the great responses! Unfortunately I am not willing to move Cleveland. Not a big fan of that city and my fiancee will be starting classes at OSU in the fall anyway. I love and miss Columbus and that's where I want to be. Can't wait to move back.

I wonder why CSCC won't offer stats on their admission rates, admitted students stats, etc like most other schools do. If I had an idea of where I needed to be academically and decided it was way out of my league, at least I could start looking elsewhere, even if that meant a private school that's way more expensive like Mt. Carmel.

Unfortunately I have to keep a full-time job throughout school because I need the insurance for a medical condition. So any type of accelerated program also won't work. Seems like my options are dwindling if I don't get in to CSCC's online track as planned...

By the way...I wished you did work at CSCC and were my adviser! At least I might get a qualified and honest answer!

foreverLaur · Jan 23, 2010

Well Tri-C's program isn't really accelerated... they just let you go in the summer instead of taking summer's off so it is 4 back to back semesters. I'd still only be part-time cuz I have everything but nursing stuff done!

I don't want to move to Cleveland either. My serious boyfriend has a job commitment here, I hate Cleveland, and I love Columbus. For me though, it is the difference between starting in 7 months or 2 years, so I guess I'll suck it up.

You should look into getting a job at Mt Carmel. I work at Mt Carmel East as a MST and I love it. I learned phlebotomy, foleys, sterile technique, and wound dressing changes. It will make nursing school so much easier. Plus, if you work there, you get 50% off at Mt Carmel College of Nursing which makes the school sorta affordable!

They also have tuition help. If you are willing to work there at least 72 hours per pay period (bi-weekly) they will pay for your education in exchange for a 2 year work commitment. OhioHealth does the same thing.

lou_tango · Jan 23, 2010

I'm curious...if you already work at Mt. Carmel and can take advantage of those tuition benefits, then why not just go to school there? Isn't the accelerated 2nd degree program only 13 months there?

lou_tango · Jan 23, 2010

Anyone else in the online track at CSCC have any insight about the admission process?

foreverLaur · Jan 23, 2010

I'm curious...if you already work at Mt. Carmel and can take advantage of those tuition benefits, then why not just go to school there? Isn't the accelerated 2nd degree program only 13 months there?

They require a 3.0 GPA. I screwed off hardcore my first 2.5 years of college because I had no clue what I wanted to do and I hated my coursework. My prerequisite GPA is a 4.0. My last 60 hours is a 4.0. But my cumulative GPA is around a 2.5. With 170 hours, it is going to take me a LONG time to get that up to a 3.0. I submitted a petition with multiple recommendation letters from my boss and nurse co-workers at Mt Carmel, but it was denied.

My human nutrition class was taken at Tri-C and apparently wasn't high level enough so I'd have to retake that prerequisite course. They require cultural anthropology and I took physical anthropology and they couldn't make an exception. They also won't accept my statistics course because it was taken through a business program even though it was more high level than what they require. So, I'd have a fair amount of extra coursework to take before I could apply anyway.

The application period for January 2011 closes on May 31, 2010 and I won't be able to get all my prerequisite coursework completed by then so it would be January 2012 before I could start even if I met the GPA requirement.

If I could go there.. I'd be there in a heartbeat!

msteeleart · Jan 24, 2010

I am currently in anatomy and there is a girl in the class that got accepted for the spring online class at cscc. She said her GPA was a 2.90 and couldn't remember her net score. She just went to the nursing orientation on Friday and told me a little about it. I guess they will let you switch to the online(if you have a bachelors degree) or traditional if you get accepted to one and don't like it. I guess there tends to be space after the first quarter because people drop out because it is difficult. She said there were 200 new nursing accepted nursing students but they said by the time graduation comes there will probably only be 75 left. Also, your first clinicals will be in a nursing home. She said one of the graduates got up and spoke about the program and burst into tears. When you apply, cscc says you have to take the classes like the plan of study is but they said in the orientation that you can drop down to part-time in either program. The graduates said that it is a good idea if you take, at the most, 2 nursing classes a quarter even if you are supposed to take 3.

Lou_tango, I would apply to the online program no matter what if I were you. It doesn't cost anything and what do you have to lose? ForeverLaura, you should really apply once you take that patient care skills class and then you wouldn't have to move to Cleveland. You have that awesome job at Mt. Carmel so you would have an "in" to a nursing job there if the economy is still crappy. It is just so hard getting jobs right now that I would be scared to give one up if I had one.