CSULA Fall 2021

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Hi all! 
I just wanted to create this forum for students who are applying to CSULA Fall 2021 for the BSN Nursing track in case we had questions for each other, wanted to share thoughts, stats and to support each other through this journey. 

I was wondering if anyone has applied and knew if CSULA requires verification for volunteer hours in their NursingCAS application portion? Also, will they accept any amount of volunteer hours under 50? I know you can add a document. Thank you!

1 hour ago, mishie101 said:

Does anyone know why CSULA and CSULB are so competitive to get into? Is is that the programs are actually really good or there’s just a ton of people that want to be a nursing major so its causing impaction? 

Cal State LA’s nursing program only accepts 70 students per year in the fall, when normally 1500 people apply (maybe it will be less for this cohort with covid and whatnot). If you do the math that is only 4.6% of applicants who get chosen. At CSULB they chose 80 students twice per year, 80 for fall, 80 for Spring, so 160 per year. On average I think 1000 per semester (or 2000 per year) apply, (something like that I forgot the exact number)... So that averages to 8% of applications who get accepted per semester. I guess what you’re asking is WHY so many people apply.

Southern California is impacted and all nursing schools over here are hard to get into. CSULA and CSULB are extremely great schools with an amazing reputation. You will find a job anywhere with those degrees. Also you would have your BSN and not an ADN by the end of the program. CSU’s in general are extremely impacted for nursing since they have amazing financial aid and extremely cheap tuition. Without aid, CSULA’s BSN program in total is about 20,000$. Long Beach is even cheaper since it’s 1 semester less, so there it’s like 17,000-18,000$ without aid! BUT with financial aid it could be much much less, or even free! (I know many people who didn’t have to pay anything this semester and actually just got money back from FAFSA). This year I only qualified for a 2300$ grant and I took out some subsidized loans for the rest, but next year I probably will have it free because my income dropped quite a bit since covid. Im guessing on my end, after grants and everything I’ll probably only owe 10,000$ in subsidized loans which is not bad at all! Not a lot of people wanna be 100,000-200,000$ in debt by going to West Coast University, or Mount Saint Mary’s. UC’s are typically “better” schools simply because of the reputation. However at the UC’s, tuition is double the cost of CSU’s tuition, and the UC’s pre-reqs to get into the nursing program there are the equivalent of a doctor’s pre-reqs! If I’m going to do all of that work I better become a doctor not a nurse LOL. Additionally, UC’s have an even worse acceptance rate that CSU’s do believe it or not. I hope that kind of answers the question as to why so many people wanna go to CSU’s. In short: MONEY! LOL. 

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29 minutes ago, ninja1968 said:

Cal State LA’s nursing program only accepts 70 students per year in the fall, when normally 1500 people apply (maybe it will be less for this cohort with covid and whatnot). If you do the math that is only 4.6% of applicants who get chosen. At CSULB they chose 80 students twice per year, 80 for fall, 80 for Spring, so 160 per year. On average I think 1000 per semester (or 2000 per year) apply, (something like that I forgot the exact number)... So that averages to 8% of applications who get accepted per semester. I guess what you’re asking is WHY so many people apply.

Southern California is impacted and all nursing schools over here are hard to get into. CSULA and CSULB are extremely great schools with an amazing reputation. You will find a job anywhere with those degrees. Also you would have your BSN and not an ADN by the end of the program. CSU’s in general are extremely impacted for nursing since they have amazing financial aid and extremely cheap tuition. Without aid, CSULA’s BSN program in total is about 20,000$. Long Beach is even cheaper since it’s 1 semester less, so there it’s like 17,000-18,000$ without aid! BUT with financial aid it could be much much less, or even free! (I know many people who didn’t have to pay anything this semester and actually just got money back from FAFSA). This year I only qualified for a 2300$ grant and I took out some subsidized loans for the rest, but next year I probably will have it free because my income dropped quite a bit since covid. Im guessing on my end, after grants and everything I’ll probably only owe 10,000$ in subsidized loans which is not bad at all! Not a lot of people wanna be 100,000-200,000$ in debt by going to West Coast University, or Mount Saint Mary’s. UC’s are typically “better” schools simply because of the reputation. However at the UC’s, tuition is double the cost of CSU’s tuition, and the UC’s pre-reqs to get into the nursing program there are the equivalent of a doctor’s pre-reqs! If I’m going to do all of that work I better become a doctor not a nurse LOL. Additionally, UC’s have an even worse acceptance rate that CSU’s do believe it or not. I hope that kind of answers the question as to why so many people wanna go to CSU’s. In short: MONEY! LOL. 

Oh wow, this helps explain it. Thank you! Does this go for pretty much all CSU's? I was comparing Cal state East Bay, SJSU, etc. Basically the ones in Northern California. They are all BSN programs and like you said the tuition is relatively cheaper compared to a private or UC. Would you say all of the CSU programs have a good reputation? Have you heard of any campus that is not as good as the rest? 

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Just now, mishie101 said:

Oh wow, this helps explain it. Thank you! Does this go for pretty much all CSU's? I was comparing Cal state East Bay, SJSU, etc. Basically the ones in Northern California. They are all BSN programs and like you said the tuition is relatively cheaper compared to a private or UC. Would you say all of the CSU programs have a good reputation? Have you heard of any campus that is not as good as the rest? 

To be honest, if you have a BSN from any CSU it looks good because I believe everyone understands that they are all difficult to get into. Unlike west coast university where literally everyone gets accepted, you just have to pay 150,000$ (no thanks). UC degrees look probably better than CSU’s, but they are even harder to get into and more expensive (not as expensive as mount saint Mary’s or WCU though). Honestly, if you have any nursing degree in California you are gonna be FINE. Even with a west coast degree. You will find a job and become a nurse at the end of the day! But when it comes to money, and being in debt, ANY of the CSU’s are your best bet! 

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13 minutes ago, ninja1968 said:

To be honest, if you have a BSN from any CSU it looks good because I believe everyone understands that they are all difficult to get into. Unlike west coast university where literally everyone gets accepted, you just have to pay 150,000$ (no thanks). UC degrees look probably better than CSU’s, but they are even harder to get into and more expensive (not as expensive as mount saint Mary’s or WCU though). Honestly, if you have any nursing degree in California you are gonna be FINE. Even with a west coast degree. You will find a job and become a nurse at the end of the day! But when it comes to money, and being in debt, ANY of the CSU’s are your best bet! 

CSU's have always been my top choice because of the price. The only thing that worries me is that if they have the resources some of the private schools have (USFCA, Samuel Merritt, etc.) Those privates that I mentioned say they can help you make a lot of connections that help you when you are looking for a job. I just don't want to be at a disadvantage compared to someone who paid for a private degree and they get "dibs" on positions or residency programs.  

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18 hours ago, NurseSKA said:

Hello, 

Just to clarify, It's okay that our transcripts do not get verified by NursingCAS by January 8th as long as we submit our application on that date? (sorry, I'm kinda confused LOL)

It says: "NursingCAS will upload the official transcript(s) with the date received and then they will verify courses taken. The Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing recognizes the “verified date” as the date the transcript was received. Transcripts verified after the Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing submission date are considered as long as the application was submitted by the due date and time. Official transcripts must be received by NursingCAS no later than January 31, 2021 to be considered for FALL 2021 admission."

https://www.calstatela.edu/sites/default/files/groups/Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing/PDF/must_read_information_for_applicants_bsn_trad.pdf

Hi @ninja1968 do you have any info on this? 

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25 minutes ago, mishie101 said:

CSU's have always been my top choice because of the price. The only thing that worries me is that if they have the resources some of the private schools have (USFCA, Samuel Merritt, etc.) Those privates that I mentioned say they can help you make a lot of connections that help you when you are looking for a job. I just don't want to be at a disadvantage compared to someone who paid for a private degree and they get "dibs" on positions or residency programs.  

I’m no expert, but many of the nurses in my clinicals went to west coast university, or have ADN degrees, so I already feel like people with BSN from a CSU is ahead of the game. But I feel you on wanting to be the very best, and having the most opportunities! However, keep in mind that we are in a major nursing shortage. You will get into a residency program one way or another. I personally believe the benefits of the private schools are great, but I do not feel that the price being 10-15X more money is worth it AT ALL. A nurse is a nurse at the end of the day LOL. Just my humble opinion! 

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Just now, ninja1968 said:

I’m no expert, but many of the nurses in my clinicals went to west coast university, or have ADN degrees, so I already feel like people with BSN from a CSU is ahead of the game. But I feel you on wanting to be the very best, and having the most opportunities! However, keep in mind that we are in a major nursing shortage. You will get get into a residency program one way or another. I personally believe the benefits of the private schools are great, but I do not feel that the price being 10-15X more money is worth it AT ALL. A nurse is a nurse at the end of the day LOL. Just my humble opinion! 

Thank you, I really appreciate you sharing your opinion. I’ve been pretty confused on whether to do the CSU or private route. At the end of the day I just want my BSN and to become a nurse and its better to have no debt haha 

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Anyone here applying to UCI as well?

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Can we still submit to NursingCAS if our transcripts won't arrive by December 15, but ordered by December 15? Or do transcripts need to arrive by December 15 because I read on a post above that NursingCAS needs to be completed by January 8 but I am so confused. 

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On 12/13/2020 at 12:09 AM, kkypaa said:

Can we still submit to NursingCAS if our transcripts won't arrive by December 15, but ordered by December 15? Or do transcripts need to arrive by December 15 because I read on a post above that NursingCAS needs to be completed by January 8 but I am so confused. 

https://www.calstatela.edu/sites/default/files/groups/Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing/PDF/must_read_information_for_applicants_bsn_trad.pdf 

The deadline for official transcripts is January 31st. December 15th is when the CSU Apply application is due and January 8th is when NursingCas is due.

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Hey everyone,

I’m so nervous about apply but was hoping we can share our stats to see where we stand! I’m planning to retake the TEAS one more time but am currently applying with:

Pre-req: 4.0

Cumulative: 4.0

TEAS composite: 91.3%

(87.2 reading, 91.7 English, 87.2 science, 100 math)

Volunteer: 100+ hours from the UCLA Care Extender program

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8 hours ago, cremebrule said:

Hey everyone,

I’m so nervous about apply but was hoping we can share our stats to see where we stand! I’m planning to retake the TEAS one more time but am currently applying with:

Pre-req: 4.0

Cumulative: 4.0

TEAS composite: 91.3%

(87.2 reading, 91.7 English, 87.2 science, 100 math)

Volunteer: 100+ hours from the UCLA Care Extender program

You have great stats! Is CSULA your first choice? Are you applying to other CSU's as well?

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