Did you volunteer before NS to "spruce up" your resume?

[Chris99mu]

I know that the big university here requires it. However, the local CC where I want to go, does not. But given that I will only have a 3.7 when I apply (they are only accepting 4.0s right now), I'm wondering if I should do what I can, including volunteering at a local hospital, to potentially give me a boost in the app. process.

[MSNinwork]

I did, always a good idea if the schools you are looking at our competitive...look at the VA, they all have volunteer programs which are easy to get into, good luck

[bluechick112, BSN, MSN, RN]

I did too. I have a relatively low GPA, so I had to do all I could to "spruce up my resume".Plus, once job hunting, I bet it looks better if you have that experience :)

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

I'm surprised, considering the high number of applicants to nursing school and the advantages of volunteering on a resume, that volunteer offices are still crying for volunteers (!!!!) - at least in my hospital they are.

It is however a shame that some schools are only looking at the numbers rather than the whole person when it comes to applicants. One school I am applying to (a state university ABSN program) does not require a personal statement and does not require recommendations. Not sure about the resume, but they already stated that the three things they will look at are undergrad GPA, prereq GPA and TEAS score and basically when rank ordered, the highest 60 get in. That really sucks the big one!

But back to topic: my motivation to volunteer was more so to test the waters to make sure that nursing is what I wanted to do, and after 6 months of volunteering every shift seems to confirm it even more. The sprucing up was more of a secondary benefit in my book.

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

I volunteered to spruce up my med school application. When that failed to work out I made sure I put that experience on my nursing school app. Not sure if that was the nudge, but it didn't hurt.