Difficulty/Competitiveness for Admission to RN/BSN programs in the GTA area.

Fiona59 · Sep 28, 2005

The University of New Brunswick is in New Brunswick. I don't mean to sound sarcastic, but it is a different province and not a convenient commute.

I know that in the western provinces you can be looking at up to a years wait for admission. They also look at your community involvement and where you volunteer, what your exposure to the healthcare system is and what you know about it.

Good Luck. You might want to try the City of Toronto's website and look at some maps.

trent · Sep 29, 2005

The Humber College - University of New Brunswick program is offered in Toronto at Humber College but is a baccalaureate program because of its affiliation with the University of New Brunswick.

I don't have any information about those programs specifically, but two of my past clinical instructors were granduates of the Humber program for RN-BSN.

Good luck with your application!

trent

fergus51 · Sep 29, 2005

I worked in Toronto. The best students we had were from George Brown if that means anything.

ShirleyM · Oct 1, 2005

I just wanted to get an idea of how difficult it is to get admitted to an RN/BSN program generally in Ontario and specifically in the GTA.
I am currently in the US and have taken many prereqs needed here to get into an RN program with a very high GPA and all A's in science courses. However I have been thinking and instead of completing an RN with a diploma in the US and then going through the hassle of CNO and then doing my Bachelors in Canada I might as well apply directly. I just wanted to get an idea of how fierce the competition will be.
I have been doing some research and my choices in the GTA would be the following. I personally wouldnt mind going outside the GTA if I was single but im not and hubby will be working in the North York area (near Finch Subway) in GTA. So far per my research I have come up with the following options. Please let me know anything good/bad about each of these programs because I have no clue what so ever.
1) Humber College - University of New Brunswick
2) George Brown College - Ryerson University (this seems to be the most conveniently located in the heart of the City)
3) Centennial College - Ryerson University
4) Seneca College - York University
5) Georgian College - York University.
All I know is that the first 3 seem to be conveniently located whereas 4 and 5 are both on the far northern outskirts of the city. I am applying through the OCAS common application process and from what I know you can only apply to 5 schools through them.
I know that University of Toronto also offers a programs but havent really researched into it deeply.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have never studied in Canada before but am a landed immigrant. Permanent resident.
Thanks.

I'm impressed, it sounds like you've really done your homework! Let me just say this...Toronto is a great city to live in. Make good use of the time your're there, there are lots to do and see. One of the great things about Toronto is its transit system. You can literally travel from the west end of the city to the east end for one fee...when I was there it was $2 for adults. Having said that, all the colleges and universities you mentioned are accessible by transit, except Georgian college, Univ New Brunswick and Seneca's nursing program. Centennial college is in Scarborough(east end of the city), Ryerson and George Brown are both downtown, like less than 5 subway stations north/south of each other...you could walk from one school to the other if you wanted to. Humber is in Etobicoke (west end of the city). I can tell you for a fact that if you're going to live near Finch subway station, then York University is the closest university to you. The area around Finch station up to Steeles Ave is Toronto (old name: North York). Steeles Ave is basically the border between Toronto and York Region. York University is in North York. Toronto has a great subway system, and there are at least two bus routes (from early am to around 9pm) that starts at Finch station and goes straight to York University(travels north on Yonge Street, then takes a left turn to go west on Steeles Ave). I was born and raised in North Toronto, I left in 2001 and that was the bus route at the time. Be aware though, to give yourself plenty of travel time, because that bus could end up stopping at EVERY bus stop, depending on time of day, etc... do a google search for TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) and hopefully they'll have a website that can give you more info.

I don't know anything about Georgian College, but I went to Seneca College for my nursing diploma (class of 2000). My class was the first class that started the Seneca-York U collaborative. We had the option of doing our last two years in York U and finishing with a BScN. I elected to finish with my diploma but I can tell you that although Seneca's nursing program is way north of Toronto, we had a shuttle bus that picked us up like once a day from certain intersections of the city and took us to Seneca's campus. Having said that, the closest Seneca bus stop to you will be Yonge/Steeles(that's how it was for me 5 yrs ago). I'd advise you contact the King City campus at Seneca College for more info...again do a google search for Seneca College and narrow it down for King City Campus.

Seneca's program is okay, but I did my LVN equivalent program at Humber and I enjoyed it. Humber's nursing program is a bit more strict though, in some ways I feel like I got more out of Humber than I did at Seneca....though I can't put a finger on it as to why.

Univ of Toronto had a RN-BSN program but they cancelled it back in the early-mid 90s because there was little to no interest nor enrollment in their program. If I were you I'd still do a search under Univ of Toronto, perhaps the issue of RNs graduating with a BScN changed things there.

I'd research the above schools more for requirements...do you already have a bachelor's degress in something else? In that case you might be in a different situation then.

Best of luck to you, sorry for rambling on...

loriangel14, RN · Oct 3, 2005

Regarding the Humber-UNB pairing.They don't expect you to commute to New Brunswick! You do your courses at Humber but when you get your degree it is from UNB. Good luck.

solemio · Oct 4, 2005

Hello there,

University of Toronto does have an BScN program, but it is a 2 year fast track program and to be admitted you have to have at least 2 years of prior university experience with certain prereq's.

have a look at http://www.nursing.utoronto.ca for more info on the program and admissions.

take care and good luck making the decision!

NextSummer · Oct 20, 2005

My suggestion would be apply all the schools you mentioned & see which school tells you ok, as it doesn't cost more money :) Except Georgian, all schools are accessible by transit. Seneca is located in King City, but there is a direct bus from Finch station, so if you are going to live near Finch. it will be just fine. And you go to King City only for 2 years and go to York,...so I would say that if you are concerned about location things, all the schools will be ok.

You may also want to apply Ryerson University through OUAC.

If you have previous University education, then you may be eligible to apply University of Toronto and York University second entry programs..depending on what prerequisites you have..I think University of Western Ontario also has a second entry program...so you can try that one too.I know you want to live with your hubby but second entry programs are shorter like two years!!

Good Luck!:balloons:

gaijingal · Oct 22, 2005

I think York University has a nursing program itself, seperate from the Seneca College one...and possibly a two year program as well (which is brand new this year, so maybe not a safe bet!). But this would be the closest one for you.

U of T's program seems well-respected...by people in Toronto at least. You do have to have 2 years of undergraduate already though.

I think U of T had the most pre-reqs and highest standards of all the programs I looked at, and judging by some of the people in the class, the standards weren't that high. So you should be able to get in no prob with the marks you stated.

Check out Ryerson as well...they have a program in connection with George Brown, but might have their own as well.

My friend took the Georgian College program, and she's a fabulous nurse.

Good luck.

Stuck On Nursing · Feb 14, 2006

Last year I attended an information session at Humber College and they said that they had about 2000 applicants for 200 seats.

Jenthenutritionnut · Feb 15, 2006

I worked in Toronto. The best students we had were from George Brown if that means anything.

Hi there Fergus... Just to confirm, the best students/grads you've had on the floor were from the Ryerson/GBrown class? I've applied all over the province- and am actually leaning to Ottawa U- but may decide to stay in TO to stay with partner... Is Ryerson/GBrown better than York? Any clue about Ottawa?

Thanks a tonne!

- Jen

fergus51 · Feb 15, 2006

Sorry, I don't have any experience in Ottawa. We had students from York, U of T, George Brown, Humber... I can't remember anymore. There were good and bad from each, but in my experience (and several other nurses said the same thing) the George Brown students were the best overall. That doesn't mean you can't be awesome if you go to York or U of T or whatever though. In the end, I think the individual matters more than the school. A friend of mine is currently in the U of T program and she is doing well.