Direct Entry Programs- How hard to get in?

Hi everyone, I just learned about this forum. I am new to nursing and I am waiting to hear back from Northeastern. Did anyone else apply to Northeastern in Boston, Mass? I was told that they may or may not interview all their candidates. I wasn't sure what to make of that.

Is there anyone here that applied to any ivy league programs? There seems to be some very nice programs out there, but it didn't look like anyone had any experience with any of them on this thread.

Thanks,

-J

Hi everyone, I just learned about this forum. I am new to nursing and I am waiting to hear back from Northeastern. Did anyone else apply to Northeastern in Boston, Mass? I was told that they may or may not interview all their candidates. I wasn't sure what to make of that.

Is there anyone here that applied to any ivy league programs? There seems to be some very nice programs out there, but it didn't look like anyone had any experience with any of them on this thread.

Thanks,

-J

I didn't apply to Northeastern- but a friend of mine did- and was accepted. He did interview there. He asked at the interview and they told him this year they interviewed less than 1/2 of the candidates who applied.

Hope that helps!

-Jess

I applied to Northeastern and just found out via mail on Friday that I didn't get in. I live in Oregon, so by now most other states should have found out. I could say it bothered me, but I already got into MGH, so I don't really mind. :wink2:

And they did not call me for an interview... hope this helps! Diana

Hi everyone, I just learned about this forum. I am new to nursing and I am waiting to hear back from Northeastern. Did anyone else apply to Northeastern in Boston, Mass? I was told that they may or may not interview all their candidates. I wasn't sure what to make of that.

Is there anyone here that applied to any ivy league programs? There seems to be some very nice programs out there, but it didn't look like anyone had any experience with any of them on this thread.

Thanks,

-J

I applied to Northeastern, as well as MGH, BC, Penn, Yale and some others. I'll be going to MGH in Boston, but I emailed the director of the program at Northeastern, and she told me the same thing--that not all the applicants are interviewed. She said that they had 264 applications for 24 spots this year. Talk about competitive! She also said that they already notified 24 people for acceptances and that they were working on the wait list now since some of those people will probably decline. I wasn't contacted for an interview there, but she told me that I was definitely being considered for their wait list...I guess I don't have to worry about it now that I'm going to MGH. :)

I got into Penn, but honestly, wasn't interested in moving to Philly (really wanted to be in Boston). It's one of the top ranked nursing schools in the country, if you really care about rankings. It sounded pretty good to me. I got an interview at Yale, but was ultimately rejected. When I went to interview there, they REALLY stressed the intensity and rigor of the entry-level program. I know that all of these programs are intense, though. Yale was my first choice on paper, but I didn't get a super great feeling when I visited. It just didn't seem right for me.

Good luck!!

- Kris

Diana, did you apply for the direct entry programs at U of P or OHSU? Just wondering if you were set on moving back east, or if the programs here did not interest you.

Rene (also from rainy Portland)

Thanks for all of your insight. I'm sorry to hear about those who did not get into the program at NE. It sounds like bad news for me too since I did not receive a phone call about being accepted. This whole process of waiting is just horrible. Oddly enough, on Friday I received an email from NE asking to join an online chat group next week about on and off campus housing...did everyone receive that? Why would they do that if they planned to reject you? It seems sort of mean.

I know someone who got into UPenn. It seems like a nice program. Good luck at MGH. MGH and Columbia seem to be the places people I've encountered want to go to most.

What was your Yale interview experience like? Did the applicant pool seem diverse? Was everyone nice?

Thank you,

-J

Thanks for all of your insight. I'm sorry to hear about those who did not get into the program at NE. It sounds like bad news for me too since I did not receive a phone call about being accepted. This whole process of waiting is just horrible. Oddly enough, on Friday I received an email from NE asking to join an online chat group next week about on and off campus housing...did everyone receive that? Why would they do that if they planned to reject you? It seems sort of mean.

I know someone who got into UPenn. It seems like a nice program. Good luck at MGH. MGH and Columbia seem to be the places people I've encountered want to go to most.

What was your Yale interview experience like? Did the applicant pool seem diverse? Was everyone nice?

Thank you,

-J

I don't know a lot about Yale- and didn't apply there because we wouldn't move anyway because of my husband's job. A friend of ours from my husband's undergrad went there and she was not happy with her experience there. She said they they were really difficult and unpleasant to deal with, and she didn't think that the program was as good as she expected. Also, the clas itself was really competitive and unhelpful toward one another which she found horrible. And she had gone to Princeton for undergrad, so it's not like she wasn't used to the "ivy league experience" or whatever. The flip side to that is that I've heard Yale is great for midwifery- but maybe that's the traditional, non-direct entry track.

-Jess

Diana, did you apply for the direct entry programs at U of P or OHSU? Just wondering if you were set on moving back east, or if the programs here did not interest you.

Rene (also from rainy Portland)

Hi Rene,

I didn't apply to U of P b/c it's a religious school, and OHSU only offers Midwifery and Mental Health tracks for their direct-entry program. I looked at Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma but I didn't like the area very much and couldn't see myself there for 3 years.

I am originally from Boston, so it wasn't a huge issue to move back home. I would like to return to Oregon after school is done :wink2:

Diana

Oddly enough, on Friday I received an email from NE asking to join an online chat group next week about on and off campus housing...did everyone receive that?

I know someone who got into UPenn. It seems like a nice program. Good luck at MGH. MGH and Columbia seem to be the places people I've encountered want to go to most.

What was your Yale interview experience like? Did the applicant pool seem diverse? Was everyone nice?

Thank you,

-J

I keep getting those emails from Northeastern too. They might send them to me because I'm on their mailing list, but I agree that it seems a little "mean" to send the housing info things to people who might not even be accepted.

As far as Yale is concerned, I didn't get a very friendly feeling when I was there. My interviewer wasn't all that outgoing or helpful either. There were about 30-40 people there for interviews the day I was there, and there were two other days of interviews as well. The applicants that I saw were fairly diverse, but not as much as I would have expected. Like I said, there were two other days of applicants that I did not see.

It's interesting to read what Jess said about a friend who went to Yale. Even though I only spent a day there, I kinda felt the same way...that it was quite competitive among students. They also send students all over the place for clinicals. While I understand that they want students in the best clinical placements possible, some students have to travel an hour or more just to get to the clinical. I thought there would be plenty of clinical locations available in the New Haven area, but I guess not.

Hope this helped, and feel free to ask more questions!

- Kris

Hi Rene,

I didn't apply to U of P b/c it's a religious school, and OHSU only offers Midwifery and Mental Health tracks for their direct-entry program. I looked at Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma but I didn't like the area very much and couldn't see myself there for 3 years.

I am originally from Boston, so it wasn't a huge issue to move back home. I would like to return to Oregon after school is done :wink2:

Diana

When you say U of P do you mean University of Pennsylvania? I attend the BSN/MSN program in midwifery and Penn is NOT a religious school. It does have a fantastic nursing program...

I interviewed with Yale and was actually impressed with them. When I declined to attend (to attend Penn) they were very interested in why. 2 friends have gone there and loved it.

Unfortunately as the number of nursing programs growa and the number of clinical spots staythe same (and decrease in some cases) students often have to travel up to an hour to get to clinicals- it's not just Yale.

When you say U of P do you mean University of Pennsylvania? I attend the BSN/MSN program in midwifery and Penn is NOT a religious school. It does have a fantastic nursing program...

snip

LOL I thought the same thing! But I think the reference was to University of Portland which is a Catholic school...

-Jess

Hi,

Thanks for all of your feedback. I was told that at Yale you have to choose a speciality upon applying and that there is no flexibility within the program once you have chosen your path. Does anyone know if that is true? If so, how did people choose which program was right for them upon applying? That seems like such a big decision. I also heard that at other programs you can sometimes cross specialize or take additional classes outside of your speciality--does anyone know of these programs in particular? Does UPenn offer that?

Boston seems like a great place to start your career. Good luck to all those going to MGH, BC, and NEU. I bet you will have several different hospitals to work in and a wide variety of patients to care for which is really great.

-j