Do I have a chance of acceptance direct MSN?

[lexidann]

So this next year I plan on applying to a few direct MSN programs such as Vanderbilt, University of Cincinnati, Emory and maybe a couple in Boston.

I am worried that I am aiming too high as I was a psychology undergrad at Michigan with a 3.0 cumulative (3.8 in psychology degree). I got B's in the science pre-reqs. And the past 4 years I have been working as a professional athlete so I have no clinical experience.

I plan on taking the GRE's so I will study hard for that and hopefully do well to make up for admissions. Do I have a shot at a school like Emory or Vanderbilt? I'd love to do a direct MSN with a specialty in Neonatal nursing. I know it is expensive and time consuming but I am willing to put up the costs and time rather now than later.

[TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN]

The short answer is everyone has a chance.

But it's more complicated than that. Every school is different. Some demand clinical experience for some of the degrees, some don't. Some you have to have a 3.5+ to even be considered, while others will let you in with at least a 2.0. The more effort you put into finding one, the better chance you have.

The biggest problem with nursing is how much is tied behind licensing, that tends to correlate with degrees.

[lexidann]

Thanks for the reply. Do you know which schools let you in with at least a 2.0? I definitely need to do more research. I need to know which schools to apply for a year in advance so that I can fulfill the appropriate pre-reqs.

[araew2129, ADN]

I believe your greatest indicator will be how you do in your specific prereq courses. I don't know much about the schools in your area but generally speaking you will need to complete anatomy and physiology, microbiology, chemistry, developmental psych, nutrition and statistics. So I would start looking at where you plan to take your prereqs and see if you need to start with the prereqs to those courses.

[lexidann]

So I have completed most of the pre-reqs that schools require, except for general chemistry a few schools require that one too and I have a B in all of my pre-reqs, so not great..