For those who are in an NP program now...

IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP · Jan 11, 2014

Would anyone be willing to post their stats and what school (s) they got into/ are attending? I've sent in all my applications and now all I can do is wait! Would love to hear some encouraging stories about acceptances!

I'm at drexel. I honestly can't remember if my GPA was 3.76 or 3.81...but it was one of those. I didn't need to take any tests. I had a personal statement that was probably strengthen by the fact that I have a lot of kids and quite a few with medical needs (I'm going for PNP). I had 5 years in high risk L&D with occasional float to NICU and peds. I was also a sub school nurse. I'm also an IBLCLC so that is a little something extra I bring to the table.

That's it. I only applied to drexel and got in.

fuzzy911 · Jan 11, 2014

TAMUCC,

BSN GPA 3.8 overall GPA 3.2

Rn 8 years level l er, 5 yrs flight nurse, licensed paramedic

Acls, pals, nrp, TNCC, and TNCC instructor

Got accepted off the wait list a month before school started

BlueDevil,DNP, DNP, RN · Jan 11, 2014

Not in a program now, been out for a while.

I had a 4.0 BSN from UPenn; GRE scores were 2 SD above the mean; I had 20 years combined ICU, ED, trauma, flight, education, experience. CCRN, MICN, CEN. ACLS, PALS, TNCC instructor. Volunteer work around the world for 18 years.

I applied to Columbia, Duke, UCSF, Georgetown and MUSC (my "safety" school).

I got into Columbia, Duke and MUSC, was declined from both UCSF and Georgetown.

I chose Duke because I am a NCAA basketball fan, and because my wife was working at SAS at the time, and it meant we didn't have to move or commute. If I had to do it all over again and knew I'd end up where I am now (we've left NC), I'd probably have gone to Columbia, because I never even got to go to a basketball game! >:-(

Nah, j/k. I loved Duke, but Columbia is good too.

BlueDevil,DNP, DNP, RN · Jan 12, 2014

Too late to edit, but I was mixing up my applications above. I applied to Columbia, Georgetown and UCSF for the dnp programs, not my MSN. Since I ended up staying on at Duke for the DNP, I got confused about which applications were which. For my MSN applications, I applied to 5 schools (Rush, Case Western, Duke, Yale, & MUSC) and I was accepted to all of them with the credentials above. It was the 2 DNP programs I mentioned that did not accept me (having graduated Duke's MSN/FNP with a 4.0 as well and had published 2 articles by then).

Sorry, but I wanted to clarify so as not to be too discouraging. I think with credentials such as I mentioned, you could probably get into any MSN program you wanted to attend.

futureeastcoastNP · Jan 14, 2014

Hi BlueDevil, I've read a lot of your posts as I've lurked on here and I've always been impressed by your apparent knowledge base and credentials. I wanted to ask though - why do you suppose UCSF and Georgetown denied you for the DNP? I can't imagine your stats being below average....are dnp programs THAT much more competitive than FNP-MSN programs?

TashaLPN2006RN2012, ASN, RN · Jan 16, 2014

MSN/FNP

Simmons College

3.5 overall, 3.89 BSN

2 MD recommendations, 1 FNP recommendation

Solid essay

Worked from the time I was 17 as a CNA, then LPN, then AAS RN, and finished BSN last year, varied experiences due to husbands military career including primary care, TBI/neuro, case management, long term care, home health , dermatology and podiatry in various nursing roles. My husband is a wounded veteran and my goal statement reflected both personal desire and professional desire to work with veterans and/or active duty in a family care setting due to the inadequate continuity of care offered to this population.

That being said I was denied admissions to GU (only due to overall gpa they calculated at 2.99) and denied University of Cincinnati where they said my overall was 3.03. I had a CRAPPY AAS which is why i withdrew and did LPN at the time- moving was too much to maintain my grades with the military, and i explained those circumstances in an addendum essay to the school.

BlueDevil,DNP, DNP, RN · Jan 16, 2014

Hi BlueDevil, I've read a lot of your posts as I've lurked on here and I've always been impressed by your apparent knowledge base and credentials. I wanted to ask though - why do you suppose UCSF and Georgetown denied you for the DNP? I can't imagine your stats being below average....are DNP programs THAT much more competitive than FNP-MSN programs?

The short answer is yes, the good ones are. I think Georgetown had some accreditation problems in the state of NC, where we were living at the time. That may be why I was denied there. I am not certain, I never asked.

UCSF, on the other hand, is definitely a matter of the program being highly competitive. I was a good candidate, but there were apparently other candidates with stronger CVs, more publications, more prestigious research work, etc. UCSF was taking 16 students into the DNP program that year and had ~100 applicants. I didn't make the cut, it's that simple. There is always going to be someone better, that is the way of the world. As much as we would have liked living in San Francisco for a few years, it just wasn't meant to be.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Jan 16, 2014

Didn't mean to barge in the interesting conversation but UCSF has not begun a DNP program yet. They do have a PhD in Nursing and a PhD in Sociology offered within the confines of the School of Nursing. Perhaps these were the programs you were referring to? There was some talk of starting a DNP program but I am not sure of what stage the campus is at in that regard. Incidentally, none of the nursing schools of the University of California system (SF, LA, Davis, Irvine) currently offer a DNP program.