frustration with admission requirements for nursing school

I am currently working on my prereqs for my comm. college's nursing school. I am working on A&P I now and some other stuff. I had planned to do A&P II and Micro next semester so that I would be done in time for the Fall 2005 nursing school semester. I knew that the appl. deadline for the nursing program was Feb. 15 so when I went to find out what I needed to do to apply, much to my surprise and horror, they told me the requirement was that I had to have A&P 1 , A&P 2, and micro done b4 the appl. date of Feb. 15 !!!

I had planned to have them done b4 I started the nursing program in the fall but no they wanted me to have them done b4 the appl. date of Feb. 15 which there is no way I can do this. This has reallly frustrated me because if I don't get in the fall of 2005 I will have to sit around for a whole year until the next fall because their spring program is nights and weekends which won't work with my schedule. Sorry this is so long but has any one else faced this with their school ?

[michellemybelle]

I definately feel your pain! Unfortunately, my CC also requires everyone to have all their prereqs of Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, and Chemistry done even before they apply. I guess this is a "common practice," since basically almost all the CC's in my area follow the same procedure. I think it's incredibly discouraging and a waste of time to complete your classes, then spend a year or so on a waiting list, and then start school again. The waiting lists are crazy; I've just decided to apply to several BSN programs instead.

Now, some suggestions. Is there another CC in the area that you go could go to that doesn't have a similar policy? Could you maybe get your LPN within that year and then do a "bridge" program to get your RN? If you have the time, even taking CNA classes could be of great help. Volunteering at the local hospital is a great idea too.

Don't get discouraged!

Best of luck to you,

Michelle :)

[RainDreamer, BSN, RN]

That's weird that they want you to have all the prereqs done by Feb., when you wouldn't even start nursing school until the following August. That's 6 months there with nothing to do?! That's really odd. Who did you talk to at the school? Did you talk to an advisor? Why didn't your advisor tell you that you needed to have it done by Feb. before now?

I hope you can get it all worked out and can still start next Fall!

[jenrninmi, MSN, RN]

Sounds like typical practice to me. They want a certain GPA in that course and want to make sure you pass the course before you get accepted. My program is even more demanding as we have I think 59 credit hours of prereqs (not including the gen ed) before even applying to the college of nursing. The good thing about my school is they accept 64 students each semester. So that's 64 students, 3 times a year. I'm in a BSN program, so you may not have better luck at a university.

Yep, around here the schools require you be done with all your prereqs before you apply. before they were impacted (2-3 years ago) they allowed "work in progress" but with so many qualified applicants they have been adding more entrance requirements. Since you know for sure you have another year you could always spread the courses out like one in the spring and one in the fall so you can relax alittle and do really well. Or maybe there is other schools you can apply for? Good luck.

[Achoo!, LPN]

we have such a waiting list, it may come to that soon.

It's the same at my school... all nursing pre-reqs must be completed prior to applying to the nursing program.

[mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP]

That seems to be the norm anymore.....

Is there an LPN program you can try? Then transfer to an ADN or BSN program later?

I found out that the local university required that all your pre-reqs (all 64 hours) be done before you could even apply to the program. The CC where I got accepted was a bit more gracious in that you had to have A&P and Micro done by Fall 2005 but then required Chem, Bio, English, etc...to all be done before you could apply.

Have you talked to any of the nursing advisors yet? Maybe they'll make the exception if they know you are enrolled?

Good luck!!!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I'm sorry to hear this. Back in the "old days", like in the late 80s when I was in school, people could go to nursing school straight from high school. What's with all the pre-reqs I hear about.

Anyway. Good luck to. :)

I graduated high school in the late 80's, and pre-requisites were still required before gaining entry into the nursing program. At least that's how it was at the school I started going to back then. ::shrugs:: I'm sure that there were a lot less stringent entry requirements back then, though... they practically begged people to go into nursing just to fill the classes. I kick myself all the time for not doing it then. :lol

[RedSox33RN]

All of the CC's I applied to wanted the same thing - high GPA, high NLN scores, and every non-nursing course completed.

The private Catholic college I attend now is different, probably because they have ADN, BSN and MSN programs. There are a lot of students in the BSN program right out of HS. My academic advisor did tell me that I'm doing it a "little" backwards for my ADN - I've got all of my pre-req's done except A&P 2, Micro and Bioethics. I'm taking A&P 2 next semester with my second semester of clinicals - Med/Surg 1. It will be 13 credits total, quite a load for a mom getting divorced with 4 kids, but I'm sure I'll manage.

Actually, I HAVE to. No grade lower than a B in an science class or we can't continue in the nursing program until we DO get at least a B. So, no options on not managing! LOL

[jenrninmi, MSN, RN]

All of the CC's I applied to wanted the same thing - high GPA, high NLN scores, and every non-nursing course completed.

The private Catholic college I attend now is different, probably because they have ADN, BSN and MSN programs. There are a lot of students in the BSN program right out of HS. My academic advisor did tell me that I'm doing it a "little" backwards for my ADN - I've got all of my pre-req's done except A&P 2, Micro and Bioethics. I'm taking A&P 2 next semester with my second semester of clinicals - Med/Surg 1. It will be 13 credits total, quite a load for a mom getting divorced with 4 kids, but I'm sure I'll manage.

Actually, I HAVE to. No grade lower than a B in an science class or we can't continue in the nursing program until we DO get at least a B. So, no options on not managing! LOL

Hey there,

So, are you doing clinicals without the A & P II and Micro?

[RainDreamer, BSN, RN]

We had to have all of our prereqs done BEFORE starting nursing school, including the A&Ps, micro, chem, etc. But I applied in Feb. or March, and was taking prereqs during that time, and they still accepted it. I go to a small private school too, so that could be why it's so different.

Just weird that your advisor didn't tell you this beforehand. He/she could have made sure you had all your prereqs done before the application deadline for the Fall.

[RedSox33RN]

Hey there,

So, are you doing clinicals without the A & P II and Micro?

We don't need them for Fundamentals. They're required by the start of the 3rd semester.

[Montessori Mommy]

The nursing school I *hope* to attend has people taking those classes with the nursing classes. That sounds way too difficult to juggle A & P I and II, and Micro with nursing classes!!! I'm taking those classes this spring & summer before I start Nursing I in the fall.

The CC in my area has a huge waiting list so I'm going to a school affiliated with a local hospital. Both of these schools only require high school biology, chemistry and algebra to apply.

Beth

[Euskadi1946]

When I applied for nursing school in the late 80's I had to take A & P I and II before being accepted into the nursing program. It was recommended but not required to take all pre reqs before going into the nursing program so that you could concentrate on your nursing classes. I got the pre reqs all out of the way but took Micro in my first year of nursing and did great. But that was then, I don't know what the requirements are now, but it is a good idea to get the pre reqs out of the way so that you can concentrate strictly on your nursing classes.

[abundantjoy07, RN]

Pre-reqs are just a part of the game. Don't forget all the paperwork that comes with it...letters of recommendation, health record, CNA training, CPR certification, transcripts from every college ever attended, the entrance examination, the GPA check, the interview, the essay... Not every place is so extensive, but mine was. It look about a year of prep (not including pre-req's) before I got my admission packet together and turned in. Application is so much more than pre-reqs. I still haven't taken stats, but I got it waved just as long as I take it before I graduate. I could go on and on, but I wont! Have fun and don't stress. With every step you complete it just means you're one step closer.