Future ABSN/NP Advice

ad2020 · May 18, 2020

I was hoping someone could give me some advice since I am newly graduated from college and have decided I want to pursue a career in nursing.

I graduated with degrees in psychology and public health and had always planned on being a psychologist. This year, I decided this path was not the path for me, and instead would like to work towards becoming a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. I will be taking some time off to complete me pre-reqs at community college and then hope to get my ABSN.

I really don't have a sense of the competitiveness regarding these programs and while I would love to attend a top program such as Duke or Penn I know they can be competitive. I plan to work extremely hard to do well in my pre-reqs, but I did graduate with a 3.48 GPA which I know is only average. In addition, I have a good amount of clinical and research experience, but a lot of it is in psychology not specifically healthcare.

If anyone has any advice on what kinds of programs I should aim for or ways I can boost my potential for acceptance into a program I would really appreciate it!