GAH! I am getting so frustrated!!

misserella8036 · Apr 8, 2008

My school uses a strict point system for acceptance into the program. What does your school use? It's against the law for them to accept people because of their race or gender. Why don't you try applying to other schools. They may not be as convienent but you sometimes have to make sacrifices to get what you want in life. Good luck.

9livesRN, BSN, RN · Apr 8, 2008

on my school it was kind of hard to get in... and i will tell you we have a points system also... that counts your entrance test score, your net score, your interview score, your healthcare background score, and finally your gpa!

I was very happy to know that coming from a diferent country, and having no help at all, i studied alone and was able to grant a spot!

24 seats - 330 applications...

so I am proud of being who i am, (take no advantage on being latino) since we are all equeal, i just have to take advantage on making a difference!!! taking my goals quite serously so one time i can seat and relax!

9livesRN, BSN, RN · Apr 8, 2008

question to the Thread author:

- Why would a school pick minority?

PEW POLL ''... most of the minority in America are not ready and often fail to succeed as RN students, based on the lack of a strong basic knowledge, communication skills, and advanced reading skills ''

soure - Ann Lowes Marks Backley

editor2rn · Apr 8, 2008

It's against the law for them to accept people because of their race

UT Austin is being sued right now because they didn't admit a white student but admitted African American and Hispanic students with lower college-entry scores and GPAs. Universities are struggling with ways to increase the minority students in their schools. Texas decided to admit the top 10% of high school classes, which means a student in a low-performing high school in a disadvantaged area of the state will be accepted, whereas a student at 11% of a competitive high school will be denied, despite SAT scores. The plaintiff in the lawsuit alleges that UT chose the minority students over the white students. Whether this lawsuit will hold water is still unclear because UT is choosing students based on academic performance; it just so happens that many students in poverty-stricken schools are from minority populations.

This admittance strategy may seem like an OK plan except that many of the students are dropping out of college because they're unprepared. The universities take the heat for that, too, as they're pressured to graduate students. But if they teach to where the students are, they're criticized for dumbing-down the curriculum.

I'm not taking sides either way. I have friends who serve on the admissions committee at UT Austin, and they're struggling with ways to increase their minority student body without lowering academic standards to retain them; these folks aren't racist, elitist, or on some political agenda. They really care about the students and the university, and they're just trying to find a way to satisfy the conflicting criteria they're faced with. In the past ten years, UT has increased its tutoring services and even include remedial programs so students can pass prerequisite courses and continue to graduation. Is this fair to the university, the taxpayers, the employers, the disadvantaged students? It's a huge political debate that has a place for discussion, though I'm not sure allnurses is the correct venue. :nuke:

The only advice I can offer the original poster is to apply at several universities, or pursue an ADN and then do a bridge program. Others might have additional ideas. Good luck!

9livesRN, BSN, RN · Apr 8, 2008

minority or not, i believe all you have to do is commit to it, study a lot, and be proud of the nurse you are to be...

I really hate when i go to a certain hospital here in florida, and iyou hear the nurses and lpns chit-chatting in spanish and laughing....

where is your professionalism....

black or white, latino or what ever! we need strong, comitted, professional and FLUENT ENGLISH SPEAKERS!

NurseJeanB · Apr 8, 2008

My college it was based largely on GPA, and how well you did on the TEAS test. There were some community colleges in my area that took as low as 2.7 and they admitted based on a lottery system. These are ADN programs, but once you have your RN you can bridge to a BSN and it is about the same amount of time.

Race did not have anything to do with acceptance.

kittyn, MSN, NP · Apr 8, 2008

Why don't you try applying to other schools. They may not be as convenient but you sometimes have to make sacrifices to get what you want in life. Good luck.

:yeahthat: I totally agree with what she said! Try applying to several other nursing schools outside of your hometown or even outside of your state. That way, it will increase your chances of getting in. That's what I did with the similar situation you are in. So far, two nursing schools placed me on a wait list. There is hope out there if you only try.

As far as the affirmative action goes, I think it's ridiculous that this rule is implemented or being considered for admission or for whatever purpose it may serve. We are all born with a same brain, so why not make the most of it?

elkpark · Apr 8, 2008

I agree that you may need to "cast a wider net," and look at more schools.

For what it's worth, in the last BSN program in which I taught, nobody (of any race, nationality, gender, orientation, "handedness," etc.) got in with less than a 3.6 GPA, and not even all the 3.6 GPA candidates got accepted ... The reality these days is that a 3.0 GPA is just not very competitive for unversity BSN program admissions.

I completely agree that GPA is not necessarily the best predictor of which people are going to make the best RNs, but the reality is that there are huge numbers of people wanting to go to nursing schools, limited numbers of "slots," and the schools have to choose a limited number from the large candidate pool. The schools are not happy about having to base those decisions on a strict numerical formula, but, when they try to get more subjective, they get sued. Sooooo, they're going to stick with a system that they can prove is "fair."

iamcool · Apr 8, 2008

at the school i applied to, they claim they chooae based on overall GPAs, science GPAs, and scores on the NET test. Theres no interview and no other test scores being considered. My overall GPA is a 3.5, my science GPA is a 3.0, and I scored high on the NET, at least post-high school. I'm just so frustrated because I know there has to be people that are getting accepted with lower GPAs and lower NET scores than mine! I refuse to believe for one second that all 80 of the people that were accepted are higher in all three categories than me. I'm just getting so frustrated that I've spent the last two years doing pre-reqs for this school all for nothing! So I drop out of university and get an ADN and all those classes seem like a waste.

rant over, but thank you for listening!

9livesRN, BSN, RN · Apr 8, 2008

dont give up, if you think it is fishy you should investigate further more into the admission process so you can prevent from soffering from admission fraud!

editor2rn · Apr 8, 2008

If you do an ADN and then a bridge program, those classes could come into play. So you may not have wasted your time.

Have you talked to advisors at the university? Perhaps they can provide some advice on how to get admitted.

I feel your frustration (and I hope I'm not experiencing it myself come next spring). Try to think positive, clearly, and rationally. Surely there's another way to skin this cat.