ACCEPTED! What's the secret?

LeesieBug · May 12, 2003

At our university the only thing that matters is getting a high enough GPA to be in the top 140 applicants. After spring grades are posted (you take 1 year of pre-reqs.), they simply rank you by GPA.

Nurse Bethie · May 12, 2003

What school have you applied to? Every school has their own criteria but most are looking for students with interests outside of strict academics....and great energy and enthusiasm is a huge asset.

Dayray, RN · May 12, 2003

I think the requirments very so much from school to school its hard to know what would help. mabey try getting an appointment with the prgram chair and asking them and a littel butt kissing doesent hurt either.

As far as being male it can hurt or help you some programs are very interested in promoting diversity others see nursing as a womens professtion and dont want men. I was told that if I had applied 1 year earlier I could have recived minority scholerships for being a male in nursing school but that now we were no longer considered a minority becuase so many were enrolled. Was kinda funny cuase there we 3 men out of 50 people excepted that yeal LOL

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · May 12, 2003

Are there any sort of qualifications, over and above an applicants grades that you think would carry any extra weight in the decision making process for acceptance to nursing school?

As an ADN instructor, my advice to you is to go to the allied health admissions counselor at your college and ASK. By law, there has to be an objective formula for admission--candidates are "weighted"--that is, they are given points. There is no favoritism involved. The candidates who qualify AND who have the most points are the ones who get into the program. In our school, taking certain classes ahead of time, such as anatomy, gives many extra points, but there are other criteria as well. Each school is different.

The competition to get into nursing programs is becoming fierce--340+ applicants for upcoming ADN class in our school; only 42 seats available. So my advice is to be as informed as possible--that way you can plan with confidence and come up with the best strategy possible for admittance into the program.

If you need any further advice, feel free to PM me at any time.

2banurse · May 13, 2003

The nursing application for my ADN program was very basic. Mainly it was just putting your name into the pot. Previous experience in the health field is not even considered. They go primarily with first those who have finished all of their prereqs and have the minimum GPA (2.0), then it goes by whoever has the next most finished prereqs, and this is pretty much by the time you apply, so my taking A&P1 during the Spring may not even be considered if there were the 70 to 80 students ahead who have completed all of their prereqs.

Kris

glow_worm · May 13, 2003

In writing the admissions essay (if one is required), go to a bookstore like Borders or Barnes & Noble, flip through nursing books & do the following (by the way, the best books to use discuss the profession of nursing & the nursing "process" of assessment-diagnosis-planning-intervention-evalutation):

1) Terminology -- use nursing specific language to show that you have done reading in this field & know what you are talking about (but make it flow, or sound authentic -- slip the words in without drawing attention to them). Also, use professional sounding terminology. Examples are "critical thinking", "evidence based practice", "competent/compassionate care", "professional practice", "quality healthcare", "positive impact", "demonstrate caring").

2) Main Ideas -- find some main issues facing the profession, and discuss your awareness & how you would make an impact (maybe the shortage & your need for a job are not good issues -- instead talk about increased autonomy, professionalism, caring, research, or evidence-based practice. Stuff like that.)

3) Why you want to be a nurse -- you can include some of #2 above along, and incorporate lots of #1. Also, read stories about why other people decided to become nurses (there may be things you haven't thought about), and use some of these if you find them applicable. If you had a personal growth experience (ex. father died of cancer, and you were present in final weeks), use it to explain why you want to make a difference or have an impact on another individual as a nurse. For example, focus on what you learned from the experience, how it changed you, what you observed from the nurses, and why it is inspiring you.

4) Demonstrate compassion and caring, but in an intelligent way. Don't gush, act silly or too idealistic. It has to sound very thought out & professional.

Finally, keep it short (2-3 pages for all the essay questions combined, or a page for each question) & use your words well. Make it have high impact. Keep it concise, well thought-out & intelligent. Do NOT miss spelling or grammatical errors during your proofread -- this will weed you out immediately.

Anyway, this is just my advice. This is what I did, and I'm graduating from a competitive program in one week! Yeah!:roll

Pab_Meister · May 13, 2003

You people are great! Thanks again for coming to my aid! I've made an appointment to see the director of my nursing program. I asked for an appointment for this week. That was a joke. It'll be June 2nd. Best I lay off the coffee that day. Thanks for all of the great advice. I've added this and the other threads I've started to my favorites list. I'll keep in touch as news develops. Please keep the thoughts comin'!