Getting into a Nursing Program..?

UnicornRN · Mar 23, 2009

At my college you have to complete all your pre-requisites, then you take the HESI Admission Exam. My school takes the top 50 scores for the Spring semester and the top 80 for Fall. That's how you get in. If your scores aren't high enough you don't make the cut. There are other schools that have a waiting list, and as long as you have all your pre-req's and pass the NET (nursing entrance test) you get in, but the wait is 3-4 semesters AFTER your pre-req's are done. It just depends on the school. I'm willing to bet that your school will have a seminar explaining the in's and out's of the nursing program. Call your advisor at the very least.

Prettyladie · Mar 23, 2009

okay. so heres the deal. some schools have rolling admission. meaning that you can have your prereqs and be automatically accepted. some and MOST are on competitive basis. they take the HIGHEST gpa and the HIGHEST test scores. some times people dont get in because they have too many prerequisites that arent completed in time of the deadline. there are waiting lists. i know the school i applied for which has two campuses are taking roughly 200 spots. 120 on one and 80 on another and there were 800 applicants. thats why most people dont get in. not enough spots for people applying.

CrunchyMama, ASN, RN · Mar 23, 2009

At my school you have to finish all your prereqs and have a GPA of at least a 2.85 to get in. There's 140 seats and if they're filled then you get on a waiting list. It's scary! I'm still waiting for my acceptance letter! :uhoh3:

UVA Grad Nursing · Mar 24, 2009

At my University, we receive many more applications than we have spaces. For example, for our BSN program we admit students directly from high school (450 applications for 60 spaces) as well as as transfer students (175 applications for 25 spaces). We also have a direct-entry MSN program (125 applications for 25 spaces). There are many canddiates who will make excellent RNs that we are not able to accept.

We look at many factors for admission to the various entry-level nursing programs --- the grades received in the prerequisite classes, overall academic performance, work/volunteeer experience in healthcare, essays/written statements, interviews, recommendations, etc. As a state school, we also have to look at whether the applicant is an instate student or not as well.

Mommy2two · Mar 24, 2009

At my University, we receive many more applications than we have spaces. For example, for our BSN program we admit students directly from high school (450 applications for 60 spaces) as well as as transfer students (175 applications for 25 spaces). We also have a direct-entry MSN program (125 applications for 25 spaces). There are many canddiates who will make excellent RNs that we are not able to accept.
We look at many factors for admission to the various entry-level nursing programs --- the grades received in the prerequisite classes, overall academic performance, work/volunteeer experience in healthcare, essays/written statements, interviews, recommendations, etc. As a state school, we also have to look at whether the applicant is an instate student or not as well.

Hi UVA Grad Nursing,

So for the applicants who were not accepted, is that the end of the road for them or do they get placed on a waiting list? OR, can they re-apply the following semester?

I cant imagine a student passing all their pre-reqs and exams to only be denied a spot in an RN program?

BTW, thx for responding.

UVA Grad Nursing · Mar 24, 2009

Mommy2two:

One reason we get so many applications is that we are a Top 20 Nursing program. The University of Virginia is consistently ranked one of the Top Universities in the country (usually ranked as the #1 or #2 public university). We're frequently on Money Magazine's list of best educational values. We're also able to offer nursing students clinical experiences in a Level 1 Trauma Center, Top 100 Hospital, Magnet facility -- yet still live in a college town of 50,000. Undergraduate students can get these clinicals, and still live within walking distance of the School and Medical Center.

We encourage all applicants at all levels to apply to more than one school. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing AACN, 2008), over 27,000 qualified students were turned away from baccalaureate programs in 2007. A key reason for this is the lack of nursing faculty. The shortage of nursing faculty exists all over the US, and both the federal government and many state governments will have programs for loan forgiveness for those who become fulltime nursing faculty members.

We have small waiting lists for our BSN and MSN programs but often do not need to go to the waiting lists. Last year for our Direct Entry MSN program, we took only 1 student from the Waiting List. We frequently see students re-applying the next year again (students turned down as incoming First Year students applying as transfer students, etc).

There are many good places to study nursing in the US. I just encourage folks not to 'put everything in one basket' if possible.

If a person really wants to be a RN, I strongly encoruage them to apply to multiple programs. If they get accepted by more than one school, then they can select the best option for their goals and aspirations.