getting into nursing school

klone, MSN, RN · Feb 25, 2004

It depends on your school's policy for determining entrance into the program. Some go by GPA, some go by how many prereqs you've completed, others go solely by entrance test score, some go by a combination. What is your school's policy?

sonja24 · Feb 25, 2004

I have no idea where i am going to be going. we are moving to fl for 6 months and then after that we don't know where the military will approve for dh to go. I have been out of school since 2001 (received CNA certificate-#1 in the whole class). Do you apply to nursing school before you are finished with prereq's? I'm not sure about how any of this works :confused:

agent · Feb 25, 2004

I take an NLN entrance exam next week.. here's to hoping

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Feb 25, 2004

Has anyone did great on their prereq's and then had to be put on a waiting list to get into the nursing program? What is the likelihood of this happening to someone who does good on the prereq's?

It so totally depends on the school and yes, there is a possibility that even if you make straight A's you can get put on a wait list All the schools are so different there is really no telling.

I would just focus on your pre-req's for now and do well in them! For most schools you need to have your pre-reqs done before applying (not all are like this but most of them I would say). Maybe get some experience as a CNA in the meantime or during the summers...that helps people are my school get in.

Spend some time browsing through all these forums as well, you will learn a *lot*.

Marilyn

sonja24 · Feb 25, 2004

I take an NLN entrance exam next week.. here's to hoping

best of luck to you :balloons:

sonja24 · Feb 25, 2004

It so totally depends on the school and yes, there is a possibility that even if you make straight A's you can get put on a wait list All the schools are so different there is really no telling.
I would just focus on your pre-req's for now and do well in them! For most schools you need to have your pre-reqs done before applying (not all are like this but most of them I would say). Maybe get some experience as a CNA in the meantime or during the summers...that helps people are my school get in.
Spend some time browsing through all these forums as well, you will learn a *lot*.
Marilyn

wow, that is really frustrating. hopefully that won't happen. I would like to practice as a CNA but I have 2 little ones that I stay home with for now. I'll just have to kind of call schools when the time gets closer to get a feel for what they might look for

RedSox33RN · Feb 25, 2004

There are so many factors, and are different at each school.

Some don't want you to apply until all your pre-req's are done, with good grades. That includes Alegebra and Chemistry if you didn't get good grades in them in HS, no matter how long ago (this was true for 2 schools I applied to. I took them 19 years ago, got a C in both, so they were accepted.)

It also depends on the number of spots in the nursing program, whether you want day or evening classes, or if you are doing a AD or BS degree.

Some require a pre-admission test, like the NLN or ACT or NET. Most also require a private interview. One program I applied to required applicants to go to an information session with 2 of the nursing instructors before you would be granted a personal interview. They wanted to know everyone was clear about what happened, where clinicals are done, and what was required in terms of grades to go to the next class.

I applied to 5 programs this time, not including the LPN program I may apply to also. I organized everything into folders, giving one to each school, and wrote all the dates I did stuff and talked to people on the inside of the folder. I also put all the relevant info for that school in there, along with copies of my NLN, college transcripts, HS transcripts, and copies of my course catalog for courses I've completed (sometimes they want to see this, not just your grade, to see if the credits will transfer). All letters from the school also went into the respective folder.

BTW, even though I had transcripts in each folder, I had to have copies sent to the schools directly, otherwise they are not considered "official". I kept them in each folder so if by chance they misplaced something, we could still go over something until they got another copy. I used my copy of my NLN test scores in almost every interview I went on.

So then when I did an interview, I grabbed a folder and went.

Anyway, I've gotten way off topic here! :chuckle

Don't let being put on a waiting list discourage you from applying elsewhere. The more applications the better, even though it may pinch your pocketbook.

Good luck to you! :)

sonja24 · Feb 26, 2004

There are so many factors, and are different at each school.
Some don't want you to apply until all your pre-req's are done, with good grades. That includes Alegebra and Chemistry if you didn't get good grades in them in HS, no matter how long ago (this was true for 2 schools I applied to. I took them 19 years ago, got a C in both, so they were accepted.)
It also depends on the number of spots in the nursing program, whether you want day or evening classes, or if you are doing a AD or BS degree.
Some require a pre-admission test, like the NLN or ACT or NET. Most also require a private interview. One program I applied to required applicants to go to an information session with 2 of the nursing instructors before you would be granted a personal interview. They wanted to know everyone was clear about what happened, where clinicals are done, and what was required in terms of grades to go to the next class.
I applied to 5 programs this time, not including the LPN program I may apply to also. I organized everything into folders, giving one to each school, and wrote all the dates I did stuff and talked to people on the inside of the folder. I also put all the relevant info for that school in there, along with copies of my NLN, college transcripts, HS transcripts, and copies of my course catalog for courses I've completed (sometimes they want to see this, not just your grade, to see if the credits will transfer). All letters from the school also went into the respective folder.
BTW, even though I had transcripts in each folder, I had to have copies sent to the schools directly, otherwise they are not considered "official". I kept them in each folder so if by chance they misplaced something, we could still go over something until they got another copy. I used my copy of my NLN test scores in almost every interview I went on.
So then when I did an interview, I grabbed a folder and went.
Anyway, I've gotten way off topic here! :chuckle
Don't let being put on a waiting list discourage you from applying elsewhere. The more applications the better, even though it may pinch your pocketbook.
Good luck to you! :)

Wow!! Thanks for all the great info!! May I ask what an NLN test is? And they actually accept grades from h.s.? I didn't know that, but that's awesome!

sonja24 · Feb 26, 2004

wannabeanRN may I ask what state you live in? nevermind i see it under your name :rotfl:

Achoo!, LPN · Feb 26, 2004

I have a 4.0 and it doesn't matter. As long as you pass your pre-req's with a 3.0, you all get put in the lottery and pray your number gets picked.

manna, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2004

It all depends on school - if you had straight A's and a good ACT score, you'd probably get into the school here, but that's because it only bases admissions on completing pre-reqs and GPA/ACT.

It varies so much that you need to check with the schools where you'll be applying to be certain.