HELP Pre-Nursing Student Confused

[JadiraGV]

Hey everyone! I am new here. I am a transfer student currently enrolled at SBU. I am planning to apply to the nursing program in the fall, but I am completely confused about obtaining my bachelor's degree. So I thought to obtain a BSN you are required to take your Pre-Reqs and complete the Nursing Program and that would get me a BSN. I was advised to declare a major, which I don't understand why I can't declare nursing as my major. I was told I could not. I was told to declare a major such as Sociology, Women's Studies, or Multiple Disc. So does this mean I am obtaining a bachelors degree in the major I have chosen ex:sociology, then completing the nursing?

[Simplistic]

If you want to do nursing, than your major should be nursing. It makes no sense for your major to be something like sociology. Someone is telling you the wrong information.

[JadiraGV]

I have been saying the same thing. I am frustrated because I feel I am being pushed into a different direction away from my career. I do not want to spend forever in school taking courses that are not needed, especially since my parents are paying out of pocket!

[Blue_Daisy]

Hi, I'm not sure where SBU is, but in California if you are pre-nursing then the California State Universities term you what is called "expressed interest in nursing". They came up with this term because in CA our nursing programs are impacted (meaning they get more applicants than they can accept to the nursing program).

So you stay a "pre-nursing" major until you are actually accepted into the nursing program.

Here is the problem in Cali: so if you're a transfer student or undergrad with 60 or more units then a registration hold is usually put on your record as a safety measure to prevent you from taking more courses than you actually need (when I asked about this hold I was told it's because too many students were taking units that they don't need, wasting their time and money, and expressing their frustration to academic advisors, therefore this practice of placing a registration hold on students was done as a protective measure in a sense).

So then you may be asking well what happens if you're pre-nursing and can't get into the program and now you have a Registration hold? I was told you're advised to research other majors and declare another major. Super annoying, and heartbreaking for those of us who know we want to be nurses ...I know, but the reality in California is we have a huge population and even those of us with near perfect grades will not make it into a nursing program so we must find other options.

Anyone in a similar situation I encourage you to apply to every nursing program that you can, consider moving, leaving the state, or get a BSN in a similar career field (which I'm doing), and then I plan to apply to an entry level masters program in Nursing (entry requires a BSN).

Sorry I know this was long but i wanted to be thorough and cover all possibilities with your question. I'm thinking maybe your counselor forgot to explain something because directing you in another direction other than your interest in nursing sounds crazy, but if you're in california or a city where nursing is an impacted major then what I have explained is likely the reason.

Don't give up on nursing if you know it's what you want to do, Best wishes.

[FutureNurseInfo]

There is a way out. Yes, you have to declare a major once you hit 60 credits, or you are a transfer student. However, once you have all your pre-reqs completed, you can apply to a nursing program and change your major to Nursing once you are accepted. Just because, let's say, you chose Sociology as your major now, does not mean you cannot change it later.

Granted, different states have different rules, in my university, you do not have to registered as a degree student. I am, for example, is a non-degree student completing my pre-reqs. Once I am done with them, got accepted into the nursing program, only then I will be able to declare Nursing as my major. So, do the research and I am sure you will find a way out.

[TofuSandwich, ASN, RN]

Like PP have said, generally you must be accepted into a nursing program before you can declare nursing as your major. My school has a "nursing pathway" major for those completing pre-reqs. If yours doesn't, you can just pick something that's closely related, and then change it once you are accepted.

[Blue_Daisy]

@futurenurseinfo

Yes! Thanks for clarifying lol

I forgot to mention that part about always being able to redeclare nursing as your major once accepted;)

[caliotter3]

No. The declared major is just a stop-gap until you are formally admitted to the nursing program when your major changes to nursing. However, most schools have a "prenursing" major, which makes more sense than to declare a major that you will not complete a degree in.

[JadiraGV]

Thank You everyone for your helpful comments!