How apply to MSN after BSN?

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Hi everyone,

I am interested in becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner or Adult/Geriatric Nurse Practitioner as soon as possible after I finish my last year of BSN. Is it possible to apply my last semester into an MSN program and see if I get into a MSN program or do I have to wait til I graduate and pass NCLEX before I can start applying to MSN programs?

Also, what do schools offering MSN programs look for in applicants? I know I have to get a Nursing GPA of 3.0 or greater for the schools I have looked at, but are there other things they look for? Work experience, Volunteering at various organizations or communities, internships/externships, etc?

Have any of you been successful in applying to NP programs in California? What experience/achievements did you do to get in?

Thank you

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Specializes in Telemetry, Observation, Rehab, Med-Surg.

Majority of MSN programs require nursing work experience.

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Different schools have different policies about admissions. I suggest you contact the schools in which you're specifically interested and ask them about when you can apply.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Moved to the post-grad forum (vs. the GN forum) to encourage responses.

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Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.

Most post-licensure programs require successful passage of NCLEX and at least one year of clinical experience.

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I'll be in the same boat as you in the future, i've contacted programs i've been interested in doing my MSN at----its really school specific and some programs i'm interested in said I could apply and transition right into their MSN program after finishing my BSN others said they'd prefer experience but i'm welcome to apply and see what happens. Others have said i could start the MSN program but won't be able to start the clinical portion until i've got some RN experience. What programs are you interested in what type of program? (fnp, anp, etc).

I think the specialty makes a difference as well and how competitive (number of applicants, etc) apply that will affect their decision as well. Hope this helps!

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Thank you for all your responses! It is really helpful. I will start contacting the schools I am interested in. I'm interested in fnp, adp, or gnp programs. The specialties are pretty competitive and may require work experience, which is always a good thing. Do you know what department areas you would recommend working in to get experience for preparation for family nurse practitioner?

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This is something I"ve been checking into, and the school I would get the MSN from (actually they call it MNSc.) says that you can apply in your last semester of a BSN program and receive conditional admission.

That said, you can take nearly whatever you want with the exception of advanced health assessment, nursing administration practicum courses, and all specialty (FNP, PNP, etc) clinical courses. To take those you have to have 1800 hours of work experience under your belt. That's actually fine though because the only course you could conceivably take early enough to not have 1800 hours of experience is the advanced health assessment course, but even that is easily delayed without messing up the course rotations.

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