How competitive is your Nursing program?

land64shark · Aug 19, 2005

My school is not competitive at all! You have to have passed all of your prereqs with at least a C and then you go on the waiting list. Everyone done in the same semester is placed on the list in the order that they had their health career orientation. They take the first 70 students from that list every year. The waiting list is 2 to 3 years. The system is good for some people, but since I have a 3.8 I can't help but wonder if I wouldn't have to wait so long if I could afford to go somewhere else!

This is VERY similar to how my community college has been admitting. However....I just happened to look at the school's Health Science website a couple of weeks ago and noticed they had NEW information for admissions. Seems they (along with dental hygeine and radiography) are going to a point system. They will be requiring completion of the minimum 13 specific credits plus a computer competency requirement to apply.Your GPA from those credits (plus any completed support classes) will be 60% of your points. The other 40% comes from how many of the remaining 15 credits of support classes you've competed. Realistically, if you haven't completed all of the support classes, you haven't got a prayer. I just applied for the spring semester with this new system, but I haven't taken micro or ethics yet. I have basically no chance of getting in, good GPA or not. (They need to start charging an application fee to cut down on erroneous applications. :chuckle )

I have my theories that the GPA may not need to be drastically high right now. This new admission system is a complete surprise. There's probably alot of people in this area that were banking on getting in purely by passing their classes and getting on the waiting list. There wasn't much of an incentive to kill yourself over straight A's. (They can still get on the waiting list in this manner through Dec. 31, 2005, but the wait will be 2 1/2 to 3 years.)

JenMarie82 · Aug 19, 2005

2-3 years? hmmmm I'm assuming your going for your ADN. Are you taking classes toward your BSN while you wait?
That's what I would do, just wondering if you were as well.
Good luck, and hopefully your waiting time isn't very long. :)

Actually, that is my intention to take some classes toward my BSN while I'm waiting. Not only will it help in the long run, but it's a good way to keep from having to make my student loan payments for the time being. Thanks for the good advice though!

bethg5 · Aug 19, 2005

No waitlist at our school, strictly points. You receive points--up to 40 for GPA, up to 10 for Credit hours completed, up to 20 for ACT, up to 4 for Chem and BIO grades, 1 points for credits completed at this school, and 1 for being a country resident. You have to have taken a basic Chem and Bio course along with the required Computer course before applying. Each year they take 40 students out of about 200 and about 20 go on an alternate list. This year the required points was high--at least 56 to be an alternate. If you make the alternate list but don't get called for the program you receive a couple of points for next year, if you apply again. They admit for the program once a year. To really earn many ACT points you have to score high. That is why I am retaking the ACT. I took it early in HS and only got an 18. At the time I could care less about taking it. I never realized the importance of it. So hopefully I will score alot higher and earn those points!

I was told that this year they accepted an extra 7 due to the high drop rate once the program starts plus calling alternates in. When I met with admissions she said that so many people start the program thinking easy money for a short amount of school, but then realize it isn't so easy!

Beth

tx2007, RN · Aug 19, 2005

No waitlist at our school, strictly points. You receive points--
You get in pased on points here as well. You must have taken the NET and got 70%, have a current CNA, passed all the THEA tests and then they go off points. We got up to 13 points and the cut off for fall was 10 points I had 12 so thankfully I got in!!! Out of 200 students 30 make it in the program.

Micci · Aug 20, 2005

The community college I attend takes 117 for the Assoc program and gets between 500 and 1000 applicants. We are ranked according to GPA and HESI scores which count equally, and then extra points for getting admissions in early, how many gen ed are completed..etc. I did hear that alot of people end up dropping before the program starts and alot turn in their applications but are not qualified.

I am not worried- much. I am going to apply this fall, if I don't make it next year, I will finish out my gen ed at a slower pace and try again.

FirstYear2005 · Aug 20, 2005

i'm in tx it's a point system for our school. supposedly there were 800+ aps and 30 spots ! talk about stressful ! :chair:

Nvr2Old · Aug 20, 2005

The program I'm trying to get into in the Fall accepts up to 80 students every Jan and Aug out of the 300 that apply. You have to have all of your pre-reqs done (which is why I think a lot of people get turned down), and they use the NET and your GPA for admission. They used to have interviews but they don't anymore. Not sure if that is going to work for me, or against me :chuckle

My program accepts 40 (up from 36) applicants out of around 300. It is based primarily on GPA but there are points earned for things like volunteer work, etc. Talk to the head of the Nursing program you are interested in. They should be more than happy to lead you toward "extra credit" I suspect.

It's ALL competitive, and just it should be. Striviving for excellence is a good thing when it comes to choosing people to take care of people.

Good Luck to You.

eyshonda · Aug 20, 2005

My School Is Equal To Most For Admissions In The Nursing Program . I Have Looked Into A Lot Of Schools In The Houston Area And I Think They All Require About The Same For Admission. My Advice Would Be To Apply To More Than One School To Keep Your Options Open. I Did And Got Accepted Into Two And I Had A Choice On Which One I Would Like To Attend. Good Luck To All Of You . I Know I Will Need It August 25,2005 First Day Of Class. Thank God!!! This Is The Beginning Of A Dream

catlover72 · Aug 23, 2005

My school is very competitive. They admit 60 in the fall, and 40 in the spring. The only thing they look at is the NLN score. They start at the top grade, and work their way down until all spots are filled. You have the have C's in all the prereqs. I feel frustrated because I have a high gpa, and it doesn't matter. I got an A in a&p, an A in micro, and a B in chemistry(which I took in an 8 week summer class). The Nln has 3 sections: math, science, and language. I am very weak in math. I am really nervous about getting in. I am going to try and go for it. At least I will know what the NLN is like for next time if I don't get in. For the upcoming fall semester, the lowest score was a 90. That worries me.