How competitive is it?

It's difficult everywhere. So many applications, not enough seats. I applied in May 2003 and got on the waiting list to start in January 2005, but I did get called in early, so I will be starting August 2004. Apply early to a school that has a waiting list and take all your prerequisites and corequisites to hold you over. Good luck!

...Jennifer...

How competitive is it to get into UF and FSU for nursing? i have noticed that many of the schools in "metro" locations tend to be a bit more selective, i am assuming because people are switching careers in cities and the schools are getting flooded with applications from both college students and 2nd degree students. here, in tampa, i know usf is damn near impossible. i was wondering if anyone knew if it was difficult at "rural" schools, because less peopel are willing to move...

for example: UF or FSU

Oh dear, so USF is really competitive then? I applied to USF's Accelerated Second Bachelor's Degree Program for nursing. I was accepted to the college itself (USF undergrad) and will hear back from the college of nursing after the October 15th deadline.

Is getting accepted to the "first part" a good sign? Or is it simply easier to get accepted to USF undergrad?

USF undergrad is much easier to get accepted to. However, I just started the accelerated program in May, so it's not impossible, cuz I'm in it. My total GPA was just under a 3.8, but I believe they went down to about a 3.5 total. Also, I don't know if this is standard, but our applications were due March 15, they said they would start looking at them March 19, and by 11am on the 19th I had an e-mail saying I was accepted. They didn't make me wait, which I really appreciated. PM me if you want if you have questions.

Hey MMW, just wondering how nursing school is going? Is it everything you expected?

My first semester is more than half over, and I'm still alive! It's definitely the most work I've ever done in my life, but I have a high A in every class. This month we have an exam in Pharm every Mon and one in Patho every Thurs, and each covers 100-200 pages. Plus ethical/legal online, with a discussion board entry in proper APA format and a chapter to read, module to do, and a quiz to take each week. And a paper due this Monday, that I need to start today...

So yeah, I study pretty much all the time. I'm only working 15 hours and have no kids (besides the husband), so my life isn't too complicated. The house has not been cleaned in 6 weeks, and I'm not doing anything for 4 more. If he wants the laundry folded he can fold the laundry. I still cook because I love to and I hate fast food and the like, but that's the only domestic activity I make time for and it's not every night.

One thing about USF - you read all these horror stories on this site about, "My instructor is so mean, she purposely tries to fail the whole class..."we don't seem to have professors like that here. The classes are very challenging and there's a ton of work to do, but they lecture on the same material that they test on and they are very open to questions both in class and via e-mail. On one of my ethical/legal quizzes, I disagreed with a "correct" answer, e-mailed her the page number showing that I was actually right, and she thanked me for pointing out the error and fixed everyone's grades. So far, no regrets. Good luck!

I'm so happy to hear you're doing great. It sounds like a lot of hard work. You've somewhat calmed my fears about what to expect....it's great that the teachers are understanding and willing to listen to the students. How many students are in your class? When I went to the info session, I think she said they were only accepting 24 students/semester. I'm alumni of USF and would looove to be accepted into their nursing school...can't wait to finish my pre-reqs and apply:)

I'm still up studying...on another allnurses break...my class is only 24 students (actually 23 I think, there's only 11 in my clinical group so one may have dropped) BUT for the first 2 semesters we take all of our classes with the 48 upper division students, AND this semester we also have the 24 Pinellas accelerated students with us, since they just started that program and won't have classroom space for them until fall. We have the biggest pharm and patho classes in the history of the CON (I just posted a rant about that on the Nursing Student board). That should be all cleared up by next semester though, so you shouldn't have to worry about huge classes. Other than that, it's really not so bad. I'm still caught up in the "must get all A's" mindset, and if that's not an absolute requirement for you you can probably have a little more fun than I do. Plus I do get out a time or two each week, it's not all books.

When do you apply? Any more questions, I can always use the distraction from my books! Good luck to ya!

If you are in Tampa.....South University just started a new nursing program and I think currently they have no waiting list. My daughter goes there and is in her first year and absolutely loves it. I think you can look them up on the web by doing a search on South University-Tampa.