How many ABSN schools should I apply to?

[whatdoiknowlol]

Hi :)

I'm currently a Junior at a top school (not sure if this matters), and my GPA is somewhere between 3.6 - 3.7. So far I took Psych, A&P I, Nutrition, Human Development, Stat (got A's in all). My Chemistry courses are somewhere in the B/B+ range. I have yet to take Microbiology and A&P II.

I currently work in an office part-time, and I had a few temporary jobs throughout college. As far as volunteering goes, I am a peer health educator on campus, I volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, and I volunteered at a cancer support community the previous two summers. However, I do not have any clinical volunteering/job experience, which really worries me. I'll try to volunteer at a clinic or hospital as soon as I can.

I'm thinking of graduating early this calendar year in December rather than waiting until May 2019. I'd like to apply to ABSN programs that either have a Spring 2019 start or a Summer 2019 start.

This might seem like a silly thing to say since I was willing to travel many miles for undergrad, but I really want to move closer to my boyfriend/closer to home. We've been in a long distance relationship for almost 3 years and I feel like it's about time to start planning the "after-college" life. That being said, this somewhat limits my school choices if I want to apply for Spring/Summer 2019. The worst that can happen is I don't get into the Spring/Summer sessions and apply for a Fall session at a wider selection of schools.

I have 2 questions:

1. How many schools should I apply to in an application season? Most threads say "as many as possible" but that isn't specific enough for me lol (sorry). Is it 3? 5? 10? More?

2. Realistically, is my volunteering experience so far acceptable for ABSN programs? I'll most likely find something clinical to do throughout 2018 anyway because I'd like that sort of experience. However, if my resume were turned as is, would it be sub par? I see so many people on here saying they have CNA/EMT experience but I do not have the time or money to go through that schooling and work, as much as I'd like to.

I apologize for my long sob story, I was born Type A

Thanks in advance :)

[idkmybffjill]

There's no specific number because it entirely depends on your perimeters and requirements for a program. It also depends on your prereq grades and where you stack up in any other areas that are part of the requirements (TEAS/HESI scores and such). I've applied to 2 because I am only looking for programs within an hour of my house and that are not crazy expensive. You might have 5 near you that you would be willing to go to, and you should apply to all of the ones you feel like you could attend, assuming you have the money to pay for the various fees.

Volunteer experience can definitely help your application. Some type of healthcare experience, esp in a facility or hospital, will also be good though because it shows you know at least a bit of what a nurse's job would entail, thus allowing your decision to be based on experience. Check into the requirements for volunteering at hospitals near you though. The ones in my city require a promise of 100 hours of volunteering within the year, which I couldn't guarantee.