I just applied to the nursing program at the College of Brockport (in Rochester, NY) as a transfer. I have already completed my BS in biology from Cornell University with a 3.6.
I was rejected today, called, and they eventually sent me to the Dept. Chair for Nursing. She explained that they had SO many applicants for direct transfer, the only "fair" way to do it was to base the acceptance on GPA only. Nevermind the essay we had to write, or what school we went to, or our experience - GPA only.
I asked her if school was even considered, she said no. So I said "An applicant with a 3.7 from a community college would get priority over me with a 3.6 from an Ivy League school?" She said yes.
Am I the only one who thinks this is freaking ridiculous?? I could get a 4.0 from a community college with little to no effort if I wanted to. I'm just so angry at them right now.
Actually - I have done Clinicals. Cornell also trained me to be a New York State EMT-B.
To all of those attacking me because I think it is unfair that a school would see a 3.7 at a CC as better than a 3.6 at an Ivy League - you need to grow up. I don't think I am entitled to anything due to my education. I simply believe you cannot get the feel of an applicant by simply looking at GPA. It is unfair, because truth is, some schools ARE harder than others. Cornell is notorious for grade deflation.
I do not think I have priority over all CC applicants - just the opposite, I think it would have been more fair to consider everything about us than just our GPA. I think this is just as unfair to other community college students who made a 3.6 and didn't get in, but had outstanding experience and a killer essay. My point here is that basing it on GPA only is unfair. School, activities, experience, they are all important and are what makes someone a well-rounded nurse. By looking at GPA only, they are not taking into account the fact that some schools are harder than others. My example of Cornell vs. A community college is just one example of that. For all Brockport knows, some of their 4.0 students could have been so illiterate that their admissions essay was horrendous.
Bottom line: Everything should have been considered. GPA alone does not make a good nurse. Even worse - my GPA was not due to pre-req courses. I have a 3.6 due to courses having nothing to do with science, such as a B in History, etc. I had a 3.9 in pre-req courses.
I think turning away a Cornell B.S. in Biology graduate with a 3.9 pre-req GPA, who is also a NYS-EMT to a undergraduate nursing program because some students made an overall GPA of 3.7 is completely ridiculous. I'm sorry you all don't aree.
OP - I know you didn't come here for a debate about CC versus other colleges HOWEVER I also went to a big university for A&P I then switched to a community college for my A&P II and the CC was actually the harder class.
Fast forward to nursing school, the people who fail out of my CC go over to the university to finish their nursing degree because the university has semester long classes and our nursing program has 8 week classes (so we go over the same amount of material in half the time).
And, I do plan on bridging to the local university's BSN program after graduation in another few months because I think their program is fantastic.
As for your original post, sometimes life just isn't fair. The school is doing what the school feels is necessary and you will just need to accept it or find a different program. You had better get used to this because this is the way it is everywhere. When you are in the actual program and when you get a job, you will run up against the "life isn't fair" thing everywhere. It sucks, it's not fair but there's not much you can do about it, is there?
I went to a highly prestigious school and I would never expect the nursing committee to show me any extra favoritism for it. I think my GPA, personal statement, experiences and personality can speak for themselves, and despite the school just looking solely at your GPA to base admission status on, that's your own fault. Next time, do your research before applying and select more schools to apply to.
I hope you find a nursing school that is looking for someone a little more well rounded. I am attending nursing school at a community college. I have a prior bachelor's degree but took all of my pre-requisites at the same CC. Because of all the recent tech company lay-offs, I had plenty of classmates from very well known colleges with plenty of degrees really struggling with the class material and getting Bs and Cs. I can't prove which college is more difficult. Now that it is so easy to watch lectures from very expensive ivy league colleges on the internet, I have seen that their classes look much the same as mine. The big difference - my classes had less than 50, their classes had hundreds of students. Some instructors are more difficult in their expectations. I remember when I was applying to my schools nursing program a year ago and how I thought it was unfair that they placed almost a third of the weight on a silly little essay when I had received a 4.0 in my "points" classes.
Bottom line: Everything should have been considered. GPA alone does not make a good nurse.
Thats fine, we all get that, but that is not what you said. You implied your education at Cornell made you a better candidate in the nursing program than people who got high GPA's from community colleges.
A little off topic, but I know one girl who went to Cornell. She went for 1 year and became a RAGING coke addict. She eventually started doing sexual favors for strangers before her parents forced her into rehab....
I asked her if school was even considered, she said no. So I said "An applicant with a 3.7 from a community college would get priority over me with a 3.6 from an Ivy League school?" She said yes.
Am I the only one who thinks this is freaking rediculous?? I could get a 4.0 from a community college with little to no effort if I wanted to.
I am sorry you didn't get in
Schools DO NOT go by what school you 'went to'
I know Stanford graduates not getting into NS where I live (in CA) over people who went to state schools.
Just because you went to an Ivy League school doesn't make you better than anyone else. Just means you were on top of everything and had the $$ for it.
Don't put down people that go to CC's. Thats riduculous, they can work just as hard as you. Sorry mommy and daddy didn't pay for their education like other peoples.
Anyway, you really need to broaden your applications. Don't put all your eggs into one basket...and yes that may mean taking extra classes, volunteering, writing essays etc to get into other places. At least your chances go up.
CBSmommy - nope, I know there's nothing I can do. Sometimes it is nice to vent, and have other people agree that choosing a class on something like GPA only is unfair.
I've realized many of the people here cannot see past their own contempt for graduates of elite colleges to agree that Brockport's practice is a little unfair. The fact that so many of you jumped to trying to degrade me and make me feel worse on the day I was rejected to a nursing program I really wanted to attend is shameful.
SiberianPuppy, I think your last post clarifies your position more. I hate to say it, but the first few times you posted it seemed like you were trying to put down people who decide to attend community colleges; i.e. saying that an employer would pick an IVY league grad over a CC grad. I mean, when it boils down to it, if you and a CC grad attend the same nursing school and both pass the NCLEX, that's all your employer is going to care about. In any case, I completely understand your frustration and hate to see you get beat up over the SUNY Brockport situation. Their admissions requirements are a little inane because you're right -- you can't get the whole picture of an applicant just from GPA. Just remember that not every nursing school makes decisions based solely on GPA. Look around at other schools that you can apply to that look for more well-rounded applicants --those are the schools that you need to be focused on applying to!
The fact that so many of you jumped to trying to degrade me and make me feel worse on the day I was rejected to a nursing program I really wanted to attend is shameful.
If you would stop trying to degrade others to make yourself feel better you might get a more supportive response.
I went to a highly prestigious school and I would never expect the nursing committee to show me any extra favoritism for it. I think my GPA, personal statement, experiences and personality can speak for themselves, and despite the school just looking solely at your GPA to base admission status on, that's your own fault. Next time, do your research before applying and select more schools to apply to.
I believe mine do too. If Brockport had taken the time to READ my personal statements and experience, I wouldn't care. Being rejected after having everything read and compared wouldn't bother me- it would mean other students were better than I.
My point here, that so many of you cannot seem to understand, is that if they ARE GOING TO GO BY GPA ONLY, then they should AT LEAST TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHERE THE GPA CAME FROM. If they had considered my essay, personal statement, and experience, I wouldn't care if they took my school into account. However, basing on GPA only and not taking into account the school it came from opens the floodgates for underqualified applicants who got lucky and made a 4.0. I am not saying many of the 4.0 students are not-qualified - I am sure most are, but one isolated number (GPA) with no context (the school, program, what classes they took, etc) is a dumb way to make up a class of students.
I've realized many of the people here cannot see past their own contempt for graduates of elite colleges to agree that Brockport's practice is a little unfair. quote]
Now people who attend CC's are JEALOUS.......??? You just CANNOT stop yourself! The reason people are jumping on you is that you are seriously one of the most passive-aggressive snobs on this website that I've come across. Every post has to have some kind of "Don't be jealous because my college makes me better than thou" undertone.
Of course it isn't fair to base a nursing school admission ONLY on GPA. No one here is arguing with that. I agree it is a bit asinine, they should look at more than GPA alone. However, I'm assuming their admissions process was previously disclosed to the public, or you spoke about it with your counselor. All schools have different admissions procedures. If it doesn't work for you, apply elsewhere.
I went to a community college once, I made a 4.0 by barely doing anything. You are VERY wrong if you think Anatomy classes are the same everywhere. Tougher schools work students much harder, everyone knows that, and I can attest to it first hand. You cannot honestly tell me you believe every community college student who made an A in Anatomy at their school could make an A in Anatomy at Cornell, Harvard, Stanford, Duke, etc. Maybe they could, but it is much less likely, and I guarantee many would fail. Top schools are much, much more rigorous. If community college graduates came out as well-educated as Ivy League/Top School graduates, company recruiters such as Google, Cisco, GlaxoSmithKline, etc. would have job fairs at community colleges instead. Rather, they hold them at better schools so they can have better, more educated employees.
I suppose I am used to applying to schools where admissions committees actually take time to review applications and make decisions based on the well-rounded characteristics of each applicant. This cut and dry world of "Top GPA = better" is ridiculous, and why you will not find such a policy at any top institutions in the world.
Ok honestly think about it....
With so MANY applicants, NS don't have time to check every flipping little detail per applicant. There are thousands upon thousands of applicantions to schools that even take only 20 people....they don't have time to shift through it all and go..
"oh my this person is from Cornell, omg this person should get priority over EVERYONE, even though she/he only got a 3. something while these other people got 4.0's...?"
"Oh wait these 4.0ers went to EASY schools so lets disregard them, they aren't worth it. But this Cornell person really will do us great"
guest_57352
222 Posts
Actually - I have done Clinicals. Cornell also trained me to be a New York State EMT-B.
To all of those attacking me because I think it is unfair that a school would see a 3.7 at a CC as better than a 3.6 at an Ivy League - you need to grow up. I don't think I am entitled to anything due to my education. I simply believe you cannot get the feel of an applicant by simply looking at GPA. It is unfair, because truth is, some schools ARE harder than others. Cornell is notorious for grade deflation.
I do not think I have priority over all CC applicants - just the opposite, I think it would have been more fair to consider everything about us than just our GPA. I think this is just as unfair to other community college students who made a 3.6 and didn't get in, but had outstanding experience and a killer essay. My point here is that basing it on GPA only is unfair. School, activities, experience, they are all important and are what makes someone a well-rounded nurse. By looking at GPA only, they are not taking into account the fact that some schools are harder than others. My example of Cornell vs. A community college is just one example of that. For all Brockport knows, some of their 4.0 students could have been so illiterate that their admissions essay was horrendous.
Bottom line: Everything should have been considered. GPA alone does not make a good nurse. Even worse - my GPA was not due to pre-req courses. I have a 3.6 due to courses having nothing to do with science, such as a B in History, etc. I had a 3.9 in pre-req courses.
I think turning away a Cornell B.S. in Biology graduate with a 3.9 pre-req GPA, who is also a NYS-EMT to a undergraduate nursing program because some students made an overall GPA of 3.7 is completely ridiculous. I'm sorry you all don't aree.