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.
Ok, I give up. You are all a bunch of children. You win, congratulations. Brockport was completely fair, GPA is all that should ever be considered for anything in life, and the entire Ivy League should shut down because, hey, the community college graduates are coming out MUCH more prepared. If my doctor made a 4.0 at the new "Medical School For HS Dropouts" I would be so lucky to have him over my dumb Johns Hopkins doctor - he only made a 3.8.
Good luck to all of you in your future endeavors, and I am sure I will make it to nursing school one day - just one that actually looks at the whole applicant. To those of you who jumped on the bandwagon to attack me: congratulations, I hope that made you feel better about whatever else in your life sucks.
I think what syberianpuppy is trying to say is that a gpa from an ivy league school should be worth more or 'weighted.' Kinda like the difference between an honors gpa and a regular gpa. The classes are weighted so that, for example, a gpa of 3.0 is actually worth 3.5 because of the honors classes are worth more. Does that make sense to anyone? I know what I'm trying to say but I don't know if I'm saying it correctly.
Syberianpuppy, I also think that your school, while trying to be fair, objective and maybe a little lazy, may be missing out on a lot of qualified applicants. I mean it would be easier to take the 40 top gpa's without having to put any thought into it and not having to read a bunch of essays, wouldn't it?
Also congrats on getting a degree from an 'ivy league' school. I think that's awesome!
ok, i give up. you are all a bunch of children. you win, congratulations. brockport was completely fair, gpa is all that should ever be considered for anything in life, and the entire ivy league should shut down because, hey, the community college graduates are coming out much more prepared. if my doctor made a 4.0 at the new "medical school for hs dropouts" i would be so lucky to have him over my dumb johns hopkins doctor - he only made a 3.8.
good luck to all of you in your future endeavors, and i am sure i will make it to nursing school one day - just one that actually looks at the whole applicant. to those of you who jumped on the bandwagon to attack me: congratulations, i hope that made you feel better about whatever else in your life sucks.
I think what syberianpuppy is trying to say is that a gpa from an ivy league school should be worth more or 'weighted.' Kinda like the difference between an honors gpa and a regular gpa. The classes are weighted so that, for example, a gpa of 3.0 is actually worth 3.5 because of the honors classes are worth more. Does that make sense to anyone? I know what I'm trying to say but I don't know if I'm saying it correctly.
Syberianpuppy, I also think that your school, while trying to be fair, objective and maybe a little lazy, may be missing out on a lot of qualified applicants. I mean it would be easier to take the 40 top gpa's without having to put any thought into it and not having to read a bunch of essays, wouldn't it?
Also congrats on getting a degree from an 'ivy league' school. I think that's awesome!
Thank you gatormommy - that's sort of what I was trying to say. My first choice would have been if essays, experience, etc was taken into account for all of us. If they are going to only do GPA, then yes, certain schools should at least be considered more. HS's weight honors classes higher because they are harder. It's common sense.
I think this is less about the merits of a community college vs. an Ivy League education and more about the OP's frustration that the admission guidelines were not followed. Had the school followed their original admission guidelines, they might have given more weight to an applicant with previous experience or education in a health-related discipline (e.g., EMT, LPN, medic or corpsman) and to someone who wrote an excellent essay.
I understand why the school may have felt overwhelmed by applicants but the process seems like it was less than fair. Had the school said from the very beginning that the admission choices would be based SOLELY on GPA, the OP might be feeling less frustrated.
OP, I strongly suggest that you look into an Accelerated BSN or entry-level MSN degree designed for persons with previous bachelor's or higher degrees.
Although this is not my forum, I do ask the membership to please refrain from letting this turn into a community college vs. Ivy League argument. I don't think it was the original intention of the OP to disparage community colleges but, rather, he/she was expressing legitimate frustration with the admission standards of this particular school. If you feel that a post is attacking you or someone else, please remember to bring that post to the attention to the staff and we can take care of it. Don't retort---report. Let's keep this civil, okay? Thanks.
I suggest you apply to Accelerated BSN programs and/or EL-MSN programs. There are many of us out there with degrees in other fields who now want to be nurses. These programs are designed for us. They take into account your personal statement, experience, letters of recommendation, and GPA. There is also often an interview process where you can really stand out. They are not easier to get into, but you will be competing for a spot on a more level playing field.
Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.
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The OP created this thread to express her frustrations over not being accepted, but more because of the restrictive admission guidelines. For whatever the reasons the school chose these guidelines, the outcome was still frustrating and hurtful to the OP.
Reopening thread but please keep on topic and keep your tone civil. Further personal attacks will result in infraction points being awarded to the offenders.
I would like to simply say I apologize to anyone offended by anything I have said. As said by the mods, I started this only because I was so upset by what I find to be very asinine ways of choosing a nursing cohort. Everyone needed to simply agree or disagree - not go into this thing of attacking me because I think my school should have been taken into account. That's my opinion. I respect anyone who chooses to become a nurse, Ivy League or Community College, because it is a difficult job. I don't mean to come off in a way that suggests CC grads do not deserve to become nurses, but that I feel my hard work should be recognized, and that I think achieving a 3.9 nursing pre-req GPA from an Ivy League should be sufficient for a state nursing school.
I apologize for any demeaning or sarcastic comments I have said.
SyberianPuppy- Good luck with your career choice and keep applying to all schools that you qualify for, as you might want to look into ABSN programs or entry-MSN programs too
As a high school student, I understand where you are coming from. When I was applying to colleges I got a significant amount of weight for having a 3.8 gpa while taking 10 ap classes. It's not equal to compare me to someone who has taken all on level classes but has a 4.0 gpa. Its extremely hard to get a3.6 in Cornell so you should definitely be proud. Although community colleges are still awesome and cheap they are not equal in rigor to any ivy league school. It's not meant to be offensive to any cc students. I wish you the best of luck and I am sure you will get into another program!
I went to a prestigious liberal arts college straight out high school and graduated. Almost a decade later I applied to a nursing school that is a "cooperative" (hospital based program for nursing classes, community college for general education & science classes). There truly was no qualitative difference between the professors or the coursework at the "fancy" school and the CC.
That being said, most nursing admissions committees do take into account where you went to school previously, even though the only thing your previous school says about you is how well you did in high school and how high your SAT score must have been. Those two things alone are strong predictors of future academic success, and I am surprised that your successful completion of a degree at Cornell was not taken into account at SUNY Brockport. I think that is the exception rather than the rule with admissions (I assumed my previous completion of a degree at the fancy school was what got me a spot in the nursing program more than any other factor). You should apply to other schools, you sound like an excellent nursing candidate who will complete whatever program you attend.
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Ok, I give up. You are all a bunch of children. You win, congratulations. Brockport was completely fair, GPA is all that should ever be considered for anything in life, and the entire Ivy League should shut down because, hey, the community college graduates are coming out MUCH more prepared. If my doctor made a 4.0 at the new "Medical School For HS Dropouts" I would be so lucky to have him over my dumb Johns Hopkins doctor - he only made a 3.8.
Good luck to all of you in your future endeavors, and I am sure I will make it to nursing school one day - just one that actually looks at the whole applicant. To those of you who jumped on the bandwagon to attack me: congratulations, I hope that made you feel better about whatever else in your life sucks.