Just starting and already stressed out about admission....

Jilaweez, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 20, 2007

Hi K,

Every school is different as far as admissions goes so your best bet is to talk to your academic advisors and other students. I think if you worry too much about getting in and don't at least try...you'll never know. I got accepted on my first try but where I applied they based mostly everything on GPA, interview, entrance test scores and an essay so I don't know how it would be to apply to a first come first serve program. I was a little frustrated when I realized that what I thought would take two years would actually take much longer, but the time goes by faster than you think. As far as being a freak you will find you are not the oldest or youngest in your class..it is very common for people to start a nursing career at your age.

jov · Jan 21, 2007

i was just wondering if its this hard to get into nursing school allover the country.....

yes. at least your school fills slots on first come, first served. Our school had 1000 applicants for 70 slots and they only took the cream of the crop.

Admission here is on a first come, first served basis (as long as you meet all the criteria).... so does that mean i'll have to camp out infront of the school?

If first come, first served is truly all it takes to get into the school, you better believe I would have my Coleman and sleeping bag out there in front of the door the night before LOL

iam 26 and the mom of two kids- am i gonna be the freak of the class, or is it common to start a nursing career a little later and not straight out of hs?

Nursing students come in all shapes, sizes and places. You will not be a freak. You will be just another nursing student, trying to survive school.

Best of luck!

Jilaweez, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 21, 2007

Hi jov, just wanted to see how it's going. You are in your final stretch now, right? I will be waiting for my letter from NIU in March. I believe you will be finishing up your last semester when I will be entering my first.

WDWpixieRN, RN · Jan 21, 2007

At my CC, once you have finished the required prereqs, you show up on the morning they accept applications, and you go on a first-come, first-served wait list -- period. That list stays intact and just gets added to each semester. So you might be #350 when you drop your app off, but by next semester, you've moved up to #200 after they've gone through a bunch of names on the list. People change their mind, or attend another school, or move, whatever...compared what a lot of folks go through, ours is a piece of cake....

Then it's just a waiting game. You are still very young (by my 51 y/o standards and I am in my second semester). Call the campus you are interested in and speak to the nursing counselor or some other advisor to see exactly what is expected of applicants and what criteria they use for admittance. Make sure you're persistent as sometimes it's not easy getting the answers you need!

If you don't get in right away, it sounds like you'll have plenty of time to get those other prereqs/coreqs out of the way while you wait.

My heart aches for those in my nursing class who are having to take microbiology, A & P I or II, or other academic classes in addition to our core -- YUCK!!

Lucyinthesky · Jan 22, 2007

I absolutely agree with getting all the non-nursing classes finished beforehand. I am in the ADN program and it is supposedly a two year program but that is basically for nursing classes, you need a minimum of one to two years before to get all the other chem, bio and such done before. To try and take them concurrent with nursing is extremely hard and I personally feel you should be concentrating all your efforts on the nursing classes once they start and not be worrying about electives and such. Once clinicals start it is a whole different ballgame trying to learn meds, write careplans and keep up with your classes. By the way, as far as age goes I am 35 and at least half of my class is older than me all the way up to age 54.

ajw2222 · Jan 25, 2007

I'm 26 with 5 year old twins and a baby due in March. I hope to get into the nursing program at a community college near me that offers an associate's degree in nursing in 2008. Are you required to take the NET or some nursing entrance test? I'm not sure if it's as hard to get into the program here in PA as where you're from, but I'm trying to stay positive. I'll take pre-req classes in the meantime though. If you are required to take a nursing entrance test, get yourself a study guide, because my math was RUSTY! and I was pretty good at it in school. Good luck to you and me and everyone else trying to get into nursing school.

WDWpixieRN, RN · Jan 25, 2007

IAre you required to take the NET or some nursing entrance test? I'm not sure if it's as hard to get into the program here in PA as where you're from, but I'm trying to stay positive. I'll take pre-req classes in the meantime though.

Each college will be different. My local CC did not require any admission tests except a new requirement to pass a nursing dosage test, but one I had been looking in to in AZ did require the NET as did a local tech school.

Your best bet will always be to talk to the counselors or admission folks where you are applying. If you can talk to someone in the nursing program (an instructor, the director) so much the better! Look online for lots of answers at the college website under the nursing program. And be persistent!!

nurse_student_O · Jan 25, 2007

In order to get into Santa Monica Community College, where I'm on a wait list, you must complete all of the nursing pre-reqs before you can even apply to their nusing program. The waiting list is TWO YEARS LONG. I'm supposed to start this Fall and I feel like I've been waiting forever. I've actually started re-viewing my pre-reqs every night because I've forgetten most of the material since I applied to school. The upside of waiting is that it's given me time to plan and save money. I'm 38 years old with a wife and baby boy and I never felt out of place in class so that shouldn't be an issue.

You probably already know this but I'll throw this out there to hear myself think. As far as your pre-reqs are concerned, you should see a counselor right away. A couple of the other posts in this thread mentioned this too. Its important to know EXACTLY what is required given your education level. You should find out exactly what you need to fulfill the requirements for entrance. If you have no college experience at all, you may need to take classes beyond those which are listed as nursing pre-requisites only, such as English, Math, Psych. Your CC may offer MAth or English equivilancy tests which will allow you to skip the class. The nursing program I'm wait listed on recently added a COMMUNICATIONS class which I must take before I graduate nursing school.

Good luck

WannaBeNrse · Jan 26, 2007

Thank you all :-)

I really do need to schedule an apt with an advisor, i found out that there are ALOT of "hidden" prerequisits- for example, we all have microbio as a part of the nursing curriculum, right? well, in order to take that class, i have to complete chemistry101 (brrr i always hated chemistry) and biology100 first. same with the developmental psych- have to take general psych first. so its all pretty confusing.

does anyone know how those college assessment tests are? i am not worried about english,even though it is my second language, but i still think i'll be able to pass. but math is a different story.....i am reviewing math every day, and sometimes i have to relearn stuff that they teach in 5th grade.... i cant believe how much i have forgotten over the years....

oh and btw....my school requires interpersonal communication also ;-)

gosh i thought cool, this is only a two-year-degree, that will be managable...seems like it will still turn into the courseload of a 4-yr degree..... but.... i'll get there, slowly but surely :-) i will probably do all the pre-prereqs this year (like the dreadful chemistry101) and then HOPEFULLY get in for spring or fall 09, so all the other generals i can take in 08... we'll see.....

Jilaweez, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 26, 2007

Yes...that's exactly what I was saying! Then there's the point when you realize you can only take anatomy in the fall and physio in the spring and that sets you back another whole year before you can apply. Oh...and I didn't know there were no night classes once you actually got into the program (the 80 year old academic advisor I had assured me there were) so when I was finally ready to apply, I went to the info meeting and walked out almost in tears. I knew I couldn't go full time during the day because I had children to raise. I decided to keep taking classes toward my BSN while waiting....and FINALLY....my kids are a little older and I am starting NS! I hit a zillion tiny speed bumps along the way but time did pass...and even though it seemed like it would never come...the time to apply came...and then the letter came.....only a few months more...then I'll be looking forward to clinicals starting...and then a new semester and graduation and passing the nclex, and getting my first job.....and.......oh sorry, I got a little carried away.

catzy5 · Jan 26, 2007

Yes...that's exactly what I was saying! Then there's the point when you realize you can only take anatomy in the fall and physio in the spring and that sets you back another whole year before you can apply. Oh...and I didn't know there were no night classes once you actually got into the program (the 80 year old academic advisor I had assured me there were) so when I was finally ready to apply, I went to the info meeting and walked out almost in tears. I knew I couldn't go full time during the day because I had children to raise. I decided to keep taking classes toward my BSN while waiting....and FINALLY....my kids are a little older and I am starting NS! I hit a zillion tiny speed bumps along the way but time did pass...and even though it seemed like it would never come...the time to apply came...and then the letter came.....only a few months more...then I'll be looking forward to clinicals starting...and then a new semester and graduation and passing the nclex, and getting my first job.....and.......oh sorry, I got a little carried away.

I keep trying to take it one semester at a time because I ran into the same problems a gazzalion things. I even stopped going for a semester I got so frustrated. I am on my last pre req semester now and they just added a new thing wich imo is the most ridiculious one yet.

Not only do you pretty much need a 4.0 to get in, (my school goes strictly on GPA). Well you now need to take an assesment test when you apply, not the TEAS or NLN or any of the approved pre nursing exams but an "assesment test" ok you need a 4.0 to get in and then you need to see if you can do the work? so redundant and obviously yet another tool to weed people out but drives me nuts, why is it so hard we are all knocking ourselves out with great grades and all these little stumbling blocks, maybe I should just go on to be a doctor I bet its easier LOL.