Need help finding a nursing school!

[jaseyraaeex]

hey guys! i'm a second semester freshman at suny cortland as a psychology major, and i decided at the end of last semester that i want to become a nurse! (and later, nurse practitioner, but i'll concentrate on that when the time comes.)

unfortunately, finding a nursing school with a good bs program is a lot more difficult than i thought it was going to be.

first off, i like my school. i like the atmosphere of a mid-sized school, with many fun opportunities on the weekends. i like going out and having fun. (trust me - i spend enough time in the library during the week that i can have my fun time on the weekends... but only if i don't have massive amounts of work to do! i am very hardworking.) that being said, i'll probably finish out my sophomore year here so that way i can still spend time here, but i can also finish the rest of my ges that i need to actually apply to a nursing program. (assuming that it's a two year program/ i'll be able to finish it in two years.)

i thought about getting a bachelor's degree and then going back for an accelerated program but honestly, i really don't enjoy schoolwork, and i would like to be done with it asap. also, i'm trying to minimize my loans as much as possible because like for many people, i'm having a rough time paying for college.

that leads to my next point. i need a school that's economically friendly. (lol.) well, you know what i mean. i'm a new york resident, so either a suny school or a private school that gives rather generous scholarships. my parents don't really have the resources to pay for an expensive school (especially because i have a younger brother who is only three years behind me, and then another child at home) and the last thing i need is to be paying loans for the rest of my life.

also, i only got a 3.48 last semester. it's pretty decent, but i've heard that nursing schools are pretty competitive, and i know there are many other people who have higher gpas than i do. will that completely diminish my chances of getting into a nursing school? i'm also trying to at least match that gpa this semester, although it's difficult because my professors suck. (i didn't realize that going to college meant that you had to become a teacher also- considering i've been teaching myself everything, but that's besides the point.)

next: i don't want to go tooooo far. i know that schools such as ub, brockport, and plattsburgh have nursing programs, but i live on long island, so that's quite a trip... and i hate traveling. i can barely get through the trip to cortland which is a decent four and a half to five hours, but i guess that's my own issue and i'll have to deal with it if the opportunity arises.

so here's my big question: which nursing schools do you guys recommend? i'm having such a rough time finding a school that's a good match, so any help or insight would be really, really appreciated!

also, any tips for actually getting into nursing school? i know my gpa isn't absolutely stellar, but is there anything else i could do in order to increase my chances of getting into a good school?

thanks so much!

:)