Newly considering a career in nursing: accelerated programs + my edu. background

[AmbitiousThing]

Hello, everyone. I have recently decided to apply to nursing school. I hold of Bachelor's of Science degree in Neuroscience. My undergrad GPA was a 3.6. I am really only considering accelerated RN programs because I already hold a degree. Luckily, I already happen to meet all of the prereqs required by FAU and UCF. My prereq GPA is 4.0.

Also-- I don't know if it is relevant, but I have two years of biomedical research under my belt (worked with stem cells in the brain), and I've done 100+ hrs of shadowing MDs. (I was originally pre-med and was accepted into medical school for this past fall, but had to change plans at last minute because of conflicting circumstances).

While I'm confident in my grades, I'm just worried about how much I'm limiting myself by applying to only two programs. I'm so new to all of this that I don't really know how competitive these programs are. I would really, really like to avoid having to do the traditional route. Is it too risky for me to only apply to these two programs?

I know FAU also requires the Hesi exam (math + reading/grammar only, which I don't believe will be a problem), and I don't believe there are any other major requirements by UCF...

Opinions? Should I apply to more schools, or do you think I'm safe?

Thank you for reading, and I apologize in advance if this in the wrong forum for my question. :)

[OrlandoFLNurse2b]

I think you have a good shot. Nowadays, it's surprising how difficult it is to get into nursing school, but I think you're competitive. More than likely, there will be applicants with better grades than you, but not everyone so go for it. I'd apply to a third school too. Of course, I like having options.

[Shaunna]

I was recently accepted into UF's ABSN program, and didn't apply to any others. However, I think the standards of admission are probably pretty comparable.

I had a GPA of about 3.7, but my BA is in Anthropology. Your GPA is good, but considering that you probably took some challenging courses, it's pretty stellar. I haven't finished my last prereq yet, but that GPA will probably be in the 3.0 range. I had a 1430 on the GRE, but it seems like most people I've seen talking about it on the message boards had GRE scores in the 1100-1300 range. You seem to compare favorably with those stats.

Based on what you've said, I really don't think you'll have any problem at all. Nursing school admissions can be competitive, but you sound like a good candidate. I don't think you have to worry about doing the traditional route.

But it never hurts to look around and apply to more!

I :redbeathe UF!

[GabbsRN]

I think you have a great shot at those schools. However, FAU only admits once a year, and they just finished accepting the students who start in May. So, for FAU at least, you will have to wait until next year. You may want to apply to a few more schools depending on how often and when UCF admits.