Northeastern Direct-Entry NP

kiki617 · Jul 20, 2011

No one? No one can speak to the Northeastern program?

halebale · Jul 24, 2011

Hello! I'm not a graduate or student of the program, but I will be applying for the next class, 2012. I just took the GRE today and all I can say is good luck! It was a total mindfreak for me. If you are good at standardized testing then you'll be fine. I, unfortunately, am not, but am not utterly disgusted by my score.

I'm finishing up my pre-reqs this fall and will be applying in the winter. I talked to someone who goes to the PA program and she LOVES it. I don't want to be a physician's assistant though because I want to be trained as a nurse, and have more autonomy in my career.

It's really great that you volunteer at a hospital. That's the train I need to get onto. I've worked at a veterinary hospital, and a family doctor's office for about a year now, but still don't have any DIRECT patient care. Eeek!

Good luck applying, and hopefully someone soon will be able to input some insight into the program!

kiki617 · Jul 25, 2011

Hi Halebale-

Good luck to you too. Thats great you got the GRE's done. I'm worried! lol. Yes, I wish more people wouldn't chime in on NEU. Perhaps soon.

:-)

gglove317 · Aug 1, 2011

Halebale and kiki - I am also applying for the DENP program at Northeastern (as well as BC, UMass, etc) for fall of 2012. How are you both doing with your prereqs and how did the GREs go?

I am retaking the GREs in a few weeks as my first score was... horrific. Should be interesting... The more I read these boards the more self-doubt I develop in thinking I'll never get into one of these programs because I am not a 4.0, top of my class, 1300 GRE score student. I'd love some reassurance on this field of choice, or at least comfort in knowing that we're all in the same boat. :)

Thanks so much!!!

halebale · Aug 1, 2011

Gglove, I hear you!!! I feel the same way, these boards can be very discouraging!! Everybody tells me that I'll definitely get in, but after reading these it seems crazy to me that I'd even be considered!!

Your GRE score may not be as bad as you think. In googling "average GRE scores" for the schools I wanna apply to I haven't come to any conclusive score, but it seems to be around 1000-1200 total. The reason I'm not taking it again is b/c the NEW GRE that's implemented as of today is supposedly much harder, math specifically. I wasn't trying to ace the GRE, just wanted to do well, and I managed to do "okay." If you haven't done so I would HIGHLY recommend taking one of the Kaplan Courses, whether online or on-site, to prep. It helped me IMMENSELY and would have done much worse had I not taken it.

I think what it comes down to (at least what I've decided), is the GRE can either enhance your application or not do anything for it. Obviously admissions staffs know that not everybody is good at aptitude testing, and the most important aspects of a candidate are personal statement, gpa, and recommendation letters. If those are strong then a low GRE score won't matter as much.

Also just want to ask if you've done much research into the BC program? I hadn't, and what I've been hearing is that it focuses A LOT on nursing theory and the history of nursing, and involves less "clinical" hours and more "classroom" hours. I'm not sure if this information is accurate but I did get it from 2 different sources.

Lastly (don't mean to talk your ear off), I'm really struggling with the chem pre-req. I still don't have a good sense of what schools require for chem, but I also haven't called or gone to them to ask. I sent emails but didn't get a response (I figured). For NEU it says "intro to chemistry w/ lab" but other schools may want more than an intro class. I plan on calling/walking in to get more info at some point soon.

I'm taking Microbio, A&P 2, and "principles of inorganic chem" this fall semester. What about you for pre-reqs? How are they going?

gglove317 · Aug 2, 2011

Halebale,

Thank you!!! So happy to hear I'm not the only one worried about admissions. If reference to BC, I have a friend in the program now (although not direct-entry, she already had her RN), and she really likes it. She says the professors are incredibly knowledgeable and she's scored some really great clinicals at MGH and Dartmouth with wound care and gerontology. I'm sure that every program is a bit different, especially BC being a 2 year program. That said, I do like that you can do the masters part half-time so you can work as an RN the other half. But Northeastern's work requirement for 6 months would also be a great for experience.

I don't think I can afford to be picky about where I go... I'm just hoping someone will accept me. I barely broke 1000 the first time I took the GREs and I am taking the dreaded new test in a few weeks to try and get a better score, although I have no idea what correlates with the new 130-170 scores. For prereqs, I've taken A+P I and II and microbiology. I really enjoyed all of them, though only came out with a B for both A+P and a B+ in micro. I'm so worried because although they all say you need at least a C, it's almost like you need an A, forget even an A-, in order to be looked at for one of these programs. I'm not sure the admissions committee will like my "excuse" if you will, that my B average was actually one of the highest grades in my class of 30 which ultimately resulted in 7 of us actually passing. Unfortunately I'm one of those students that does much better in a lab setting (big fat As in labs...) than sitting for a test. It's kind of like your potential as a nurse practitioner is fully decided on whether you can take a standardized test, recite every function of a cell, or spell gastrocnemius correctly. There is no real measure of our ability to work with people, explain complicated procedures or diseases, or assess lab results... and lets face it - these are much more likely scenarios in the real world.

I signed up for biochemistry this fall. That seems to be the biggest differential between all schools and what they require. I never liked chemistry, so the more applicable to the body the better for me to understand it. BC requires you to take a bio or organic chemistry, but only for one semester, while other schools want two semesters of basic chem or one of basic and one of ochem. I figure that I can always petition for it to count as one semester of chemistry no matter what and try to get matriculated into the second semester of regular chemistry. Worse comes to worse, I need to take something else again, but will have the summer semester to take what is needed and can possibly take any other requirements first semester along with the undergraduate nursing classes. Taking even a half load of science classes with labs gets to be really tough when working 50+ hours a week, so I'm hoping that I can do well by just taking one class.

Also, as far as patient hours, I work in the marketing field so basically this computer is as close as I get to people on a regular basis. Hospitals have turned me down for volunteering because I'm not available during the daily work week. Unfortunately, I have to work (did not score the independently wealthy card), and with the economy the way it is, it's hard enough getting a job let along a job in the field you want. I applied to a million positions in the medical field out of undergrad and when I lost my job a few years ago at the first economic downturn. No one wanted to hire a. a new grad; b. someone without a medical technology course (even though my undergraduate degree is from the school of health and human services... go figure), and c. someone that had the bachelors degree already for fear of them moving onto a more lucrative position which actually required a B.S. instead of just experience. It's such a double-edge sword. You need experience to get into the field, but you can't get experience if no one will give you the opportunity. It doesn't even matter if you know the CEO of a hospital... trust me. I got a lead on a home health aide position which would be part-time (5-10 hrs a week) but that I could do after my day job or on the weekends and still allow myself to get some direct contact hours in before my application goes out. Being up to date on first aid and CPR can help, but I just keep getting the feeling that you have to have already devoted your entire undergrad or at least the past 5 years of your life to even think about getting accepted into a program. I sound like I'm whining... sorry Now I'm talking your ear off, too! Ahh!

I guess all I can say is that we try our best and if we don't get in this fall then we'll have to retake everything (kill me now!) and reapply next year. I was hoping to get in before it becomes a requirement to have a doctoral. It's crazy when you search for so long to figure out what you "want to be when you grow up" and when you finally figure it out, it feels almost too late. I know that's silly, but I also know that I am completely committed to this... definitely not a decision made overnight, and I will do everything I can to make it. I get the feeling you're the same way :) I'll let you know how the new GRE goes in a few weeks! Thanks for letting me vent!!!

halebale · Aug 3, 2011

Haha don't thank me! I totally hear you! It really does seem like we're in the same boat, but you have the extra leg up for having your bachelor's in health and human services! did you get that at northeastern too?? Jeez! I have a BA in MUSIC. Like, I reeeeeally changed my mind, ha! I'll leave that up to my personal statement to explain (which I'm also freaking out about).

I work at a family practice doing admin stuff which has certainly given me a lot of experience, but it's still not direct patient care. I want to try and volunteer at a hospital but you said it, it's hard because a lot of opportunities require a strict time commitment. Bah! I'm hoping that in a few month's time I can ask the Drs I work for if I can do something simple like, take BP and temperatures or something. I'm also thinking about getting CNA certified, cause I think that's relatively simple and doesn't take that long. Idk...

Honestly good luck on the GRE take 2! At least there are no more antonyms! Let me know how it goes, and like I said I strongly recommend doing the Kaplan prep, especially the on-demand method, that way you can do it anytime, anywhere.

It certainly feels nice to talk to someone who understands this craziness, almost OBSESSION with worrying about nursing school. Take care and feel free me to msg me anytime!!! GOOD LUCK again!!!

mellzie22 · Sep 1, 2011

Hi everyone! I just noticed this thread. I am applying for both the PNP acute and primary care tracts at NEU. How are everyone's applications going?

halebale · Sep 8, 2011

HI mellzie! Applications for me are kinda at a standstill. I'm taking A&P 2, Microbiology, and Intro to Chem this semester, and then I'm all set to apply for the January 15th deadline. I've been pondering my goal statement for a few months and need to figure out who I'm asking for reccs. The goal statement is stressing me out the most b/c I'm really not a good writer and I can't yet articulate the reasons why I want to be a nurse practitioner! I just know "deep down" this is what I want to do. So I have to work on that, ha. I'm glad we have until January to fig all this out. What about you? Also, are you applying anywhere else in Boston? Nice to meet you!

jsanowit · Sep 9, 2011

Hey all I know you touched upon this before but what is an acceptable GRE Score for NEU. Also does the school take your best scores from different tests like the colleges did for the SAT?

halebale · Sep 10, 2011

I'm not too sure about this, but it seems like most schools find anything above a 1000 an "acceptable" score. I don't know what NEU's average GRE score is, but my guess is its in the 1000-13000 range. And to your second question, NO. When you take the GRE you get 1 score, shown as a math, verbal, and analytical score. Anytime you take the GRE and choose to score it, that score stays on your record. If you want to send your score to a school, they will see ALL your GRE scores w/in the past 5 years. You don't get to pick and choose like you did for the SAT. Hope that helps!