Northern Illinois University (NIU) 2017/2018 nursing program

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I recently applied to NIU for their 2017/2018 nursing admission. How was the process for those who were accepted for the previous year? Also I am a transfer student, how many transfers actually were accepted. How is the program now that you are in it and the cost? I will be commuting and possibly still working. How realistic is it to hold down a job? I also applied to one other school, but they require the TEAS. I am studying the TEAS study manual before I take their test. This school is my backup because it's guaranteed admission if I pass. If accepted to NIU I hope it's not till Spring 2018, I still have two prerequisites to complete. I wish I had known about this schools nursing program sooner, then I would have taken classes this Spring, but all the other schools I looked at allowed u to still take classes in the program. I found out about NIU's nursing program through my unit manager this January and then I rushed to get everything in by the upcoming deadline. I have so many questions, if anyone can shed some light that would be great.

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Did you get accepted I know letters went out in April. I am currently a NIU student that applied in for the same semester

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Hi everyone. I am a transfer student from OCC to Niu's school of nursing, I am waiting to take my accuplacer exam and hopefully hear from them by april. I was wondering if there are any others who applied for NIU's BSN program for Fall 2018 as well? Are you all going to live on campus? I am thinking to just commute from Skokie to NIU, but idk if that will be such as wise idea. The problem is my financial situation. I was looking into other programs, but each school esp within the chicagoland area has its own requirements and I really don't want to spend another 1.5 taking general college chem, orgo chem and biochem. I'd appreciate some responses.

Thank you :)

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I just applied to NIU as well! I received a 110 on the accuplacer and will have 7/9 prereqs completed by the time they review my application, all with A's. Hopefully that's enough to get in.

I was looking at other programs as well but NIU is my number one choice. UIC, for example, requires orgo chem and I do not know if I can survive that class haha

Also I plan on commuting. I currently go to school at MVCC in Palos, but my dad lives in Yorkville. If I get accepted I will move in with him and the drive to NIU from Yorkville isn't bad--only about 45 minutes. But commuting from Skokie might be tough! I would say, if you get accepted, to try driving the first semester. If it's too much then you can always stay at NIU but I would definitely try driving first. Dorms are expensive!

Hopefully I'll see you around NIU my future classmate and if you want to talk or ask about anything else feel free to ask away (:

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What did you use to prepare for the Accuplacer exam? How long did you study for before you took the exam? When did you take the exam?

UIC also has a waiting list and i dont really want to wait that long lol.

What other programs are you looking into?

Lucky you that you'll be within 45 minutes distance. My drive from skokie is 1 hr 25 minutes. That's what I was thinking too.. but at the same time, i'm kinda iffy about driving too after clinicals.

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I only took two practice exams online before taking the exam:

Best Free ACCUPLACER Reading Practice Test!

https://accuplacer.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/next-generation-sample-questions-reading.pdf

I took the exam about a couple weeks ago. There were a few other people there taking it for nursing too and we were led into a small room. The test is exactly like the practice quizzes except the questions are different, obviously. Just take your time on each question. It's not timed so be sure to read everything carefully and you should get a great score.

I'm not planning on applying to any other program. NIU is the perfect fit for me for many reasons like the location, price, requirements, etc. The only reason I can think of as to why i won't get in this time is because I still have two prereqs left to complete. I'll have them finished by spring 2018 so if I don't get in I'll just apply again next fall. Plus I can just work and save up money for a year if I don't get in, though I'm fairly confident I should get in the first time!

And yeah driving that far, especially during traffic, after clinicals will be painful. But I'm pretty sure NIU's program is typically 3-4 days a week so it should not be too bad... at least not as bad as all the debt you will have if you stay in a dorm

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Thanks for the two links. I'll be sure to practice off those first before taking the actual exam. Did you take it at MVCC or go all the way out to NIU to take the exam? Also, when you visited the campus were you allowed to sit in on any of the nursing classes?

It's interesting to hear that the exam is not timed. Most of them usually are. I'm kind of nervous about getting in because there is a lot of competition and hundreds of applicants. I'm sure most of them have amazing grades. I do too- but because of a pharm class I took a couple semesters ago, messed up my cumulative gpa a little bit.

Are you currently working in the medical field right now as a CNA or something? I was trying to find a job but my certification expired before I could. There were also some family issues that I was going through at the time so that's why it was a little difficult. If you don't mind me asking, how did you decide that nursing was what you wanted to do?

:)

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I drove to NIU to take the exam but I did not observe any nursing classes. Just be aware that there is hardly any parking near NIU so you'll likely have to park a few blocks away and walk to the testing building, which is pretty small.

I'm currently not working so I can focus solely on my grades, since GPA is the only thing NIU looks at besides the accuplacer score. I also just finished recovering from wrist surgery. However, next semester I plan on volunteering at the hospital and possibly getting a job to save for nursing school--it'll depend on how hard my classes are next semester.

I am a bit nervous about getting in as well. I have a 4.0 in prereqs and a 3.9 accumulative but I still have microbiology and human biology left for next semester and since it's competitive and so many people apply there might be a lot of people who have gotten all A's in prereqs AND have all their prereqs already completed. I hope that's not the case.

I talked to one of the nursing advisors and she said it's more competitive for transfers since they accept less transfers but she also said transfers do get accepted into the program while still working on a few of their prereqs--but to remain a competitive applicant she said you'll need to have mostly A's.

So for me, nursing is the perfect fit. I originally thought of going to med school but there were a thousand reasons I could think of as to why med school wasn't for me (time, money, lifestyle, etc.). When I try to think of reasons why nursing school isn't for me, I can't really think of any!

I love helping people. I love making people feel better and it will be great helping them in one of their most vulnerable times. I've been in and out of hospitals a lot (because of my family) and I've seen what nurses do up close and it seems like a job I would love to do and be good at.

I love science as well. I love learning about the anatomy and physiology of the body. In nursing school you learn a ton about diseases and it will be interesting to actually have patients who have a disease or condition that you've been studying about in class, and to be able to understand the pathophysiology of what's going on inside their body and piecing together your knowledge to help them. Additionally, I want to become an anatomy and physiology professor eventually but I want to have real clinical experience first so I can incorporate my clinical experience into my lectures. But even when I'm a professor I think I'll still want to work as an ICU or ER nurse once a week because it's such an amazing job to have.

What about you? Why have you decided to apply to nursing school? What makes you want to become a nurse?

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Did you get accepted I know letters went out in April. I am currently a NIU student that applied in for the same semester

I was accepted, got my schedule in November, getting my books tomorrow!

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Here's an update I left on another page today:

I applied last minute January, because my manager kept insisting I do, NIU, was the only program I applied to. I received my acceptance letter late March to start spring 2018. I did the orientation in May, got my schedule in November, and tomorrow I'll be getting $978 worth of books������. When I applied I had an overall GPA of 3.1 and prerequisite GPA of 3.4. I rushed through the reading test in like 15mins. And got a 96. I still had stats and basic bio to do. I did bio inn the summer and stats in the fall. I can in as a transfer student from college of DuPage and those were the only two classes I had left to receive my Associates in arts or science. I think it depends on the application pool for each cycle. Two of my friends applied and didn't get in. One of them decided to apply at NIU as a student to see if this would help, since they have different applicant pools. They have one for high school students who show great potential and they are guaranteed admission, they have one for NIU students, and last is transfer students. Transfer students get acceptance letters last and that pool ranges from 400-600. Hope this helps!

oh the reading test is easy, honestly they just want to know if you can read and understand what you've read, nothing more. It's not used in acceptance decisions, only the GPA's and classes already taken.

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