I have been wanting to write this thread for awhile! I just want to say to all high school seniors applying to college to be a nurse and all pre-nursing students applying to nursing school: DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED BY RUMORS! The biggest thing that bothers me is students/counselors from College B talking about my College (College A). I have had students from College B try to tell me what classes are required for the nursing program at College A (though it clearly says on the website what classes are required ), try to tell me about waitlists (non-existant, I found out), lottery (non-existant, I found out), people only getting in because their Mom/Aunt/Grandma/Sister's ex-boyfriend's niece is an alumni, only CNAs getting accepted, and all kinds of other stuff!
Gather information about the schools you want to apply to, and gather it from the RIGHT sources. Don't just ask the student next to you in English. Go to informational meetings. Ask questions in person. Ask about rumors. Personally talk to Nursing teachers/staff from your school. Check out the website. Keep up on new changes to the application process (they do change from time to time). Nothing bothers me more than students and COUNSELORS from College B discouraging me from going to College A (even though I am currently enrolled) because "they have a waitlist", or "it's on lottery" or "you have to be a CNA to get in" or "you need a 4.3 GPA" or "our school is better because ____. I went to ONE informational meeting and cleared all that right up!
Those rumors abound. I'm beginning the nursing program at my school in August, and it is required for anyone who is going to apply to go to an informational meeting before applying to the program. During that meeting, one of the things they addressed was what you did (and did not) need to have a shot at getting in. The people who hosted the meeting were some of the nursing instructors and they asked us all if we'd heard any rumors about getting in (we had) and they addressed them. It really cleared some things up and you left with a crystal clear picture of what you needed, how the wait list worked (my school has one), etc.
It really was a blessing! Some of the rumors were so out there I was in a panic before that meeting!
One note on the "C" student. In the program I'm going into, the range for a C grade is 78%-84.9%. So a C in the nursing program could very well equate to a mid-range B in other classes. I'm a good student (honors and high honors), and I'm not aiming for a C...but if I get one I'll try not to beat myself up over it.
Did you hear the rumor that they are going to change all the nursing school requirements without telling the students and it's going to be 10x as hard and there are 10,000 applicants for 1 space?
Well some are rumors other not best to go to the source. nursing school's website, nursing + school student handbook will list everything you need from prerequisites, GPA etc. Allnurses is good for indulging in your search for possibly secret insider info but I'd confirm important stuff before making a decision.
Everyone tries to guess how many applicants are applying for that spot, some years i heard it was 300, 600+ well ultimately it doesn't matter how many people apply you jsut get the highest grade you can and take it from there.
Though one rumor at my school was true and false at same time. You need "A's to get in (true), but just need to maintain a "C" average(true). OK sounds good? it is too good to be true because now the standard for getting that "C" just went up by 2 letter grades the amount of effort you put in to get the C would have been an A in anythign else and many fail.
I totally agree- I would work/pre-cept an A student any day.....additionally- the job market now is very tough- and transcripts are taken into account....getting A's shows willingness, determination and perseverence as well as intelligence and a good grasp of nursing theory and patient interaction
One symptom of the dumbing down of our educational system is that the expectations for "average" have become so low. Spelling and grammar? Not so required anymore. College graduates today write as well as 10th graders did 25 years ago.
Java_Wench
89 Posts
Those rumors abound. I'm beginning the nursing program at my school in August, and it is required for anyone who is going to apply to go to an informational meeting before applying to the program. During that meeting, one of the things they addressed was what you did (and did not) need to have a shot at getting in. The people who hosted the meeting were some of the nursing instructors and they asked us all if we'd heard any rumors about getting in (we had) and they addressed them. It really cleared some things up and you left with a crystal clear picture of what you needed, how the wait list worked (my school has one), etc.
It really was a blessing! Some of the rumors were so out there I was in a panic before that meeting!
One note on the "C" student. In the program I'm going into, the range for a C grade is 78%-84.9%. So a C in the nursing program could very well equate to a mid-range B in other classes. I'm a good student (honors and high honors), and I'm not aiming for a C...but if I get one I'll try not to beat myself up over it.