Nursing programs if you already have a BA

estrellaCR, BSN, RN · Oct 1, 2014

The private route? Suny Downstate is a public (state) school part of the SUNY system....which is why tuition Is lower than the actual private schools like NYU, Columbia, Adelphi, LIU etc. CUNYs and SUNYs are public schools subsidized by the city or state. CUNY schools and SuNy Downstate are all good options for someone who wants a quality program for affordable price. Being that they are great programs, they have an admissions cap so those who do not get in end up going to schools like nyu, which costs a lot of money and accepts a lot of students.

Destin293 · Oct 7, 2014

Try Accelerated BSN programs at these schools CUNY: Hunter and Lehman and SUNY Downstate. These programs have good reputation and are affordable...you will be saving a lot of money. Plus they admit way less people than NYU so you are guaranteed a clinical placement as opposed to having to do simulation only b/c your class size is too big and not enough placements were available at the hospitals. For all of them CUNYs and SUNY you need a 3.0 gpa and a decent score on the PAX (nursing school admission exam).

I don't know much about Hunter, but I went to Lehman and no one is getting in with a 3.0. Generic 2 year students can possibly get in with as low as a 3.5, but accelerated students need at least a 3.7. This is ONLY for pre-req's though, not overall GPA, so that takes the pressure off...plus there is no interview or personal statement. Lehman also uses the HESI A2 and I'm not sure if an excellent score (such as a 99.9) will off set a lower GPA, but I doubt it.

Regarding downstate, I don't think anyone with a 3.0 is getting admitted unless you are an otherwise EXCEPTIONAL applicant who excelled in their previous field and has extensive healthcare experience. I went to Lehman with a couple people who were rejected from downstate and they had 4.0's in their pre reqs, finished Lehman with a 3.8+, and were recognized by faculty for their excellence as students.

estrellaCR, BSN, RN · Oct 7, 2014

How can you be sure no one is getting in without a certain gpa? The school may say a certain gpa is strongly preferred but they look at other factors ....my classmates at hunter both generic program and accelerated program had pre-req gpa of 3.0 or higher . Most had close to 3.5/3.7, some had lower than 3.5. And many accelerated programs ...those that admit a smaller number of students as in less than 100, have essays and interviews before announcing results. A gpa is not everything and you can't know what goes on in admissions and in the dean of nursing's offices.

Destin293 · Nov 20, 2014

estrellaCR, that is why I said unless you are an otherwise exceptional applicant. I am not able to speak for every CUNY or SUNY school out there, I can only speak for Lehman and how their admission decision works where there is no essay/personal statement or interview for admission...therefore admission decisions ARE based ENTIRELY on GPA and HESI scores. No one under a 3.5 will be admitted due to the volume of applicants vs. available spots. I have heard places like Stony Brook will take a lower GPA for an otherwise exceptional applicant...however, this appears to be the exception rather than the norm, and not for accelerated. You even stated yourself at Hunter most of your classmates had close to a 3.5/3.7 -- they are the norm. The students with less than a 3.5 are the exception.

Public schools are in extremely high demand because they are much more affordable, but that also makes them very competitive. Could someone apply with a 3.0? Sure. Do they have a chance at admission? Maybe...it depends on how much they "wow" the nursing department with their other credentials. The only other piece of information I can state for fact is a classmate of mine from Lehman accelerated had a 3.3 GPA with her first bachelors in business. She completed all of her pre-req courses with a 4.0. She won an award at pinning for being an exceptional student. She graduated Lehman with a 3.8 GPA. She was first waitlisted and then rejected from Downstate. Now, maybe if she had several years of healthcare experience under her belt, the scales would have tipped in her favor. I do not know exactly what she would have needed had she applied with a GPA of 3.0.

The other thing with accelerated programs is they tend to require a higher GPA because they need to be sure the student can handle the intensity of the program. Crunching junior and senior years of a BSN program into 1 year of study is not easy and the school wants to be certain the students they choose will be able to handle the program AND pass the NCLEX at the end. No matter how you cut it, someone with a 3.0 in just the pre-req classes probably will not be able to handle the pace of an accelerated program...especially if their first bachelors degree was also hovering around the 3.0 mark. There's a huge difference between completing your psych. clinical in 7 weeks and completing it in 3. There's a huge difference between completing your med/surg clinical in 7 weeks and completing it in 15.

I am not saying it is absolutely impossible to gain admission with a lower GPA to a CUNY or SUNY school, but the reality is, they tend to lean more toward those students with a higher GPA. Selling someone the idea they can gain admission to an accelerated program at a public school with a 3.0 GPA is misleading. That doesn't mean abandon all hope and not try, it just means they must stay realistic regarding their chances of finding an acceptance letter in their mailbox.

estrellaCR, BSN, RN · Nov 20, 2014

Actually my Accelerated program didnt "crunch" any clinical experiences. The only thing was that we had classes during the summer also while the generic (traditional BSN) program had the summer off. We still had just as many clinical hours as the non-Accelerated program. Yes the summer semester is short But we had double the clinical days to make up for it. I met a recruiter as a new grad that thought Accelerated students had less clinical hours and he said he thinks traditional program students learn more. FALSE! We had exactly the same classes and hours except we finished in WInter instead of Spring...one semester difference and also the pre-reqs we already had from our previous degrees so thats why it took us less time also. I ended up just having BSN from (insert name) College awarded on (such date) on my resume. Just to avoid any misconceptions from recruiters not familiar with Accelerated programs.

Another option for someone with a BA is to also apply to the traditional BSN programs (some schools call them "generic programs")...you graduate a few months later but you get the same education. Admissions are also less stringent to traditional programs of the city and state schools. So go for it. Of course they still have a cap to how many students they admit but you never know until you try. Sorry if anyone went to a private school, im just upset how much these schools charge and they admit so many students and many have hard time finding jobs due to the "no experience" issue just like those going to public schools.

Destin293 · Nov 20, 2014

By "crunch" I didn't mean cutting clinical hours, I meant condensing the hours into a shorter period of time. I did not mean to insinuate accelerated students have less clinical hours, so I apologize if that's how it sounded. I was reiterating that due to the more condensed nature of an accelerated program, the chance of someone with a low GPA being able to handle the rigors of an accelerated program is pretty slim.

MissJessRN · Nov 21, 2014

Which is why people with lower GPAs should also apply to the traditional BSN programs. At My school a CUNY college , I met plenty of students with BA degrees in other non-health disciplines who were doing the BSN via the traditional/generic program (about a semester longer than Accelerated). Their admission GPAs were lower however they were still accepted and were doing fine.