Oakland University 2nd Degree GPA

ejcl68 · May 6, 2010

I got in with a very good GPA but not a 4.0. I was very impressed with the admissions process and of all the schools I applied to, Oakland appeared to be the most fair, caring, and least political. That being said, getting into nursing school is very difficult as you may know. I think you need more than just grades to get in - you have to show your passion for why you want to be a nurse and why you think you can handle a rigorous program. I feel Oakland takes a holistic approach to their admissions. You need to do well in your classes which is given but you must also show your passion for wanting to be a nurse in your goal statement and interview. If you do that, you will get in even if your GPA is not a 3.7 or 4.0. I would also advise doing some volunteer work at a hospital and / or taking a nurse assistant course - even if you don't plan to work as one. Set yourself apart by doing the other things outside of just having good grades. Not sure what happened to your friend but I have heard people who do not interview very well, will likely not get acceptance. With a 4.0, she should have been golden. Good luck

cderitz · May 7, 2010

Thank you for your insight. I have a pretty good GPA right now, and I just recently started working as a Nurse Assitant full-time. Hopefully that will add to my experience and show them that I am passionate about becoming a nurse. I have lots of motivators for doing so in my personal life, which is why I'm going back to school:)

Thanks again for your input. You just made me feel a whole lot better!

murphyle, BSN, RN · May 7, 2010

I recently met a girl who had a 4.0 in all of her pre-nursing classes and still did not get in. Kinda freaked me out.

It's been a few months since I sat on an interview committee, but I can tell you that when a candidate walked in to us with a 4.0, the first thing we asked ourselves was "Why didn't this person apply to medical school?" (Now, before everyone rises in riot over that, we weren't making judgments about the relative education or intelligence of physicians compared to nurses. We were looking for skeletons in that candidate's proverbial closet, such that perhaps they'd applied to medical school, got rejected and thought nursing school would be a good second choice. We wanted to educate nurses, not wannabe physicians, and a lot of those 4.0s turned out to be the latter.)

You're right that the ASD-BSN admission is a holistic process, and we look at all aspects of a candidate's package - grade point, where they took their pre-reqs (bonus points for OU or high-tier colleges, no bonus for community colleges), previous experience, goal statements (both the official statement and the 45-minute pre-interview "essay test"), and interview. A good interview can save you (to some extent) from a mediocre GPA, just as a bad interview can dump an otherwise impressive candidate. (Usually we'd cut some slack if the candidate just looked nervous and everything else was OK, but a bad interview plus a bad essay test - possibly indicating that the official goal statement might not be the candidate's own work - was generally grounds for a rejection.)

Overwhelmingly, we had candidates bomb the interview on one simple question: "Why do you want to be a nurse?" The following are all real answers we heard, some on a distressingly regular basis, and all terribly wrong.

* "Because I want to be a CRNA and I have to get a nursing degree first." If we had a dime for every candidate who said that, we'd all be making more money than the CRNAs. Staff nursing is not merely an inconvenient stepping-stone to advanced practice. Try again.

* "Because nurses diagnose problems and treat people's diseases." No, that's the physician's job. Try again.

* "Because there's a nursing shortage." For new grads? In Metro Detroit? Don't make us laugh.

* "Because I lost my Big Three job and nursing has great job security." See above.

* "Because I like helping people" with no further elucidation. Close but no cigar. You can "help people" at a soup kitchen. How do you plan to "help people" as a nurse?

* "Because nurses don't have to clean up poop and stuff." Excuse us while we laugh our pants off - there, that's better. Now try again.

* "Because I received a calling from God." That's touching. Is God going to do your assessments and pass your meds?

* "Because my friend Susie is a nurse and she said it's great." Great for Susie. How about you?

* "Because I want to meet lots of cute doctors." Honest to Pete, someone said this once. Maybe she thought she was being funny. We thought it was funny, all right - funny all the way to the reject pile.

Best of luck to you! :)

cderitz · May 7, 2010

@ Murphyle,

First of all, thank you very much for your insight and talking about what you feel is important during an interview. That was some invaluable information for all pre-nursing students to consider.

Secondly, your personal examples had me laughing out loud. Someone actually told you that they "want to meet lots of cute doctors"?!? I mean, you can't make that stuff up!

I think the second best line there was "because nurses don't have to clean up poop and stuff". The nurses I work with do a bit of everything, and that includes cleaning up poop if the situation requires it. I would think that is part of the job, as well is all the other "icky" stuff no one else wants to do. Suck it up and get to it right?

Anyway, I'm very excited to interview sometime this summer. I do think I'm a good candidate and I'm very happy to hear that more a holistic process at OU versus just about a person's GPA.

Thanks again!

ejcl68 · May 7, 2010

Murphyle, your post was very funny..I can't people would actually come up wit those. Too funny Thanks for sharing.

cderitz: When I interviewed they didn't do the essay part. This is not to say they won't for future classes but they didn't for mine. You probably want to be prepared for it just in case. My only other bit of advice (which I have given to others) is be sure you understand why you want to be a nurse. Far too often I hear people get stumped on what should be a pretty simple and straightforward question. I am sure you know but my opinion is those who cannot answer this fairly quickly really are pursuing the wrong profession. I certainly do not want someone caring for me who really doesn't understand why they are in nursing because rarely will they make good nurses. Good luck. It sounds like you have a good plan and you know what you need to do. I am excited to be starting and I wish you the best in your quest.

kvisintine, BSN, RN · May 9, 2010

It's been a few months since I sat on an interview committee, but I can tell you that when a candidate walked in to us with a 4.0, the first thing we asked ourselves was "Why didn't this person apply to medical school?" (Now, before everyone rises in riot over that, we weren't making judgments about the relative education or intelligence of physicians compared to nurses. We were looking for skeletons in that candidate's proverbial closet, such that perhaps they'd applied to medical school, got rejected and thought nursing school would be a good second choice. We wanted to educate nurses, not wannabe physicians, and a lot of those 4.0s turned out to be the latter.)
You're right that the ASD-BSN admission is a holistic process, and we look at all aspects of a candidate's package - grade point, where they took their pre-reqs (bonus points for OU or high-tier colleges, no bonus for community colleges), previous experience, goal statements (both the official statement and the 45-minute pre-interview "essay test"), and interview. A good interview can save you (to some extent) from a mediocre GPA, just as a bad interview can dump an otherwise impressive candidate. (Usually we'd cut some slack if the candidate just looked nervous and everything else was OK, but a bad interview plus a bad essay test - possibly indicating that the official goal statement might not be the candidate's own work - was generally grounds for a rejection.)
Overwhelmingly, we had candidates bomb the interview on one simple question: "Why do you want to be a nurse?" The following are all real answers we heard, some on a distressingly regular basis, and all terribly wrong.
* "Because I want to be a CRNA and I have to get a nursing degree first." If we had a dime for every candidate who said that, we'd all be making more money than the CRNAs. Staff nursing is not merely an inconvenient stepping-stone to advanced practice. Try again.
* "Because nurses diagnose problems and treat people's diseases." No, that's the physician's job. Try again.
* "Because there's a nursing shortage." For new grads? In Metro Detroit? Don't make us laugh.
* "Because I lost my Big Three job and nursing has great job security." See above.
* "Because I like helping people" with no further elucidation. Close but no cigar. You can "help people" at a soup kitchen. How do you plan to "help people" as a nurse?
* "Because nurses don't have to clean up poop and stuff." Excuse us while we laugh our pants off - there, that's better. Now try again.
* "Because I received a calling from God." That's touching. Is God going to do your assessments and pass your meds?
* "Because my friend Susie is a nurse and she said it's great." Great for Susie. How about you?
* "Because I want to meet lots of cute doctors." Honest to Pete, someone said this once. Maybe she thought she was being funny. We thought it was funny, all right - funny all the way to the reject pile.
Best of luck to you! :)

Murphyle,

Thank you for your insight!

Unfortunately, I am actually an engineer who's long term goal is to pursue a CRNA degree. Ughhh, your feedback has me worried! But this is not the first time I have heard it.

I should mention that I am gainfully employed, in a stable position, making more than most entry level nurses (actually, my salary and bonus structure is more in line with what a CRNA makes)... so this career change is actually a step back financially for me and I am definitely not in it just for the money.

I have wanted to switch careers for many years, but my family is finally in a position that will allow me to go back to school full time (financially stable, kids are old enough to be in school full time, we have put away enough savings to temporarily make up for my loss of income, ect..). My oldest son was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor in 2000 and I have seen enough of the inside of hospitals to know that surgery, icu and potentially anesthesia is where I would like to be.... I also know where I don't want to end up (emergency, or a neuro floor)... and I obviously have mixed emotions about hem-onc and peds (might hit a little too close to home emotionally)

I understand the hesitancy by educators to take in out of work engineers who are looking to make a quick buck... and to be put off by uninformed students who think CRNA is attractive because of the $$$...

How do I overcome these stereotypes in my interview if these are truly my goals??? Would it be better not to mention the CRNA goal at all? Do you think my engineering background will be a strike against me?

I can definitely defend my reasons for wanting to become a nurse/ CRNA (it is a long list, lol)...Your guidance on how to handle my background and goals would be much appreciated!!!

Josette19 · Apr 29, 2011

murphyle, Could you give some advice on what some good answers are? And what you guys really look for in your questions?

ejcl68 · Apr 29, 2011

There are no sure good answers. You need to speak from your heart on why you want to be a nurse. If you do so, you will get in. if one has to think hard about why you want to be a nurse, perhaps this may not be for field for them. Also, there's nothing wrong with having a goal to be a CRNA. It's just not a smart thing to mention at the interview. Nursing should not be a stepping stone but in reality it may be. For example, I know many who want to work as a nurse for year and then go on and get their masters(to teach). Is there anything wrong with that?? Absolutely not. You may find being a nurse is just fine or maybe aspiring to be a NP or CRNA. I am not ruling anything out when I am done but just know there are sooo many opportunities.

I put my two cents in because many times people over analyze the interview process. You just need to be yourself and sell yourself. If you are passionate about this, it will show. Trust me.

Josette19 · Apr 30, 2011

ejcl68, I appreciate your input, I am planning on letting my heart do the talking for sure! And I also do plan on being a NP one day as well!

SmilingRN · Aug 11, 2011

murphyle, Could you give some advice on what some good answers are? And what you guys really look for in your questions?

I know you asked @Murphyle for help, but I recently had an interview at OU and got accepted this past Saturday! :yeah: So far, I'm 2 for 3 in terms of nursing school admissions. At any rate, enough of that sidebar. The interview isn't as bas as you'd expect. I had a one-on-one interview with a male nurse and he was very personable and made me feel very comfortable. When asked why I wanted to be a nurse, I drew from personal experiences with nurses/in hospitals. I mentioned what I learned about my personal wants involving nursing and what I wouldn't do to someone in need. I focused on empathy and the need to comfort and heal those in medical need---not only patients, but family units. I think my honesty showed through my professionalism. As much as I wanted to kick my feel up and take a shot, I remained professional and optimistic. At the end of the day, I got my acceptance letter and I take my nursing pre-reqs in the next few weeks. Good luck and I hope this is helpful! :)

SmilingRN · Aug 11, 2011

Also, my sister has been a nurse for almost 10 years and she hates to hear pre-nursing students (including myself) speak of higher education in nursing. She says, "Registered nursing is hard work and requires a certain level of attentiveness and aptitude...master those things first, then tell me if you'd like to go further. Continued education is a great thing, but hone your craft first---it's not as easy as you think." I was upset that maybe she was being a Debbie Downer, but I understand her point. She feels that she has worked so hard to understand the facets of nursing that a newbie shouldn't be so quick to put the cart before the horse. I still hope that I can prove her wrong. It's the sibling rivalry. LOL.