University of Portland

U.S.A. Oregon

Published

I am just about to submit my application and was wondering if anyone who recently attended can tell me some info like cost, number of accepted students, GPA, Volunteer experience? Do they admit soley on GPA? Thank you!

Hi there,

I am going to start classes at UP for nursing on Jan 11th. I applied and got in on the first try (thank goodness).

I went to a community college for pre nursing classes. My overall GPA was 3.5 and science GPA of 3.8. I volunteered at a hospital for about three months. I also work at a hospital. As far as I know, they accept people based on GPA and the answers you provide in your short essay questions in the application. They have been accepting way more students recently because of the shortage - -about 150 or so. I have heard that there is an average of 800 applicants though.

So I'm guessing from my situation and being accepted, that they accept people based on GPA and the application alone. There was no interview to get in.

I hope that helps!

Good luck!:yeah:

oh and I forgot to mention cost.

The tuition is extremely expensive - about $15,000 a semester. 15x5 (for five semesters of nursing school) is 75,000 for total cost of tuition. HOWEVER, don't be scared. I was given a nice chunk in grants and that's even after using my parent's income (which is a good amount) for my FAFSA. I believe if you are over 24 or 25 you can use your own income, which is nice.

Also, there are a lot of scholarship opportunities out there. I hope you applied for the Providence Scholarship, which pays for 100% of your tuition.

The tuition IS expensive, but there are lots of resources to make the cost a little easier to swallow. The Air Force ROTC is offering to pay 100% of nursing student's tuition as well if you work for them for four years after you graduate, which is definitely something to look into.

:-) good luck

Did you have a prior degree? I do and my gpa wasn't really high. I interpreted the gpa requirement as them only using the classes that would transfer towards your degree.I hope I get in but we will see. Did you do the providence scholarship? Do you know if the placement is in town only? I don't think I would be able to move as soon as school is over. Thanks for your help

Well I'm sure that your prior degree will only benefit you. I am pretty certain that they only really pay attention to the pre-reqs for nursing school.

As far as Prov Scholars goes, I did apply and got an interview, but did not get the scholarship. I did not have enough life experience so it was hard for me to answer some of their questions. They ask you to be really specific in yoru answer. like give an example of a time when...(and actually have an example).

When you apply for the Prov Scholars Program you give your top 3-5 choices of places you would like to be assigned to, like Portland, Newberg, Seaside, Medford, etc. They do their best to place you in one of those that you listed, but they ultimately will send you where they need you. It's only for three years and if it means getting your school paid for it's worth it. Also, something to be aware of if is that the scholarship is a "forgiven loan". This basically means that it's a gift and you have to pay taxes on it. The taxes will be taken out of your pay checks as a nurse. If you don't see the money, you won't miss it. :-)

Hope this helps

Do you have to complete all pre-reqs before applying? I have not taken some of the ethics/religion course work yet but have completed everything else.

there is a spot on the app where you can put when you plan on finishing courses.

Specializes in Gereatrics.

I did not enter as a transfer so my entry was a lot easier into the program, but I am in the August cohort where most of the transfer students are so I've done a lot of talking with them about the process. You do not have to have ethics or the theology classes completed when you enter, but you will have to take them while you're doing your nursing classes (probably pretty obvious). The only issue with this is that Biblical traditions and culture is a writing intensive course and taking this with certain nursing classes could make your life interesting. My advice though my experience and talking with other student is to take the classes where you're currently at if you can. The consensus is they are some much easier!

If you are a transfer student, getting into the program has gotten A LOT more competitive. This last fall they did not accept transfer students because they already had too many "traditional" students coming in. They accept transfers in the spring though, so don't give up. My best advice is to do what you can to make your application memorable.

In regards to the Prov scholar program... I've heard through students that the program is currently a hot mess. This is due to the fact there are lots of hiring freezes in the Portland area and especially in the Providence system. That being said things are starting to loosen up a bit but VERY slowly. From what I've heard if Providence doesn't have a job for you they tell you to find your own. If you find a job outside the Providence system (in Oregon) you have to start paying back your scholarship. Again this is just what I've heard, so I would do some checking into it. DEFINITELY READ THE FINE PRINT AND ASK QUESTIONS!! The Prov scholarship has the potential to be a wonderful resource, but again make sure you know what you're getting into to.

Do you know how many transfer students they let in for the spring?

I am currently in the spring entry cohort. Most of the students in my cohort are transfer students....there are about 100 of us I'd say. Typically, the fall entry are "regular" juniors who have been going to the school since their freshman year. There are only a handful of UP juniors in my cohort.

best of luck to you all who applied. I've only been there for a few weeks, but it is an amzing school and I'm glad I went to UP over any nursing school. All of the instructors are AMAZING. They are so soo deeply invested in you - it's wonderful. Plus, there are things you'd get at UP that you wouldn't get at any other school...it's just so amazing i'm so thrilled to be apart of this school.

Tuition is expensive, but it's all worth it. You truly do get what you pay for with this school. :-)

Are most of the students at UP a younger demographic or is there a broad range of ages in the program? Is there a broader mix of ages in the Spring start? When I was visiting the campus, there didn't appear to be many non-traditional (30-something and over) students in the program.

I am thinking about applying to University of Portland this application period (Spring 2012). I am a transfer student so the Fall admission is given to University of Portland students. When I apply I will still have some prerequisites to complete, does anyone know if this will hurt my chances of getting accepted if all of my courses are not finished. This is my school of choice and I really want to be a University of Portland nurse!!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated:)

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