Out of State GN Application?

Hello,

I'm a Texas resident, from Austin, but decided to pursue my education in Pennsylvania. I had originally planned on staying there but have found that it's just not for me anymore, and I miss home. I'm going to be moving back in May when I graduate with my BSN and I'm obviously going to be applying to Seton and St. David's.

My question is, how badly does it hurt my chances that I attended college so far away? Does it help that I'm still considered a Texas resident? I'm afraid I'll be overlooked by students from UT Austin and the surrounding schools. But I have a very strong GPA, biology minor, awarded a couple scholarships, lots of extracurricular work, member of the NSNA and I'm expecting to be inducted into Sigma Theta Tau soon so I'm kind of hoping that will help... :/

Also, I won't be in town for Seton's open house but I still would really like to meet someone. I'm going to be home for 5 weeks in December/January, would it be okay to call and explain my situation and just ask to maybe meet with a manager?

And finally, do Seton and St. David's allow shadowing? I recently got to shadow in the OR and ER at one of the hospitals in Pennsylvania (granted, it was through my clinical, but still) and I loooved it. I wouldn't even care what unit, I just want to have more insight on how Seton and St. David's work and what it's like to be a RN there.

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!