overwhelmed!

WickedRedRN, BSN, RN · Nov 30, 2006

Hi Lyndsay and welcome!

I live in Indy and will graduate from the Columbus Ivy Tech in 2 weeks (LPN) I understand what your are saying about not getting answers, I assume you have been talking to the Indy campus.

Yes, you can register for and take the pre-reqs now. The required pre-reqs for all nursing programs are ANP 101 and 102, Psych 101, English 111 You must have these completed before applying for any program. You are assigned points based on your grades in these classes, so it is really really important you do well in these classes. It benefits you to aim for the A's here. Next you need to attend one of the information sessions. You can do this anytime before you apply for the programs, but I advise you to go to one as soon as you can...it will answer alot of questions for you. Next step is to take the TEAS test. I believe the bookstore sells a study guide for this. Again, you want to do well on this test. The higher you score, the higher your rank in applicants. They place students in programs based on your TEAS score and your grades in the 4 classes I mentioned. There are other pre-reqs, but these are the ones required to have before you can apply.

Hope this helps and best of luck to you! If you have any more questions, ask away.

SchoolRN,BSN · Nov 30, 2006

Hi Lyndsay,

:welcome:

Try talking to the different schools you want to apply to. Talk to their financial aid office as well as admissions. They can give you an idea of what kind of scholarship funds are out there.

Different schools will require different classes, so I'd hold off on enrolling until you make a decision where you want to go. I attend IUK & we have an awful lot of people from Indy, so you might consider talking to admissions there if you don't mind the drive. Morris Starkey is the nursing coordinator & you have to attend an orientation session with him before enrolling in pre-nursing I believe. 765-453-2000 is the campus phone number. Just ask for the nursing office. They have some excellent instructors & the tuition rate is decent. Starting in the fall though, they will only have BSN & MSN degree programs, so if you are looking for associates degrees, you'll have to probably look at Ivy Tech.

Good luck,

Heather

lyndsaynicole · Nov 30, 2006

Thank you ladies! I appreciate all the info! I think I'll definitely do some more research into IUK and Ivy Tech and see what will be the best fit for me and go from there. Thank you again!!!

Ceteris Paribus · Dec 1, 2006

I have a bit of insight into your situation. My significant other is a nurse and I was a nursing student for two years at BSU. Unfortunately, we lost our child care and I had to drop out of that program largely due to the two hour commute (and its child care implications). I tell you this because I learned that IUPUI wouldn't even consider me (despite my having all A's in all pre-requisites and nursing courses) because they accept applicants who have had their prereqs at IUPUI (so long as they score a C) BEFORE they consider ANY applicants from other programs (even if they have all A's). I tell you this because if you decide to go to IUPUI you will want to take your pre-req's there. With Ivy Tech you will want to get mostly A's on the 4 pre-req's AND score at least an 80 overall on the TEAS (and hit the minimums on each area within the TEAS which range from 70-80 depending upon the area). Here are some other options:

a. Apply to the Ivy Tech LPN program and then go back for your ASN. This will increase your odds of getting accepted.

b. If you can commute apply to the Ivy Tech programs at Columbus, Muncie, Richmond, Kokomo, and Bloomington in ADDITION to the Indy program.

c. If you have the dough (or can qualify for enough financial aide) apply to the University of Indianapolis and Marion College. The competition for these schools is significantly lower because so relatively few people can afford to even consider these schools as options.

d. Also, if you can afford a private school you might consider Butler Universities Pharm D, and physician assistant programs as good options.

e. Consider working at a job where they have tuition assistence. BTW I've heard that if you work for Butler that tuition is free!

If you have any specific quesitons about the Ivy Tech program I may be able to answer them.

kelisehunter · Dec 1, 2006

I don't know anything about the schools in your area, but usually you need to take all the pre-reqs, attend an orientation for the nursing school, and maybe get CPR certified before you can get your name on the waiting list. I'd say take a couple pre-reqs each semester and do the best you can. If its a waiting list that means that you will eventually get accepted and probably a lot sooner than the school estimates 'cause many people drop out before they even begin the actual program. Don't stress about getting all A's- just do your best and try to learn something. That's my 2 cents. Good Luck!

lyndsaynicole · Dec 1, 2006

I have a bit of insight into your situation. My significant other is a nurse and I was a nursing student for two years at BSU. Unfortunately, we lost our child care and I had to drop out of that program largely due to the two hour commute (and its child care implications). I tell you this because I learned that IUPUI wouldn't even consider me (despite my having all A's in all pre-requisites and nursing courses) because they accept applicants who have had their prereqs at IUPUI (so long as they score a C) BEFORE they consider ANY applicants from other programs (even if they have all A's). I tell you this because if you decide to go to IUPUI you will want to take your pre-req's there. With Ivy Tech you will want to get mostly A's on the 4 pre-req's AND score at least an 80 overall on the TEAS (and hit the minimums on each area within the TEAS which range from 70-80 depending upon the area). Here are some other options:
a. Apply to the Ivy Tech LPN program and then go back for your ASN. This will increase your odds of getting accepted.
b. If you can commute apply to the Ivy Tech programs at Columbus, Muncie, Richmond, Kokomo, and Bloomington in ADDITION to the Indy program.
c. If you have the dough (or can qualify for enough financial aide) apply to the University of Indianapolis and Marion College. The competition for these schools is significantly lower because so relatively few people can afford to even consider these schools as options.
d. Also, if you can afford a private school you might consider Butler Universities Pharm D, and physician assistant programs as good options.
e. Consider working at a job where they have tuition assistence. BTW I've heard that if you work for Butler that tuition is free!
If you have any specific quesitons about the Ivy Tech program I may be able to answer them.

Thank you so much! This is all very good advice and information. This is exactly the kind of stuff I need to know and had no clue about. Thank you so much! I hope you can get back to nursing school sometime if you still want to!

lyndsaynicole · Dec 6, 2006

Okay-so here's something else about Ivy Tech. I don't remember if I asked about this somewhere else, or what-but I was reading through the stuff again, and it says about the pre-req courses: Points will NOT be awarded for courses taken in the semester immediately preceding the program start.

So my question is this. If I start at Ivy Tech in the fall and do my prereqs, I can't start the nursing program in the spring?? I have to wait a whole semester? I don't understand-do other schools do this to??

Ceteris Paribus · Dec 8, 2006

No and here's why. Points are only awarded for courses completed by the application DEADLINE . For example the ASN deadline for the class starting Jan 01 2007 was something like Sept 15 2006 (and Oct 15 for the LPN class starting at the same time giving those who applied to the ASN class and were not accepted the opportunity to apply to the LPN class). Thus, ALL classes for points would have had to be completed at the latest by the end of the Summer Semester 2006. Now classes completed in the Fall of say 2007 could be applied towards the class starting in Aug of 2008 (I think the deadline for class application would be something like March 15 2008). Is this clear as mud? Also TEAS tests need to be taken for the last time (you get up to three shots in a two year period) about a month or so before the application deadline AND you MUST have attended one of the many information sessions.

lyndsaynicole · Dec 8, 2006

No and here's why. Points are only awarded for courses completed by the application DEADLINE . For example the ASN deadline for the class starting Jan 01 2007 was something like Sept 15 2006 (and Oct 15 for the LPN class starting at the same time giving those who applied to the ASN class and were not accepted the opportunity to apply to the LPN class). Thus, ALL classes for points would have had to be completed at the latest by the end of the Summer Semester 2006. Now classes completed in the Fall of say 2007 could be applied towards the class starting in Aug of 2008 (I think the deadline for class application would be something like March 15 2008). Is this clear as mud? Also TEAS tests need to be taken for the last time (you get up to three shots in a two year period) about a month or so before the application deadline AND you MUST have attended one of the many information sessions.

Thank you for clearing that up for me :)

Is it just Ivy Tech that does it this way?

Ceteris Paribus · Dec 8, 2006

Well, I can only speak for Ivy Tech and Ball State (and to a lessor extent IUPUI where my significant other went). BSU, and IUPUI looked pretty much ONLY at your grades. Also, they only looked at classes completed by the APPLICATION DEADLINE (whenever that might be). IUPUI gave ABSOLUTE preference to those who had completed their pre-requisites there. That meant that someone like myself who had all "A's" in their pre-req's wouldn't even be CONSIDERED since I had taken my pre-req's at Ball State until the lowest qualifying applicant from IUPUI had been accepted (meaning students that got C's). Essentially, this means that you have NO CHANCE unless you take (or retake) your pre-reqs there. Also, Ball State required about 30 hours in pre-req's as opposed to the 12 that Ivy Tech wanted. Not sure how Marion College and University of Indy do things. My understanding is that it is EXPONENTIALLY easier to get into their BSN classes because you are competing against a much smaller pool of applicants (who can someone afford the tuition).

mnj0105 · Dec 9, 2006

That's not what my advisor told me...so double check. I am in NW Indiana, but as long as I take the TEAS test by the April deadline, I can still apply and get in for the fall. I am taking a&p II this spring. Now, my advisor could be full of it, so double check. You are right..they aren't super clear on much.