Pre-Nursing & applying to Nursing school

x_factor · Nov 12, 2012

Volunteering really depends on the schools you are applying to, some look at volunteer experience, some do not. The schools I am applying to do not, they are all grade and score based. I did some volunteering this semester as a sitter, but won't be volunteering any next semester because of my course load being even heavier with more sciences.

My advice for pre-reqs is just study. Study, study, study no matter the subject matter, no matter the material. Always make time to study, and if you do bad on the first exam, do not wait until mid-terms or beyond to realize something needs to change. After the very first exam, if you make a bad grade, go speak with your instructor, sometimes they have advice that will save your grades. I made a C on my very first essay in my English 101 class. I thought I had did good and was stumped as to why I didn't get an A. I scheduled a meeting with my instructor, who laid out what he really expected in his essays, WHY he expected certain things to be done certain ways, and gave me tips to help improve my writing as well as sharing a few websites that helped improve my writing as well. I took all of his advice, and received a 100% on the following 3 essays we did this semester. My writing improved so much, he's asked me multiple times to schedule my English 102 class with him next semester because he'd love to have me back in his class to watch as my writing continues to improve. He's really made me love english. However, our class is half of what we started out with, because so many did poorly on their essays, continued to do poorly because they didn't seek out assistance, and dropped the class.

Same with math. I'm horrible at math. Just horrible. I began to get completely lost after just a few classes. By the time my first exam was nearing, I was beyond lost. I went to my instructor and he began meeting with me after classes to break down the instructions even more for me. I did great my first exam. I bombed the second exam. After I bombed the second exam, he offered to tutor me in his office three times a week to help me understand the material better because he seen I was struggling, but also seen how much of an effort I was willing to make. I watched as other students in my class struggled with the math, bombed their exams, but refuse to take the time to go to the instructor for assistance. By mid-terms our class had dwindled down to half of what we started with, and many more are failing. It takes persistance and initiative to do well in any class, including pre-reqs, which can be downight difficult for many people (math is my weakness).

Also if you have a student learning center on campus, such as tutors like my school does, take advantage of it! I practically live at my tutoring center on campus, and the writing center. When class ends and students are running off to go do something fun or hang out, I'm running off to the tutoring center to spend time after classes to go over material I don't understand. And I currently have a 4.0 GPA while I'm watching many of my classmates fail out of their classes because they aren't willing to stay focused or put in the effort.

Basically, study hard, stay focused, don't be intimidated and do not be afraid to ask for help. That's why instructors are there. :)

tigerlogic · Nov 12, 2012

Don't get caught up in the competitiveness. Just stay focused. Clinical experience, whether that be volunteering, CNA work, tech work whatever, is helpful. Depending on the school some are very cut and dry with how they score applicants, others look for passionate interesting individuals. You can ask admissions and try to fit into that box or you can do things that inspire you (I.e. when getting clinical experience) and then find a school that appreciates that. And study a lot. Use your profs office hours. Use Internet resources like Khan academy to study. Good luck!

CDEWannaBe · Nov 12, 2012

Don't go too slow because you may lose your momentum. But know your limits and don't overload yourself either. You need to be getting As and Bs in every class if you want to be competitive for most nursing schools. I've done well taking the hard classes (for me that's Chemistry and Microbiology) on their own so I could focus on it. (I could do more if I wasn't a mom and full-time worker, but have to put those priorities first).

And I always take an easy summer class like Comp or Federal Government or Nurtrition. Make sure you're always plugging along at something.

zoe92 · Nov 12, 2012

I recommend taking your time and not getting overloaded with classes. For microbiology, a & p1, and a & p2 take your time. Do not take a whole bunch of courses with them because it stinks if you have to retake any of them later. And my biggest struggled is not getting discouraged, especially when everyone says how hard it is to get into nursing school and then how hard nursing school is. It is hard and I realize that. But I remind myself why I want to be a nurse and that keeps me going and prevents me from getting overwhelmed.

i♥words · Nov 13, 2012

I would make an a advising appointment with the nursing school(s) that you want to get into and get every bit of information about the necessary prerequisites and the application process. I took a list of questions. How many people apply for each term? How many spots do you have open? Do really good grades mean anything, or do you mostly look at entrance exam scores and experience (like volunteering)? Do you use a lottery system? What can I do to pretty much guarantee my acceptance? I was nervous about it at first but the adviser answered every question and told me that a lot of people apply without most of the requirements, so knowing exactly what you need to do is important.

Being a part-time or full-time student is totally up to you. For me, I never made it an option to be part-time. I take 14 to 17 hours each semester and get all As and Bs. But I don't work full-time and I don't have a family dependent on me, so, in my opinion, I should be full-time at school.

My best advice is to figure out what study method suits you best. What kind of learner are you? Do you need to draw pictures or write summaries? Flashcards? Study groups? Once you figure out the best way to study you will be helped a lot. I'm in my third semester of prereqs and I am making better grades than I did last semester and the semester before because now I know how to study and actually learn the information.

Other than that, try to stay away from other pre-nursing students who like to sit around and talk about how hard this is, how competitive the nursing school you want to get into is, and how next-to-impossible it is to get in. Sure, you'll sometimes feel that way, but there is no benefit in wallowing in self-pity. You chose this, and you can do it.

The minute you think of giving up, think of the reason why you held on so long.

brenay · Nov 13, 2012

Volunteering really depends on the schools you are applying to, some look at volunteer experience, some do not. The schools I am applying to do not, they are all grade and score based. I did some volunteering this semester as a sitter, but won't be volunteering any next semester because of my course load being even heavier with more sciences.
My advice for pre-reqs is just study. Study, study, study no matter the subject matter, no matter the material. Always make time to study, and if you do bad on the first exam, do not wait until mid-terms or beyond to realize something needs to change. After the very first exam, if you make a bad grade, go speak with your instructor, sometimes they have advice that will save your grades. I made a C on my very first essay in my English 101 class. I thought I had did good and was stumped as to why I didn't get an A. I scheduled a meeting with my instructor, who laid out what he really expected in his essays, WHY he expected certain things to be done certain ways, and gave me tips to help improve my writing as well as sharing a few websites that helped improve my writing as well. I took all of his advice, and received a 100% on the following 3 essays we did this semester. My writing improved so much, he's asked me multiple times to schedule my English 102 class with him next semester because he'd love to have me back in his class to watch as my writing continues to improve. He's really made me love english. However, our class is half of what we started out with, because so many did poorly on their essays, continued to do poorly because they didn't seek out assistance, and dropped the class.
Same with math. I'm horrible at math. Just horrible. I began to get completely lost after just a few classes. By the time my first exam was nearing, I was beyond lost. I went to my instructor and he began meeting with me after classes to break down the instructions even more for me. I did great my first exam. I bombed the second exam. After I bombed the second exam, he offered to tutor me in his office three times a week to help me understand the material better because he seen I was struggling, but also seen how much of an effort I was willing to make. I watched as other students in my class struggled with the math, bombed their exams, but refuse to take the time to go to the instructor for assistance. By mid-terms our class had dwindled down to half of what we started with, and many more are failing. It takes persistance and initiative to do well in any class, including pre-reqs, which can be downight difficult for many people (math is my weakness).
Also if you have a student learning center on campus, such as tutors like my school does, take advantage of it! I practically live at my tutoring center on campus, and the writing center. When class ends and students are running off to go do something fun or hang out, I'm running off to the tutoring center to spend time after classes to go over material I don't understand. And I currently have a 4.0 GPA while I'm watching many of my classmates fail out of their classes because they aren't willing to stay focused or put in the effort.
Basically, study hard, stay focused, don't be intimidated and do not be afraid to ask for help. That's why instructors are there. :)

X_factor, your advice was so inspiring! It really gave me so much motivation!