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Discussion

Pre-requisites and Applications

Hello All,

I am making a career change into nursing from a non-medical field. Currently, I am completing pre-requisities for a BSN at a 4-yr college that has a very small, very competitive nursing program and I will be applying for the 2016 nursing class. Eventually I'd like to get a graduate degree. Although I am doing well academically, (Dean's list, etc) I will be applying to several different schools to try to ensure that I am accepted and can go straight into a nursing program (using GI Bill so not in a position to waste time). As I evaluate different universities and try to narrow down my list for applications, these are my concerns:

1) The pre-requisities are ALL over the place! My current school requires A&P I & II, Statistics, Sociology, Microbiology, and Chemistry for Health Majors (amongst GenEd courses). Some of the other schools I am interested in require (mostly same courses plus) Organic Chemistry as a pre-req, which would mean also taking Chem I & II. Others don't want Sociology, they want Psychology I & II! Etc, etc... Trying to meet the pre-reqs for all of these different schools would mean taking an extra year of classes before applying. I'm not really sure what my question is on this point except that I would appreciate advice on what is really important and how to navigate an application if I don't have all of the pre-reqs?

2) I am in a position to move anywhere in the country in order to go to school. With that freedom in mind, what should I be looking for in a nursing school?? I know that I would like to attend a school that also does graduate level degrees (more than 4-yr) so that I won't have to move again when I am ready for that step. Otherwise, what should I be looking for / what questions should I be asking? Assistance / programs for placement after graduation... Ease / difficulty of getting a local job (I've learned from these forums that some parts of the country do better with this than others). Experience / placements while still in school (for gaining experience)... What else?

I appreciate any advice and the wisdom you've gained through your experiences. Thank you!

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    For the prerequisites, check to see if the courses transfer from one to another. A&P at one school may not satisfy the A&P requirement at another school.

    Also, some of the prerequisites for one school may be co-requisites at another, so while you may not need that class in order to apply, you may eventually need to take them. So, that may make these extra classes more palatable to take now.

    When I was thinking about applying, I made a chart with all the requirements. If there was a school that required several classes that the other schools didn't, I didn't bother. In other words, if there are 4 schools that don't require organic chemistry and 1 school that did, I wasn't going to bother with that many extra classes.

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    This is a little off topic but what i did was create an excel workbook with each tab being a school i wanted to apply to. I put all the pre-reqs reuired and calculated GPA. I also added in things like costs and what not. This kept me on track as far as what courses were complete, where I could apply and when, whether filling the app was worth my time because of GPA, etc.

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    I would talk to the nursing advisors at the schools you are interested in. Sometimes they will accept another, higher course in lieu of their set pre-requisites. For instance, one of the schools I applied to required an Intro to Chemistry, but accepted Chem I and II instead. Another one accepted my Statistics class instead of the one they required. This can help you cut down on taking some classes, if you choose to take the higher of the two and the school allows it.

    Another thing you can look into is CLEP testing. Some classes, such as Intro to Psych and Intro to Sociology can be tested out of completely. This awards college credit for your classes, but is not figured into your GPA. This can be a less expensive alternative for some courses, especially electives. Be sure to check the school policies on CLEP testing. Also, make sure that you study a ton for these if you decide to go that route. They can be challenging depending on the subject.

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