jvan87

Hello - My situation is a little unique...& confusing. I graduated with my B.S. in Biomedical Sciences a little over a year ago. I've decided that I want to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, I'm just confused as to which way would be the best way to go about it. I have found a few Direct-Entry MSN programs (I'm especially interested in Marquette University). I have all of the prerequisites required. If I got accepted at Marquette I would start the program next summer. The first 15 months would be accelerated nursing classes. I would then be eligable to take the NCLEX & go directly into the MSN portion (my specialty would be Acute Care Pediatrics). My issue is this: I'm planning on getting married next summer. We haven't set a date because I'm really unsure of what to do. If I were to do the Direct Entry program, I would start at the end of May...and really not get a break until maybe Christmas. My husband to be is also finishing up his last year of school & will be student teaching in the spring. He's unsure of what school he will be at (hopefully in the area) & would probably be student teaching into June. This leaves us no time really to get married . The other issue is that he isn't sure where he will end up teaching...we may end up moving to a different state. I know there are other Direct-Entry programs, but we really won't know where we will end up for sure until next spring. I'm anxious to start working toward becoming a NP. I've been out of school for over a year & am getting antsy. What I really need at this point in my life is some flexibility...that is why I've started considering going to the tech school near me & starting on my ADN. I found that Marquette also offers a Direct Entry option for RNs with an ADN & Bachelor's in a non-nursing field. This program requires only 12 credits before going directly into the MSN portion. This way I could get started on an ADN next semester (I already have completed all of the Gen. Science/ Gen. Ed. courses). I would also have a lot more flexibility & the ability to actually have a wedding/honeymoon next summer. I'm assuming that my credits can transfer too & I would be able to continue working toward an ADN wherever we end up. This option would also be a good deal cheaper. Does this sound like a good plan? Or would it be smarter to just go the Direct-Entry route & not bother with the ADN? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm stressing out! lol Thanks!!

Hello, I am planning on applying to a few Direct-Entry MSN programs in hopes to become a NP. I'm a little bit concerned with my GPA. I have my B.S. in Biomedical Science & took a lot of hard science courses during my undergrad (including 2 semesters Inorganic Chemistry, 2 semesters Organic Chemistry, Pathophysiology, 2 semesters A&P, Genetics, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Cell Biology, Immunology & Histology). I did get A's in all of the prerequisite courses for the Direct-Entry programs I'm looking at (Inorganic Chem, A&P, Biochemistry, Psychology, Stats). My GPA was 3.1 & I'm worried that it's too low. Will the schools take into account the difficulty of my courses? I did struggle through Organic Chemistry & some other upper level courses, but I did pretty well in most of my science courses. The school I'm most interested in requires your GPA to be above a 3.0, but you don't have to send in your GRE scores if you have a 3.2 or higher. My GRE scores are not that great either - I got a 1010 overall. Do I have a shot? Thanks!