hoosiergator

hi616, your post was very helpful. Thank you so much. I feel like I am in a similar position as I already have a bachelor's degree and a year of graduate school under my belt. I have a good undergraduate GPA and a good GRE score, but I am worried I will not be competitive because I will not have my pre-reqs completed before I apply and because I do not have the experience volunteering in a hospital. I have contacted 2 hospitals nearby and will start volunteering twice a week; however, that will only give me a few months of volunteering before my application is submitted. I would love to talk to you more about the direct entry program and your application experience if you wouldn't mind sending me a pm. And congratulations on getting into Vandy! I would love to join you there in 2014!

Thanks! I think I am definitely going to think about doing an accelerated BSN instead of an entry level MSN, especially if it doesn't make much of a difference to have the MSN. I would rather save the money, especially since I would have the option to go back and get the MSN later.

Thanks nyteshade! I will definitely do some more research to find out what the best path for me is. I guess I was just trying to figure out what I can do to better my chances of getting in to a nursing program without having any real nursing experience. I'm about 99% certain I want to go into nursing. I just wish I would have figured that out while I was an undergrad! But I guess better late than never. I'm looking forward to this career change.

Thanks, everyone. Those are definitely some things to think about. I definitely want to make sure that this type of program is something I am 100% sure I want to do before I start. The possibility of waiting a year and gaining some experience is definitely an option. However, that really means waiting an extra 2 years, and I would really like to start in fall 2014. Loans are also a little scary to me since I have already taken out a lot of money just for a year of law school. But the cost of attending one of these programs is still much cheaper than what I would pay for the remaining 2 years of law school. I am going to look into some accelerated BSN programs as well since that may be a good way to save money. Thank you for suggesting that. I guess I just wanted to see if I would even be a competitive applicant to a direct entry BSN/MSN program. Would they really not accept me without a substantial amount of experience? I feel like most people I know who go into nursing as undergraduates have absolutely no experience. It just seems like a program that is meant for people without nursing experience would not expect students to have that. Is there anything else I can do to make myself more competitive between now and the time I submit my application?

Hi Everyone! I'm new here. I am hoping to start a direct entry MSN program in fall 2014. Vanderbilt is my top choice, but I'm not sure how much of a chance I have of getting accepted. I did not decide I wanted to go into nursing until very recently, and I am still trying to figure out how this all works. I attended law school for a year and decided it was not for me, and now I am very interested in nursing, especially pediatrics. I have just started taking my pre-requisite courses at a local community college and will not have them completed until May. I know that schools say this is ok, but I wonder how much of a difference it makes if they don't have all of my grades to look at. I am a little worried about this. I also have no nursing experience unless you count taking care of a very sick grandfather before he passed away. It seems like everyone applying to these programs has years of experience volunteering in hospitals. Is this a requirement even though the degree is for students who have degrees in fields other than nursing? I plan on volunteering at a hospital where I live and hopefully at a children's hospital as well. However, this only leaves me a few months to gain experience before I submit my applications. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to raise my chances of getting accepted to a MSN program. How much should I try to volunteer before I submit my application? It seems like schools should not expect non-nursing applicants to have a ton of health care experience. What else are these schools looking for in applicants? I would really appreciate any advice or suggestions. Thanks!