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Hi jerricann, Welcome to the forums! Your acceptance to Sac State is independent of your acceptance to the Nursing program. We should hear about the point breakdowns VERY soon... I'd say within the next week... then start receiving decision emails around Thanksgiving. It's a nail-biter, isn't it? Good luck! :)

The 'momfia'!!! I love it! I hope I meet awesome students like that. :) Thank you everyone for your responses. I feel better. :)

I am a 38-year old woman attending California State University Sacramento. I transferred here as a junior after completing most of my general education coursework at a local community college. My goal is to get accepted into CSUS' Nursing Program. I've worked my butt off to maintain a 4.0 GPA, an 88% on my TEAS test, and still find the time to tutor A&P for my past professor. Oh, did I mention I'm married, have 2 kids and a house to take of? This obviously isn't my first career, but it *is* my first time in college. Campus life at a CSU is *VERY* different from campus life at a community college. It's all about "Greek Week" and getting drunk and parties. The younger students (typically Freshmen or Sophomores) look at us 'older' students like we must be professors sitting in on other professors lectures. When they find out that we are undergrads just like them, they look at us like living fossils. Just to give you an idea, in 5 out of my 6 classes, I *am* the oldest student in class. At the local community college, there was always someone my age or older in my classes. General Education classes is one thing... but what I am mainly concerned about is the Nursing School at CSUS. It is located in a special building, off-campus. I currently take a GE course that is offered in the building and I have to say, I feel very out of place. These nursing students tend not to be very nice. I try to be cordial... hold the door open when I see them walking in behind me... smile and say 'good morning' or 'hey, how's it going?'... but I rarely get a 'thanks' or any acknowledgement in return. I'm worried that if I get accepted into the nursing program (which I have a really good chance at this semester), are they going to ignore me and avoid me because I'm older? I have had to jump through all the same hoops they have... even more... to be where I am now. All I want is to feel like I belong. :-( I like to be social with my classmates and form study groups. I don't mind the 'den mother' role as it makes me feel needed and valued. I hope I'm not the only person experiencing this. Are there other nurses or student nurses that have experienced similar things? I don't consider it discrimination, but I would say classism. I thought about starting a 'Second Career Nurses Organization' to find like-minded students, but I don't want anyone to think of it as a 'young versus old' club. I could use any advice you have to give! Thanks.

Hi Jojag79. Looks like this question was never answered. SCC does select their ADN students once a year in the spring semester for the following academic year (Fall & Spring). ARC selects them twice a year. At ARC they have a 'selected' list, an 'alternate' list (which guarantees you a seat in the following semesters' class), and a 'please reapply' list. Every school is different... ARC, SCC and CSU-Sac all have different application timelines and qualifications. I was accepted to SCC for Fall '14 but turned it down. I was alternate status at ARC for Fall '14 so I'm guaranteed a spot for Spring '15 at ARC. I hope that answered your questions. :-) I'm currently attending CSU-Sac as a Junior... finishing up my undergrad coursework. I have applied to the CSUS Nursing program for Spring '15 but won't find out if I got in until the end of November. It's a terrible waiting game and everywhere is extremely competitive now. Hang in there and just make sure you keep the best GPA you can and *VOLUNTEER* at Sutter or Dignity Health hospitals! :)

That's very valuable info, akulahawk... thank you! I've weighed my options quite a bit lately. I will be declining my spot for SCC Fall 2014 and keeping my spot at ARC for Spring 2015. Hopefully this makes a SCC Fall 2014 alternate very happy! :) I didn't make the cut for CSU Sac's nursing program in the Fall, but I'm okay with that... for now. I will be at CSU Sac in the Fall to take some upper division GE classes. I was awarded 2 generous grants that I don't want to go to waste. My focus at ARC and SCC has been to take pre-reqs for CSU Sac. With all that time invested, I'm not inclined to give up on CSU Sac's Nursing program. So, I will be retaking the TEAS test to hopefully get a better score. This also gives me time to take Pharmacology, Med Terminology, & Dosage Calculations classes before the Spring. :) Good luck to all you SCC Nursing students! See you in the field in a couple years

Purpleorchid: I am leaning towards choosing ARC for Spring 2015. I also applied to Sac State but I believe I was a few points shy of the cutoff this semester. (They take the first 80 highest applications and then 40 alternates... I think I was 3 points shy of the alternate status.) I would *REALLY* like to avoid doing an ADN to BSN bridge program, so I will be reapplying for SacState (after I improve my TEAS score) in August for their Spring program. This will also give me some time to complete some required upper division classes at SacState. :)

Hi Everyone, I have been fortunate enough to be selected for both American River College ADN AND Sacramento City College ADN programs. Now that I have a choice, I would really like to go to the school that has a higher *STUDENT* ranking for their ADN program. I have read the college reviews and have seen the statistics each nursing school provides, but I would like to hear from the alumni what they think. Can any ARC or SCC Alumni give me their thoughts on the ADN program they attended? Good or bad... I would love to hear it. Thank you in advance!

I got my acceptance email for Fall 2014 today! Anyone else?

Today (April 22nd) is the deadline to accept for ARC.

Thanks everyone! Clueless91, I'm considering declining ARC and re-applying for Sac State after I re-take the TEAS. I just BARELY missed the point cutoff this semester (turns out this semester had the highest point cutoff - 72 - in a few years). I'm not thrilled with a RN to BSN program either... but I am *SO* anxious to start a nursing program. It's been 3 years of pre-reqs for Sac State. Good Luck to you all! :)

Thank you, I'm_no_Genius_but! :) I have worked really hard, and it comes somewhat at the expense of my family. If the nursing schools were more lenient on GPA, I wouldn't have been so determined to choose school over my husband & kids. But, in NorCal, it's simply not like that. Like I mentioned before, your GPA means almost 50% of your nursing school application here in NorCal. Maybe the 4.0 GPAs the instructors you talked to were fresh out of high school or haven't had healthcare volunteer experience? There is something to be said about the more 'seasoned' in life-experience 'non-traditional' BSN or ADN students. And, it is about the numbers, too. Nursing schools are businesses and just like any other business, they want to stay open and reputable (accredited). So yeah, they want that 100% NCLEX pass rate. I also agree with ShelbyaStar.... nursing is the fad career right now. It's created it's own demand just to say 'I'm a nursing student' and that primitive competitive drive between us will most likely never go away completely. I tutor A&P students at the community college and they are completely consumed with applying to nursing schools asap... it's like tunnel vision. I get it... I'm there too, but, not everyone has the time to take a breath, look up, and see the forest for the trees. It can be kinda discouraging, too. :-P

OP, I can only speak for Northern California, of course, but all public nursing schools (community college and state colleges) *require* at least a 3.2 GPA to even be considered for the program. Private schools like Samuel Merritt or National University accept down to a 2.9 GPA, but you are paying through the nose for tuition. Example: community college programs estimate their nursing schools will cost approx. $6,000 for the full 2 years (tests, insurances, books, tuition, uniforms, etc included). State colleges (CSU Sacramento) are approx. $3,500 per semester + books + uniforms + insurances, etc. so your total is about $25K-$30K for the TWO year BSN program (other CSUs can be 3 years). Private colleges are charging WELL over $60,000 for their BSN programs. The way I see it is that professors at private colleges will tell you what you want to hear because they want to tuition flowing through the door. I know the professors at the colleges I attend (community college and CSU) all don't say there is a nursing shortage anymore. They say, "you can find a job after you graduate and pass NCLEX, but you can't be picky." As far as the GPA requirements, I believe it will be dwindling for ADN programs as more and more people realize you 'waste' a year if you get your ADN with the intention of doing BSN right after. I know many hospitals in NorCal will be requiring RNs to bridge to BSNs by 2020, so the BSN bridge programs will probably be next to become impacted. Most hospitals like UC Davis and Kaiser won't even look at you if you don't have your BSN. Schools want the best of the best students (high GPAs, high TEAS, volunteer hours) because they want to maintain good relationships with the hospitals they perform clinicals in. It also tells the school that you take your education seriously and you will do whatever it takes (no sleep, study 24/7, go to tutoring) to get what you need to know. It's true... some 4.0 students aren't cut out for applying what they know in a real world healthcare setting. But that is such a small percentage of students. Personally, I think professors need to say those types of things to keep morale up in the students that are there, keeping the competition up, and keeping them employed.

They're allowing 2nd bachelors to apply this term, so there's quite a few more applicants. (Sorry if someone said this already... this was a long thread. :) )

I applied for Sac State's BSN Fall 2014 as well... but I think I just missed to cutoff. I did get my acceptance letter for Alternate status at ARC though. Debating on re-taking the TEAS test (got an 84% the first time) and reapplying for CSUSac in the Fall. My GPA is 3.989 so I'm good there. I've tried to contact Sutter a few times to get into the volunteer program but every time I call they're full. Anyone have any advice for that? Good luck to everyone who has points over the cutoff! :)

38, married, 2 kids (6 & 10), house, work PT, have been doing pre-reqs since 2010 and managed to maintain a 3.983 GPA. I even tutored Anatomy & Physiology for my professor for the last year. Applied to Sacramento State BSN, American River College ADN, and Sacramento City College ADN. Got my acceptance letter for Alternate status Fall 2014 and Guaranteed seat Spring 2015 at American River College. Being in college at an older age is WAY easier than it was when I was young. We're out there!! :)