Ready to Apply CT Community Colleges- Nursing Program 2011

GPA 3.4 is for last year. I remember during the info session the speaker kept saying that there was no secret in their admission process, and they are transparent. I don't know why she stressed that many times. This makes me wonder probably they have received criticism about their ways.

Haha so while we're all complaining...

My main concern with the lottery system is how it is going to reflect back upon the program. For instance, if you are placing people who are NOT doing well in basic sciences courses such as anatomy & physiology, microbio, biology I, etc....how realistic is it to expect these students to succeed in higher level nursing courses? I strongly feel like if you cannot get above a 3.5 in your basic sciences courses, then you will struggle with higher level nursing - and this is speaking from experience! As an undergrad, we had MANY students weeded out of the biology program once they reached upper-level courses after recieving poor basic grades.

That being said - I'm sure it's not IMPOSSIBLE to graduate from the nursing program if you get in with the lottery. People do it all the time. But I think it will definitely lower the statistics of the program. It's too bad that people who do poorly have a chance in the program. Science is science, if you can't do well in basic courses you shouldn't be allowed to progress.

I am thankful for the lottery system. Like many of you I attended college right out of high school and my grade pretty much stunk. While my Gateway GPA is a 3.8, my grades that transfered for English, Psych and math brought it down to a 3.44. My teas was 87.1 and A in A&P. Based upon how they weigh TEAS, GPA, & A&P I have a total score of 89/100. I am hoping that even though my GPA isn't as high as others I still have hope due to the lottery. Not everyone has a lower GPA because they aren't doing well. My Uconn grades are from 1992 but still count. Just wanted to point that out. Also, the more classes you take the less impact one bad grade will have on your GPA.

I think I read a publication somewhere that said the point of the lottery system was to encourage "academic diversity" -- in other words, to avoid having an entire nursing class full of Type A perfectionists, lol. (nothing against Type A perfectionists, I AM one myself!)

How about a "gender diversity?" If you are a male student, the nuring school will let you in as long as you meet the mininum requirement (gpa 2.7) Is not male nurse the minority in the nursing field? According to last year's survey, about 10% is male. I think gender diversity is more justifiable than the academic diversity. If so, i am going to change sex very soon :redbeathe

I am thankful for the lottery system. Like many of you I attended college right out of high school and my grade pretty much stunk. While my Gateway GPA is a 3.8, my grades that transfered for English, Psych and math brought it down to a 3.44. My teas was 87.1 and A in A&P. Based upon how they weigh TEAS, GPA, & A&P I have a total score of 89/100. I am hoping that even though my GPA isn't as high as others I still have hope due to the lottery. Not everyone has a lower GPA because they aren't doing well. My Uconn grades are from 1992 but still count. Just wanted to point that out. Also, the more classes you take the less impact one bad grade will have on your GPA.

Yes, I do know exactly what you're talking about... in my opinion, a 3.44 should NOT have to rely on the lottery. What I'm saying is that without the lottery, the GPA "cut-off" would be a little lower. So lets say the school has 100 slots, 60 of them given to rank students. The cut-off (just a hypothetical example) is at 3.5 for those 60 seats. If they expanded the rank to incorporate the next 40 students, the cutoff would probably drop to maybe a 3.1 or 3.2 -- get what I'm saying?

Oh well.. it is what it is, and I know that practically EVERYONE who is working hard to get in, is serious about it and deserves a seat. The unfortunate part is that there just aren't enough seats to meet the demand, so it makes all of us sit on the edge of our seats through our pre-reqs and the app cycle... I don't know about you guys, but I feel like most people who are trying REALLY hard to get in (myself included) become really obsessive about all-things-nursing-school-related, hah!

I too am very worried about the admissions process. Did alot of you put 2nd and 3rd choice schools? Does that help?. I have a 3.47, A - in A and P and a 75.1 on the Teas. I wish I retook them!

Since we are all talking about getting our Associate's in nursing, what do you all think about the article that was posted titled "It's Here: BSN Only Hiring in Hospitals"? I scour the job openings of local hospitals a few times a week and I have seen quite an increase of "BSN preferred" or even BSN listed as a requirement. I'm concerned I'm going to get my ADN and then never find a job. Or get my ADN, work per diem, go for my BSN and then have my clinical skills get rusty because they are in not in practice 40 hours a week. This whole thing makes me rethink my plans. I don't know what to do.

Can one attend UConn's nursing program part time?

We can't put the kids in daycare so any BSN program would have to be flexible or part time.... and those types of programs seem to be few and far between.

I too am very worried about the admissions process. Did alot of you put 2nd and 3rd choice schools? Does that help?. I have a 3.47, A - in A and P and a 75.1 on the Teas. I wish I retook them!

Why people with good score like you worries about the admission? In my opinion, it is because the community nursing admission process is unfair. If 3.5 is a cut-off point, then you have to swim with the slackers with gpa below 3.0 in hope that you find the luck hook. I am not scarcastic here; if the system is wrong, then it should be fixed.

Since we are all talking about getting our Associate's in nursing, what do you all think about the article that was posted titled "It's Here: BSN Only Hiring in Hospitals"? I scour the job openings of local hospitals a few times a week and I have seen quite an increase of "BSN preferred" or even BSN listed as a requirement. I'm concerned I'm going to get my ADN and then never find a job. Or get my ADN, work per diem, go for my BSN and then have my clinical skills get rusty because they are in not in practice 40 hours a week. This whole thing makes me rethink my plans. I don't know what to do.

Can one attend UConn's nursing program part time?

We can't put the kids in daycare so any BSN program would have to be flexible or part time.... and those types of programs seem to be few and far between.

My plan is to get into an RN-BSN bridge program immediately after obtaining the associates. It seems as though it's much easier to get into a BSN program (at the 4-year schools within commuting distance from where I am), if you have the ADN already. Plus, there are quite a few articulation agreements that guarantee admission to RN-to-BSN bridge programs if you rec'd your ADN from a CT Community College.

While HOSPITALS may prefer BSN nurses, LTC is not as selective and there are MANY more LTC facilities as compared to hospitals. So after the associates, if you have to go back to work ASAP, work in LTC while studying part-time for the BSN. Ya know what I mean?

Why people with good score like you worries about the admission? In my opinion, it is because the community nursing admission process is unfair. If 3.5 is a cut-off point, then you have to swim with the slackers with gpa below 3.0 in hope that you find the luck hook. I am not scarcastic here; if the system is wrong, then it should be fixed.

I see what you mean here. I think that the lottery is good in a sense. Not everyone who gets all A's will be good at what they do. I just feel like there should be more spots to fill with all of the applicants. Southern is not looking at applications until Spring of 2011 for their ACES program or so I hear. It seems like everything is so full.

Since we are all talking about getting our Associate's in nursing, what do you all think about the article that was posted titled "It's Here: BSN Only Hiring in Hospitals"? I scour the job openings of local hospitals a few times a week and I have seen quite an increase of "BSN preferred" or even BSN listed as a requirement. I'm concerned I'm going to get my ADN and then never find a job. Or get my ADN, work per diem, go for my BSN and then have my clinical skills get rusty because they are in not in practice 40 hours a week. This whole thing makes me rethink my plans. I don't know what to do.

Can one attend UConn's nursing program part time?

We can't put the kids in daycare so any BSN program would have to be flexible or part time.... and those types of programs seem to be few and far between.

I have two young kids so I understand your situation very well. It seems to be a trend that more facilities prefers BSN. My spouse who is a nurse, noticed this trend and told me not to worry because other facilities like home care, hospice and etc are still actively recruiting ASN and BSN as well.

My plan is to get into an RN-BSN bridge program immediately after obtaining the associates. It seems as though it's much easier to get into a BSN program (at the 4-year schools within commuting distance from where I am), if you have the ADN already. Plus, there are quite a few articulation agreements that guarantee admission to RN-to-BSN bridge programs if you rec'd your ADN from a CT Community College.

While HOSPITALS may prefer BSN nurses, LTC is not as selective and there are MANY more LTC facilities as compared to hospitals. So after the associates, if you have to go back to work ASAP, work in LTC while studying part-time for the BSN. Ya know what I mean?

That is exactly what I am doing (hopefully!!)