Realistically, do I have a chance at a direct entry-level MSN program? :(

[cn4207]

Long story short, I am a graduate of UC Irvine with a bachelor's degree in music, who was originally looking to become an occupational therapist. However, in the last few months, I came to the conclusion that OT is really not for me and I want to become a family nurse practitioner. Thankfully, most of the pre-requisite classes that I took for OT overlap with the pre-requisite requirements for direct entry-level MSN programs, and I just have to take one or two more classes in order to be able to apply. My GPA from UCI is 3.19 (Ouch!) due to me not being mature enough in the first two years of college & also having to deal with family issues. However, I took all of my pre-requisites separately at a community college and received A's in all of them except anatomy (I got a B). Both of my GRE section scores are in the high 150s & my writing score is 4.0. I have 150 volunteer hours at an outpatient early intervention center that provides physical, occupational & speech therapy for kids with disabilities & developmental delays. I also have 100 hours at a private physical & occupational therapy clinic. I also volunteered at a hospital abroad for approximately 50 hours, and planning to go on a medical mission trip to Honduras next month. Realistically speaking, do I have a shot at any of the direct-entry level MSN programs? I know that my major is completely unrelated to nursing (it's not even one of the natural sciences like bio/chem/etc) and my GPA is really low. I'm hoping that my healthcare experiences will make up for it but my experiences are not exactly relevant to nursing and they were all "volunteer experiences," not as paid employees. My dream is to get into the program at Vanderbilt and specialize in FNP, but really, I'd be happy to get into any program. Please provide me with any input!

[wpolorocker]

CN4207,

I have a similar experience to you--my undergrad was also in music. I did have a good GPA coming out of undergrad which differs from you, but I made good grades on my prereqs and a decent GRE score (I don't even remember what the score was). I did get a CNA license which I never used because I wanted to make sure that I even thought I would like nursing. I had no healthcare background at all and was accepted to Boston College, MGH, and Marquette's direct-entry NP programs. It sounds like you are willing to relocate which will really help you. I just finished Marquette's direct-entry program (though they have changed the program slightly to a direct entry MSN, not a NP track) and worked as a RN part time for 2 years while finishing the MSN portion. I really thought I would hate bedside nursing but I was surprised that I actually really like my floor RN job. Looking back on my experience, I almost wish I had just done a BSN program and then gone back for the NP--just because there are many more RN programs available and I wouldn't have had to relocate. That said, I did go from zero to NP in 4 years, as well as getting a couple years of RN experience in, and have a job lined up prior to passing my boards. If you are worried about getting in, I would suggest applying out to direct entry NP programs first and then if you have no bites look into BSN programs. If you have any other questions, you can PM me. Good luck to you!

[m1161]

Can I ask why you chose Marquette over BC?