Rejected from UW BSN

abalone · Feb 21, 2012

Hey, I'm sorry it worked out like that for you. There's not much gained in guessing why, because who really knows? I really suggest you politely (I say this not because I think you will be impolite but rather because they are sooooo busy right now) contact the UW SoN Director of Admissions (MODERATOR EDIT OF NAME/EMAIL). Let her know the situation (that you were rejected), that you want to apply next year (I assume), and would really like to know how you could improve your application. At the information sessions, I got the impression that they sometimes work with students to help them understand what was missing and how they can improve their chances the next time. I hope this helps and works out for you.

YoungIdealist · Feb 22, 2012

Hi there!

I don't think any of us can answer WHY you were rejected. The UW SoN admission process is a mystery to all of us. Have you attended an information session? Or have you watched it online? Based on what I saw, they probably did not like that your name was misspelled. I remember Carolyn Chow said something about how some of the letters they get are very generic, say "she/her" when it's actually a boy who is applying, etc. It's VERY IMPORTANT that you spend time with whoever is writing your letter!! I know it's supposed to be in a sealed envelope for confidentiality, but please, unless the person knows you EXTREMELY WELL and you can trust that he/she will not misspell your name, take the time to read over it! If you feel bad doing that, do what I did (and what Carolyn suggests): sit with the person and together come up with ideas for the answers. Help your person along... I've realized that people are busy and writing a letter of rec might not be a priority. If you sit down with him/her, though, it will make that person realize that this is very important and that you are serious. I don't recommend you see the letter at the last minute. If you can, maybe ask two people for a letter and pick one of the two. But PLEASE take the this part seriously! There are 5 parts in the application and all 5 are equally important. So to answer your question, yes it carries weight. Since you only turned in 4 parts of the app (the 5th one is the essay), the letter alone is 25%.

In the future you might want to give that person a post-it or a piece of paper with your name spelled correctly. Explain to him/her that you have had issues in the past with the spelling of your name and that you don't want to be rejected again.

Spend your time on the application, follow all the instructions. Judging by your GPA and your hours, I don't see what else could've happened. Do you have 90 credits? Did you take classes for the required areas of knowledge? (VLPA, I&S, etc)

Good luck in the future and don't lose hope...

abalone · Feb 22, 2012

Seriously though, contact them. I think they would be more than willing to let you know what went wrong or at least how you can improve your application for the future (which might also hint at what was lacking). I think the best way to approach them is to let them know that you are mystified, want to apply again, and want to know what you can improve/do to turn in an even more competitive application.

I'm not sure how much weight the recommendation has in the initial review. Don't get me wrong, I certainly think they look at it but I think the 1st review is more focused on: if the application met all basic requirements and then a cursory review of your application. If the applicant does not meet requirements, of course, they are disqualified. Are you certain that you turned in every part of the application? That seems like the easiest way to be rejected. After rejecting those that did not turn in a complete application or did not meet service hour quotas or grade/class limits, (which might be quite a few of the bottom 150) then I bet they move on to the application review. I figure (but have no information to back this up with) that the easiest way for them to select the bottom ~150 "that have no chance" would be with grades and community health hours/resume and a cursory review of the personal statement (which I think is very important) and maybe a brief glance at the recommendation... Anyway, I guess my point is; I think your recommendation's misspelled name would have more influence in the secondary review which is much more in-depth (after the proctored essay), rather than during the primary review. Especially if the review was otherwise positive and gave examples. So... maybe it was something besides the recommendation?

But, of course, I have no way of knowing nor does anyone else. That is why I really suggest you contact them!

cnasarah · Feb 22, 2012

Thank you both for taking the time to respond to my post. I did attend the information session and I did read and follow all the directions...i actually feel a million times better now that I have a better plan and im not just scratching my head wondering where I went wrongThank you again!!!

JLoya · Mar 9, 2012

Hi there, I had the opportunity to work with someone this year who is now an RN and a graduate from the BSN program at UW. She was rejected the first time and gave me some insight in how to structure the essay, resume and application. Each part of the primary application is evenly weighted.

The other issue is how the letter of recommendation was written. If it was poorly executed as you said it was, that probably had some strong weight.

Now you know where to look strengthening your application for next year. Make an appointment with the person who will be writing your letter and review it carefully. If that is inconsistent, it will reflect as a part of your application that you have spent so much time and attention to.

I think if I wouldn't have had that input I would have had the same rejection letter. I am still waiting to hear from the SoN.

Best luck next year...