San Antonio Nursing Schools

e_ham · Apr 23, 2010

There are several programs in San Antonio. UTHSCSA, UIW, and Wayland Baptist all offer BSN programs. SAC and Baptist offer ADN programs. SPC and Galen offer LVN to ADN programs.

Can't give opinions on programs yet, was just accepted to UIW and start in the fall.

RN4LOVE · Apr 23, 2010

I graduated from the UTHSCSA, and I enjoyed my two years there. I learned/experienced a lot, the teachers are truly there to help you succeed, and there is an organization called Juntos Podemos. This is a mentorship that teachers set up where students are paired up with upper classmen students and they help each other out during the time in nursing school. They seriously want you to succeed, not one of those schools where they're trying to weed you out. It is very difficult to get into. When I applied (Spring 2008), they told us there were about 600 applicants...only 120 were chosen. So, I wouldn't just apply to the UTHSCSA. Applying other places would be smart.

On which hospital I prefer: I really enjoyed being at University Hospital. This is a county hospital, a teaching hospital (attached to UTHSCSA), and it is now a Magnet hospital (which is awesome!)...the nurses there were so friendly, and want to teach you. I spent a lot of time there, and I loved it.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions about the UTHSCSA! :)

dda4342 · Apr 25, 2010

Thank you both so much for all of your help! I'm going to be looking into the other schools that were mentioned. UTHSCSA is my 1st choice, but I know I need to apply to a bunch of nursing schools and keep my fingers crossed and hope I get into one. The nursing school near me right now, Florida Atlantic University, has over 400 applicants for 65 spots. Its a shame that even though there is a shortage of nurses, the schools are making it tougher and tougher to get in. Thanks again for the help!

medsurgtrenchesRN · Apr 28, 2010

I go to Baptist School of Health Professions, and it is an ADN program. It's also pretty competetive to get in, they accepted 55 out of 230 last fall. Baptist is the oldest nursing school in the city, and it is affiliated with the Baptist Health System, which means they have their own hospitals for clinical rounds, all over the city. I chose Baptist for that reason, because they offer more clinical hours than most if not all the nursing schools in town, and they have a very good reputation for putting out capable new RN students. I did not apply to UTHSCSA at all because I have 4 prerequisites to take still. The good news is, once you get your RN, you can get your bachelor's online at several reputable universities within a year. I did get into SAC as well, but it was my backup plan if I couldn't get in at Baptist. I have heard good and bad things about all the schools. I would say the worst thing about Baptist is that you cannot really take a part time semester, it's in 8 week increments so it's all or nothing. But I love my school. I love my classmates. There are some great teachers there, too. Hope this helps, even though you didn't post BSHP as one of your considerations. )

dda4342 · Apr 29, 2010

I had not been aware of BSHP, thank you for telling me about it. How long is the program? Is there any other information you can give me on it? Additionally, I hadn't heard of people getting their RN-BSN online. What schools offer that? Would a hospital or nursing school (for higher education) look down on that? Thanks for any help you can give me!