SFSU 2011 applicants

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Application period is about to start for everybody. I wanted to open a new thread for those who are applying to SFSU, to share information, give support to others and to see how fierce the competition is going to be this academic year.

I also was confused. Though I never assumed I would be accepted because everything is just sooo competitive now, I thought I would at least be waitlisted especially if its true that the waitlist is about 80+ people long. The only thing I can figure is that many of the applicants admitted or waitlisted having lower GPA's and TEAS scores brought substantial paid healthcare experience to the table (i.e. years as EMT, Navy Corpmen, CNA, etc) and maybe also being multilingual - both of which SFSU takes into account and gives extra points for. It's really hard to compete w/ that type of background if your an applicant with little to no professional healthcare experience. So I knew I would be at a disadvantage going in but I thought a 4.0 GPA overall w/ no prerequisites in progress + strong TEAS score + volunteer experience (only had 1 volunteer experience but I have been there forever and received 3 awards from patients & staff for it which I included in verification letter) would at least put me on the waitlist. Also, I got the impression from my rejection email that if I did apply again they can take that into account when making future decisions I guess b/c it looks like I'm dedicated to attending SFSU. They said many of those admitted this cycle were applicants trying to apply on their 2nd and 3rd try; but I can't afford financially to wait it out til the next application cycle.

By contrast, some other CSU's only take into account GPA, classes taken + TEAS score. The BSN at CSULB is also competitive (I was told in my interview that 500 people applied, 120 applicants were called in for interview & 90 will be selected w/ remaining 30 on waitlist). I suppose I was brought in for interview because CSULB ranks applicants solely on the numbers and bring in the highest scores. It's just a striking contrast though in my application outcomes at CSULB and SFSU. I'm a bit disappointed w/ SFSU decision but it would have been very expensive for me (room+board in San Fran) anyway to attend as I am originally from So Cal and can move in w/ my family to attend CSULB if I need to. But San Fran is such a great city to attend nursing school so congrats for making the waitlist! Regardless of where I end up going, I will definitely try again to become a nurse in San Fran once I graduate. Good luck to you!

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22flowers I am very sorry that you didn't make it to SFSU or even at least the wait list. You definitely deserve a spot and SFSU really is something funky, almost like a bot! You have a higher GPA than me and did better than me with the TEAS yet I was placed on the wait list while you weren't?! That's crazy and I feel bad. I hope you get into Long Beach. I have a feeling that you will. While I want to make it into SFSU outta this wait list!

Remember, let's remain positive! :w00t:

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I thought of something--- they said they definitely give priority to people in the local area, for example Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties. But it's still not fair!

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I thought of something--- they said they definitely give priority to people in the local area, for example Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties. But it's still not fair!

Yea, I live in their local area, Santa Clara here. By the way, are you a transfer student or an SFSU student? Are you going to attend SFSU?

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I'm a transfer, and the waitlist isn't open until May 1st, so I'll know then but I applied to CSULB too so good luck to us on that school!

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I did have some experience in the medical records deperment at a local SNF, but I definitely wasnt paid for that. I'm assuming a lot of LVNs and CNAs probably got into the program more easily than anyone doing volunteer work in healthcare? I heard from a friend of mine that someone she knows has more than a few Cs on her transcript and she still got into fall 2011. This is also her first time applying... I'd like to know exactly how they (SFSU) decides on who gets in and who doesn't. I'm glad I'm where I am right now. It just worries me that maybe they aren't picking more well-rounded applicants, or at least those who seem to be more qualified than others..

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Specializes in nurse anesthesia 6-10 yrs from now.

FYI just thought I'd let folks know my online status was updated 2 days ago from applicant to admitted.

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Specializes in nurse anesthesia 6-10 yrs from now.
I did have some experience in the medical records deperment at a local SNF, but I definitely wasnt paid for that. I'm assuming a lot of LVNs and CNAs probably got into the program more easily than anyone doing volunteer work in healthcare? I heard from a friend of mine that someone she knows has more than a few Cs on her transcript and she still got into fall 2011. This is also her first time applying... I'd like to know exactly how they (SFSU) decides on who gets in and who doesn't. I'm glad I'm where I am right now. It just worries me that maybe they aren't picking more well-rounded applicants, or at least those who seem to be more qualified than others..

Hi there,

I'm not sure what you mean by choosing "more qualified" people. It seems there are many ways that a person can be well qualified for admission or to become a nurse and we should try to be supportive of all folks who have applied and have worked hard to get to this point. Although 22flowers did not get admitted despite having a high TEAS and a 4.0, she still kept it positive and congratulated others. With her statistics, I have a lot of confidence she will get into one or more programs and will cross my fingers for her because she deserves it for all her hard work.

Bombom, I think grades are very important but that alone does not make a person "well rounded" as you seem to suggest. In fact, it is everything else about that person that gives the school a better characterization of who the applicant is, what he stands for, and whether his values reflect the program's ideologies and the principles of nursing.

I, myself, only have volunteer experience at a hospital. For those who have their LVN or CNA so that they may work directly with patients at a higher capacity, this is highly commendable and shows a long standing commitment to this industry. Who knows if more folks with this background made it in than those with stellar grades but without the direct patient care. In their defense, this is perfectly acceptable to me. Perhaps while attending school and working in a hospital, they also had children to raise. It's also speculative to assume that these folks somehow had it "easier." How do we know these LVNs and CNAs didn't also have 3.9+ GPAs? You see, I'm also speculating to make my point. Because we just don't know how the Committee ultimately operates, we should remain supportive of our peers--regardless of their status.

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Hi there,

I'm not sure what you mean by choosing "more qualified" people. It seems there are many ways that a person can be well qualified for admission or to become a nurse and we should try to be supportive of all folks who have applied and have worked hard to get to this point. Although 22flowers did not get admitted despite having a high TEAS and a 4.0, she still kept it positive and congratulated others. With her statistics, I have a lot of confidence she will get into one or more programs and will cross my fingers for her because she deserves it for all her hard work.

Bombom, I think grades are very important but that alone does not make a person "well rounded" as you seem to suggest. In fact, it is everything else about that person that gives the school a better characterization of who the applicant is, what he stands for, and whether his values reflect the program's ideologies and the principles of nursing.

I, myself, only have volunteer experience at a hospital. For those who have their LVN or CNA so that they may work directly with patients at a higher capacity, this is highly commendable and shows a long standing commitment to this industry. Who knows if more folks with this background made it in than those with stellar grades but without the direct patient care. In their defense, this is perfectly acceptable to me. Perhaps while attending school and working in a hospital, they also had children to raise. It's also speculative to assume that these folks somehow had it "easier." How do we know these LVNs and CNAs didn't also have 3.9+ GPAs? You see, I'm also speculating to make my point. Because we just don't know how the Committee ultimately operates, we should remain supportive of our peers--regardless of their status.

I'm a little confused about whether you thought my last post was attacking others? As with all posts, please take them with a grain of salt. I was only really shocked by how great 22flower's achievements were, and--upon hearing that someone else with quite a few Cs on their transcript alone--how she would not have at least been considered for waitlist. I was not trying to say that well rounded applicants only had great grades and test scores. I work side by side with LVNs and CNAs too, so I would never bad mouth them for the hard work that they do--especially at my facility. I just feel bad that someone with a really great application like 22flowers would be rejected when someone like me, with my mediocre accomplishments, would have gotten a good spot on the waitlist. Again, I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad.. just trying to sympathize in the way I know how, so please don't take it the wrong way. I just put my thoughts out there, but it doesn't mean I'm right. I think we all know that when we post our opinions. These are my opinions after all, and I write them without deeply probing into everything. I would never be able to write if I had to constantly think about what comes out of my mind at the time of posting..

I apologize if anything I wrote sounded offensive to anyone though, especially 22flowers, because it really was not meant to sound bad at all

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No worries BomBom - thanks for sympathizing w/ my situation. it's nice to see on these nursing forums applicants who care about the status of others outside of their own status & are not overly competitive. Just keep thinking positive and you'll make your way off the SFSU waitlist soon :) I think alot of applicants, myself included, are getting very anxious as time goes on & we become increasingly emotionally invested in hearing back from nursing schools. I'm still trying to make a waitlist at any of the schools I applied to..it's so tough! but i'm trying to remain optimistic though. But I have a feeling you and others in the SFSU forum will get in, even if it may be right before Fall '11 semester begins. Overall though - from what I have seen on the forums of other schools I applied to - SFSU seems to have one of the more fair application processes, compared to say CSULB for example, whose admissions actions to this point have confounded all of us :( By may '11 i'm sure we'll start to see applicants getting pulled of the SFSU waitlist...good luck to you and everyone waiting to hear back from SFSU.....to those pulled off the waitlist, please continue to keep everyone informed.

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Hi everyone,

I got accepted into SFSU for Spring 2012 and Sac State for Fall 2011. I choose SFSU since it's my 1st choice.

Also, this is my stat if u guys want to take a look at: my Science GPA is 3.9, my overall GPA is 3.75 and my TEAS score is 86%, im bilingual and i dont have any previous experience in healthcare. With a not-really-strong stat like that, these past few months were nerve-racking for me and i still can't believe i got accepted into SFSU.

Anw, that's my information and i hope it helps. Good luck everyone!

By the way, i'd love to hear some feedback from my future classmates. The challenge's only just begun!

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According to the emails, the waitlist should now be open I wonder how long it will take before anyone is notified...

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