Should I apply to state colleges in California (for BSN Program)

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I live in the Bay Area in California, and I prefer to go to school in the area rather than moving far from home. If I had to, I would move, but I'm just wondering what opinions you guys have on applying to state colleges such as San Francisco or San Jose.

Several people I know did not apply to CSUs, but rather, private schools. Both are impacted for the BSN program, but I did hear that there is a better chance you can get accepted in private school program vs. CSUs because it is not as crowded.

San Jose State and San Francisco State are my two options for state colleges (they're also closest to home), but I keep hearing how impacted it is. Would the impacted status really impact my chances that severely that I cannot get into the program, or take a long period of time until I do get accepted?

Should I just focus on applying to private schools rather than CSUs?

Opinions, please!

Thank You

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The bigger picture isn't about which school to go to, it's that most recent graduates of nursing programs cannot find employment in California, period. It's not just the programs that are impacted, it's the entire job market. You may not want to move for nursing school, but you might well find yourself moving to find a job at all.

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Yes, I understand the career field is also impacted and I may have to move, which I am fine with. I only prefer not to. The current focus for me now is if I should apply or not, because I'm currently finishing up my prerequisites.

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Speak to the nursing advisor at both of those schools and see what they say. I thought there was also a nursing program at East Bay. Am I mistaken?

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The bigger picture isn't about which school to go to, it's that most recent graduates of nursing programs cannot find employment in California, period. It's not just the programs that are impacted, it's the entire job market. You may not want to move for nursing school, but you might well find yourself moving to find a job at all.

I agree with this. My sister is an RN and one of her coworkers (and roomate) actually lived in the bay area, and every other week she would commute down here to the south valley (4-5 hour drive) for work and stay at my sister's house, because this is the only work she could find. It took her a year and a half of experience working here before she finally got offered a position in the bay area. I actually wanted to move to the bay area and go to SFSU, but I decided to stay here for nursing school (at a state school) and then move to SF after I get experience here.

As for OP's original question, I haven't heard great things about private schools (problems with clinicals, not enough practical hands-on experience, problems with accreditation, etc). I would suggest finding a couple school's you're interested in and googling reviews for them, then decide if you still want to apply.

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Specializes in Women’s Health.
Just be aware that if you qualify for a Cal Grant, you cannot use it at a private school, only CSUs and UCs.

Just out of curiosity, where did you hear this? I attend a private school and they encourage us to apply for the cal-grant and it is stated in our financial aid hand book that it is accepted at our school. I wonder if we were given false info...

Also is it only private schools that you cannot use it at? Because I've used the cal-grant at a CC before. Thanx.

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Just out of curiosity, where did you hear this? I attend a private school and they encourage us to apply for the cal-grant and it is stated in our financial aid hand book that it is accepted at our school. I wonder if we were given false info...

Also is it only private schools that you cannot use it at? Because I've used the cal-grant at a CC before. Thanx.

Hmm, I just looked it up and it appears I was the one given false info. I suppose you can't always trust school counselors. For Cal Grant A, a student attending a private school eligible for Cal Grants can receive up to $9,XXX (don't remember exact amount) toward tuition and fees. I will edit my previous post.

Here is a list of eligible schools: http://www.csac.ca.gov/pubs/forms/grnt_frm/2014_15_eligible_cal_grant_schools.pdf

Thanks, and sorry about the misunderstanding!

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I'm from the bay area. You sound like half the people I know whom were working on prerequisites, unwilling to relocate, applying and getting rejected to the same schools over and over. This includes private schools,which are also sonewjat competitive. Apply to everything you can, otherwise you would find that you potentially may have wasted a year or 2 because you didn't give it a shot to relocate. Time is money, experience and further opportunity. You live in one of the most competitive areas in California and you're limiting yourself greatly.

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Like I said before, I am willing to relocate but it's just not my preference. I think I am struggling on deciding if applying to very impacted schools is worth a shot or not (in my area), since I know many people who do well in all their prereqs, with experience from volunteering, and etc, still not being able to get into the state program. But, you're right, I think I'll just apply to everything I can.

I've been just discouraged by seeing fellow classmates all have had no luck getting into SJSU or SF, so I just wanted to know if it's worth the risk in applying anyway.

Thanks for your insight!

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Wow, that's rough trying to find work! Of the few nurses I know, two found work within a month or two from graduating in the bay area, which was very lucky for them. The rest haven't been able to find jobs that doesn't require at least certain amount of experience, so they're just trying to find whatever they can to gain some experience. Also, thanks for your input!

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

I would encourage you to apply anywhere and everywhere you'd even MAYBE consider attending, and see what happens. I applied to 10 schools when I first applied and got into 2. Those were all CSUs.

There are a lot of factors at play here, like GPA, TEAS score, prereq GPA, and course recency. One nice thing if you go to SFSU is that you do your clinicals in SF, which gives you the opportunity to build connections for when you start looking for work. It's ALWAYS worth applying. If you don't apply, the answer is always no.

The market is definitely TOUGH. I am an hour north of SF. I graduated from SSU, and I have been trying to get into an acute care position since May. I am fortunate, in that I have prior healthcare experience, which helped me land my home infusion job, but there is very little work for new grads out here. I'm applying everywhere within 2 hours of home. I was working in retail until August, and since then, some of my regular infusion work has dried up.

That 1-2 years of acute care experience is EVERYTHING.

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Thank you for your advice, and that's a good point for doing clinicals in SF.

Good luck with your search !

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