Some General 2nd Bachelor's Questions

Music in My Heart · May 7, 2008

hi everyone,
this is my first post -- sorry if these questions have been answered before!
you can do a search and find some other threads, too.
i'm feeling really in the dark when it comes to applying to accelerated bsn nursing programs. i'm kind of frustrated by all of it -- first of all, every program asks for different pre-req's (tho many are the same), so are we just supposed to take every possible pre-req if we want to apply to more than one school??? that would take a huge amount of time and money.
you need to take the prerequisites required for each program that you're interested in. check out what's required by the programs you're considering and then take those classes if you want to apply there.
also, just how competitive are these programs? how am i supposed to get an idea of which schools are safety or reach schools? are they all reach schools? i had a 3.59 undergrad gpa at a good school, which i thought was ok, but someone on another post said they had a 3.8 or something and all kinds of other awesome stats and got rejected from someplace . is this like trying to get into harvard???
it's competitive but not so bad as some people think. your gpa is competitive but you need to do very well in your pre-requisites. don't worry about what other people say, follow your own path.
i'm wondering if public schools are more competitive than private, since they're cheaper. seems like more people apply to the public schools. i don't know how i would afford private though.
from my experience, the public schools draw many more applicants than most private schools. i don't know about the extremes like yale but i think that's generally true and for exactly the reason that you mention -- much, much less expensive.
and what about these waitlists? will i spend a year taking pre-req's and applying, and then spend another 2 years on a waitlist???
many (most?) 2nd-degree programs don't waitlist -- they do competitive admissions. you apply and then either get in or not, depending on how you fare against the competition. that's true of the programs that i looked at, anyway.
ok, sorry to get all worked up :nuke:, i just really don't know anything about this process and am trying to get a feel for what's ahead of me. it's scary! i would really really appreciate any help.

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itsinthegenes · May 7, 2008

Hi, I too have a BSc, and was applying for a second degree. I too have a GPA of 3.59. I am about to start my pre-reqs, but have already applied. I decided to do the DNP as it is 4 and a half years with the MSN included. You do not get a BSN (although this may be changing apparently), rather you study intensively for a certificate of nursing and take the NCLEX (in 4 semesters), then move on to the MSN.

The money aspect was an issue for me, especially as an international student, but I went for a private school, with fees $32000 a year as I get to the NP level in 4 and half years, there was competitive admission (no wait list) and the uni had a good reputation. Apparently once in the program, they give you a stipend of $3000 a semester, so over all fees work out $26 000. For me, the level of qualification, the time frame it takes, the huge amount of clinical practice etc led me to go with this program. Just research hard and find out what suits you - what is right for one person is not necessarily right for another! Now just fingers crossed I get in!