Troubles for a 2nd Degree Candidate

[Stephieee]

I have been wanting to go to Nursing school for awhile now but only recently is it possible for me to go, I finally have all my ducks in a row, financially, my pre-req's are done, etc.

I graduated from Northeastern with a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience, my undergrad GPA is 3.02 (including pre-req's) althought my pre-req GPA is around 3.5ish depending on which pre-req's the school requires, I took most of my pre-req's while at NU without the goal of Nursing school in mind so I do have a C in Orgo 2 and a B- in Chemistry 2 but A's and B's in all the rest, the pre-req's I have taken recently (fall 09) were Micro, A&P I/II, and Nutrition, and I got 3 A's and a B.

I applied to a mixture of accelerated BSN programs direct entry MSN programs, I know I still have to wait for an answer, but my GRE's weren't great, I was hoping they would help me out but they may have hurt me. So in preparation of getting accepted to none of the schools I applied, I am trying to see what my other options are?

A traditional BSN program perhaps? or an ADN program? I looked at the curriculum for the ADN program at BHSON and there are only 5 classes I have to take out of the whole two year curriculum. I feel as if I am backtracking, but I am not sure what to do, my ultimate goal is to become a NP.

Should I re-take some of my older pre-req classes from 2003/2004 and improve my grades (the Chemistry's)?? I know I need to re-take my GRE's and I'm not really sure how to improve that score, it was just under 1000, I was pretty shocked but I need to make some serious improvements on that score.

The schools I am waiting to hear from are Simmons (DE and DIX), NU (where I got my BS), MGH IHP (MSN), and Regis...

[juliewoo]

If I were you, I would start by re-taking the pre-reqs that you didn't do so well in. Then tackle the GRE. (I hated that test, too). I think going the traditional BSN or ADN route would be counter productive (and probably a lot harder to get funding for since most places wont give you loans for a second bachelor's. I think since the accelerated BSN is considered a graduate program, you can get loans). And from what I can gauge, the accelerated BSN programs are becoming just as competitive (if not more) than the direct entry MSN programs. I know at MGH this year they had some huge spike in the number of applications, and our MSN class this year is already significantly larger than ones from previous years.

[Stephieee]

I wasn't sure if the economy would have more people applying, looking for a career change, or less people b/c of financial reasons of not being able to afford it right now...

I don't know what else I can do to become more competitive if I try and apply again next year ... what type of jobs or volunteering I could get in the Boston area that would boost up my resume

I quit my job in June so that I could begin taking classes last July and last fall ... now I'm kind of just trying to figure out what to do next, I didn't want to re-take classes this Spring since the application deadlines and notification of getting in or not would be in the middle of the semester. I've spent so much money taking classes and not working, it's a huge decision and I have my eye on the prize I just need to have a back up plan and maybe a back up plan to my back up plan

[Abby Normal]

I think you're panicking unnecessarily.

You have a great degree from a great university. Presumably you made the best, most persuasive application you can. Trust in that.

I honestly don't think you'll need a plan B. I think you'll get into at least one of the schools you applied to. Then the choice will be if you WANT to go to that school, or if you WANT to take another year, take some more courses, retake the GRE's (I honestly don't think schools put much store in the GRE, once you break 1000 or so -- and I did really well!) and volunteering or working in the field etc. They really do care about the whole person, not just a GPA.

Here's my advice: Give it one month. Just wait. I know it's SO HARD. But see what happens before you rearrange your life. No decision you would have to make would require you to start before the end of March, and it doesn't sound like you need to double your stress.

For the next month (and I KNOW EXACTLY how hard this is -- believe me) relax and try to have faith in the process.

But I honestly think it's going to work out.