U of MN or St. Catherine's MSN program?

[momof 3&student]

Hi all,

I am in great turmoil. I tried to get into the University of MN's Entry-Level Master's program and failed. I feel defeated. I am now trying to get into the Entry-Level Master's program at St. Catherine's. I have people telling me not to settle and to try again next year at the U of MN and people telling me to go to St. Catherine's. I like St. Catherine's cause it is small, personal and friendly. I hate that the U is big and sees you as a number because there are so many people that want to go there - they don't need you. The problem is that the U has the clout and the prestige and the name. So my question is do I do all the hard work and try to get accepted to the U, which may be all for nothing or do I just go for St. Catherine's. I don't want to regret any decisions. Not trying for the U of MN means more time with my small kids but less prestige. If I go for the U of MN, I have to study and take the GRE, volunteer, take another class and perhaps get a CNA job. I don't have to do anything else for admittance into the St. Catherine's program. Does one school over another matter that much? What would you do?

[lhanka]

@cadenza0123 Thank you! This helps a lot. I did get in!!! WOOHOO!, but last week decided to hold off as I am looking at UMNs MN to DNP Midwifery program. I would have more time with my family, which is something my little boys (5 and 2.5) need, and the program is shorter in length so less time without my full time salary. Thank you for your prespective!

[Kargay]

Is anyone applying to St Kate’s 2021 cohort? If you’re already in the program...any advice on the essays and the GPA?

[seahorse5]

Hello!
I was accepted into their AGPCNP DNP program starting in May. I had a 3.4 GPA and for the essays, I had talked about my experience, but tried to make it interesting. Lmk if you have any other questions

[TSeliot, MSN]

@Kargay,

My overall GPA is around 3.6 with a 4.0 GPA in my prereqs.

For the essay, I really focused on describing my past accomplishments and activities in relation to those skills and abilities required for nursing. I did some research and found a few articles that gave me some great key words to use in response to a few of the essay questions.

I also used my resume and the essay questions as a way to tell my story. I had a few key points and strengths that I wanted to emphasize, so I used those to make everything connect.

Because I've had other careers unrelated to nursing, I really wanted to show the logic in why I was making this huge change.

Hope that helps!

t

[jaredsmom]

I submitted my application yesterday. My undergraduate GPA was 2.84, but I have a Masters degree in counseling with a GPA of 3.58, so I had to answer the supplemental questions on why I didn't meet all requirements.

I hope that doesn't affect my chances. I really wanna be a nurse :-)

[Kargay]

I GOT ACCEPTED IN BOTH ST KATES AND METRO STATE!! Now I have to decide which direction to take. Excited about the journey.

[jaredsmom]

17 hours ago, Kargay said:

I GOT ACCEPTED IN BOTH ST KATES AND METRO STATE!! Now I have to decide which direction to take. Excited about the journey.

Hi,

When did you submit your application for St Kate, MSN?

[Kargay]

Couple of months ago. If you submit your application early, they do make early decisions before the end of the application deadline.

[Ashley Jonas]

WOW!! That’s great you got accepted. I just submitted my application for the masters of nursing program in July. Has anyone heard if they got accepted or not yet? I got an email mentioning I should hear something end of August/early September.

[cadenza0123, MSN, RN]

I think I submitted in April of 2018 and heard back by August, but I know a lot of the faculty are scrambling trying to arrange clinical placements for the current cohorts which is difficult due to the pandemic. On the bright side, I'm in the cohort that graduates in March 2021 and we were all able to get placements for our preceptorships (yay!), but they were pretty delayed in letting us know, so I'm guessing the first year faculty are behind as well.

[Ashley Jonas]

Thanks for the update. Wish you the best. I just heard back today actually and I did not get into the program. 

[Tao Vang]

Hello everyone! I am applying to St. Catherine University and UMN MSN nursing program this year. I am currently writing my essays for St. Catherine, I would love some feedback and advice (for starting Spring 2022). I am very excited to get into either program, but I got to say, the GRE is killing my butt. I will be taking it in two weeks and my latest practice test I scored average on all the subjects, not sure if I can get into the UMN, though I have 4.0 for 5/9 prerequisite and 3.79 for undergraduate.