Uic bsn help pls....

[Rosmund]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently a freshman at Uic and I'm paranoid about not getting into the Uic program. I've heard people saying how even with gpa 3.5 and lists of extra activities/volunteer the chances are still super low. Apparently there's only 100 seat available and half of that goes to non Uic's students. Can anyone give me an some advices, perhaps to bring my hope up for applying next year?

[jalilly]

Hi! I'm a UIC nursing student on the Urbana- Champaign campus. UIC nursing is a competitive program and you will have to work hard to get in. Since I'm on a different campus I can't speak directly about UIC but what I will say if that if you have a solid GPA and you have healthcare experience you have a great chance of getting into the program. I would ask the academic advisor what the average GPA is to get in. Just FYI sometimes they say the admission GPA is higher or acceptance rate is lower than it actually is. Join SNA and talk to the nursing students about their experiences (: My advice is to work as hard as you possibly can to get into the program, don't make excuses for yourself, and don't tell yourself that you can't do it. If it doesn't work out then there's always a Plan B. Good luck!

[jalilly]

Also, feel free to message me and I can give you more specific advice.

[Rosmund]

Thank you Jalilly for replying. I'm glad that you made it sound a bit more hopeful. My gpa right now is only 3.20, but I did do a lot of outside stuff and hopefully it'll give me a bump in applying. By any chance you have to write an essay too for applying? What kind of stuff should I emphasis on my essay. I went to my advisor today and ask about the program again and she said there's a good 350 prenursing student fighting for 30ish seats at Uic and she strongly advice me to apply elsewhere too. Oh and also btw what is the SNA?

[jalilly]

Yes, there were multiple short essays in the application. If you look at the UIC nursing website under 'application process' they actually have the questions already available. Make sure the writing center at UIC edits them. I know there are 96 seats at UIC in Chicago and 64 in Urbana. I think it's a good idea to apply elsewhere or to make a plan for finishing another degree at UIC if you would rather do that. SNA is student nurses' association I'm sure they have meetings often.

[jalilly]

For your essays you should emphasize what makes you unique, your good qualities, experiences, and what you would bring to the program. Write a long list of experiences that you've had (for example, family member in the hospital, volunteering with homeless, working in a hospital, encountering a medical emergency, literally anything like that) that made you want to be a nurse or relate to nursing. Then take that list and categorize them into essays. That's a great way to brainstorm!