University Senior Graduating in May. Wants to go into Nursing.

[bill1988]

Hello everyone! My name is Bill.These forums seem very good.

I am a senior at stony brook university in NY. I am majoring in health science and I should be graduating this May. I really would love to go into the nursing field but I just don't know much about graduate school or programs. So I was wondering if I could tell you my situation and you could tell me what my next steps should be so I can become a registered nurse.-

I have taken the following classes in my 3 years of college

A&P 1 (human anatomy)

the 2 BIOS (molecular biology, animal physiology)

microbio

clinical/abnormal psych, social psych, intro psych

intro soc, soc of american society

statistics

bio lab

chem labs

I have taken general chemistry 3 times but I never got higher then a C- ...I may take it next semester or over the summer at a community college.. depending on what you suggest.

My GPA is currently at 2.8. It has been rising however and I think I can get it to 3.3ish by the time I graduate.

I have no volunteer experience but I have applied to volunteer and start at the University hospital next week.

What do you suggest I do if I want to become a RN? What is the type of program I should be applying to? When do I apply? Do I have a lot of options for where I can go (based on my grades, lack of experience)??

Please tell me everything you can because I am honestly clueless. I have tried meeting with counselors and advisors but I either get ignored or sent to general nursing information sessions :angryfire.

I am not looking for the quickest path necessarily (although that would be great)...just the path that will get me there. I'm a patient guy.

If you can help me with this, I will be forever grateful. I am desperate to succeed and I am willing to work extremely hard to make it. Please just help me with this if you can.

Thank you!!!

[mom2_3boys]

No real words of advice just wanted to wish you the best of luck! I know once the calling strikes you will do anything to achieve the goal of becoming a nurse!

[bill1988]

thank you for the kind words! you're right about that haha!

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

Since you'll already have a bachelors, you should probably go for either an Accelerated BSN (ABSN), Graduate-Entry Master's, or Direct Entry Master's. Programs vary somewhat in content (specifically, how fast they go and how much advanced practice stuff, if any, they cover), so you should research them. One of your best resources is to look up the Board of Nursing in each state - they'll have the schools of nursing in the state listed on some page on their website, usually sorted by the degree/certification granted by the institution. If you want, I can try to sell you on attending DePaul, where I go, but you should probably look locally first.

One of the things you'll find real fast is that, while most schools want generally the same types of classes, each school has its own prerequisite list that you'll need to meet before starting classes. Looking at what you've taken already, you're gonna need the other A&P and get decent grades in Chemistry to satisfy most schools. You'll also need a GPA of at least 3.0 to get into anyplace decent.

Good luck!