University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston

[labsbr]

Hey everyone,

I'm only in my second semester of my freshman year at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, and have already declared my major in nursing. Being a male, I know that I will have a difficult road ahead of me, but have accepted the challenge with an open mind. Earlier this semester I found out that the recent change in my fathers job, is going to require us move to Houston, TX. Looking at the nursing programs within the city I have noticed that UTHealth is one of the top schools in the state as far as nursing standards go.

My question is, does UTHealth judge its applicants based on where they go to take their pre-reqs. Do they look at where you got your course work done more than they do your actual grades? As i'm sure most of you can relate, the college years are not exactly considered living lavishly, and being on a very tight budget, I will most likely have to go to a community college to complete my pre-reqs.

***I'm brand new to this topic posting stuff so don't be too harsh! :) ***

[tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN]

Moved to Texas State Nursing Programs

[mbnoblez]

Hey. I currently attend UTHSC. Will be in my 4th and final semester in the Spring of this year. Since UT Houston is a state-funded school, they prefer instate applicants. As for the actual grades, their prerequisite grades do matter. I took some of mine at a local community college so it doesn't matter if you didn't take them at a university.

[oceanise]

I took all of my pre-reqs at community college. It doesn't matter where you took them, UTHSC just wants you to complete them and get good grades. Saving money by going to community college is definitely a smart choice. :) Good luck!

[Cheynayners]

Hey there,

I know you posted this a while ago but I just had a few questions. Im last minute trying to decide if I want to attend KSU or the University of Houston for this fall(yeah...the one starting in 10-20 days). I've been accepted to both and they both lead to what I want to do. With KSU I can go there and apply to their nursing program and with UH I can do my prereqs and transfer to the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. I live in Georgia but I have very strong alternative reasons for wanting to move to Houston. Where are you at right now? Are you still finishing your prereqs or have you already applied to the Nursing school? If you are there, would you recommend it over KSU's nursing program? I know that KSU makes their applicants take the TEAS V which is apparently a lot harder than the HESI entrance exam you have to take in Houston but Houston is also ranked really high.

Thanks for any insight you or anyone else can give me :)

[labsbr]

Hey

I just glanced over my past posts and coincidentally hit this one!

I have been living in Houston now for a little over a year and love it!

When I posted this I was currently in my first semester at KSU. From upperclassmen friends I heard that KSU's nursing program is VERY competitive! I went to a couple of their meetings my first semester to figure out what I needed to have as far as grades go to enter their program. The admissions committee for their program only excepted the best of the best for their program basing it mostly on the applicants GPA (they wanted their applicants to have as close to a 4.0 as possible).

In Houston, there are many more nursing programs that are not as picky with their applicants (UTMB, UTHSC, Texas A&M, TWU, and a number of community college programs). I believe that these programs are better than KSU's just because of the number of hospitals in the area. Many of the schools work closely with well know hospitals in Houston (Memorial Hermann, Methodist, etc.) and I think this is good for clinicals and forming connections for when you get out of school. I have finished most of my pre-reqs (one more semester to go) and have applied to UT's nursing program in Galveston (UTMB).

Although UTHSC is ranked 20th in the country (if memory serves me correctly) I would suggest applying to other programs as well. Looking at some of the other threads that talk about UTHSC, I think they are very random with the applicants that they admit (they accept students that have no healthcare experience and relatively low GPA's and HESI's and turn away people with some experience, high GPA/HESI).

My personal decision to move to Houston to continue school was based off two reasons.

1-The exceptional hospitals in Houston

2-No one besides people that live in Georgia know about KSU (I wanted to go to a school that was well known around the country)

Good luck!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Glad to see that you are still moving along on your nursing education journey. You're absolutely right - nursing programs based in the Texas Medical Center offer a unique and unparalleled environment for education. I am a 2X UT alumna... BSN at UT-San Antonio & MSN at UTHSC-Houston (critical care CNS + Nursing Edu). UTHSC-Houston is part of a TMC education consortium which allows students to enroll in courses at other collaborating TMC schools such as the School of Public health, medical schools or other nursing schools. The "scholarly atmosphere" that encourages learning and research means that you can attend all sorts of events, including PhD defense sessions in which candidates present their original research. Just keep an eye on the bulletin boards... some of them even have refreshments!

I don't know what your definition of "picky" is, but the applicant:selection ratio (# applicants versus those that are accepted) is unbelievable at UTMB, slightly less at TWU and UT. But you are right, they do use multiple criteria. This may seem "random" but it certainly is not. There is an increasing tendency to use standardized test scores (HESI). Due to the well-documented phenomenon of 'grade point inflation' that has been going on in higher education for the last decade or so, GPA is no longer a very reliable indication of a student's true ability.