Vanderbilt Pre-Specialty Entry 2021

[Guest1148094]

I noticed there was not a thread created for Vanderbilt pre-specialty nursing for 2021, so I created one. Is anyone already preparing for this upcoming application cycle?

[lunalilith]

3 minutes ago, futurenursej said:

This is great info! Would anyone be able to find a time frame for when they decide on the other scholarships not already on our admission letter?

I read in last year’s thread at least one person who received a full tuition scholarship found out with their admission letter. So it’s interesting to see that can be decided later on as well. 

Did anyone receive information on loans in their admission letter? I am curious when our financial aid award summary comes out or if none is finalized until July?

I received info about how much loans I would likely qualify for on my acceptance letter right after they listed the amount of scholarship I recieved.

[PinkFreud]

As for the full tuition scholarships, I was told all admitted students were considered and that the committee will discuss recipients in the coming weeks. 

[secondtimer14]

34 minutes ago, PinkFreud said:

As for the full tuition scholarships, I was told all admitted students were considered and that the committee will discuss recipients in the coming weeks. 

Wow, so you're certain those haven't been allocated yet? That's huge. 

[Punkers]

@lunalilith

Did you email the nursing admissions department directly at [email protected]? If yes, they do respond very quickly. If you emailed the undergrad or graduate school, it will probably take some time for them to forward it to the nursing school.

Entering their MSN program as a ASN, you are considered a RN PreSpecialty. I copied this below directly from the RN PreSpecialty page on their website. The RN PreSpecialty year is completed in the "modified block" format, you don't need to relocate!

ASN to MSN entry for ASN and Diploma Graduates

Do you have a goal of expanding your career potential by earning a Master of Science in Nursing degree and becoming an advanced practice nurse? Vanderbilt offers a flexible, accelerated RN PreSpecialty program that helps you reach your goals within two calendar years.
Through our modified class schedules and distributed course delivery formats, you can learn from where you live without relocating or giving up your employment.

They said during the information session I just attended, that if you are admitted for outside TN, you can't change to inside middle TN, due to lack of clinical locations.

During the information session the financial aid lady said you don't need to apply for those scholarships listed on the financial aid page, you will automatically be given a $ amount based on your application review score and it is assigned to one of those. Have you read through the financial aid packet that they sent to all applicants? If not you really should. 

You should call the admissions department directly with your questions to get the correct answers or attend one of the weekly virtual information sessions that they do.

[Aspiring PMHNP]

3 hours ago, queenrus said:

The other VUSN internal scholarships will be decided if you accept the admissions offer and pay the tuition deposit. I was told during an information session that the full-scholarships are decided after a panel has their complete list of students that have confirmed and paid their tuition deposit. That's decided several weeks or months after you have received your admissions decision.

Ah, gotcha! Thanks for sharing. (Now that I think about it, it does make sense that they would ideally want to offer full-tuition scholarships to students who are decided on VUSN vs. offering it to someone who ultimately accepts admission somewhere else -- then they would have to re-allocate the scholarship later, which would be more work for them.

[queenrus]

12 minutes ago, Aspiring PMHNP said:

Ah, gotcha! Thanks for sharing. (Now that I think about it, it does make sense that they would ideally want to offer full-tuition scholarships to students who are decided on VUSN vs. offering it to someone who ultimately accepts admission somewhere else -- then they would have to re-allocate the scholarship later, which would be more work for them.

You could not have said that better. I was told today that they want to offer scholarships to those that have made the decision to come to Vanderbilt on their own instead of a student that selects Vanderbilt just because they have been offered a full scholarship. So this is why, the scholarship panel waits until all of the students have committed to the program (paid deposits etc) and then meets to discuss their committed students. I was told this could take months....which makes sense since they are still accepting those who are waitlisted within the next few months.

[Aspiring PMHNP]

5 minutes ago, queenrus said:

You could not have said that better. I was told today that they want to offer scholarships to those that have made the decision to come to Vanderbilt on their own instead of a student that selects Vanderbilt just because they have been offered a full scholarship. So this is why, the scholarship panel waits until all of the students have committed to the program (paid deposits etc) and then meets to discuss their committed students. I was told this could take months....which makes sense since they are still accepting those who are waitlisted within the next few months.

Cool! Thanks for getting all that info. ? I was just guessing at this point so all of this is helpful. The fact that they do a really holistic analysis of all students is heartening.

[PinkFreud]

7 hours ago, queenrus said:

You could not have said that better. I was told today that they want to offer scholarships to those that have made the decision to come to Vanderbilt on their own instead of a student that selects Vanderbilt just because they have been offered a full scholarship. So this is why, the scholarship panel waits until all of the students have committed to the program (paid deposits etc) and then meets to discuss their committed students. I was told this could take months....which makes sense since they are still accepting those who are waitlisted within the next few months.

Who did you speak with? I was told yesterday by the director of financial aid that all admitted students were considered. I even specifically asked about being accepted vs enrolled. I hope they all get on the same page! 

[futurenursej]

2 hours ago, PinkFreud said:

Who did you speak with? I was told yesterday by the director of financial aid that all admitted students were considered. I even specifically asked about being accepted vs enrolled. I hope they all get on the same page! 

Does that mean if we weren’t notified of the full tuition award as of now, there is no chance of getting it now? Could someone email and ask to verify when we would find our if there is still a chance of winning the scholarship?

[queenrus]

2 hours ago, PinkFreud said:

Who did you speak with? I was told yesterday by the director of financial aid that all admitted students were considered. I even specifically asked about being accepted vs enrolled. I hope they all get on the same page! 

I think the key here is whether we are talking about the "full tuition scholarships" that are awarded to 3 prespecialty students and 3 direct entry students OR if we are referring to the internal scholarships of up to $10K that are awarded at the time of the admission decision. 

If the Director of Financial Aid confirmed to you that it doesn't matter if we accept admission then that's great news. Then I look forward to not having to wait too long for the opportunity for a full scholarship. 

By the way, I was at an information session recently where this specific topic was discussed and resolved that Vanderbilt doesn't make the decision on who gets the full scholarships until students have committed. 

 I understand this was contrary to what you were told but time will tell. 

[PinkFreud]

2 minutes ago, queenrus said:

I think the key here is whether we are talking about the "full tuition scholarships" that are awarded to 3 prespecialty students and 3 direct entry students OR if we are referring to the internal scholarships of up to $10K that are awarded at the time of the admission decision. 

If the Director of Financial Aid confirmed to you that it doesn't matter if we accept admission then that's great news. Then I look forward to not having to wait too long for the opportunity for a full scholarship. 

By the way, I was at an information session recently where this specific topic was discussed and resolved that Vanderbilt doesn't make the decision on who gets the full scholarships until students have committed. 

 I understand this was contrary to what you were told but time will tell. 

This was the question asked:

“Just to clarify something in the email: is it correct that we must actually be enrolled—not just accepted—into the program to be considered for the internal, full-tuition scholarships?”

This was the response: 

“All admitted students are considered for one of three full tuition scholarships.  Therefore, you will be considered.  We will begin reviewing that information in the next couple of weeks.”

Perhaps I’m interpreting her response incorrectly, but just sharing what was told to me.  

[futurenursej]

8 minutes ago, PinkFreud said:

This was the question asked:

“Just to clarify something in the email: is it correct that we must actually be enrolled—not just accepted—into the program to be considered for the internal, full-tuition scholarships?”

This was the response: 

“All admitted students are considered for one of three full tuition scholarships.  Therefore, you will be considered.  We will begin reviewing that information in the next couple of weeks.”

Perhaps I’m interpreting her response incorrectly, but just sharing what was told to me.  

This is super exciting! Thank you for sharing, I wouldn't have ever thought to ask!