Vanderbilt Pre-Specialty Entry 2021

Nursing Students School Programs

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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?

Just now, Simplebeauty1 said:

Hi! Thank you for taking the time to respond. I feel that this program is the best fit for me and I'm hopeful that they agree. I think I'm concerned because of my age and that my science prereqs needed to be repeated and therefore were not done by the time I applied. I did apply by the priority deadline. My GPA is high. I am just nervous I guess, and hoping that repeating these science courses prove to be worth it.

I think you have really good chances!! I am in a part time specialty program for AGPCNP and have been a nurse for 4.5 years. My GPA was not stellar, but I will say VUSN does a very holistic review of the application compared to other programs. 

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2 hours ago, lrmstudent said:

The program has been going great! It has been more manageable that I imagined, which was a nice surprise. I've made it my top priority, which has allowed me to stay on top of everything and truly immerse myself in the material. Even though we move fast, I have learned an immense amount of information and it has been pretty surreal to be able to apply that in the clinical setting. I am really glad I chose Vanderbilt. This program has been around for decades and they definitely know what they're doing. If you choose to come here, I do not think you'll be disappointed! 

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. ?

Thank you to all the current students being responsive on here! It helps us so much. I have a question in terms of funding. Something so unique about is that they offer the potential for full rides. I believe they give 3 to new pre-specialty students and then give the opportunity to another 3 after the first two semesters based on grades. I wanted to ask, does this create a sort of tension or competitiveness between students? Or is it one of those things that getting the necessary grades is so unattainable and so unlikely that it doesn't cause any sort of real issue? Especially if the coursework is manageable, its something to really consider trying for.

Thank you!

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Specializes in Future FNP.
28 minutes ago, kcheck5 said:

I think you have really good chances!! I am in a part time specialty program for AGPCNP and have been a nurse for 4.5 years. My GPA was not stellar, but I will say VUSN does a very holistic review of the application compared to other programs. 

Hi, thank you, I hope so but I am not allowing myself to get too hopeful. 

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7 minutes ago, ChemGirl713 said:

Thank you to all the current students being responsive on here! It helps us so much. I have a question in terms of funding. Something so unique about Vandy is that they offer the potential for full rides. I believe they give 3 to new pre-specialty students and then give the opportunity to another 3 after the first two semesters based on grades. I wanted to ask, does this create a sort of tension or competitiveness between students? Or is it one of those things that getting the necessary grades is so unattainable and so unlikely that it doesn't cause any sort of real issue? Especially if the coursework is manageable, its something to really consider trying for.

Thank you!

Hi there! Current PMHNP student here.

The three full rides are given to admitted nursing students in 3 categories at the get go and they will be announced before your Admitted Students day via phone call by the dean: previous nursing degree (ASN-MSN), underrepresented group, and one other I forget the category of if another current student can respond. 

The other 3 full rides are given to second year specialty students who received a 4.0  GPA during the pre-specialty year (so once you are done with the pre-specialty year you will  be 3 semesters down). Last year 50/150 students got a 4.0, I am unsure of the metrics for this years class. It is definitely attainable and students are very competitive because of this opportunity. Personally I didn't get a 4.0 in classes this semester but my tuition and fees were paid by a federal nursing scholarship (see more below).

 I suggest applying for the Nurse Corps and National Health Service scholarships as well as VA scholarships in addition to working on your grades because there are nearly 30 students that have received these scholarships in our class combined. is the #1 school where master's level students get the most funding so be aggressive and put in a lot of effort to your apps. Typically they open in March of each year and you ARE eligible to apply even if you haven't finished your first year despite the program guidance last year. So if you have already organized all of your application materials for the MSN program, just work on fine tuning your essays and reaching out to recommenders for more letters.

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41 minutes ago, futurenursej said:

Hi there! Current PMHNP student here.

The three full rides are given to admitted nursing students in 3 categories at the get go and they will be announced before your Admitted Students day via phone call by the dean: previous nursing degree (ASN-MSN), underrepresented group, and one other I forget the category of if another current student can respond. 

The other 3 full rides are given to second year specialty students who received a 4.0  GPA during the pre-specialty year (so once you are done with the pre-specialty year you will  be 3 semesters down). Last year 50/150 students got a 4.0, I am unsure of the metrics for this years class. It is definitely attainable and students are very competitive because of this opportunity. Personally I didn't get a 4.0 in classes this semester but my tuition and fees were paid by a federal nursing scholarship (see more below).

 I suggest applying for the Nurse Corps and National Health Service scholarships as well as VA scholarships in addition to working on your grades because there are nearly 30 students that have received these scholarships in our class combined. Vandy is the #1 school where master's level students get the most funding so be aggressive and put in a lot of effort to your apps. Typically they open in March of each year and you ARE eligible to apply even if you haven't finished your first year despite the program guidance last year. So if you have already organized all of your application materials for the MSN program, just work on fine tuning your essays and reaching out to recommenders for more letters.

Wow! Thank you so much for all of that information. I was definitely thinking of nurse corps and the national health service scholarships, but was worried I wouldn't qualify because my EFC is slightly higher than what they say is priority. I wonder why gets so many students who qualify for those scholarship programs! Its really encouraging to hear that, though. I believe I read somewhere that CNM/WHNP get priority for funding for the National Health Service one, so that in combination with Vandy being high for getting funding really gives me hope. I haven't heard about the VA scholarships, but I will have to look into those. 

Overall, how are you enjoying the program? 

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3 minutes ago, ChemGirl713 said:

Wow! Thank you so much for all of that information. I was definitely thinking of nurse corps and the national health service scholarships, but was worried I wouldn't qualify because my EFC is slightly higher than what they say is priority. I wonder why Vandy gets so many students who qualify for those scholarship programs! Its really encouraging to hear that, though. I believe I read somewhere that CNM/WHNP get priority for funding for the National Health Service one, so that in combination with Vandy being high for getting funding really gives me hope. I haven't heard about the VA scholarships, but I will have to look into those. 

Overall, how are you enjoying the program? 

There are definitely tiers to funding priorities for the federal nursing scholarships (for example PMHNP, family, and womens health are greatly needed) but regardless of what your numbers are I encourage you to apply. The administration put record money towards scholarships this year to address health inequities. Don’t stress over your stats just pour your heart out in essays and get high quality recommendations!!
 

The health administrations take forever to tell you if you got them or not- range between July to November, especially with COVID processing time. Whereas the VA scholarship has a much faster turnaround time (fastest I heard from a friend was 4 weeks!!) to find out if you got it which is very convenient. Don’t put yourself in a position where you are close to the deadline or worse, miss them! Apply as soon as they open!! 


And oof thats a loaded question LOL! This program is no joke. In first semester you will get an unscheduled day where you don’t have class or anywhere to be school related, but you will be at home or at the library watching prerecorded lectures or putting together assignments or study materials because every Monday morning at 7am you have an exam for a class with the exception of 2 weeks the whole semester.

 Academically I find it quite rigorous and I have to study hard for each exam as does everyone else, but it’s not impossible. You will learn that you need a B- average to pass your classes or else you have to repeat the year just to retake one class. If you get less than a certain overall GPA you get kicked out of the program so it’s a lot of stress to carry needing higher than B’s on each test to pass. However, there’s only a handful (<5) people per year that are dismissed due to not passing classes so don’t worry about that too much, I just wish someone would’ve given me that “fun fact” instead of learning it the first day of classes.

In general I wish VUSN was more organized - a lot of the communication is last minute and even this semester’s plans are not set in stone due to COVID.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
15 hours ago, Simplebeauty1 said:

Thank you for your response. I applied and hope that I did a good job in the essays. I am a Medical Laboratory Technologist for over 20 years and a military spouse so I had a lot to share and the word limit was challenging for me. I had to really condense and summarize but hopefully still got the point across. I am not worried about my GPA, it's over 3.9 but all my sciences are old and I'm having to currently repeat them, the ones that I've taken my GPA is 4.0. I am wondering if having those not done at the time of application will affect whether I get in. Of course I will be done by the time the program starts. I'm probably a little older than the average applicant also. 

I was able to complete my nutrition prerequisite over the Summer before the semester started for fall of 2020! They should be flexible.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
15 hours ago, ChemGirl713 said:

Thank you to all the current students being responsive on here! It helps us so much. I have a question in terms of funding. Something so unique about Vandy is that they offer the potential for full rides. I believe they give 3 to new pre-specialty students and then give the opportunity to another 3 after the first two semesters based on grades. I wanted to ask, does this create a sort of tension or competitiveness between students? Or is it one of those things that getting the necessary grades is so unattainable and so unlikely that it doesn't cause any sort of real issue? Especially if the coursework is manageable, its something to really consider trying for.

Thank you!

The scholarships are definitely attainable and there are actually quite a few students who were given the chance to interview for them, but they kind of worked together during that application process; they were not catty or over competitive.

 

I think there is a slightly competitive nature between some of the people who are used to getting 4.0s and may have type A personalities, but there isn’t usually any negativity behind that. They just want to be the best they can! Ultimately, a lot of students choose not to discuss their scores, but they may start to once they get close to other students.

 

teachers also post class test averages, which are usually 90s and above… that kind of gives a competition feel to the program as well, but as long as you’re passing, you can always brush those feelings off! 

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Hi! I’m staring prespecialty this year. 
 I also had a few questions about prespecialty year, so if anyone would be willing to give some advice that would be super helpful ?

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