Vanderbilt 2020 Pre Specialty

Nursing Students School Programs

Updated:   Published

I am making a post for all programs I am applying for that I have not seen thus far. I have been going into rabbit holes of previous year's posts for schools I am applying for. Vanderbilt has been my top choice since I decided to go into direct entry nursing the end of my sophomore year of college, so it seems only fitting to make a post for it. I am applying for the PMNHP specialty and look forward to reading posts and getting to know everyone!

21 hours ago, larkbarks said:

@KCKPsychNPstude Hey there! Could you tell us more about the background of your cohort for psych? I think I read in this thread that in the past there were ~150 applicants with 25 being accepted for psych. I'm curious to know what kind of experience they came in with/GPA. Thank you for being a fountain of information!

A good number of psych prespecialty students studied psychology during undergrad, but that’s certainly not the case for everyone. Some of them have relevant experience (case manager at psych hospital, marriage/family therapist, etc) and others like me do not. As far as GPA goes, I have no clue what the distribution is... I had a 3.6 overall during undergrad, but my degree was probably more challenging than most students’ and I had all As in the prerequisites. Admissions definitely doesn’t see you as just your stats.

2 Votes
On 1/27/2020 at 3:37 PM, larkbarks said:

@KCKPsychNPstude Hey there! Could you tell us more about the background of your cohort for psych? I think I read in this thread that in the past there were ~150 applicants with 25 being accepted for psych. I'm curious to know what kind of experience they came in with/GPA. Thank you for being a fountain of information!

Hey Larkbarks,

I actually think PMHNP1844 answered this really well. I am one of the ones who had a humanities undergraduate degree but by the time I applied to the program I was a CNA on a hospital psych unit, a volunteer crisis response counselor and had been working on earning an LPC but my bestie in the program who is also in the PMHNP track has an MFA and a healthy lifestyle blog. So, we are all very diverse. I don't know anybody's pre-VUSN GPA but I think that the school publishes that in the stats on the website or admissions has it if you call. I think you have applied at this point which I think is good. At the risk of being corny, my mantra is always "apply, put your best foot forward and try".

1 Votes

anyone know the acceptance rate for this program?

1 Votes

I was also wondering if anyone knows how many people are accepted into each specialty

1 Votes

I just called the school to confirm the date VU releases decisions. The person who answered the phone said "We'll start releasing decisions during the 3rd week of February." I wonder if decisions will be spread out over the week or if we'll all get a response on the same day.

Even though we knew this already, I was hoping they might've said "second week of February" or given a specific date ? Wishful thinking!

If we get an acceptance, does anyone know how much time Vanderbilt will give us to put down our deposit?

1 Votes

At the information session the lady from

financial aid said Valentine’s Day with a little

giggle. So I’m banking on that day to

be the decision day. Good luck to us all! We’ve come this far we deserve it

3 Votes

Current pre-specialty student here—I honestly wish I’d chosen Hopkins, Penn, or Columbia over VUSN. While there are some great people here, the faculty are very entrenched in Southern culture. You pay a ridiculous amount of money to be treated like a child for two years by passive aggressive faculty who love to talk about their DNPs, but can’t even proofread their own lecture slides. Some of the profs are pretty racially insensitive too, but students who stand up to the faculty do not get treated well.


That being said, if you don’t mind keeping your head down, you can probably do just fine at VUSN. Nashville is a super fun city, and I don’t want to move again, so I’m trying to stick it out.

1 Votes
Specializes in Perinatal.
35 minutes ago, jerseygirl14 said:

Current pre-specialty student here—I honestly wish I’d chosen Hopkins, Penn, or Columbia over VUSN. While there are some great people here, the faculty are very entrenched in Southern culture. You pay a ridiculous amount of money to be treated like a child for two years by passive aggressive faculty who love to talk about their DNPs, but can’t even proofread their own lecture slides. Some of the profs are pretty racially insensitive too, but students who stand up to the faculty do not get treated well.


That being said, if you don’t mind keeping your head down, you can probably do just fine at VUSN. Nashville is a super fun city, and I don’t want to move again, so I’m trying to stick it out.

Any insight into the midwifery program faculty specifically? I’ve applied to the direct entry MSN nurse midwifery program.

1 Votes
6 hours ago, AmyS4 said:

Any insight into the midwifery program faculty specifically? I’ve applied to the direct entry MSN nurse midwifery program.

My experience is only with the pre-specialty faculty—I imagine that direct entry students are treated a bit more like adults, though.

1 Votes
Specializes in Perinatal.
4 minutes ago, jerseygirl14 said:

My experience is only with the pre-specialty faculty—I imagine that direct entry students are treated a bit more like adults, though.

Thanks for the feedback. My accelerated (second degree) BSN program treated us a little like children, well the first 3 of the 4 semesters. It was pretty frustrating coming in as a parent, in my late 30s, with another degree, and a previous career to be infantilized, so I can sympathize. ?

2 Votes
10 hours ago, jerseygirl14 said:

Current pre-specialty student here—I honestly wish I’d chosen Hopkins, Penn, or Columbia over VUSN. While there are some great people here, the faculty are very entrenched in Southern culture. You pay a ridiculous amount of money to be treated like a child for two years by passive aggressive faculty who love to talk about their DNPs, but can’t even proofread their own lecture slides. Some of the profs are pretty racially insensitive too, but students who stand up to the faculty do not get treated well.


That being said, if you don’t mind keeping your head down, you can probably do just fine at VUSN. Nashville is a super fun city, and I don’t want to move again, so I’m trying to stick it out.

what initially made you pick Vanderbilt over Penn, Columbia & Hopkins? Just wondering.

1 Votes
12 hours ago, jerseygirl14 said:

Current pre-specialty student here—I honestly wish I’d chosen Hopkins, Penn, or Columbia over VUSN. While there are some great people here, the faculty are very entrenched in Southern culture. You pay a ridiculous amount of money to be treated like a child for two years by passive aggressive faculty who love to talk about their DNPs, but can’t even proofread their own lecture slides. Some of the profs are pretty racially insensitive too, but students who stand up to the faculty do not get treated well.


That being said, if you don’t mind keeping your head down, you can probably do just fine at VUSN. Nashville is a super fun city, and I don’t want to move again, so I’m trying to stick it out.

I’m glad I just saw this. I got into Penn which was my number one choice. As a minority, I’m not sure if Vanderbilt would be good for me.

3 Votes
+ Add a Comment