VCU Accelerated MSN Program

[AmandiLee]

Hi, my name is Amanda, and I'm very new to this forum. I'm new to pre-nursing, as well. I have been pre-pharmacy for the past few years due to listening to parental opinions too much, but have recently decided that it's time to pursue my dreams rather than theirs'. And my dream right now involves applying to VCU's AMSN program. I'm still a few months from applying, obviously, but I hope to start in Summer 2010 if accepted. I would actually appreciate any feedback on what I can do to improve my application or any other helpful advice from accepted students in VCU's AMSN program (or ABSN program).

I am currently a student at VCU in my fourth year, and will graduate next spring with a BS in Biology and a BS in Psychology. As I previously mentioned, I have been pre-pharmacy for most of my time at VCU, and so I began working in a retail pharmacy almost two years ago (I am now a CPhT). It was actually at my job as a pharmacy technician that I became interested in nursing and got to see what a large role nurses and NPs play in patient care. Anyway, moving on from my job back to school. I currently have a cumulative GPA of 3.396, which will hopefully be brought up to an even 3.4 by the end of this semester. My prerequisite GPA is a 4.0, but I've only taken Microbiology (+ lab) so far, but I plan on taking Anatomy and Developmental Psychology over the summer and Physiology in the fall. I do have a few W's (mostly from upper-level chemistry classes and one really odd animal diseases class) and a D in Organic Chemistry II which I refuse to retake because that class was a living nightmare and I'm just happy I managed to pass it (I got A's in Organic Chemistry Labs I & II though, go figure). So I have a really bad feeling that those last two stats are really going to hurt my application. However, I can get solid LOR from two pharmacists and my Microbiology/Bacteriology professor (I could not get enough of those microbes... ^_^).

As for ECs, I'm not really in any, per se, since I work almost full-time and live an hour from campus (on the Powhatan/Cumberland line, for those in the know). I do have membership in Phi Eta Sigma, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Golden Key, and a random research institute that I participated in as a freshman in the Honors College at VCU. And I was the captain of a Relay for Life team my freshman year, as well (things were a lot simpler back then). And if it counts for anything, I was in Who's Who last year and I was the first Employee of the Month at my store (which still cracks me up).

So...that's about it. Sorry for the long post. I'm just really paranoid about not having things work out, so any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated. Anyway, if you've made it this far, thanks for reading.