Volunteering and honors program to look better to programs?

[ccstudentpsychnurse]

So, everyone that I've talked to has said that volunteering in healthcare-related places and doing honors classes/being in the honors program (on top of having a good GPA) is necessary to look good to nursing programs, and set you apart from the others. What do you think? Is it worth my time? I feel like if I just have a 4.0 GPA and no volunteering in a hospital or honors classes/being in the honors program, they'll just pass me over and not accept me into the nursing program here at COC.

Help? :)

[buttercupp85]

In the programs I was going for, you got extra points for volunteering and even more points for having a job in healthcare. Also, I had a proctored essay to write, and the program I actually got into did not give you extra points for volunteering, but the rumor is that if you write about or mention any type of healthcare experience, you get more points on the essay. So, I think volunteering helps, even though I did not volunteer at all and still got into a stellar program. So yes, it helps but it is not essential to getting in, at least at the places I applied to.

[CCua]

It depends on your Nursing Program.

My nursing program only looked at grades, which is why everyone was so striving to make As in all our prereqs. You do get bumped to the top if you have had a degree already, took all sciences in this school and also took honors classes.

Good luck!

[ccstudentpsychnurse]

Thank you all! :)

[dkmamato3]

I volunteer in my local ED and while this will not be considered for as part of my application process for the program I am looking at, I do love the opportunity to observe the nurses and ask questions when time allows for that. It is a great way to get a feel for the routine and how the flow of care happens. I come from a non-healthcare related background so any exposure to the nursing environment is a benefit to me personally even if it does not make a difference in the application process.

Good luck!