What should I do?

Traycie,

Personally, I would wait until the fall 2010 entry instead of next year. You have to consider that many direct-entry MSN programs have application deadlines for Fall 2009 in Sept. through Dec. of this year. Also, most programs require you to take the GRE exam and complete their prereqs. Having a BS in Bio. will probably satisfy most of the science prereqs., but you may still have to take a class or two like "developmental psychology" or "nutrition" at a local community college. You will probably want to leave a few months to study for the GRE, and a month or so to perfect your application essays/statement of interest (i.e. why do you want to be an NP)

Nursing/hospital experience is the other thing. These direct-entry programs are extremely competitive and the schools want to make sure the people that go to their programs have done adequate research about the profession and had some sort of hands-on experience before going through the strenuous course load. Obviously since it's direct-entry, they don't expect you to have previous nursing experience, but you should have some sort of volunteer experience on your resume to show you are really serious about it. I would recommend volunteering at a hospital once a week or so. Also, you may want to see if you can do a job shadow with a NP in a specialty that you are interested in. Not only will this look great on your resume, but you will also learn a lot about being an NP, especially in the field you are interested in.

Hope this helps.

Hi there,

I, on the other hand, think that you don't have a lot to lose by applying this year. If you can pull off studying for the GRE and getting your letters of recommendation and essays ready in time for the application due date, who knows, you might just get in, and you'll never know if you don't try. It no doubt depends on the schools you apply to, since some are much more competitive than others. The only cost incurred (besides time) will be the applications fees, which in the scheme of things aren't all that much, depending on how many schools you apply to.

Also, not all entry level MSN programs even require the GRE. And some schools (many, I think) are ok with admitting you without having done pre-reqs as long as you have outlined a plan as to how you will fulfill the prereqs by the time the nursing program starts. Since pre-reqs vary widely among nursing schools, you should definitely determine which ones are required by the schools you are interested in, and figure out if you could get them done by fall 2009. A huge number of pre-reqs could be a limiting factor in your decision about applying for fall 2009.

Addendum to the above post (I forgot something):

if you feel like you are not 100% sure about pursuing nursing, then waiting a year and getting some exposure to the field might be a good way for you to figure it out. It's much easier to decide nursing is not for you BEFORE you spend time and loads of money on school.

Good luck and have fun in Australia!

I would definitely apply this year if you can pull it off. You have nothing to lose (well, except for all the time it takes to put an application packet together!), and potentially everything to gain. Yale, where I'm headed in the fall, doesn't have any prereqs, but they do require the GRE. PM me if you'd like to chat about this! :)

Thank you so much for your replies! I am taking them all into thought as I prepare to leave in a couple weeks for Australia. I think I'm going to go ahead and apply to just a couple of schools for next year; it can't hurt, right? So far I'm thinking UCLA and Emory. I'm taking the GRE's next week and I'm pretty scared about that though. I signed up pretty much last minute so I haven't had as much time to study as I like, but I'm planning on taking it again while I'm in Australia too so hopefully I'll be better prepared for it then. I'm also going to try and volunteer at the hospital on campus there if I can. It's no longer a matter of IF I get into nursing school, just when. I don't care how long it takes, I'm going to get there!

Congrats Kensington, btw, on going to Yale in the fall! That's so awesome! I wish you the best with your studies there!

FWIW, the only studying I did for the GREs was to go through the practice disk about 3-4 times. I did very well on the actual test.