What are the nursing schools in your area like??

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.

Hi all!

After reading many many posts on this site I have come to the conclusion that nursing schools in different parts of the country are extremely different...for example, I have heard many people say that in their area there are waitlists for nursing schools to be accepted others I hear say that its pretty easy to get in with little or no waitlists...Ive also heard some people with 3.5 gpas being turned away!!! What are the schools in your area like?

I live in Cincinnati and there are no waitlists to get into schools here but some have waitlists to get into clinicals (mostly the ADN programs). Some of the MSN programs ive looked into still have spots for this year (which suprised me)...the only bad thing here is that most of the BSN programs and diploma programs had their class for this fall picked since last spring so when I started looking into programs late last year the programs were done admitting for the most part...what are the schools in your area like??

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Specializes in NICU.

The universities accept students twice a year, but are VERY competitive, requiring great GPA's and healthcare experience. One of the universities (the most expensive one, LOL) has a really low NCLEX pass rate. The CC has a three year wait, but it seems to be getting longer. The CC works with a local university to bridge over from ADN to RN which is what I'm planning to do when I graduate (if I wait I have to retake Stats and no way do I want to do that!)

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.
The universities accept students twice a year, but are VERY competitive, requiring great GPA's and healthcare experience. One of the universities (the most expensive one, LOL) has a really low NCLEX pass rate. The CC has a three year wait, but it seems to be getting longer. The CC works with a local university to bridge over from ADN to RN which is what I'm planning to do when I graduate (if I wait I have to retake Stats and no way do I want to do that!)

wow thats so crazy! 3 year waitlist to just be admitted to the program? can you be admitted to the college and start working on your pre reqs? OUr CC also works with a few of the local colleges to do an ADN/BSN bridge program (it takes about a year here). Some of the nurses I know are ADN's and are skipping the BSN all together as we also have RN to MSN bridge programs that pretty readily available, they are competitive but there are no 3 year waitlists and our univ's will consider students even if their GPA isnt perfect...wow good luck on your degree, are you already accepted?

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Specializes in NICU.
wow thats so crazy! 3 year waitlist to just be admitted to the program? can you be admitted to the college and start working on your pre reqs? OUr CC also works with a few of the local colleges to do an ADN/BSN bridge program (it takes about a year here). Some of the nurses I know are ADN's and are skipping the BSN all together as we also have RN to MSN bridge programs that pretty readily available, they are competitive but there are no 3 year waitlists and our univ's will consider students even if their GPA isnt perfect...wow good luck on your degree, are you already accepted?

I start this August :D. They switched requirements a couple of years ago and in the shuffle the wait was only 1.5 years; that's how long I had to wait. I was going to go to a university (my grades are good and I'm older and this university is strong on life experience) but I "passed" a pg test last spring and the school is too far (an hour) for me to want to spend the driving time with a nursing baby. Fortunately, I got on the waiting list at the CC first, so that's the direction I'm going. The school's great, I'm happy to be there. You can take nutrition, English, human dev. and patho (with permission) while you wait.

I've never heard of a RN/MSN program--what a great idea. Maybe they'll come up with something like that here.

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wow thats so crazy! 3 year waitlist to just be admitted to the program? can you be admitted to the college and start working on your pre reqs? OUr CC also works with a few of the local colleges to do an ADN/BSN bridge program (it takes about a year here). Some of the nurses I know are ADN's and are skipping the BSN all together as we also have RN to MSN bridge programs that pretty readily available, they are competitive but there are no 3 year waitlists and our univ's will consider students even if their GPA isnt perfect...wow good luck on your degree, are you already accepted?

In my area you can't apply to the ADN program until all the pre reqs are complete. Then after about 1 year of pre req's you can apply and wait another year or longer (so I hear) for acceptance. I am just about done with pre req's took me forever. Now I wait! I am thinking about working as a CNA while I play the waiting game.

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.
I start this August :D. They switched requirements a couple of years ago and in the shuffle the wait was only 1.5 years; that's how long I had to wait. I was going to go to a university (my grades are good and I'm older and this university is strong on life experience) but I "passed" a pg test last spring and the school is too far (an hour) for me to want to spend the driving time with a nursing baby. Fortunately, I got on the waiting list at the CC first, so that's the direction I'm going. The school's great, I'm happy to be there. You can take nutrition, English, human dev. and patho (with permission) while you wait.

I've never heard of a RN/MSN program--what a great idea. Maybe they'll come up with something like that here.

Wow good luck, i admire all of you out there who have kids and go to school!!! The more posts I read the more I realize that most places dont have the opportunity for all these degrees...here in Cincy we have just about any nursing degree you could possibly want. There are 4 colleges that I know of in this immediate area UC, Xavier, MSJ and NKU that offer RN to MSN, i'm not sure what kind of experience you have to have to go along with those degrees, im sure you need a certain amount of actual work expereince, but I do know that they are constructed for ADN students who wish to get an MSN. I think in the future id really like to be a CRNP but right now I just want to get out of school and be a nurse! Im so tired of being a poor college student I could scream!

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.
In my area you can't apply to the ADN program until all the pre reqs are complete. Then after about 1 year of pre req's you can apply and wait another year or longer (so I hear) for acceptance. I am just about done with pre req's took me forever. Now I wait! I am thinking about working as a CNA while I play the waiting game.

Thats a good plan! my original school was an ADN program and it was the same way, I would have finished my pre reqs this quarter and gone on the wait list for clinicals here in June then I would have to wait ATLEAST 18 months before I could even start my cliniclas...lucky for me I transferred into another program that starts here in two weeks and there isnt a waitlist. BUT what I have heard and maybe its similar at your school, is that the waitlist doesnt work as the first person on it is the next person i clinicals...I hear at the CC i was going to that they look at your grades, how long youve been in school, your reviews in your CNA course, etc and that is how they pick students....soo ive heard some students got into clinicals after 3 months and some had to wait the full 18 months...not sure how I feel about that since my grades were good but id only been at the school for one quarter...so who knows when i wouldve gotten in. Anyway, good luck!!!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Dialysis.

In Northern NJ, nursing programs are pretty tough to get into. My local CC which offers an RN program, accepts students solely based on an entrance exam, they take the top 100 scorers on the test for Fall and top 60 or so for the Spring semester. So you have to do really well on the test or you will be applying for the next semester. The diploma/ADN program at a hospital close by, bases admission on work experience, school background, science/math grades, an entrance exam, and an interview. I was lucky I have been accepted to this program for Fall and still waiting to take the entrance exam for my CC. The BSN programs are also pretty competitive, the one program only accepts about 60 of the 700 applicants due to a shortage of teachers. So it's tough and everyone is really competitive to get into the program of their choice, but it's not impossible to get in, you just have to be dedicated and really want it!

Good luck to everyone! :)

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My CC is based solely on GPA and the TEAS test. Heavy on the GPA side...the TEAS is used more for choosing between 2 students with similar GPA's. There is no wait...if you don't get in you have to reapply. 70 students get in in the Spring/70 in the Fall.

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.

Kudos to all of you who got in your programs!!!! :yelclap: Wow I never realized that the admissions process was sooo different in different areas...when I applied to my ADN program it wasnt nearly that competitive...i submitted an application (which was very standard) for the college, got a 2 step PPD test and that was that...when i applied to my MN program I only had to do the standard stuff, shots, CPR, GRE, application, there were 40 spots and only 32 had been filled when I applied (about 3 weeks ago and school starts next week)...what exactly is a TEAS test, i have not ever heard of this!

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Specializes in Postpartum, Mother-baby.

i am from houston, texas. it is very competitive to get in the adn and especially the bsn program. i have about a 3.5 gpa and i still got rejected to those schools. the school i applied to (texas woman's univ) took applicants who had a 3.8 gpa or higher. i knew people with almost 4.0 gpas and they did not get in either. but it is very difficult to get into texas nursing programs because it is a larger state which has more people.

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.
i am from houston, texas. it is very competitive to get in the adn and especially the bsn program. i have about a 3.5 gpa and i still got rejected to those schools. the school i applied to (texas woman's univ) took applicants who had a 3.8 gpa or higher. i knew people with almost 4.0 gpas and they did not get in either. but it is very difficult to get into texas nursing programs because it is a larger state which has more people.

wow nice gpa!! i cant imagine schools turning away students with 4.0 gpas or even 3.5!!! good luck with applying i hope you get in!! (if you havent already)

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