Which Nursing Schools Require an Interview in addtion to the GPA?

[cdlune]

My step-son has been studying hard but has been rejected from nursing school ( to get an RN) because his gpa is good but not great and it seems most schools base everything on the gpa. He is one of the kindest, diplomatic and personable individuals I have ever met in my life and has wanted to be a nurse for a very long time. He is 22 and lives in New Mexico and is willing to go to another state. He is finishing up is Bachelor's Degree currently and would be a wonderful addition to the profession. Any suggestions of schools or websites would be very helpful as I want to help him achieve is goal. Thank you.

[TazziRN, RN]

I thought all nursing schools required an interview!

[2006RNCS]

I thought all nursing schools required an interview!

No, not all nursing schools require an interview. I wish that they did. My nursing school did not require interviews, and some of the people that I attended nursing school with probably would not have been accepted if interviews had been given.

[kburns0016]

My school does not do interviews ..the system for accepting applicants is entirely point based not just gpa but wrok expereince and individual grades and your NLN score get you points , and then only the top sixty applicants are accepted (usually out of a couple hundred applicants)~ I got accepted but I still think they should do interviews( I would have been happy too go through it ) as well, I think it would cut down on first semester failures and early drop outs...what is funny is I actually wrote a paper for my Eng 102 class this semester about this exact thing , my prof gave me a great grade and asked if I would consider letting him share it with the RN dept head as it was well written and i obviously had such a passion about the subject( he said I convinced him for whatever that was worth)!?!?! I said no thank you ...as I had not been accepted yet and I was a little harsh about the policies in place ....I did not want to shoot myself in the foot you see?

I wish him best of luck and just tell him not to give up and keep looking for accredited programs ~

[MisterSimba, BSN]

I think Mount St. Mary's in LA requires an interview, and UCLA has an entry-level nursing program (MECN). I don't think they require an interview, but they do take three letters of recommendation and look at volunteer experience, etc. Also have him look at Azuza Pacific University. I also have my BA in another field and am extremely frustrated by the nursing school admissions process! Some schools only look at your grades in Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology, as well as the TEAS test scores. So basically, they ignore your BA degree and volunteer experience, etc. because clearly your future success as a nurse can be entirely determined by your memorization and regurgitation skills. I'd look into private schools, they tend to have a more holistic approach and look at the whole student!