Which school should I commit to?

[jamieylo]

Hello everyone!

My name is Jamie and I am a current senior at a high school in the Bay Area. I want to pursue a career in nursing and eventually become an NP. 

I am having a difficult time deciding which school I should commit to by May 1, 2022. My top choices are SJSU pre-nursing, ASU 4 year direct program, UCR for biology, and University of Portland 4 year direct program. 

I am leaning towards SJSU but I am worried about the risks of entering their pre-nursing major because there is no guarantee of getting accepted to their actual nursing program in 2 years. However, if I knew I were to be accepted, I would definitely choose it over ASU or UOP because of its location and connections.

ASU and UOP reassure me because they are direct entry BSN programs, but their locations, demographics, and NCLEX pass rates aren't ideal for me.

I am also interested in UCR because it is well ranked, has the "UC reputation", and  I hear the social life is impeccable, but I'm not sure it will be a smart choice if I want to become a nursing student in the end.

I would be greatly appreciative of any insight to further educate my knowledge about entering college as a nursing major.

Thank you for reading!

[nursingc]

have you considered going to community college? you can do your pre-reqs at a community college, apply to different nursing schools, and save money. I'm currently in the SJSU nursing program and many of my friends transferred in from community college. 

SJSU nursing accepts applications for Spring and fall start, but Spring start is only open to SJSU students, so the applicant pool is much smaller and less competitive (only about 300 applicants for Spring, compared to the 500-600 applicants for fall). there are students that transfer in to SJSU and take a gap semester so they can apply for the Spring nursing cohort. 

I would say to not go to UCR just for the UC reputation. if you plan to apply for nursing school after you get your bachelors, they don't really look into where you got your degree from, most school mainly look into stats and healthcare experience. future employers might only look into where you got your nursing degree from too.