Why do some colleges have waitlists while others do not?

somekindofstrange · Nov 27, 2012

The ones with very little waiting lists are most likely private colleges. Nursing schools have large waiting lists because nursing professors are poorly compensated so most choose to stay on the floor instead of going into teaching positions. In public colleges the pool of applicants outweighs the qualified teaching faculty.

MedChica · Nov 27, 2012

Too many aspiring students. Too few slots to hold them.

It's just like that.

Like... trying to pour the contents in a box of cheerios down a 2-liter bottle. Some (aspirants) will make it in. Many will just spill out along the sides to the floor. Most won't even make it out of the box.

I was waitlisted and I attended a vocational school. No wait list. HOWEVER...cost is a factor.

You pay to skip the hoop-jumping... and there's so much hoop-jumping on the path to entering nursing school? It's not even funny.

Like, you're not even in school, yet and you're already ripping your hair out!

LOL

... but you're a chiropractor? Cool. Well - you already have a degree. You could do one of those accelerated bridge programs....

allnurses Guide · Nov 27, 2012

Hi all. I am a chiropractor in the process of becoming an RN. I have noticed that some colleges have waitlists and others do not. Are waitlist colleges of less quality? Why do some do this while others do not?

If you are considering a school with a wait list, do some more investigation.

Most schools that accept students based on academic merit do not have waitlists that carry over from cohort to cohort. If possible, I would try and avoid school that accept anyone and everyone as first-come-first-served and put you on a waitlist; especially avoid ones that move you up the list if you take pre-reqs there.

When looking into schools, go to the state board of nursing website and they should list two things: 1. All the accredited schools, and 2. The NCLEX pass rate for each school.

NightBloomCereus · Nov 28, 2012

Different ways the schools are dealing with the high volume of applicants. Some place everyone on a waiting list, and others only accept the top applicants. Rather than sitting on a 2-year waiting list, I applied somewhere that only accepts the top 14% of their applicants. I like it because there's no waiting, and the people accepted are most likely to make it through. The bad news for some is that they could apply year after year and never make the cut.

RNam · Dec 3, 2012

The way I understood it, the schools in my area changed from waiting lists to a competitive process several years back to improve their scores & make them more competitive with other schools (as in which one is supposedly better) in the state. Making it a competitive process basically weeds out those that can't make high enough scores.

BloomNurseRN, ASN, BSN, RN · Dec 3, 2012

As most have said, it's really just a case by case basis. I know my school only admits based on academic merit and that you have to reapply each term and are considered based only on your grades as compared to all of the other applicants. There is no waitlist or interviews, only pre-req's and an entrance exam.

Good luck!

nurse2be13 · Dec 3, 2012

If you are considering a school with a wait list, do some more investigation.
Most schools that accept students based on academic merit do not have waitlists that carry over from cohort to cohort. If possible, I would try and avoid school that accept anyone and everyone as first-come-first-served and put you on a waitlist; especially avoid ones that move you up the list if you take pre-reqs there.
When looking into schools, go to the state board of nursing website and they should list two things: 1. All the accredited schools, and 2. The NCLEX pass rate for each school.

Edit edit

x_factor · Dec 3, 2012

There's no waitlist at my school where I am applying next semester for Fall 2013 acceptance. It's a community college for the ADN program. They have a 100% NLCEX pass rate 3 years running. They only accept 60 applicants once a year, and acceptance is based on pre-req GPA and HESI entrance score. Top 60 make it in and that's it.