My experience is that direct patient care experience is not a huge factor in direct admit nursing programs because many states do not allow CNA until age 18 anyways. They do want to see strong science backgrounds and volunteer or other service type experience is typically a plus.
There is a paid resource I know of on a popular fb page for direct admit nursing programs (that I don’t believe is necessary) that talks about smaller lesser known programs accepting almost all of their applicants for nursing schools. OP here seems to want bigger more name recognition schools though.
I happen to teach for a second degree program that has a top30 direct admit bsn program. Many of my second degree students were very high achieving students who did not get into their non direct nursing program in their initial undergrad attempt (thus we typically say for those with a strong desire to go into nursing aim for direct admit programs).
I am a firm believer in that after graduation, new grads should work in healthcare a few years before even applying to masters or doctoral programs. The number of former students of mine who swear they want to do one type of NP (or CRNA, etc) and end up changing their minds is very, very high. Those who think they want to be NPs because they “hate bedside” find out they really just hate healthcare in general. Many of my students find that the cost of grad school heavily outweighs the real salary they will earn as an NP (I have students who already have 50k or more in loans from undergrad). Many find the work/life balance of the realities of working as an NP is not beneficial or preferable. So many of my students say they want to be CRNAs but in 10 years I have I think maybe 1 or 2 students that have actually done it. CRNA school is competitive, it is expensive, and if a new grad nurse is still highly anxious before/after/during their shift in the ICU, then they aren’t ready for CRNA school (or NP school to be honest). Sadly, anyone can become an NP though. It is easy, truly. If one passes nursing school, they can find an NP program willing to take them as long as they pay.
I do think OP has a high likelihood of getting into several of the programs listed, it’s just hard to guess which ones. Nursing programs do value diversity, strong science, and varied experiences and activities.
It will not matter where you go to school for your BSN when it comes to finding a job or getting into an MSN program. If your heart is truly set on becoming an NP, then I urge you to work as a nurse for at least a couple of years and then find a program that has in-person classes and places you in clinicals, not you having to find your own clinical sites. While on-line learning has its place, I honestly don’t feel it is the best for an NP education. I’d go with a hybrid model first before doing an all online program. As a practicing NP, online-only programs where students have to find their own clinical sites sends up huge red flags for me.
Your stats are great. I personally think your list casts a wide enough net (given those stats) to generate a handful of acceptances, even if there are no true safeties.
For comparison: My recent high school grad had similar rigor but lower overall stats (3.79 UW-GPA and 33 ACT). Her only healthcare specific EC was volunteering at a hospital. She had good essays IMO and several solid “traditional” ECs (varsity athlete/captain, performance club vice-president, school leadership roles, etc.) She applied to several schools that are on your list: UMich (accepted with no merit, will attend), Case Western (accepted with good merit), Pitt (accepted with small merit), Boston College (rejected).
For Pitt, definitely apply very early (like in August). The nursing class fills quickly.
Is cost an issue? Several of the schools on your list come with big price tags and little merit (e.g., UMich, BC)
Some midwest schools that you might consider: Marquette, Loyola Chicago, and Creighton all have highly regarded nursing programs and are generous with merit for high-stats kids. University of Minnesota is highly ranked and offers a nice urban, B10 campus. There is also UTK if you are looking for a rah-rah, traditional college vibe. Knoxville is cute and my understanding is that UTK decisions and scholarships are based largely on test scores and GPA (your stats should be plenty high enough).
Take some time to look at NCLEX pass rates and clinical locations. For example, Purdue (on your list) will require long drives to clincals in Indianapolis.
OP- nursing homes and hospice centers don’t have the waiting lists that hospitals have for volunteers, and there is certainly tons of relevant patient contact at these two types of facilities.