Chance Me -- Match Me Thread Nursing Major [3.79 GPA, 33 ACT, 1410 SAT, <$80k]

College Majors Nursing Majors
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I have been fairly active here, and now have final stats for my D26 who is interested in direct admit nursing. Looking for recommendations. Midwest location but willing to go anywhere. Attends large (selective/test-in) inner city public that is highly rated nationally. Wants clinicals close to campus. Prefers urban campuses, or at least urban adjacent. Also loves all sports (school spirit), so that’s a bonus. Here are her stats:

3.79 UW / 4.98 W GPA

33 ACT (35 math/35 science)
1410 SAT (700 math/710 reading)

AP Test Scores: Lang (5), Comp Sci Principles (5), US Hist (4), World Hist (4), Human Geo (4), Physics 1 (3 - will not report - but class was also dual enrollment @ 4-year university).

Senior year classes: AP Calc AB, AP Bio, Dual Enroll Anatomy/Physiology, AP Gov, Dual Enroll English 101/111, and Buddy PE (she will be buddied with a multiply disabled peer for adaptive PE class).

Extra curriculars are average – 4 year varsity sport w/ varsity city champ junior year, hospital volunteer, nurse camp (BLS certified), ethnic club (vice president next year), camp counselor summer job, national honor society.

Essays will be average - won’t hurt but doesn’t have any super compelling story to share.

Here is her list of “definitely applying” schools:
Pitt (visited, loved, hard target? and will apply early)
Iowa
Tennessee
Marquette (visited, liked a lot – is this a safety??)
Michigan (visited, loved, reach)

Here is her list of “maybe” schools:
Boston College (visited, liked)
Minnesota (general visit, okay, family nearby)
Miami Ohio
U of Miami
South Carolina (Smart Start)
Clemson
U San Fran
Case Western (no school spirit??)
Villanova (visited, okay, a bit far from city)
Penn (obviously a HUGE reach but she loved the campus during visit)
TCU (too conservative?)
Indiana (are clinicals far?)
Purdue (are clinicals far?)
NYU? (seems like too big a reach and we have not visited, but certainly urban)

Cost is not a factor up to $80k per year, but obviously less leaves more in 529 for grad school, etc.

Thoughts, input, recommendations – all appreciated.

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Pitt is a GREAT choice and the fact that they have rolling admission means she’ll hopefully have a strong choice locked in early.

Some of your schools will be over 80k a year so off the bat I’d eliminate NYU and Penn. Her stats aren’t quite in line and both of those are over your price point.

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No schools are safeties for nursing. I would honestly apply to any and all that are of most interest to her. At most campuses a car would be needed the last 2 years for clinicals and many schools can have clinicals being up to 30-60 min away. Just because there are lots of hospitals nearby does not mean that its easy for the college to get clinical sites for all the different clinicals needed. (I work for an urban college of nursing.)

Also, being an RN is an actual end game degree, there is zero need to go for more schooling. Nurses need to do research into jobs and pay (and lifestyle) of advanced nursing degrees in their area.

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Wasn’t sure about chancing but based on the last comment, you might investigate Marshall and Belmont (religious).

I was thinking as some secondary CSU schools have a single digit admission rate that the chance me above was over optimistic because of the major. Thanks @2plustrio for confirming the competitiveness.

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They needn’t be. The student needs to identify something to help the reader get to know them. A Yale admittee by me wrote about the excitement and exhilaration of waiting for Papa John’s pizza. Another student I know at a top school wrote about their fascination of the fuzz on a tennis ball. Mine wrote about tea as a bridge to her interest of learning about cultures.

Most likely aren’t great but it doesn’t have to be average because you don’t have a mind blowing story. I’d take the time to craft the best essay you can vs just going in non-chalantly…especially given the likely competitiveness to be faced.

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Make sure you use proper spelling, word tense, grammar, and syntax or it will diminish your application. Check for typos!

Your attention to detail in written communication will impact how readers perceive your intelligence.

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How about Duquesne for an easier admission?. Still in Pittsburgh so urban and easy access to clinicals.

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Thanks, everyone. Keep the input coming. Looking at some of your suggestions now…

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Has she visited? My D26 really enjoyed her visit to this school. The location is amazing, beautiful, great access to urban amenities and also medical centers for volunteer opportunities. Size small enough for a lot of personal attention. Students seemed friendly and very diverse. She thought there was lots to like about this school, especially for anyone interested in health professions. The only reason she took it off her list was lack of strong music program (a dealbreaker for my D).

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Have not visited, but could easily. My brother in law is a radiologist at UCSF so we have a place to stay! We have been to San Fran tho, and like the city…

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I agree! You don’t need a super compelling story to share to write a good essay. My oldest wrote about Marvel Universe and IMO her essay was insightful, reflective and overall strong…also admitted to her top schools. My middle child wrote about people watching at a coffee shop. No results on that yet but I think it’s well written, quirky and at least slightly memorable. Good luck!

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My daughter got into Penn ED with a 34 ACT and I would say really good essays. For her main common app essay she wrote about volunteering at our local children’s hospital, but her story was about teaching a sibling in the sibling daycare her colors. Penn also requires an essay about why nursing, a thank you note, and a why Penn essay. I’d say if she’s willing to get her ACT up another point and work really hard on her essays, you never know! No need for a car at Penn, if clinicals are not right at Penn they pay for the Ubers to other hospitals.

Apply to Pitt ASAP when the rolling app comes out, my daughter applied in August and was accepted end of September. It was nice because then she could eliminate any of the schools she wouldn’t consider over Pitt. Most of the clinicals seemed to be nearby.

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I think you can count Marquette as a safety, you might also consider Saint Louis University and Creighton.

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Indiana and Purdue both have distant clinicals that require a car - I’d recommend doing their online info sessions. We heard that they might have to drive over an hour for clinicals.

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Pitt and Michigan sound like great choices for your student. My son applied to both for nursing last year. As others have said, apply to Pitt soon after the application opens on 8/1 and you should have an answer in a few weeks. For Michigan, if you are out of state, it might not meet your $80k budget unfortunately. Tuition + room and board for this year are going to be right around the $80k mark. I am expecting at least a $5k increase in cost of attendance each year plus Michigan’s junior and senior year tuition is higher than freshman and sophomore year by somewhere around $5k per year. Given all of that, we are expecting to pay around $100k by the time my son is a senior :nauseated_face:

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For nursing does it make sense to pay more when there’s a shortage to the point we import from other countries ? In other words, would going for $30 or $50k be smarter than 80k in regard to opportunities and earning potential. ?

One of my nurses at Vandy went to an online college - Aspen U.

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Re: cost — it probably never makes sense to pay $80k or more per year, for any major. But we can do so without negatively impacting our family (retirement, etc.) and are also willing to up-pay a bit for the campus experience she wants. We didn’t put a cap on her older siblings, and don’t want to treat her differently based on major. Honestly, she’s probably gonna be the one with a guaranteed job upon graduation!! My oldest is still looking (grad this past May).

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i agree, there is more to college than just the education - fit is important and the campus experience is part of that!

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Fair -but there are schools at $40k with a similar experience to $80k etc.

To each their own what to spend - was just asking the question.

If you look at the initial list, there’s all price points, geography types and more. All will provide an experience -not identical as Marquette is different than Madison etc. Tennessee different than TCU. Minnesota different than Miami Ohio etc.

It was just a question because it seems the major is beyond a hit although my cousin nurse is telling me it’s changing - hospitals are pushing away from overtime, as an example.