<p>Congratulations on your outstanding accomplishments and you are exactly the kind of student that we need to go into nursing! I truly hope that you are admitted. Believe it or not, your status as an out of state student may help! I think that you have a pretty good chance, but to clinch it…
I would suggest that you do the following:
- Practice, practice, practice math and critical reading questions so that you can get that score up just a little! A 1300 math/critical reading would be fantastic.Use a study guide book or a website to practice about 15 minutes a day until the October test.
- Make sure that you volunteer or work in a direct patient care situation (not just “hopefully”, make it for sure!) Perhaps your local children’s hospital accepts volunteers in the child life department, or you can volunteer at a local extended care facility to make “memory books” with the patients, or work in a local clinic that caters to an underserved population, or something of this nature. Then, write your personal statement (that is, an essay on your college application that asks you to tell about yourself) about this experience.
- Call, and ask for an “informational interview” at the School of Nursing. If they will grant this to you, be very enthusiastic during the interview, tell them how excited you are about the school, and ask what you can do to boost your admission chances. Be prepared to answer questions about what interests you in nursing. Many Pitt students want to go into transplant nursing, oncology or critical care, but you do not have to say this if these are not what interest you. You can even say that you love caring for people, that you love all ages, and that you will decide once you get into your clinical rotations. Do say that you know that Pitt will give you a great foundation for graduate school. They want to educate future nursing leaders and if they see you as one of those, they may just communicate that to the admissions office.
Good luck!</p>