Hello! I am helping a student (F25) with her college list and would love this group’s expertise (as I have very little when it comes to nursing). Here’s what she’s looking for.
Nursing or similar major
Medium to large school
BIG school spirit - wants the football games, the Greek life, the parties
Not too particular about location
She lives in CA (and her mom wants her to stay in CA) - but she’s open to anywhere
First-gen and will need some generous financial aid
GPA: Unweighted - 3.9, weighted - 4.2, UC GPA - 4.2 with a good level of rigor; SATs: 1000 (will be pursuing only test-optional schools)
Nursing and pre-med are not very compatible with each other. Either will also mean less time to partake in parties etc.
Can the student or parent make their own account and ask here? There are several aspects that those who want to help will ask for clarification, such as unweighted GPA and GPAs recalculated for UC and CSU, as well as cost constraints.
In general, we don’t allow “Asking For A Friend” posts. I’m giving this thread a little leeway since the non-dependant student is FGLI. But if it turns into a game of telephone (I don’t know; let me ask), you’ll need to get student to set up their own account to ask questions
It may be difficult for her to stay in CA since admission to BSN nursing programs is very competitive instate. Regardless of location she should focus on direct-admit programs which means if you progress satisfactorily in the program you graduate with a nursing degree. Much less desirable are programs where you take pre-nursing courses and then have to apply for the actual nursing major since they enroll many more kids the 1st two years than they have room for in the nursing major, and kids at other schools can also apply to transfer in. Read thru the threads in Nursing Major - College Confidential Forums to find out more about direct-admit schools and nursing admissions in general.
Has she been volunteering or working in medical settings? Some schools don’t care but others factor that into admissions. It will say on the school website. I’ll add that it’s a good idea to get exposure to something before you decide to spent your career doing it.
You should tell her about an alternative approach should she not get into any direct-admit schools or get enough financial aid, which is to get an RN at a community college (an ADN degree) and then go to one of the RN->BSN programs. These community college RN programs can be competitive to get into as well. Look for a good NCLEX pass rate at the CC. I know nurses that have done this. RN->BSN programs tend to much be easier to get into than direct-admit or nursing from pre-nursing BSN programs. See http://www.rn.ca.gov/education/rntobsn.shtml for a list. Many RN->BSN programs are part-time and/or online, but some are campus based. The downside is the college experience with this approach is not the same as the 4-year path but sometimes that’s how life works.
This is excellent advice. Best option is a direct-entry BSN program that is affordable. Next best option is probably CC → one of the CA publics. California has good options.
The non-direct entry programs can be a big risk for subsequently getting into the nursing major. This particular student won’t really have the financial leeway to take that risk, so she might have to sacrifice the school spirit aspect if she doesn’t get into any direct-entry programs at such schools.
This is incredibly helpful - thank you! And she’s done the medical careers pathway through her high school, which has given her some excellent visibility, experience and exposure to nursing. Such a great summary - I really appreciate it.