Would this mean something like a 3.2 unweighted GPA?
my school does not provide unweighted but I have an A- average so i believe it would be around 3.5
You can calculated an unweighted GPA yourself. Add up all of the grades (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0) in your academic courses and divide by the number of grades.
My son was admitted today to the University of Portland’s nursing school and was awarded 32k/year in merit
Have you looked at Endicott? They have a great nursing school (I have worked with their students before). Similar size to Elon, gorgeous campus and you would get to do clinicals in the Boston area which can’t be beat.
My own daughter (2026) is starting her list and I wish she would consider schools up here but she really wants to be OUT of the NE
Hi everyone. I was wondering if most nursing programs require the students to have their own car for clinicals. Does anyone know schools (direct entry BSN) that encourage carpooling and don’t require a car on campus?
Rutgers NB (my in-state) encourages carpooling. I guess some urban schools like Pitt don’t require a car because of nearby hospitals and public transportations.
My daughter would like to stay on the East Coast and is also considering the Midwest.
Love UMaine and UNH but the possibility of driving in snow for 90 minutes to clinicals would not be comfortable for her.
Appreciate any feedback. Thanks!
I was JUST thinking this last night while tossing and turning lol…Mine like St Anselm’s in NH and they mentioned carpooling but I wouldnt want her driving in that snow!!
I am in the same boat. My daughter really wants to go south (we are in boston) which is too bad because there are so many good schools that check her other boxes.
We are in Boston as well (well, just outside the city) and the thought of her having all of the Boston hospitals for her clinical experiences is really unmatched anywhere else. Plus, she talks about wanting to find a nursing job in MA after graduation and having done her clinicals locally means she will have personal connections, making it easier.
Access to clinicals I think is really, super critical. Moreso than D22 and I realized before she got deep into the thick of them. This semester (Jr year) she has 6:30am-1:30 twice a week. And needs to be there to take report by 6ish. I can’t fathom if she had an hour drive how much more exhausted she would be!!
The clinicals for UMaine are absolutely no further than Bangor, which is literally 10 minutes away. They are in clinical groups, so carpooling would definitely be a possibility. Plus there are busses. My UMaine junior has a car.
Senior year they are offered the possibility of doing clinicals in other Maine communities IF THEY CHOOSE TO- such as the Portland or Bar Harbor area, further up north, etc.
Side-note- We looked closely at UNH as well, and the clinicals were nearby.
Not sure where the suggestion that UMaine or UNH require a 90 minute snowy commute to clinicals came from!?
Thank you for the information about the clinicals for UMaine and UNH! We just started college search process and haven’t attended nursing info session/tour for those schools. I was searching through previous years’ direct entry BSN threads (They are very helpful) and may have mixed them up with different schools.
I visited Portland and Bar Harbor in the summer and loved both places but never been to Bangor. How does your daughter like UMaine?
Yes-- Maine is a slice of heaven!!
She’s very happy at UMaine. Dorms are OK/nothing special. Moved off campus sophomore year, and her off-campus apt is fantastic. Nicer than any college housing I’ve ever seen, but I think that’s happening everywhere nowadays.
It’s a great nursing program, smallish, challenging, nurturing, and has all she needs. Like all direct entry BSN programs, admission is quite competitive and has nothing to do with the overall acceptance rate at UMaine. It’s a medium-sized university with D1 sports, frat houses, tons of clubs, club sports, great facilities, etc…
Orono is just a few minutes north of Bangor, which is a perfectly nice small city with all you could need - shopping, food options, etc, plus an airport, which is key!!
To be honest, UMaine is generous with OOS merit $$, making it, for us, about the same cost as our in-state SUNY system.
Also-- the people in Maine are just so NICE. It’s truly a friendly place.
Thank you for sharing. Much appreciated!
Does anyone have any info on the University of New Mexico’s direct admit program. My son hasn’t submitted the nursing application yet but was awarded a big scholarship for 4 years (we live in CA and they are giving him the instate tuition rate). We’ve never been there. I saw they are in top 8% for BSN programs in US.
@sbinaz did you look at UNM for D24?
Yes! But not for a nursing major.
I don’t have any info about their direct admit BSN program. My D24 applied there, but as a bio major (not nursing). UNM has some pretty great scholarships for OOS students and in our case, it was cheaper than attending an in state public university. UNM has a lot of OOS students from all over the country.
I thought all of the dorm options were pretty nice. The hospital appears to be about a 10-15 min walk from the main campus. Along a main drag right next to campus are a ton of college student-ish type of cheaper eateries, which I thought was great if you get tired of the on campus dining options. I love the pueblo architecture that some of the buildings have.
One thing that my D24 noted that she didn’t like very much is how dark the areas outside of camps were at night. Like, REALLY dark. She said that she wouldn’t feel safe there walking off campus at night even with a buddy. However, on campus security is great and the campus at night is very well lit.
Another thing to keep in mind that the city of Albuquerque has a lot of problems with car theft, so be aware of that if you’re bringing a car to campus with you.
Hi all-
Last year’s thread for BSN was so so helpful for my family and we would be happy to help out where we can. My daughter had a successful application season last year and is enjoying her first semester in Nursing and even got her first set of University scrubs this week!
High stats. 34 ACT. All science/healthcare classes. EMT. Hospital internship. Healthcare activities.
Passionate essays with storytelling of her many experiences may have been a good differentiator. Really showed she was certain she wanted nursing.
Applied to: Pitt, UVM, UVA, UPenn, wisconsin madison, OSU, UMich, Tulane, Penn State, UT Austin, northeastern, UF, Emory
Hi! Was there any luck with financial aid? Nursing is just so expensive!