No…nobody cares… as per lots of practicing RNs and administrators who have chimed in about this. Many have said, if the goal is just the BSN degree, go with the most cost-effective route to get there. In the end, as you suggest, each accredited school is indeed rigorously preparing the students for the NCLEX.
If your child is looking for the whole college experience with all the feels, you’ll likely have to play the game of size/features/etc. and hop on the crazy train to try to earn a highly coveted spot in a direct entry BSN program at a more popular school with all the bells and whistles.
My S25 is looking at a last minute submission on a couple schools not direct admit Nursing. I can’t find any stats on what is the chance that they would not get into the upper level, if they met all the prereqs end of sophomore year? Is that even possible, based on slots, even if registered as a freshman as pre-nursing? UNC regular admission, and UF, for perspective. Changing schools seems expensive and stressful if one can’t get into the upper level.
I can’t speak to those schools specifically but unless your son is waffling on nursing, I would go the DA route. My daughter loved a non DA school but the more we investigated it seems 50/50% at best even with near perfect grades. Additionally an air of competition to be vying for the same spots, instead of a collaborative cohort. I am not implying that is universally true, but things to keep in mind.
I think it’s more me, when I think about kids changing majors the first and second year. But then again, it seems that there could be competition with those transferring in from community college for the upper division. Well, we shall see what answers come back from the schools on the application list (did end up putting in just a few non-direct) and go from there.
Anyone have any first-hand knowledge about PLU’s nursing program? Total cost is appealing with the merit offer. My concerns are that they appear to be expanding with resulting declining NCLEX passing rates and the area around the campus in Tacoma.
@RNmomof4 don’t think you’re still around but it looks like your daughter picked PLU.
I think UH Manoa encourages OOS/WUE applications to the direct entry program and then waitlist and offer pre-nursing to nearly all of them. As you say, the numbers were terrible (something like 2-4 students with 400+ OOS applicants). We would have fallen for it if they hadn’t required the Nursing CAS and that made us take a second look.
Thanks to all who have helped me crowd-source my direct admit BSN schools list! The list is up to 200 (!!) direct admit BSN schools in the US. (I started with about 140). I’m doing some additional research to obtain admission requirements for as many as I can, but the current list has est COA, merit range, state, religious affiliation. There are some less selective options, affordable public and private institutions even w/o merit and some schools with really interesting programs (study abroad, dual ADN / RN degree, women’s colleges, virtual reality simulators). Email me from a gmail address if you want to see the list directadmitnursingprograms at gmail dot com and please let me know of any errors or omissions. Thanks!
Hi – I looked at the list and it is amazing what you have put together! Thanks so much!
I’m curious on what makes certain ones “selective”. Is it that the university itself is selective, or that the program is selective? Is there a way to denote ones that might be considered “safeties” in terms of getting in to the direct admit nursing program? I ask because there are several on this list where the college itself may be easy to get into, but they might have 100 seats for 1000 Direct Admit Nursing applications and in that case they maybe should be considered selective? Same thing that “girldadsd” alluded to about UH Manoa.
I’m curious where/how you find this information out? My DS has applied to several public OOS colleges for nursing but I’ve only been able to find any data at all on a couple of them and certainly not to that granular of detail.
I have a few that are highly selective - UCLA might be the most selective of all. In 2023 their direct admit bsn program received 5,906 applicants for 50 spots. If you look earlier in the thread some people suggested schools with many more applicants than open spots, and admitting only very high stat kids. I have been going through the sheet to find the less selective schools - I’ve identified about 20 which list 2.5-3.0 gpas with and without test scores (in the 1080/1100 range) and hope to highlight some of those once I verify all the data plus the holistic schools that seem to be a mix of stats and extracurriculars/interviews/essays. That level of granularity (Manoa) isnt’t possible for me with a list of 200 schools but I hope to have some broad strokes that help parents make a list to do their own deeper dives.
AI has been helpful, internet seaches, exhaustive searches of their websites (some are truly terrible) I’ve called and emailed schools to follow up. It certaintly won’t be 100% accurate - particularly on merit scholarships, COA since those numbers can change/be updated but I have searched all 200 websites. You usually have to visit several pages and do searches on admissions requirements.
My daughter will be graduating this Spring with her BSN from PLU. Her experience overall has been great! They have a J (January) term and they encourage kids to travel abroad during that term. She has taken advantage of 2 out of the country study aways during that term. There are also many ways to get involved. We are from So. Cal so in all honestly, the weather is a bit much. Not so much the cold but the gloom so that is definitely a conversation. She found her people there and has gotten the support needed from the school. She has had a car since her first year so she goes into Portland and Seattle when she gets a chance. Most of the students seem to be local to PLU or from Washington. There is crime in Tacoma but she feels safe and like any campus students needs to use common sense.This was definitely a great fit for her and the price was very affordable. I would say that they prepare you for the NCLEX as they often take tests that mirror the test. (so they get used to how to answer those types of questions) Good luck!
There are some that are crazy competitive that’s for sure, but the most surprising thing I’ve found searching out direct admit schools is 1) how many there are (210 so far) 2) how many are in PA! (40+, more if you include the 6 Penn State campuses) Many of them are very small, most are private, some are incredibly cheap - COA under 30 even out of state. There are the UCLA’s and UPenns but so many more moderately or even less selective.
No - it does not matter. My D25 applied to direct-admit schools that she liked, but not based on anything other than it was a good fit for her personality. At the end of the day, it will likely come down to cost for us. We’d like her to graduate without any college debt and paying $50k/year is not ideal for a BSN. We’d rather see her graduate with little to no debt.
Hi Everyone, well the kid has some acceptances to report!
Carroll - accepted - $24,000 merit
Creighton
Duquesne - accepted - $30,000 merit
Marquette
Messiah - accepted - $16,000 merit
Regis Univ - accepted $30,000 merit
U of Maine
UNCG
York - accepted - no merit mentioned
All amazing to get! Most of these schools rank higher on her preferences than any CA school. She has filled out the CalApply application (for CA CSUs) she just has not submitted it. I think she just does not want to go there.
I also wanted to say for those wanting comparatives.
NO Advanced Placement Classes Taken
Test Optional
Will graduate high school in 3 years.
Straight A student (regular coursework)
took a foreign language outside of school (but through an online accredited program) so that she could fit in the courses needed to graduate early
only 1 honors course - European Literature
only 2 concurrent enrollment courses - US History and English composition (take over a 6 week summer session at a community college)
1 year on a varsity sport - volleyball
About 100 hours of volunteer work (not really very emphasized on most applications but was a good source of college essay themes/substance)
I hope that’s helpful.
My daughter is a diligent learner but not what I would call an academic gunner. She chose courses based on what needed to be taken and sought out more of a challenge where she was truly interested in the subject.
Well its that time - have been reading nursing threads on CC all morning back several years. A wealth of information here. DD has been working on applications for the past 2 months and finally got everything in. Thought I’d make a quick post about her journey so far.
Stats:
CA Resident
4.0 UW / 4.29 W
1230 SAT
8 AP, 1 DE class
4 year varsity VB, worked at Christian camps for disabled children and animal therapy, 2 internships (not directly clinical) at hospitals (1 VA hospital, 1 community). No paid work experience.
Applied:
Arizona State University (accepted)
University of Portland
University of San Francisco
Azusa Pacific University
Point Loma Nazarene University
San Diego State University
Biola University (non direct admit)
Cal Baptist (non direct admit)
Cal Poly SLO (public health - loves the school despite no nursing major)
Chose not to apply:
CSU - Fullerton
UCLA
UCI
DD for some reason did not like any of the UC schools and just decided not to apply to them. I think the chance of getting in was also very tiny and I’m happy she didn’t want to donate to the schools. She also was not a fan of CSU - Fullerton area or campus. San Diego is a different story.
If you are looking for direct admit schools, my database of 264 direct admit BSN programs is up at directadmitbsn dot com (I am probably still missing a few). States where I didn’t find any DA BSN programs: NV, ID, AK, AR. States where I found only one: CO, LA (new this year), WY. Forty in PA and lots in MA and OH. A few private schools I didn’t know about in CA (Azusa, Dominican) Huge range of affordability and selectivity (less/moderate/high).
She will get into university of Portland for sure. My son was accepted and his stats are good but not as good as your daughter’s. He has no volunteer experience but he has paid work and plays soccer year round. They have offered him 32k/year in merit. I doubt he will go there b/c he would prefer a larger school but he liked Portland a lot and the campus is beautiful! The only other nursing school in NW he applied to was Seattle U.
We are CA residents as well so he applied to a mix of nursing and non nursing majors (applied to Cal Poly for nutrition).
She also was not a fan of CSU - Fullerton area or campus. San Diego is a different story. 