Type of high school (or current college for transfers): Public
Other special factors: first generation to college
Cost Constraints / Budget - Money is no issue at all
Intended Major(s) - Nursing Major, Minor Psych
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: IDK
Weighted HS GPA: 3.5/5.0
ACT/SAT Scores: 26 ACT - 30 English 31 Reading 21 Math 21 Science
Our school has no ranking system
As of Junior Year:
Accelerated Language Arts
Acting
Algebra 1
Biology
Chamber Orchestra
US History
Fashion Fundamentals
English Language Arts
Principles of Biomedical Science
Chemistry
Concert Orchestra
Geometry
Spanish
World History
Algebra 2
AP ENG LANG & COMP
Human Body Systems ( Human Anatomy and Physiology equiv. )
Sinfonia Orchestra
Spanish 2
Personal Finance
Psychology
U.S. Government
PFW
This upcoming school year:
AP ENG LIT & COMP
AP GOV/POLITICS
AP PSYCH
Algebra 3
Sociology
Spanish 3
Statistics
Symphonic Orchestra
Total Body Wellness
(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)
Awards
Presidential Award
An Honor Award in History
Extracurriculars
Girls Golf/Club Golf for the past 9 years, STUCO Member, HOSA Member, Orchestra Student Board Member, 82 Hours of Volunteering
I’m really hoping to go to SLU and go for their nursing program. Be as brutal as you want lol, I want to improve. The Jesuit mission, friendly students, active sororities, and gorgeous grounds all speak to the kind of community I want to join. I’m especially drawn to their nursing program because I hope to pursue hospice work and serve patients with compassion at the end of life.
Different high schools in the US calculate weighted GPA in wildly different ways.
Can you could how many A’s you have times four. Add the number of B’s you have times three. Add the number of C’s you have times 2. Add the number of D’s. Divide the total by the total number of classes that you took. This will give us at least a better sense of what your grades look like, which should help us to chance you.
If you have very different grades in different years, then knowing whether you generally have an uptrend or a downtrend or some other trend will also help.
Your reasons to want to attend SLU sound very sincere and well thought out to me. Also, speaking some Spanish will be very helpful to someone going into nursing in the US. Best wishes.
3.44 is my unweighted GPA ( as of the end of Junior Year ). Unfortunately, During freshman year, I hung out with not the best people and it thanked my GPA. I honestly really regret it now but am trying my best. Sophomore year, I had a 3.72 ( unweighted ) and Junior year, 3.72 unweighted ( 3.85 weighted ). I really appreciate the input I’m also a first generation going into university/college and a minority.
I think that the uptrend will help you. Generally speaking your freshman year of high school is less important for university admissions compared to other years.
Speaking two languages fluently and a third language relatively well might help also.
At many schools nursing is a more difficult major with regard to getting accepted. I am a bit concerned about your math and science ACT scores. They are above average, but nursing is not an easy admit and is science heavy.
How did you do in Biology, Chemistry, Principles of Biological Science, and in Algebra 2?
I do not think that Saint Louis University is a safety. 50/50 might be about what I am thinking also. I think that it is worth an application, but I think that you need to also apply to other schools, including some for which admissions is more likely.
I really do appreciate our input! For both Semesters: Biology was a B, Chem was a B, Principle’s of Biomedical Science was a high A, Human Body Systems was a High A, Algebra 2 was a High B.
I plan on applying to 25 other schools. The only issue is that my parents are… well… they won’t let me tour or apply to anywhere else really. They threatened to not pay a single dime if I attend another university and I really don’t know how it’ll go down in my family. A lot of my generation (in my family) went to schools like Duke, Harvard, NYU…etc. With my grades and ACT, I’m the “disappointment” in my family and I’m really worried about the money if I don’t go to the school they want.
I’m curious if you think I should do pre-nursing first? If you know me in person, I am a very social and outgoing person, enjoy taking care of others. That’s the reason nursing fit me well.
If I don’t get in, I’ll cry and get over it I have the mentality that yeah, I screwed up my GPA and yeah, my ACT is a bit lower than I would like but in the end, I tried my best with cards I have and as long as I know I have put my all in it, I’ll be okay. I believe either way, god has a plan for me and all I can do is pray as well as follow it the best I can.
Originally I wanted to go in for Psych but again… parents.
Thank you for the reminder! Yes, I do. I have looked at other nursing programs at other Jesuit schools The problem is getting my parents on board but I’m not sure if doing a pre-nursing program would be a good idea? I don’t particularily now how it works either. I’m sure god will have a plan, I just have to trust it!
In the end, if you want to go to school for nursing, it’s a competitive major. Do you have to go to a Jesuit school? Marshall in WV is one to look at. Most schools will have a variety of religious organizations.
Thank you for giving me more to think about! ( I promise I’m not being sarcastic, I really feel that way ) My parents are Athiest and I’m Lutheran Christian.
Honestly, I don’t HAVE to go to a Jesuit school but I also don’t know how I feel about being 8 hours away from home lol. The issue in my family is that the school’s name and ranking is very important to my parents. I’m a first generation college student and only child in my immediate family. I do know that I would prefer that the school I go to is more city and private. I definitly would prefer a school that is religion based.
Is there any other questions you think I should think about/have for me?
Also… My mom just wants me close to home lol. I’m a country club kid, if that gives you an idea of what my family is like.
My friend is going to Truman but I don’t really like it. I was looking at Xavier!
Plan B: Bradley Univ., Milliken Univ., North Park Univ., Park Univ, Rockhurst Univ, UIC, Univ of Illinois Springfield, Wheaton College (IL), William Jewell College to name some
You might see whether your guidance counselor can talk to your parents about the need to apply to a range of schools, including safeties. Sometimes parents, or people in general, will accept something coming from a person in a position of authority when they would not accept the same thing coming from someone younger or less “official”. You might want to ask your guidance counselor about this in private.
I think that SLU is a good choice if you get in. If you don’t get accepted, but do get accepted to a different good direct admit nursing program that is affordable, you can see how they react at the time.
Sometimes, actually quite often, the school that you went to is not the most important thing.
As an example, I don’t know how your parents would feel about U.Mass Lowell. It is not ranked up with Duke or Harvard. I am not sure whether it is even ranked up with SLU. However a number of years ago I happened to have a medical emergency close enough to Lowell that the ambulance took me to a hospital in Lowell right near the university. As you might imagine the hospital was staffed by many professions, several of whom had gotten a nursing degree at U.Mass Lowell. They did a great job and helped me recover quickly and completely. What do you say to a nurse with a degree from U.Mass Lowell who helps to save your life? A very sincere “Thank you!” seemed appropriate to me, and I didn’t care where they had gotten their nursing degree.
None of us can compete with everyone. There is always someone smarter, or stronger, or better looking, or richer. What each of us can do is find the right path for ourselves. Some form of direct patient contact, such as nursing, may very well be the right path for you.
Of course there are also lots of other heath care related careers which involves direct customer support.
I really hope my parents will listen, I can only hope
I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to give me another person’s view. It really does help a lot and has given me more things to think about.
Thank you for the suggestions! I’ve actually looked into both schools before! Although I do like both Illinois Wesleyan University and Elmhurst University very much, after digging deeper I realised it’s a lot more liberal than I would like but I think I’ll ask some friends who toured there what they though about it.
Someone told me that looking for colleges and stuff will be the most exciting time of my life, I’m starting to think not lol! It’s more like “more stressful”!
Try to not think of it as stressful. You are soon to be embarking on a journey that will be exciting, fun, enlightening, and yes, at times, stressful. Your will build life skills, meet new people, learn independence, and be able to explore new thoughts and ideas. Try to find 7-10 places where you think you can do that. In my opinion, there’s no one “perfect” place for anyone. You will bloom where you are planted!