school does not provide UW GPA
3.8 W GPA
school does not provide class rank
1300 SAT
Coursework
1 AP
7 Honors
highest level of math: trig and precaclulus, stats
3 yrs spanish
Extracurriculars
Certified Nurse Assistant
CPR class instructor
40 HRs hospital volunteer
NHS
Student council and School council all 4 yrs
peer counselor
vice president of fundraising club
published essay
no budget at this point
Sacred Heart
U Del
U pitt
Elon
Clemson
SDSU
Uconn
Providence
U tennessee
Loyola Chicago
Belmont
Temple
Florida Atlantic
You need to calculate the UW GPA. A W GPA means little as all systems are different.
You simply take the core classes and take each A, give it a 4, each B, give it a 3, each C and give it a 2, etc. and then get the average by dividing the total points by # of classes.
You have a lit of schools that are harder and easier to get into - but nursing may be hard even at an easier to get into school.
Are all these direct admit? Or do you seek that?
For FAU, as an example, one of the easier admits, here is their requirements:
Freshman Direct Admit: For applicants graduating from high school May/June 2024
Deadline Fall 2024
Application Review Criteria:
High school GPA: 3.60 recalculated high school cumulative grade point average.
SAT 1200 or ACT 25 . Must submit official scores to be considered.
Florida schools seem to add a .5 for Honors and +1 for AP - so you’d likely be in good shape here.
I’d surmise Belmont isn’t a hard admit - but it’s Christian…very Christian. Loyola is Jesuit - so you’d want to ensure a fit in these regards as well.
I’d imagine with stats listed that Clemson, SDSU (no test), UCONN, and UTK will be in the “reach” category but that’s ok. Maybe Pitt for nursing too.
PS - when you say no budget, why not? Are you willing to pay $300K, 400K for school? If not, you have a budget.
thank you for your feedback! that informations is super helpful. by no budget i just mean that i’m not ruling any schools out yet based on how expensive they may seem. I will apply to all schools regardless of how much the sticker price is and then narrow it down from there. Once i get my acceptances i will decide what works financially.
There’s no point in wasting your time, effort, and getting excited for a school your parents will say not to.
Having a budget, upfront, is first and foremost - before you look at any school.
Every year, too many kids are getting into schools and their parents say, we can’t afford that - and then they don’t go, go and overstretch their families and drop out, go where they don’t want, or having to go to a community college, etc.
Have that discussion now - then make a list.
Find out what your parents can afford - and more importantly - want to afford. This way you can apply to schools that work vs. schools that won’t.
I would suggest that you have a conversation asap with your parents. Please find out how much they are willing to spend annually on your college education.
You don’t want to end up getting accepted to only unaffordable colleges. Simply put, if your family can’t afford the college costs, you can’t attend.
Every year we hear about students who are disappointed because their favorite acceptances are not within the family budget. You don’t want this to be you.
I may have phrased this wrong … I am just forming a draft list right now, You may be unfamiliar with nursing but it is an extremely hard major to get into and unfortunately I would not get into the program for my state school. I am only a junior so I am just forming a DRAFT list of schools and then will weed them out based on budget. My parents have made it very clear that I should not rule out a school based on budget. Right now i’m just looking at this from an acceptance standpoint. Then I will consider budget.
A few follow up questions…
Most schools will recalculate your GPA to be UW, so having a sense if that is a 3.2 or a 3.6 will matter, for sure. Will you be taking the SAT again? Did you try the ACT?
What sciences have you taken? How many APs are offered of which you have taken one? What is your senior schedule class wise?
As you mentioned, and you are correct, direct entry nursing is very competitive so adding in potential safeties is challenging. I think your list does have possible matches but reach heavy based on the program.
Have they assured you that they will pay up to $90k per year? If not, what happens if you get some admissions but they are all too expensive?
As a backup, check into ADN / RN programs at local community colleges. Note that these are often competitive to get into, unlike other programs at community colleges. After completing and passing the NCLEX, you can work as a nurse or go on to an RN → BSN program to become eligible for a wider range of nursing jobs (these are often less competitive to get into than other BSN programs).
You do need to calculate your UW GPA - that’s how you can tell if a school like Belmont (3.5 needed) is realistic.
A weighted GPA is not really helpful - so take your core classes and give yourself a 4 for an A, 3 for a B, 2 for a C, etc. and then divide the points by the # of classes. That’s your UW GPA.
That can help guide you - a 3.8 weighted GPA means little as each weights differently.
You might add Marshall U to your list. And just because a school isn’t direct admit doesn’t mean you won’t power through (if it’s meant to be).
I am lucky enough to be in a financial position where I can afford a four year college and I will be responsible for paying for some of it myself. I am confident that their are schools on my list that I will not have to pay 90k for. I really like the 4 year BSN track and my parents and I have decided that is the best track for me and my goals for my nursing career.
You might not get admitted to Umass Amherst but you will very likely get admitted to the other UMass campuses. Although you might not like them I still suggest you apply to a few just in case so you have a solid affordable acceptance. If things work for your favorite schools you don’t have to attend.
I will be taking the SAT at least two more times . I am aware that my list is reach heavy so I do have several safety’s where I would pursue a PA track and take health sciences for undergrad instead. I had the option to take several history and english AP class but did not pursue them because I did not feel like it is relevant towards my nursing career. I don’t think something like AP euro or economics would benefit my nursing career. Instead of taking an AP math class decided to double up on two regular ones instead. As for the science classes I has to drop down form honors physics to regular physics so an AP science class option is unfortunately unavailable to me. Next year I will be taking honors anatomy though
. My town is also facing large budget cuts and is risking losing nearly half its AP availability so I did take that into account when planning my schedule for next year.
I totally understand the choice not to take AP humanities classes, my daughter did not either but had more options for AP sciences. Presuming you have taken bio and chem at the honors level? That’s great your school offers an Anatomy class. Good luck on your SAT, a bump there could help a bit too!
I would not apply to SDSU. I think it would be a waste of your app. Also I would not put Temple above Umass Lowell. Since you have Sacred Heart in your list I would add St Anselm which has great clinical locations in Boston.
OP-- UNH is lovely & was my D22’s first choice. My daughter’s list & stats were similar to yours. However, even with similar stats and ECs to you… my daughter was rejected from UNH for Nursing (accepted 2nd choice major); on paper she was absolutely a match- and when she questioned it, she was told a 4.0 was in fact required. We got that in writing. Unless the requirements have changed/loosened (and they haven’t) I think the only “likely” on your current list is Sacred Heart.
You might want to do some research and add a few schools to widen your net - maybe URI (although not true Direct Entry). Ultimately my daughter chose UMaine Nursing, also lovely and a great program.
Best wishes!