My trivia came in 5th this week - which sucks. I am a sore loser and it sucked. Always next week.
Tonight my husband and I are going to Table 6 with our friends for Restaurant week - really excited.
So that's the week but I thought I would change things up and blog about other things nursing students, or in the case nursing hopefuls want to know.
Getting In to Nursing Schools:
When I started looking into applying for nursing schools I was limited by my options because I didn't want to move and I needed an BSN in order to move on to get my Masters. (Some of the Masters programs I looked at have RN to Masters programs, but not very many). I have to admit I was completely overwhelmed. My undergrad degree is in Elementary Education and I didn't have any of the prerequisites. I took one prereq per semester for 2 years: Anatomy, Physiology, Stats, and Microbiology. These classes really intimidated me. I had never been a "science" person and assumed that I couldn't be. Turns out - I am. I did awesome and knew that I pretty much needed to nail these classes because the grades I received in these classes are the first thing CU looked at for admittance. I received 3 As and 1 B. Once I had finished up my prereqs I was finally able to apply.
Initially CU was my only choice. My husband was still in grad school and we really weren't in a position to move. There was a reason I didn't apply to Regis, but I can't remember it now. I applied and I was really frustrated at the whole process. According to the information they give they select applicants based on 1) your gpa in the 4 classes I mentioned above, 2) your overall gpa, and 2) your essay, no letters of recommendation, no test. I took a few prereqs with a person who had a BS in biology and a Masters in Public Health, but her gpa was lower than mine. In the eyes of the school I am more qualified than she is but to me she is way more qualified than me. However, I have yet to see her at school. I don't know if she got in. The essay I mentioned was a really basic entrance essay (in my case, but it changes). It asked about cultural differences, critical thinking, and one other I can't recall. But the thing with the essay was the length - it asked three questions and it had to be answered in one page. I felt is though they really didn't want to know anything about me but more or less, can this person write well.
At the time I applied, CU was selecting for the year, the class that started in June and the class that started in January. I submitted my application and sesveral months later I received word that I had not been accepted. BUT, they were changing they acceptance cycle and that they were only selecing the class starting in June and my application would be rolled over. Needless to say, I was devistated. Before I applied I had gone to their information session and was told they received something like 350 applications and accepted something like 210. So a pretty high acceptance rrate. After hearing the bad news, I called to see what I could have done, where I ranked, etc. I called and she said they had received an overwhelming number of applicants, something like 700, and because of the change in they process only accepted 100. A much smaller acceptance rate.
After going through a brief period of depression (why not me, I suck! if they don't who will... kind of thoughts), I pulled myself up via my bootsraps and made a list. The list was, places we would want to live, and schools that had BSN and CNM (Certified Nursee Midwife) programs - if we were moving, we were only going to do it once. When that listed was narrowed down - added to it were the prereqs that their programs called for, and other pertinent application information. What became the final list, was the most ridiculous list of hard to get in schools you can imagine. My top choice was UCSF (the only one that I applied to and didn't not get in), followed by OHSU (Oregon Health and Sciences University), Yale, Columbia, NYU, Penn State, and one of the universities in Chicago, I can't recall the name. If I though I was overwhelmed before - now I was really overwhelmed. These were some of the toughest schools to get into, and I had a whole new prereq list. I literally took a semster full of prereqs; Genetics, Nutrition, Human Development, Chemistry lab and the fun one I took for me, Spanish III. I could have taken a whole semester more of prereqs - research methods, the rest of human development, Penn wanted 1 more credit of chemistry than I had, etc.
But, in early October that I didn't need to take any more prereqs, that I had been accepted, and would be starting in January. I can't tell you why or how, why not the first time. I had the option to resubmit by essay but decided not to. My overall gpa was 3.69. For most people this is fine, and for me and my previous life, studying elementary education - gpa was the last thing I worried about. But it is in my life now, as I think about Masters programs, I am daunted once more.
My advice: be yourself. If you are able to retake bad grades, and you think it might help, not only your chances of admittance, but your knowledge, do it, and don't think twice about it. I think we all have classes that we took at 19, and hated and squeeked by with a C. Maybe this time you can get something more out of it. Follow instructions. Ask people to review your letter. Not only for grammar errors but also for content clarity, and compare to what they are asking. Is it addressing the questions being asked.
Another thing I want to say about the process for me was the idea of following my dreams. It is one thing to say I am going to be a good nurse for this reason, but I can't. I don't know what kind of nurse I want to be. What I can say is that I want to follow my dream, and that dream starts with you and you letting me in to your school. Now, let me in! And, of course, we can't do that, and it is frustrating. I wish we could say what we really want to say. I hope that this is helpful and good luck.
One more thing, one of the blogs I read addressed college admittance and the application process so eloquently, I really want to share. She is in a different stage in her life, but has really great insight. You can find the entry I am thinking of here. Also check out her other entries and story - it is inspiring, heart breaking and heart warming all at the same time.
No comments:
Post a Comment