You know you鈥檙e meant to get a Nursing degree. You鈥檝e read and researched; you know how grueling the hours can be, but you鈥檙e still drawn to care for the hurt and hurting. Now comes the hard part for some folks. It鈥檚 time to convince an admissions committee that you belong in Nursing school.
Whether you鈥檙e looking at an associate degree in Nursing, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, or any Nursing program, you have to get through the admissions process before you鈥檙e able to learn the skills you need to join the field. Especially if your recent grades weren鈥檛 all A鈥檚 or you鈥檙e not a strong writer and putting together a personal essay makes you nauseous, the application process can be nerve-wracking.
But don鈥檛 fret yet; admissions teams are full of empathetic humans who want you to succeed. There are many elements to Nursing school acceptance. So, let鈥檚 unpack the question, 鈥淲hat do nursing schools look for in applicants?鈥�
Pieces of the puzzle: Nursing program applications
A lot of prospective Nursing students who are actively preparing to apply or reapply, or anxiously sitting on the waitlist, worry about what Nursing schools look for in applicants.
Because once you have gathered all the general admissions materials, like鈥�
- Completed school of choice application
- Submission of all official transcripts if transferring credits
- Proof of high school or GED completion
- Recommendation forms (many schools only accept these electronically, no letters anymore)
- Any required testing scores (SAT, ACT, TEAS, etc.)
鈥here start to be more difficult things to assemble, like鈥�
- All prerequisite courses completed by the start of nursing courses. How do you complete these if you haven鈥檛 already?
- Cumulative GPA of 2.75 minimum. What if my GPA isn鈥檛 hitting the mark?
- Short essay response to the focused prompt. What if I鈥檓 not a good writer?
- All math/science courses (MAT 103, BIO 113, BIO 114, CHEM 105, BIO 106) must be taken within 5 years of application with a grade of C+ or higher in both lecture and lab.
The questions and missing pieces may begin to pile up. Below, we鈥檒l unpack a genuine prep guide of how to demonstrate preparedness and what to do if you鈥檙e not quite there yet.
Take the first step toward a career in nursing. Explore 越南直播鈥檚 Nursing programs today.
What if I don鈥檛 have a competitive GPA?
Having a cumulative GPA of 2.75 minimum, as 越南直播 requires for Nursing school, means you鈥檝e basically made all B鈥檚, maybe a few A鈥檚, and a stray C or two. But if you had a tough couple of years in high school, your GPA may have slipped, or perhaps your math/science courses didn鈥檛 start strong before you knew you wanted to focus on healthcare as a career and decided to buckle down.
Whatever the reason, if you need to get your GPA up to snuff, one of the quickest ways is to focus on your Nursing prerequisite courses before applying to Nursing school. Now you鈥檙e no longer in high school; you know what you want to focus on, and can find the motivation to study and boost that GPA so you can show Nursing schools you mean business, and you鈥檙e serious about joining their ranks.
What if I鈥檓 not a strong writer?
First of all, don鈥檛 use ChatGPT to try to fake it. Nursing schools are interested in who you are as a person, not who you think they want you to be, and generative AI is inherently sycophantic and echo-chamber-y. Be authentic and vulnerable in your essay, even if you鈥檙e worried that writing isn鈥檛 your strong suit.
You can utilize tech assistance. You should use a grammar and spell-checking software, such as Grammarly, to edit your work after you鈥檝e written your essay.
Nurses need to be good communicators, but not poets or writers of long research papers, so most essay admission requirements for Nursing school aren鈥檛 too long 鈥� UB鈥檚 requirement is only 200 words, aka a quarter length of this article 鈥� so it isn鈥檛 anything you haven鈥檛 had to do in school before.
What you can do, if you aren鈥檛 confident in this area, is approach it as a homework assignment and do it bit by bit over a series of days or weeks; don鈥檛 try to complete it in one evening or rush through it at the last minute.
A few further tips when you鈥檙e writing a Nursing program entrance essay:
- Start longhand. First, jot down a few handwritten notes when you read the essay prompt. Scribble down anything that comes to mind and put it away for a bit.
- Let it sit. Return to it a few days later with a computer and type these notes up, adding a few more thoughts you鈥檝e accumulated over the past couple of days.
- Get feedback. Then bring these notes to a friend or family member and see what they think. Maybe you jot down a few of these things in your essay.
- Bring in the bots. Now bring in your grammar checker, make sure your words are spelled correctly, and put it away again over the weekend.
- Final draft. Bring it out on Monday for a few final tweaks. Read it aloud once or twice to see how it sounds. Make adjustments as needed.
And if you鈥檙e still nervous, remember the essay isn鈥檛 everything in your application.
Apply for Nursing school at 越南直播
Most top-rated Nursing programs, like ours at 越南直播, devise an application rubric that鈥檚 transparent and neutral, so applicants can take control of their acceptance into Nursing school instead of being at the mercy of admissions teams.
So if you find yourself discouraged on the road to Nursing school, take another look at those prerequisite classes. Consider boosting your GPA with a few online courses, or taking another look at your personal essay with a trusted mentor or friend. You鈥檒l find your way toward the right Nursing degree for you in no time.
Ready to take the next step? Learn more about an associate degree in Nursing or apply today.