subject: Two Tips To Help Speed Your Way To The Top Of Nursing School Lists [print this page] Two Tips To Help Speed Your Way To The Top Of Nursing School Lists
Many individuals dream of pursuing a nursing career but are daunted by the sheer number of qualified students going after an available nursing program slot year after year. If you're one of these people, you can certainly make use of these two tips we're sharing, which will improve your profile and increase your chances of being accepted.
First of all, take a good honest look at your GPA. If your GPA is not that high, you should give very serious consideration to retaking any classes that you are allowed to retake, before you apply to nursing school.
Community colleges are good options for you to take a few classes in since they cost less - about a few hundred dollars a course. Further, these schools can offer plenty of information resources and study guides to increase your chances of getting in a nursing school
We all know science and math subjects are never easy but consider the competition you will be facing with other applicants bringing their 4.0 GPA's, so do your best to up your game to that standard.
You can employ different strategies to pull up those grades - sign up for study groups, hire a tutor or find a student tutor who can help you out for free, transfer to a class with a more generous professor - just do it. If you spend a semester or two retaking classes where you did poorly, and your GPA improves a lot, you have just greatly improved your chances of getting into a good school.
Secondly, show the nursing school that you are serious about a health care career and that you have what it takes to be a nurse.
Here's how: either get employment as a Certified Nurses Assistant, even if it's only for one or two days a week; or do volunteer work at the local hospital or with any health care organization. These efforts will put you way ahead of other candidates with no health care experience. Doing some hospital work on the side can also help you identify whether you are really cut out for life as a nurse. A CNA training will only take about a week or two to complete, plus you will need to pass a CNA exam. This exam will test your knowledge on various skills -- skills you will be using as a nurse too.
Many nursing schools have a point system for the students who are applying to their schools. They will give points to students for having previous health care experience.
After you've taken the previous two steps, you will have made yourself a much more attractive nursing school candidate. Now, you need to check out all of the schools where you think you will best fit, find out what their entrance requirements are and when their admissions deadline is, and begin applying.
Then find out what entrance exam they give, and study for it until you are comfortable with it. Take at least a few practice tests before you apply.
And one last piece of advice: apply to multiple schools. Even if you have set your sights on one school, it never hurts to apply to others so you will always have a backup. Otherwise, you might end up literally waiting for years to get into nursing school.
