So you want to go to nursing school, but you're worried about how competitive it is to get in, with dozens of qualified students competing for every open space. Well, we're going to offer you two tips that will make you a much more attractive candidate when you go to apply to the nursing programs that you're interested in.
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.
You can take classes relatively cheaply at community colleges. Generally they cost only a few hundred dollars per course. And once you are signed up, there will often be a lot of free resources and study guides offered by the school that will help you get in.
Science and math classes are especially hard for many people, we know. But you will be competing against people with 4.0 GPA's; do everything in your power to become one of them.
Join a study group, hire a tutor, have the school recommend free tutors who often volunteer to help current students, take the class with a different professor, do whatever it takes to get those grades up. If you spend a semester or two retaking classes where you did poorly, and your GPA improves a lot, you have just vastly improved your chances of getting into a good school.
Secondly, show the nursing school that you are serious about a healthcare career and that you have what it takes to be a nurse.
Here's how: either get a job as a Certified Nurses Assistant - even if it's only one or two days a week - or go volunteer at a hospital or other healthcare organization. This will put you way ahead of other candidates with no healthcare experience. It will also let you know if you really will enjoy the field of nursing. To get CNA training only takes a week or two in most states; then you have to pass a CNA exam which tests you on about two dozen skills, which you would need anyway as a nurse.
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 healthcare 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 that you are interested in and find out what their entrance requirements are and when their admissions deadline is, and start 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 finally, apply to multiple schools. If you are really interested in a school, go ahead and apply even if it is a long shot - but have a backup plan. Otherwise you could literally be waiting for years to get into school.
To turbo charge your way past nursing school waiting lists, check out Ruby Nicholson's great tips at http://www.nursingschoolprograms.com
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