nursing degree
Learn How To Get Into Nursing School
Are you thinking about going to nursing school? Before you can send in your application for nursing school, you need to do make sure you do some research on nursing schools and prepare your admission applications. You need to take four steps before you can send in your nursing school application. These steps are:
Step 1 – Pick A Career Path
Your first step is deciding what type of nursing career you want. Do you want to specialize in a certain area? Do you want a basic entry level position or do you want to manage a group of nurses? This decision will affect the type of nursing degree and school that you apply to.
Step 2 – Choose A Degree
After you decide your career path, you need to determine what type of degree will get you into that career. There are 6 degree levels to choose from. They are:
Certified Nursing Assistant Certificate Or Diploma
An associate’s degree is the quickest way to become a registered nurse. An associate’s degree in nursing is all you need to become a registered nurse; however, lots of doctors and hospitals are now requiring a bachelors degree at minimum to become a registered nurse.
Bachelor Of Science In Nursing
Most hospitals and doctors prefer nurses who at least have a bachelors of science degree. A bachelors degree in nursing takes four years at a university. This degree opens up a lot of job opportunities.
Master of Science in Nursing
A Master’s of Science in Nursing is for those who want to specialize in an area of nursing. Also, this degree will help you get into leadership and administration roles.
Doctoral Degree In Nursing
A doctoral degree in nursing will help you teach at the university level, perform nursing research or get into executive-level roles.
Step 3 – Find The Right Program
Next, you need to find the right nursing program for the career path and degree that you want to pursue. You need to ask yourself some questions in order to find the right program:
- Can you afford the tuition?
- How much clinical rotation time is there?
- Do they have the right degree for the career you want?
- Is the program accredited?
- Are there specialty courses that interest me?
- Will you have access to top-quality equipment?
- How do students do on licensing exams?
- Do they help with career placement?
- Do I want to attend a traditional on-campus program or an online program?
Step 4 – Meet The Prerequisite And Admission Requirements And Apply
After you decide which school and program is right for you, you need to make sure that you meet their requirements.
Is there a GPA requirement?
For Certified Nursing Assistant Certificate degrees, Licensed Practical Nurse Certificate Or Diploma and associate degrees you will need an acceptable high school GPA. For a bachelors degree you will most likely need a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher.
What are the prerequisites for nursing school?
Lower – level degrees require a high school diploma. Bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees require more specific requirements.
Entrance exams
In order to apply for a bachelors program, you will need to take the SAT or ACT. There are also exams that are designed specifically for nurses. Some of these tests are:
- ATI Test of Academic Skills Exam
- Kaplan Admission Test
- Health Education Systems, Inc
- The National League for Nursing Pre-Admission Exam
Additional requirements
You may require additional requirements like letters of recommendations, an interview or essay.
Once you have completed these four steps, you are now ready to send in your application for nursing school. Good Luck!
