Here’s a question we get every day—what are the requirements to get into nursing school to get my nursing degree?

This is one of those questions that can have many different answers, so we’ll try to cover all the bases with a list.  Remember, the stronger your application, the more likely you are to be offered financial aid.    Admissions and the financial aid office are usually tied closely together.

Here is a list of requirements that will be effective for an Associate’s Degree in Nursing (ADN) program, which is a 2-year program/ degree.   If you’re curious about the different types of nursing programs, here is a whole explanation of that.

School Application in General:

1. High school diploma/ equivalent.   Pretty much across the board, nursing schools will require you to have at least completed your high school education or the equivalent.   If you don’t have this done yet, this is definitely a good place to start.     To fulfill this requirement, you’ll need transcripts, which you can obtain from your school or equivalent provider.
   
   
2. Letters of Reference.  No matter where you’re thinking of applying, you will most likely need letters of reference to accompany your application.   It will strengthen your application if these letters are from nurses, doctors, or anyone who can speak to your potential to succeed as a nurse.
   
   
3. Essay.   Most (if not all) colleges and universities require an entrance essay, and if you’re wanting to pursue a nursing education, it is better that you start focusing on this subject as soon as possible.   This might take some time and several drafts, so start thinking about the (hopefully interesting) reasons you want to become a nurse.  Examples of this include:  if you’ve experienced challenges or illnesses, have had illness in your family, if you’ve done any traveling or volunteer work that has inspired you to help your community through nursing.
   
   
4. Volunteer work.  This is one of those things that is not really “required,” but really helps when you apply, especially if you’re trying to get in to one of the more competitive schools.  Types of volunteer work that could be useful on a nursing application include:  hospital, Peace Corps, nursing homes, and community health outreach.

Nursing Program Specific:

5.  Coursework.  Again, check with your preferred school for specific requirements, but more and more, colleges are requiring students who wish to declare a nursing major to first complete some science courses.  Examples of these courses could include:  Anatomy & Physiology, Nutrition, Chemistry, Algebra, Psychology, and Sociology are all examples of courses we’ve seen schools require before they will admit students into their nursing program.    Our best suggestion for this is to identify your top 3-4 schools and visit the website for each nursing program, as prerequisites will usually be listed.  To avoid wasting time taking courses you don’t need, make sure you’re clear on exactly what your school’s program required.

Here is an example of Admission Requirements for the Auburn University School of Nursing:  http://www.auburn.edu/academic/nursing/academics/bsn_adm_req.html

The bottom line:  it is getting more and more difficult to get into nursing programs, so the stronger you can make your application, the better.  Especially if you’ve been wait-listed, do something to show the admissions committee that you’re serious about succeeding in school and about your ultimate goal of becoming a nurse.

Believe it or not, one of the questions I get asked most often is about insurance, since most of the people I deal with are part-time students, and therefore not covered by the health plan of the University that they attend.   First, let’s address health insurance, which is probably the most important thing to get in order (for your life in general, not just when you’re a student).  I know some people subscribe to the theory that they are young and healthy, so they don’t need insurance, and I have to say, I think this is a very risky decision that can negatively impact your financial future in a big way.   You need SOME kind of coverage, if for nothing else then just for big medical catastrophes like accidents or health crises. 

So, where do you get this health insurance, especially if you are in the double-dilemma of working part time and going to school part time, which doesn’t give you enough hours in either place to qualify for insurance?  This is assuming you don’t have a spouse or partner whose insurance plan you can join (if only for the time being). 

This is when I would say you need to get a little creative, and cobble something basic together just for the time when you’ll be in school.   Actually, let me take that back.  My ideal scenario would be that you’re working part-time at a hospital and they are also paying for you to go to nursing school, so in that case I would recommend asking for enough hours to qualify you for their health plan, even if it meant you had to cut back your classes and take longer to get through nursing school. 

If you don’t have the benefit of working at a hospital and are relying on loans to get you through school, I would look around for health insurance that is part of a union that you can join, then compare those rates to companies like All State or Aetna.   You can usually join a union just on the basis of residing in a particular state or county, or being part of a particular group, like “freelance writers” or “students.”  Since you are a student, the best option would still be to check with your school to see if they have a plan you can pay to join, since this is likely to be the most cost-effective.

Take a part time job that gets you benefits.   You might not have envisioned yourself as a Home Depot or Starbucks worker, but those are just two examples of big companies that offer health insurance to part-time employees.  Here’s a list:  http://abcnews.go.com/Business/companies-offering-health-care-benefits-perks-part-time/story?id=14805107#5

A little bird tells me that applicants for the 2012 are getting their credit checked.   What does it mean?!

First, what are we talking about here?    In case you don't know about it, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a division called the Health Resources and Services Administration, and they give out nursing scholarships.   You definitely should check them out, just because they have some great scholarship and grant programs for nurses.  The one for 2012 is about to be announced so it's closed at the moment, but you can certainly go over there and sign up to receive an email when the program opens back up.  

Here is some further description of the program and its scholarships, right from the website:

The Nursing Scholarship Program is a selective program of the U.S. Government that helps alleviate the critical shortage of nurses currently experienced by certain types of health care facilities by helping needy students complete their nurse training. In exchange for the scholarship, upon graduation, the newly minted nurses work at these facilities for at least 2 years.

This year's award is interesting for several reasons.  For one, becuase of the increased demand in healthcare for nurse practitioners, HRSA says they might give up to half of their award monies this year out to nurses pursuing graduate-level studies (which is great news if you're one of those applicants).   Also interesting is the fact that some of the nurses who have already applied have been getting their credit checked and some have not.  Why HRSA would want to check the credit of people who they are going to give scholarships to, we're not quite sure, but this is probably a good indicator that they have their ducks in a row and will actually award the money on time (applicants who do receive funding will be notified by August 31st).  

A new scholarship is now available to UNM-Gallup Nursing students in their last semester of study. Drs. Lawrence and Aedra Andrade started the scholarship in memory of their 2-year-old daughter, Santana Milagros Teresa Andrade, who died in 2011 as a result of numerous medical complications. 

Source:  http://unmgnewsevents.blogspot.com/2012/07/andrade-nursing-scholarship-available.html

I always recommend that my students get the latest version of the College Board books.  The truth is, keeping up with all the guidelines for money ranging from state funding to scholarships to aid offered by your school is a job-- and if you want to get through nursing school with little or no debt, you should definitely make it one of your jobs.  The money is out there-- it's your job to find it!   College Board books are on my "must read" list every year because, frankly, they have a whole staff of people who are dedicated to making sure their facts are updated before publication every year, so they do the legwork for you.   I like that they include information on filling out the FAFSA, and the "financial aid picture" for each individual school makes it easy to see what your financial aid needs are going to be like before you even apply.  Helpful for students applying to school as well as those already in a program.   Two thumbs up!

This is probably one of the least-known resources in the nursing profession, and it's right there under your nose!    Did you know that most hospitals offer some type of tuition reimbursement and/ or scholarship program?  The purpose of this is clear-- they want you to become loyal to them while you're still in school, so they'll pay for part of your education in exchange for a work commitment because it's cheaper for them than going out and advertising for/ hiring/ training a whole new nurse.  Makes sense, right?

The challenge for you is to find a hospital that offers a program like this that a) is near enough to your nursing program that you can take advantage of it, and b) that you like enough to stay there for two or three or four years following your nursing education.  This is no problem for most people, as they're just happy to have the money and the on-the-job training.  Pretty great, right?

So-- where do you look for programs like this?  There are several places for you to start.

1.  The Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future has a searchable database of hospital programs, including tuition reimbursement and continuing education.  Search for nursing school grants now.

2.  Search the American Hospital Association Hospital Finder, and start calling the hospitals in your area  New programs (such as tuition reimbursement for hospital employees) are being added to hospitals all the time, and hospitals don't always have the time (or the knowledge) to properly promote these programs.  There could be money you don't even know about sitting at a hospital right down the street!

3.  Ask your (nursing specific) financial aid office, specifically about hospital partnerships.  They will know of hospitals that specifically offer funds in exchange for work commitments.

Hey, did you know that the Nursing Education Loan Repayment program is still around?   It is, and they're still paying back people's nursing school loans.  http://www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/repayment/nursing/

From their site:

The Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program is a selective program of the U.S. Government that helps alleviate the critical shortage of registered nurses currently experienced by certain types of non-profit health care facilities by helping nurses working at them to repay their student loans.

In exchange for two years of service, participants receive 60 percent of their total qualifying nursing education loan balance. For an optional third year of service, participants may receive 25 percent of their original total qualifying nursing education loan balance.

Participants also receive the salary and benefits they have negotiated with their employing facility.

First of all, what is an "Accelerated Nursing Program?"  This can often be confusing, so we should take a minute to clarify, since this can mean different things in different places.