Yes. It is true. Colleges, like any other business, try to keep their good side in the light and cover up the not-so-pretty parts. The big problem with that is college is nothing like going to the dealership to buy a car. This is your education, not a product, and is (more often than not) more expensive than a car. Education should be treated more transparent and, sadly, it is not.
Below is a list of things that I, personally, would have wanted to know about Grand Canyon University's Nursing Program before I signed up to devote my life to this. This list is not meant to scare you away from nursing or GCU. Nursing is an incredibly rewarding experience, and I would not change my decisions or choice in school, despite the problems I face. However, I really wish recruiters would be more honest and open about the financial, mental, and emotional requirements nursing school brings. Some of these things only apply to GCU. However, GCU is not the only one that leaves out the bad to rope in students. From what I hear from nursing friends at other colleges, the majority of these things happen everywhere.
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| A Freshman, I mean, Baby Nursing Student... Photo Retrieved from https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1TEJ5PpXXXXaOXVXXq6xXFXXXw/Cute-Baby-Nurse-Clothing-Sets-For-Newborn-Photography-Props-Soft-Cotton-Infant-Toddler-Nurse-Cosplay-Costume.jpg_640x640.jpg |
If You Are A Freshman, You Are Not In The Nursing Program
I remember how stupid I felt when I was a Freshman and told a Senior nursing student I was in the nursing program. I feel even stupider now that I am here! My roommate and I had gone to a club fair and walked up to the Student Nurses Association table. A Level 4 nursing student asked us if we were in the nursing program. I smiled from ear to ear like a dang nitwit and said, "yes, we are!" She then asked us what level we were in. To which I replied in confusion, "uuuuuh... We are Freshmen level!" The girl looked a mix of annoyed and amused as she explained that we are not actually in the nursing program. Save yourself the embarrassment!
A Bachelor of Science in Nursing is set up like a medical doctor program, except with half of the time. You have two years of prerequisites and two years of clinical/nursing curriculum. While you take prerequisites during your Freshman and Sophomore years, you are actually doing pre-nursing. During your Sophomore year, you will apply for the actual nursing program (which includes doing your HESI Entrance exam, Fingerprint clearance card, and any other requirements your school may have). The nursing program is your Junior and Senior year, split up into 4 levels or semesters.
You May Not Get In
I remember how stupid I felt when I was a Freshman and told a Senior nursing student I was in the nursing program. I feel even stupider now that I am here! My roommate and I had gone to a club fair and walked up to the Student Nurses Association table. A Level 4 nursing student asked us if we were in the nursing program. I smiled from ear to ear like a dang nitwit and said, "yes, we are!" She then asked us what level we were in. To which I replied in confusion, "uuuuuh... We are Freshmen level!" The girl looked a mix of annoyed and amused as she explained that we are not actually in the nursing program. Save yourself the embarrassment!
A Bachelor of Science in Nursing is set up like a medical doctor program, except with half of the time. You have two years of prerequisites and two years of clinical/nursing curriculum. While you take prerequisites during your Freshman and Sophomore years, you are actually doing pre-nursing. During your Sophomore year, you will apply for the actual nursing program (which includes doing your HESI Entrance exam, Fingerprint clearance card, and any other requirements your school may have). The nursing program is your Junior and Senior year, split up into 4 levels or semesters.
This may not make too much sense, given that there is an ever-increasing shortage of nurses, but it is true: You may not get into the nursing program. Nursing school is highly competitive! According to the National League of Nursing, 64% of nursing programs turn away qualifying applicants from their program! On average, 36% of qualified applications are rejected by nursing schools around the country (NLN, 2014). That means that, after two years of hard work and money spent in pre-requisites, 36% of people who met all of the requirements, were still turned away from the program!
GCU puts students into three tiers: those who have both a high GPA and HESI scores, those who have either a high GPA or high HESI scores, and those who are transfer students or who have a low (but qualifying) GPA and HESI scores. When I applied, only a handful of tier two students made the ranks. Out of nearly a thousand applicants, only about a hundred made it into that semester's program.
Okay, so if you have/had nursing friends or family while in high school, you may have known that nursing school is mentally and emotionally draining. I, for one, was not that lucky. I knew that nursing school required a high GPA, but I had no idea that it would consume my life like it has. If you are looking for the traditional "college experience", then nursing is probably not right for you. I have gone to all of two basketball games, two dances, and a few free-food events in my entire college career. I set aside an average of 60-80 hours studying for each exam, not including class time. You will have labs, didactics, and clinicals dispersed in the most inconvenient manner. If you have to have a job, like me, then that takes up the rest of your "free time". Look at it this way: med school is 4 years of prerequisites and 4 years of the medical program. Nursing is basically med school, except shoved into 2 years of prerequisites and 2 years of the program. Every nursing student that is asked "what do you do in your freetime?" will likely not know what to say other than "study". I wish I could say that I joked about my life being "wake up, study, sleep, repeat", but that would be a hard lie.
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| Photo retrieved from https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8e/4b/d3/8e4bd352cc5159db5be396208ec898e8--medical-humor-nurse-humor.jpg |
Running along the same lines of not having a social life, you will have to form relationships with people that truly understand how busy you are. My Psych professor said last year, "if your boyfriend or girlfriend sticks with you through nursing school, marry them." Other professors have even urged us not to get into a romantic relationship in nursing school, because of how difficult it is. Nursing school will and must always be number one in your life. It is hard for a significant other to feel like they are not your sun, but nursing school has to be if you are going to get through it. Personally, Chayton and I hang out quite a bit, but about 90% of the time that we spend together during the school year consists of me simply sitting next to him and staring at a textbook rather than at him. It helps when you can be study buddies together, because you can still spend time with each other while focusing on your futures. The biggest reward of being in a relationship in nursing school is that the memories you make when you get a vacation break (without homework) are cherished so much more.
The same amount of understanding is needed for relationships with friends and family. It is really hard to make friends that are not nursing students, because most people do not understand how different nursing is from other majors. Whether you are just starting college or the program, you should really sit down with those good friends in your life and talk about how different life is going to be. As long as they understand that you will have to be a friend from afar, then that is perfect. The same goes with family. They might have been used to seeing you every single day, weekend, or holiday (depending on your college living situation), but their time socializing with you will be chopped in half if not more.
"Additional Fees May Apply"
"Additional Fees May Apply"
I am looking at you, GCU. They have long since deleted this off of their website and instead provided NO information on how much the nursing program will actually cost you. But, I do still have the budget sheet saved to me email, so please enjoy this wonderful comparison of what I was told nursing would cost and what it actually costs.
Anticipated Nursing Program Costs*
Drug Screen- $40.00-$45.00
Immunizations & Titers- Varies
Health Insurance-Varies
CPR Certification- $20-$40
Nursing Premium- $800 per semester
Textbooks- Varies
*additional fees may apply
Wow. Not bad, right? This is what the list should have looked like.
ACTUAL Anticipated Nursing Program Costs
Drug screen- $50
Fingerprint Clearance Card- $50
Immunizations & Titers- $100+
Health Insurance- We will accept your health insurance, but not tell you that until after we charge you $2000 for ours. (Better keep track of your invoices, haha!)
CPR Certification- $40-$80
Nursing Premium- $800 that increase by $100 every year. We won't disclose what this even pays for.
Textbook bundle- $1000... for one semester. We will drill it into your head that the bundle is the only way to get the necessary materials, but you could pay half this price by buying used or renting.
Access Cards/Books not in Bundle- $90-140 each, 1-3 times per semester
Clinical Placements- $50 per semester
Scrubs- $180 for two pairs
Supplies- $80+
Miscellaneous: $100-300 per semester for random stuff at random intervals, because we know you have that kind of money stashed with you ramen.
I sincerely wish I made these things up, but I am not that creative. Make sure when you are budgeting for the nursing program that you budget about $2000-$3000 over what you think you might need. You should not have to worry about making ends meet when you are trying to learn. Shame on GCU for not caring about those who financially need to know how much to save.
Nursing students across the nation are held at a higher standard academically than any other major. Course are already more rigorous than most majors, but to add on top of that, nursing majors usually have their own grading scale and requirements. A lot of people have no idea about the grading requirements until they are sitting in their first class like deer in the headlights.
At GCU, specifically, you must maintain a 76% exam average. It does not matter if you got an A in the course, if you get a 75.99%, then you fail. On top of failing the didactic section, you also fail the clinical and lab sections as well, even if you passed them. I am not talking "oh, you failed, but your GPA won't change" kind of fail. I am talking straight up "F your GPA" kind of fail.
At GCU, if you fail a course, you must reapply for the program, and it is not guaranteed that you will be accepted. You may lose out on the money you spent to get to that point, may have to start over as a Sophomore in a different major, lose any student worker positions you may have had, lose honors, get put on academic probation, get denied on-campus housing, and end up having to pay on your student loans if you are out of school longer than 6 months. Another thing some do not often consider is that financial aid is capped off at a certain number of semesters. For example, you may only receive the Pell Grant for 12 semesters (FAFSA, 2018). If you choose to take a minor for one or two semesters while you wait to get re-accepted, you are using up federal aid that could be used towards your graduate degree. Meaning, the one or two semesters you get aid for a minor are one or two semesters that you have to pay cash for your Masters!
On top of this, you are held at a different grading scale standard than other students. At GCU, other students must have a 92% or higher to get an A in the class. For nursing students, you must get a 95% or higher. Getting between a 90-92% is a B+, and will award you a GPA of 3.3! Believe it or not, I was actually not aware of part of this until last semester (Level II of the program)! Even though nursing students are held at higher standards than other students, they are still required to hold the same GPA for clubs or organizations, like Honors societies. Personally, I have to maintain a 3.5 GPA to stay in the Honors College, which means I have to get at least a 93% in all of my courses to maintain it at that level.
Deadlines are DeceivingAt GCU, specifically, you must maintain a 76% exam average. It does not matter if you got an A in the course, if you get a 75.99%, then you fail. On top of failing the didactic section, you also fail the clinical and lab sections as well, even if you passed them. I am not talking "oh, you failed, but your GPA won't change" kind of fail. I am talking straight up "F your GPA" kind of fail.
At GCU, if you fail a course, you must reapply for the program, and it is not guaranteed that you will be accepted. You may lose out on the money you spent to get to that point, may have to start over as a Sophomore in a different major, lose any student worker positions you may have had, lose honors, get put on academic probation, get denied on-campus housing, and end up having to pay on your student loans if you are out of school longer than 6 months. Another thing some do not often consider is that financial aid is capped off at a certain number of semesters. For example, you may only receive the Pell Grant for 12 semesters (FAFSA, 2018). If you choose to take a minor for one or two semesters while you wait to get re-accepted, you are using up federal aid that could be used towards your graduate degree. Meaning, the one or two semesters you get aid for a minor are one or two semesters that you have to pay cash for your Masters!
On top of this, you are held at a different grading scale standard than other students. At GCU, other students must have a 92% or higher to get an A in the class. For nursing students, you must get a 95% or higher. Getting between a 90-92% is a B+, and will award you a GPA of 3.3! Believe it or not, I was actually not aware of part of this until last semester (Level II of the program)! Even though nursing students are held at higher standards than other students, they are still required to hold the same GPA for clubs or organizations, like Honors societies. Personally, I have to maintain a 3.5 GPA to stay in the Honors College, which means I have to get at least a 93% in all of my courses to maintain it at that level.
If there is one thing that I have learned from nursing school, it is how to be organized. You will want to invest in a good planner and learn how to use it effectively, because deadlines are nothing like prerequisites in the program. You will have one class that has participation points due every other weekend, but then three major assignments on Sunday, and then an exam on Friday, but then you have lab on Friday too, and your worksheet is due the same day.... but only one assignment shows up as due on your online portal. Make sure you organize what you can in the beginning of the semester as soon as you get your syllabus, and then write down every single deadline your professors give you. Otherwise, you may never hear when that exam was and you may just walk in without ever opening the book!
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| How I will feel when I am done with this! Photo Retrieved from https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9e/70/ce/9e70cea0329def6c5fbc495d744b606c--graduation-ideas-dental-hygiene-graduation-pictures.jpg |
Your Life will be Spent Reading
Before I started Level I of the nursing program, I pretty much only opened my textbook so I could reference it in a paper. Now, I could not imagine being able to survive without reading every page of the assigned reading. Every waking moment that is not spent writing a paper or in class will, without a doubt, be spent reading. If you are thinking right now, "surely the exam won't cover all 483 pages of the assigned reading", then you are sadly mistaken. Exams are so intricately woven that you will need to have a full knowledge of the assessment, diagnosis, plan, interventions, and evaluation of every single disorder or technique mentioned. Besides, who wants to be the person who spends hundreds of dollars on textbooks that they never utilize?
Sadly, this has happened to me multiple times in the nursing program, as I am sure it happens in other majors as well. There will always be those professors who either do not have a firm grasp on the concepts or are just not skilled at educating. In times like these, you tend to have to go the extra mile outside of class to teach yourself the concepts. Switching professors or attending a different professor's class is pretty much impossible in the Nursing Program, because of how strict the rules are and how few nurse educators there are.
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You Will Cry, and That's OKAY.
This is a big one for me. I really hate crying, especially in front of people. But, to be completely honest, I cannot count how many times I have cried because of nursing school this academic year. There is no doubt that the nursing program is one of the most strenuous majors mentally, physically, and emotionally. One study at a public university found that 51% of nursing students in a BSN program reported signs of depression and 60% reported mild to severe anxiety (Rathnayake & Ekanayaka, 2016). The fact of the matter is that you are or will not be alone. Many people have or are going through the same program you are, and understand how you feel.
Please reach out to someone or use a resource if you start to feel depressed or overly anxious. If your depression or anxiety becomes serious or debilitating, please go further and reach out to a professional or a solid support system. Two 24-hour hotlines to call are below for your reference.
National Alliance of Mental Illness Helpline: 1-800-950-6264
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
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I hope that this list does not cause you too much anxiety as you embark on this quest to begin an awesome career. Even though nursing school is draining in many ways, I would not change my major for the world.
Please like, comment, or share! I would love to hear your feedback. 💜
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References
FAFSA. (2018). Federal Pell Grants. Retrieved from https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-scholarships/pell
National League of Nursing. (2014). Admission to Nursing Programs. Retrieved from http://www.nln.org/newsroom/nursing-education-statistics/admissions-to-nursing-programs
Rathnayake, S. & Ekanayaka, J. (2016). Depression, anxiety, and stress among undergraduate nursing students in a public university, International Journal of Caring Sciences, 9(3), pg. 1020-1032. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=123018408&site=eds-live&scope=site
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