FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Please refer to the UW School of Nursing website for questions regarding general admissions, undergraduate applications, and graduate applications. Links are available below!
All answered questions provided on this page are supplemental information. We generated responses based on shared experiences amongst our members and current BSN nursing students.
GENERAL ADMISSIONS
HOW DO I BECOME A “COMPETITIVE” APPLICANT?
Admissions look at every candidate holistically. They will be looking at your clinical experiences, grades, personal statements, resume, and letter of recommendation! You want to ensure you’re strong in every category - grades are not the only aspect that matters.
If you are invited to the proctored essay, they will additionally take consideration of how you answer your essay and solve the three dosage calculation questions.
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PREREQUISITES AT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE VS. COURSES TAKEN AT UW?
The UW doesn’t prefer one over the other! This is largely based on the individual’s preference. Community colleges are often cheaper and provide smaller classroom sizes.
IS CLINICAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED TO APPLY? DOES IT HAVE TO BE CNA EXPERIENCE?
Clinical experience is not required for the 2021 application due to COVID-19. With that being said, the admissions committee highly recommends gaining experience that strengthens and highlights your understanding of the nurse role. This can be taken in the form of volunteering, work, or shadowing a nurse. CNA experience is oftentimes recommended because you are closely working with nurses and carry out similar tasks.
If you cannot obtain clinical experience due to COVID-19, we recommend looking at your non-clinical experiences and reflect on core skills that will support you as a nurse (time management, critical thinking, communication etc.).
HOW COMPETITIVE IS UW SCHOOL OF NURSING?
As of September 2021, the UW School of Nursing undergraduate program tied for No.2 in the nation, according to the U.S. News & World Report. Application cycles are offered once per year with cohort sizes averaging around 80 students. Accepted BSN applicant GPAs range from 2.4 to 4.0, but please keep in mind that your GPA is only one of many factors in admissions decisions.
PERSONAL STATEMENTS + RESUME TIPS
WHO CAN I REACH OUT TO TO REVIEW MY RESUME AND PERSONAL ESSAYS?
FNC offers opportunities during fall quarter for members to have their essays and resumes reviewed with feedback!
WHAT SHOULD MY BULLET POINTS IN MY RESUME HIGHLIGHT?
For healthcare experience, you want your bullets to show that you know what a nurse does. Focus on starting bullets with “observed nurse…/assisted nurse…” to include the nursing skills you witnessed.
For community service/involvement, you want to choose experiences different from your healthcare experience to represent your community involvement. This doesn’t have to be traditional volunteer work. You want to show how you’re involved in your communities and if you delve into cultures/communities different from your own. These experiences could help you with your essay as well.
For leadership/teaching experiences, add bullets that describe your role as a leader/teacher and also describe your teaching/leadership style. Do you make others feel heard? Do you collaborate with coworkers and clients to create the best outcomes? Give examples that show how you function as a leader.
WHAT EXPERIENCES SHOULD YOU PRIORITIZE?
Prioritize your most recent, as well as most pertinent experiences. Although there is no limitation to how far back your experiences can come from, your more recent experiences will probably better reflect who you are today.
WHAT EXPERIENCES ARE VALUABLE TO ADMISSIONS?
All experiences are valuable - what brings them value is what you learned from them. Focus on experiences that made you reflect the most on your values, biases, and perspective. For healthcare experiences specifically, you should prioritize experiences where you worked directly with an RN.
WHAT SHOULD I WRITE IN MY OPTIONAL STATEMENT?
Use your optional statement to supplement any part of your application that you think needs explanation. For example, if you had a quarter with poor grades because you were having a mental health crisis, this would be where you explain that. Other things you can include are your personal social determinants of health or obstacles of any kind you had to overcome to get where you are today.
This section is yours - no prompts. Use it to your advantage to allow the reviewing team to see you more holistically.
PROGRAM
WHAT DOES THE PROGRAM LOOK LIKE?
The BSN program is 2 years long. The curriculum includes lecture-based courses, smaller lab sections for hands-on learning, nurse/patient simulation scenarios, and clinical rotations. Clinical rotations include Medical-Surgical, Community Health, Psychiatric, Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Labor & Delivery, and a final practicum rotation.
HOW CAN I FEEL SUPPORTED? WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE AS A UW NURSING STUDENT?
There is a wide variety of resources available to UW Nursing Students! These are just a few listed.
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Teresa Regan, School of Nursing Counselor and Health & Wellness Coach
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Mentorship program organized by PONS: you will get matched to a mentor who is a BSN 2.
ARE THERE LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE WITHIN THE UW SCHOOL OF NURSING?
Yes! There are many ways to get involved and take upon leadership positions within the UW SoN. Here are a few of our student-led groups:
Professional Organization of Nursing Students (PONS)
UW Future Nurses Club
UW SoN Diversity Awareness Group (UW SoN DAwGs)
UNIcoRN LGBQTTSIA+
More information can be found here: https://students.nursing.uw.edu/student-life/groups/
For further questions or concerns, please email uwfuturenursesclub@gmail.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible!