What are my chances?

[lbwhite89]

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I'm currently at a technical school, planning on attending a four year university (University of South Carolina) starting in the Fall of 2011. I've already applied and, for some reason, I'm really nervous about getting in!

I had a 4.1 GPA in high school but my college GPA is only a 3.22 because I was a nursing student and took two clinicals, both of which were 6 credits each, and made C's. All of my other grades are A's except two B's. Do colleges look at each class individually or just your overall GPA? I'm applying for the Psychology program, of course, and I've taken two psychology courses in college, both of which I passed with flying colors.

My SAT scores were 1210/1500. I got into USC once before (right out of high school), but I'm nervous about being rejected this time around being delayed yet another semester in achieving my BA in Psychology.

The application to USC did not require an essay, so I don't even have that going for me. I know you can't tell me if I'll get in, but I won't find out until March and it's driving me crazy! Does it seem like I have a pretty good chance?

 

[BiopsychStudent]

I'm not 100% sure but University of South Carolina is fairly selective: You have a good high school GPA and decent SATs going for you, and pulling a 3.22 in nursing school at least shows you're capable of the work. The only thing that might get called into question is why you enrolled in their nursing program and dropped out. Granted, undergraduate admissions aren't as stringent as graduate admissions, but it might alarm them. Are you sure there's no way to forward them an essay or personal statement of some kind? I think being able to speak about your situation.

Looking at their admissions statistics you probably have a chance of being accepted, although your competition is going to be star high school students who've padded their applications with volunteer work they couldn't care less about. I would try to consider at least 1 to 2 other universities as a backup.

And I don't know if you just decided nursing wasn't for you, or got discouraged... but going for 4 years for a psych degree, hoping you find meaningful work, and then getting an MBA is kind of a crapshoot compared to nursing.

 

[lbwhite89]

I'm not 100% sure but University of South Carolina is fairly selective: You have a good high school GPA and decent SATs going for you, and pulling a 3.22 in nursing school at least shows you're capable of the work. The only thing that might get called into question is why you enrolled in their nursing program and dropped out. Granted, undergraduate admissions aren't as stringent as graduate admissions, but it might alarm them. Are you sure there's no way to forward them an essay or personal statement of some kind? I think being able to speak about your situation.

Looking at their admissions statistics you probably have a chance of being accepted, although your competition is going to be star high school students who've padded their applications with volunteer work they couldn't care less about. I would try to consider at least 1 to 2 other universities as a backup.

And I don't know if you just decided nursing wasn't for you, or got discouraged... but going for 4 years for a psych degree, hoping you find meaningful work, and then getting an MBA is kind of a crapshoot compared to nursing.

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, USC is the only four year university in my area that's an option for me. There's one more private college that has more lenient admission, but the cost is ridiculous. My only other option would be to go further out in my state and live in the dorms, which isn't an option for me.

I actually sent USC admissions a letter explaining that I won't be forwarding them a Fall 2010 transcript because I'm not enrolled in classes, and I got a chance to explain why, so hopefully they will take that into consideration even though they don't take essays. All I can do is hope they don't reject me because of that.

As for why I gave up nursing, I just decided it wasn't for me. I went into it because it was the quickest way to get in and out of college with a good salary and job security. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to keep me in the program. The program I was enrolled in is known for being very difficult and rigorous, and although I was doing decently, my heart wasn't in it in the end. Going through all of that stress to work in an understaffed hospital working 12 hours on night shift while I work my way up isn't something I'm willing to do if I don't have a passion for the work. Everyone has to start at the bottom, but I just can't see myself being a nurse until I'm able to retire.

What gets discouraging is people saying there's a chance I'll go nowhere with the degree I'm seeking now. I'm planning on majoring in psych and minoring in business, finding an entry level position out of college, and working toward my MBA while I gain work experience. I may also opt for I/O psychology, but I don't live in a large city and I fear jobs are few and far between. The possibility that this choice is a "crapshoot", as you say, really scares me. I'd love to work in human resources for a large company or something along those lines and I know I'll start off low and have to work my way up the corporate ladder, which I'm willing to do, but my fear is ending up working as a bank teller my entire life and never using my degree even in the smallest way.

The sad truth about nursing is that $55,000 a year starting out sounds perfectly fine until you're on your feet for 12 hours or more a shift caring for double the amount of patients as you should be. I'm grateful we have passionate nurses willing to do that, but unfortunately I'm not one of them.