Competitive program accepts about 240 aspiring nurses
USC’s College of Nursing sent out its first round of acceptance letters into the upper division program at the beginning of this week.
Emily Nelson, second-year nursing student, was recently accepted into the program.
“It’s a relief knowing my hard work paid off,” she said.
To be considered for upper division, students in the lower division must achieve at least a 3.0 grade point average and have completed at least 45 hours toward the nursing curriculum, receiving at least a “C” in each class. Students are accepted into the program based solely off GPA.
“I think the competitiveness of the program is very important to a nursing student’s success here,” said Kelsey Poole, a third-year nursing student. “Upper division demands a lot of time, discipline and work ethic. Without the pressure to get into the program, I don’t think the success rate of the students involved would be as high.”
This is the first year that students are required to have a 3.0 to be considered; the previous GPA requirement was a 2.75. However, having a 3.0 does not guarantee acceptance into the upper division program. The GPA cutoff for this year’s upper division acceptances was a 3.4, which is not considerably different from last year’s.
“There are so many things that make a great nurse, but we know that smart people make great nurses,” College of Nursing Dean Peggy Hewlett said. “When you’re dealing with large numbers of very smart people who want to be admitted into one of the hardest majors at USC, GPA is the most important.”
When Hewlett assumed the role of dean in 2005, her goal was to double the admission into the major from the previous average of 110 students. She has succeeded and believes that the quality of education has not been compromised. The program now admits approximately 240 students per year, including those enrolled at USC Lancaster and Salkehatchie.
Various factors are considered when deciding on class size, such as faculty availability and lab space. There will be a second round of admissions taking place toward the end of the spring. This round will serve to fill spots that were left open or vacated by students who declined their acceptance.
“We need to make sure that all of the students we admit we can give a quality education to. That’s our number one commitment,” Hewlett said. “We’re doing the best we can with our amount of resources, and we’re very proud of our graduate students.”
Students who are not accepted in the first or second rounds are encouraged to reapply or transfer to another nursing school in the USC system, such as USC Aiken or Beaufort. For those who don’t desire to reapply, many of the prerequisite courses also fit into majors such as public health, exercise science, social work and psychology.
“Choosing nursing is the best choice you could ever make for a career. It’s one of the best careers out there, so keep trying,” Hewlett said.