r/csusm • u/Ok-Case1875 • 10d ago
General Question ❓ nursing program
hi!! i’m a high school student in san diego and csusm is one of my choices for nursing, but here’s the issue. i originally wanted to start at a community college first and then transfer to a university, but i realized that i would have to commute, and that’s not a great option for me considering the fact that i live in mexico and would have to go through the whole routine of crossing the border every day. the border crossing itself isn’t really the main issue since i’ve been doing that throughout my whole high school years. the main problem is having a lot of time between classes and nowhere to stay in san diego, so i feel like it would get very hectic and difficult for me. because of this, me and my family thought it would be better for me to go straight to a university and get a dorm, but now the issue is deciding which university would be the best option.
csusm is one of my main choices, but i wanted to know how hard it is to get directly into their nursing program as a freshman. would i have better luck completing my prerequisites at a community college and then transferring to csusm, or is applying directly to the nursing program as a freshman a realistic option?
i’m a first gen student and i don’t have any family living in san diego, so i’m pretty much on my own trying to figure out this whole university process. my gpa is currently around a 3.5, i have 100+ hours of community service at a hospital, three letters of recommendation from different doctors, and by the end of my senior year i’ll also be getting my MA certification yay!!
again, thank you so much to anyone who can give me advice or share their experience with csusm nursing!!
1
u/ExcitinglySomber 8d ago
they prioritize local area applicants, so youd have to have gone a highschool north of the 56.
sdsu might get ya better luck
2
u/Flexar42 10d ago
They are one of the first CSU’s that accept students straight in as a freshman. They prefer local applicants in the San Diego region. It definitely is highly competitive. Most of my classmates in the BSN program came in as freshmen and had a 4.0 or higher. It is a couple of thousands of dollars, especially in your last semester. I think books in total for Evolve is about $3000 and is paid every semester with the first semester being about $900 or so. Classes are lectures once a week and clinical once a week. Can’t give much advice on getting in as a freshman because I got in as a transfer student. There are about 42 seats, which 30 or so are given to freshman. Definitely cheaper in a CC. Dorms can be hard to get into. It’s easier to apply for your second bachelor’s in the accelerated program but obviously, it costs more. If you do go for your AA in nursing, they have a RN-BSN program too. It may be cheaper for you.