The truth about school of nursing wait lists is this:
For many nursing schools the demand for degrees is higher than the number of spots available in the program, so candidates are placed on a wait list. Three factors compound the problem even further—
You could argue that the emotionally charged news headlines about nursing school shut-outs contributes to the problem as well.
Myth: there are no available nursing school programs.
Truth: there are plenty of open nursing programs. You just have to be willing to look for them and give them more than a cursory—discriminatory--glance.
Some nursing candidates are sitting on waitlists for multiple semesters. For some reason they’ve decided that the particular nursing program they are waiting eagerly for is special, holds magic powers or otherwise is important to their success as nurses.
But very excellent RNs, at work right now, hail from diploma programs, little known community colleges in “the sticks” and work right alongside those from the most “notable” schools. When you get a job on a nursing floor in a hospital, no one cares where you studied undergraduate nursing. They DO care that you are a licensed RN, can work as part of a team, support your fellow nurses, provide skilled and caring bedside care, and contribute to the overall success of your practice. School wait lists that have any foundation in “notoriety” or popularity are not necessarily any better—they have most likely become very excellent public relations pumps.
Before you agree to sit on a nursing school wait list, why not explore a variety of schools including some with no wait? How to get a solid nursing education at a nursing school that may not be your first choice: