Hey Everyone,
I received another “ask me a question”. You all are good at these things! I love them! This question comes from Cindy and here is what she asked:
“Hi Sarah, my name is Cindy. I’m also major in nursing and I’m going to apply to nursing school this semester to become a Registered Nurse. And I heard that other than the GPA for all the required classes, the personal statement and the interview are very important when you apply. So I want to ask you how do you write your personal statement and how was your interview. Thank You!”
How to Write Nursing School Application Personal Statement
First of all, Cindy, congrats on getting to this point in your life. I know it has taken a lot of hard work and effort to get here. I think you will be very happy with your decision on choosing nursing….especially after you graduate and start working as a nurse. When I applied to nursing school the only thing they took in account was my GPA and I didn’t have to do a personal statement or interview. However, I know many people who have had to do this and I think I can help you out.
First let’s talk about the personal statement. A personal statement is a short essay that describes who you are and why you think nursing is your calling. I think these essays are the hardest ones to write because it requires you to actually think about who you are and with me just being 21 I am really just finding out who I am and discovering what I want to do with my life. However, after doing some research on the web I found this AWESOME pdf. article that explains exactly what a personal statement is. It also gives the do’s and don’t's when writing your personal statement. Click here to get it. I suggest you read and follow this….it will make writing your personal statement a lot easier.
When you write your personal statement be sure to talk about why you want to be a nurse (make it meaningful), what does nursing mean to you, some possible experiences of how a nurse might had impacted your life…etc. When you write it make sure you are keeping the readers interest. The article that I listed above said not to make the personal statement a resume type essay which is probably what I would have done lol.
Nursing School Interview Tips
Now to the interview…I’m actually having to deal with this interview stuff myself right now. I’m trying to get some interviews lined up so I can get a job come May so I definitely feel you on this interview part. First of all, the way you dress says a lot about you…so wear some thing conservative and nice, limit jewelry/perfume/makeup and no gum lol (definitely a problem for me I LOVE gum). The night before role play with someone like you are in a mock interview. I do this with my husband lol. It really does help. Also research on the Internet the top interview questions. I have noticed that with many interviews I have done in the past they ask a lot of the same questions. Here are some top interview questions. Be on time!! I would show up 10-15 minutes early so you can compose yourself before the interview. And turn off your cell phone completely. Just go into the interview confident and calm and you should do great! Oh yeah when you enter the room shake your interviewer’s hand and say it’s nice to meet….it show maturity and gives a great first impression.
Cindy I hope I helped you out! I hope everything goes well and you get in….please let me know if you do. Good luck with everything and thank you so much for your question. If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to hit me up!
Until next time,
Sarah 