A CSI Guide to Nursing, Its Challenges, and Your Next Move
By N. Rizzo
Only 80 out of 250 students will make it to CSI’s prestigious pre-nursing program, making it crucial for students to consider a backup option.
“Nursing is just one career in the medical field itself,” said Disni Balasuriya, CSI’s pre-major specialist, who oversees undeclared health and pre-nursing students. “Students should be focused on nursing, but be flexible.”
During advisement week, Balasuriya advised the Pre-Nursing Information Session and has been an advisor since 2019. She guides students through the Associates of Nursing application, where students have to complete prerequisite courses and requirements such as Philosophy 130 or Sociology 100, Biology 106 and 107 or 170 and 171, and Biology 150 with at least a C. Due to CSI nursing’s competitiveness, students must maintain a high GPA of 3.0-3.5.
Following advisement week is the “Meet Your Major Fair,” where students can explore different majors and connect with representatives of each major. The Center for Advising and Academic Success also plans to schedule a virtual session during spring break and has two more sessions available in April for pre-nursing students because they have to apply for the NLN shortly. The objective is to obtain another successful turnout of participation.
The National League for Nursing (NLN) test opens from March 20th to May 15th and again in October. The non-academic requirements are proof of U.S. citizenship or residency status, submission of the Nursing Physical Examination form, and urine drug screening before the deadline. The academic component consists of three parts: verbal, mathematics, and science.
Out of 300 points, the highest score in the last semester was 297, with the lowest score being 227. The test exam can only be retaken after six months, and the scores change every semester. If you are rejected, it is not recommended that you apply to the NLN program more than twice.
Instead, students should follow their backup major.
“There’s always a chance of being rejected from programs,” said Balasuriya. “Students should try to do their best, but keep an open mind.”
Every pre-nursing student gets a sheet where an advisor will go over all the requirements and grades that they are supposed to acquire. They then cover alternative majors and financial aid options. Alternatives include clinical mental health, drama therapy, laboratory technicians, occupational therapists, physician assistants, physical therapists, social workers, and speech-language pathologists.
“This event pushed me more towards nursing, but made me think about my other options,” said Amirah Alzubaidi, a second-semester freshman and upcoming nursing major. “My top backup is a physician’s assistant.”
CSI’s nursing is considered one of the highest-standing programs because it is the only public institution for higher education on Staten Island. CSI is fiscally affordable; however, it should be mentioned that with nursing, students will lose their Excelsior Scholarship and have to pay the money back from previous semesters as a loan since they will not be completing 30 credits a year.
CSI is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Their program prepares students to attain nursing licenses. At CSI, students can obtain an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate.
The Director of the Advisement Department and CSI Alumni, Jennifer Durando, said that one year of prep and two years of coursework are required for the nursing program. According to NLN, the dropout rate of nursing students can be as high as 20%. So, CSI’s program was designed to inform students early on, support them, and connect them with open doors.
“We are partners to our students,” said Jennifer Durando. “We want our students to go into class, be excited, and engage in conversation; success is not a letter grade.”
For more information, students can email: Advisement@csi.cuny.edu.
