Introduction

Greetings from Columbia, Missouri! My name is Sam and I'm a pre-nursing student at Mizzou.

My goal in life is to be a nurse, and not just any nurse, but a nurse that graduated from the Sinclair School of Nursing, one of the best programs in the United States. It's a fairly competitive program, admitting 55 students per semester out of 80-160. 

The reason I am writing this blog is to document my journey through this process. I'm excited to share the ups and downs of applying and hopefully, once I'm there, all of the fascinating things I will learn once I'm admitted into clinicals. I will describe all of the activities I participate in, the classes I'm required to take, and, of course, the application and interview process. I will also blog about how I handle my personal life and what it's like to make yourself stand out in a school with 32,000 undergraduates.

Here's a little background information about me:
-I am a sophomore and I will be applying for clinicals next fall.
-I live on campus with my three awesome suitemates. We're a very diverse bunch: one's a journalism major, one's an engineering major, and one's an art major. We are very close and hang out all the time.
-I didn't know I wanted to be a nurse when I applied to Mizzou. I spent my entire freshman year figuring that out, and even took a career exploration class. I bounced around from history to education to pre-law, but I finally figured out that nursing was what I was meant for.
-I tutor with an organization on campus. I help kids ages 5-12 with their homework at the library. It's a lot of fun.
-I hail from Dallas, TX. I don't plan on returning.
-Eventually, I would like to get my Masters, but that will be a completely separate blog.
-I'm going on an alternative spring break this March. We will be going to Louisville, KY to help kids who have trouble accessing nutritious foods. I will be bloggging about this a lot.
-I've recently become obsessed with Twitter. My handle is slritch
-I have a job that I actually enjoy. I'm a clerical assistant for our Arts and Science's department. I make people coffee.
-And most importantly: I LOVE MIZZOU! And America.

When I decided to declare my major as nursing, I had so many questions: What if I don't get in? What will make me stand out? What are the required classes like? This is my attempt to answer these question myself as I encounter them. I want to share this experience, not only because blogging is a good way to de-stress, but because I want future nursing students to have a guide from someone who's been there, not just from the Sinclair School of Nursing Handbook.

Thanks for reading!