Posted: January 21st, 2023

How to write a good nursing application essay

Have you ever wanted something so bad, but the fear of rejection hovers around you and thwarts your attempt to make a move? You have nurtured your love for nursing, and now it’s time to write a nursing application essay. You are, however, ready to call it quits because you have no clue how to write a good nursing application essay.

Everybody in need of help needs a superhero. If you feel deep down in your gut that you are cut out for this career, don’t give up. This article guides you toward writing a compelling essay for nursing application.

What is a nursing application essay?

This is a document that you write to a program application or nursing school to gain admittance and pursue a career in nursing. A nursing application essay provides you with the forum to express your interest in nursing and the desire to join your coveted institution.

A well-written essay can influence the admissions board more than your recommendation letters and grades. If you are afraid of striking out on your first attempt, don’t worry, college application essay help online nursing is the place to go.

What is to be included in a nursing application essay?

The admissions board has piles of nursing application essays to go through, so you need yours to stand out from the rest. Nobody wants to read a monotonous essay. Why read something that lacks emotion or is common?

To ensure you stand out, you only include a short personal statement and reserve most of your essay for personal experiences that have driven you to pursue nursing. Some of the nursing application essay ideas include

• Your future vision as a nurse
• Things that spark your interest in the nursing industry
• Your prior preparations for becoming a successful nurse
• Your academic interests
• Reasons why you chose the nursing program and not any other medical-related field
• The traits that portray you as a good and robust nurse
• Your achievements, e.g., academic transcripts
• Any acquired medical training or patient care from internships or volunteer work
• Reasons why the admissions board should approve your application request

Things to avoid writing in your nursing school application essay

Do you need to gain that admittance asap? There are some things you should refrain from jotting down in your nursing application essay. They include

1. Writing ordinary personal statements

Writing personal statements is highly competitive. Therefore, your personal statement should be worthy of hooking the admissions board. It should be from the heart and able to clearly express your passion for nursing. 

You should personalize your essay because your experiences are unique to you. Remember also to use solid but explicit language. Since a nursing application essay is a formal kind of writing, approach it professionally.

1. Failure to explain how you became interested in the nursing field and your passion for it

What motivates you to pursue nursing as a career? Is it a personal experience from when you were young or the need to emulate a specific role model? Is your love for nature, animals, or sciences the reason for your passion?

There are so many anecdotes explaining why different individuals are pursuing a career in nursing. It doesn’t matter how silly the reason is. It’s your own story, so tell it. It could be the tv program ‘botched’ or ‘married to medicine’ that has inspired you greatly. Let them know this is your source of inspiration.

1. Omitting information about all the preparations you have been doing in readiness for a nursing career

How committed are you to this career? Nursing isn’t for the faint-hearted. Provide factual information in your nursing application essay about your preparedness for this calling.

You can include all your volunteer work in healthcare and your internships. If you have neither of the two, write about your personal experiences that motivate your application.

For instance, a relative dear to you dies because of a medication error or negligence. Through the grief, you swear to become a nurse and save people the pain of losing someone they love. Dreams can be born out of admiration and pain.

Tips for writing a good nursing application essay

This essay is a crucial part of the nursing school application process. It can break or make your chance to join the nursing school of your choice. This is the only opportunity to impress the admissions board, so don’t let it go.

You need your essay to be read and not tossed aside, right? Now that it is time to actualize your dream, here are some nursing application essay tips to help you write a compelling nursing application essay

1. Selecting a strong essay topic 

Do you want to be remembered for writing a good nursing application essay? Chose a topic that is strong and provides supporting information within your paragraphs

1. Choosing information wisely

Don’t just pour out your heart and end up begging for this opportunity. Ensure to paint a vivid picture of your past and future achievements. This is the only way to awe the admissions board.

1. Providing a glimpse into your life

Physically, you are already unique, but what makes you unique? Don’t bore the admissions board with mundane details, whereas you got good and important stuff going on in your life.

1. Hook the reader in your first few lines

Your nursing application essay introduction can be a hooker or a sinker. If you badly want to join that coveted nursing school, you will stop at nothing to engage the admissions board. If you have no clue how to intrigue the reader, read through some available online nursing application essay examples.

1. Structuring your essay

Nobody wants to read messy and mediocre essays. Ensure your essay has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. This makes it easy for the reader to read and understand. To leave a long-lasting mark, make the ending memorable. If stuck, you can refer to online nursing school application essay examples.

Setting up an essay for a nursing degree application

Do you often struggle with the question, ‘how do I set up an essay for a nursing degree application?‘ There is no need to struggle at all. Here are some extra tips to ensure that you gain instant admission for a degree in nursing

1. Getting started early

Writing is time-consuming, and a strong nursing application essay can sometimes go through many reiterations. So be mindful of procrastinating. Getting started early helps you create an impactful and well-rounded essay. Establish personal deadlines to give room for proofreading and writing the final draft.

1. Using writing programs and aids

Do you want to improve your sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and use of the active voice? You can achieve all this in your essay for nursing application by using free computer programs. These programs will also simplify your final step: proofreading your nursing application essay.

1. Reading your essay out loud

Reading aloud has been said to be a bad reading habit but not in this case. By reading out loud, you can notice errors or areas that need some changes to strengthen the writing structure of your essay. 

How to write a personal statement for your nursing application essay

A good nursing statement can instantly move the admissions board and convince them to accept your application. It is, therefore, crucial that your statement showcases why you are a good candidate for nursing by highlighting your uniqueness. A personal statement should include the following to awe the admissions board, 

1. Your education 

What are some of the practical skills you have acquired through your education process? How have these education experiences fueled your desire to become a nurse? Have you learned how to offer first aid or CPR? Let the admissions board know that you have had such encounters.

1. Volunteer work

Don’t forget to mention all the volunteer jobs in your statement for your nursing application essay. Ensure those volunteer jobs are related to nursing. For credibility, provide information on the places you volunteered, your post, responsibilities, and takeaway from that work.

1. Your work experiences

Do you have prior work experience in nursing? If you do, then mention it in your statement. If you don’t, you can always relate all your skills gained from a different work area to your nursing abilities.

For instance, if you have worked in customer care for a big organization, mention some of the skills gained that can be crucial in the nursing field. These skills include teamwork, patience, perseverance, hard work etcetera.

1. Your relevant skills

What are some of the skills that have prepared you for a nursing career? Have you ever had an encounter where you had to think critically and make a good decision while under pressure? Was the decision good? Narrate the story in your statement.

1. Your motivations

Your gained skills and test scores attest that you will make a good nurse. What personal drive do you have? One that will make you stand out since nursing is a very demanding career? Be candid to the reader and let them feel your connection to the nursing career.

1. Your unique traits

Everyone has a unique trait in them, and so do you. Ensure to describe that unique trait to let the admissions board know you better. It could be you are good with kids or people with different abilities; let them know.

How do you write a personal statement?

 The threat of not joining a nursing school is real because you have realized how crucial the personal statement is in your writing. You already know what to include in a personal statement, so here is a guide on how to write a personal statement

1. Research your nursing course

By conducting thorough research about your course and the university offering it, you will easily identify specific reasons why it appeals to you. Ensure to customize your statement for each university you are applying to.

2.Reading the directuons

Some nursing schools provide topics to write about, so ensure you review their instructions before writing a personal statement. This will demonstrate your ability to follow instructions and keenness for details.

3. Thinking about your motivations

Experiences and motivations help strengthen your nursing application essay. You can, therefore, write a compelling personal statement by creating a list of all your motivations first.

1. Narrating a story

Narrating a story in a personal statement is the only way to personalize it and potentially create a lasting impression on the admissions board. 

1. Review your essay before submission

Ensure you proofread your nursing application essay to avoid turning it in while full of errors and difficult to understand. Be careful when proofreading and see to it that the personal statement makes sense and accurately mirrors you.

Nursing application essay questions for applicants 

You have been contemplating writing a nursing essay application, right? Some nursing application essay questions can help you write a compelling essay. You will find answers to these questions by asking for feedback from people who know you well. These questions include

• What professional, personal, and educational experiences are most relevant to your application? 

Do you have all the qualities of a good nurse? Do you academically qualify to pursue a career in nursing? Can you deal with abusive or elderly rude patients professionally? Let someone close help you in answering these questions.

• When did you first realize your dream is to become a nurse? 

Growing up, children change their minds so often about what they aspire to be in the future. So, why are you still bent on becoming a nurse? When did you get the epiphany that nursing is your calling?

• What personal, professional, and educational experiences have contributed to your goal of becoming a nurse? 

Your desire to be a nurse is so strong, and it could be fueled by a personal, educational, or professional experience, right? Get a different viewpoint from someone close to you, especially your parents. They might not be outspoken, but they know you better than you think.

• Why do you want to be a nurse? 

You must have a good reason for choosing nursing as your career. Even though you have encountered hardships in your volunteer work or personal experiences, your dedication remains. You also have had people discouraging you, but here you are, writing a nursing application essay.

How do you write an essay for a nursing school application

The first thing to tackle in your quest to become a nurse is how to write an essay for your nursing school application. After you are done with that, the next step is to select a topic and start the writing process. Do you have any idea how to choose a nursing application essay topic? If you don’t, you can always seek professional help.

How to write a nursing school application essay 

Relax if you are stuck and have no clue about a nursing school application essay format. Here are some guidelines on how to write a nursing application essay

1. Reading the essay guidelines

Different nursing schools have different rules and instructions to be strictly followed. It is, therefore, wise to read all the directions thoroughly while making notes of maximum or minimum word count. Take notes of the specific topics you must cover to convey your desire and commitment.

2. Deciding the focus of your essay

If you have already noted the word count for your nursing application essay, carefully consider what information you want to share. Try to capture your past, present, and future goals and accomplishments within a limited number of words.

Due to the limited number of words, focus on your strongest elements and capture your essence with respect to the nursing career. You can ask for input from friends and family. After all, a problem shared is half-solved.

3. Creating an outline for your essay

To avoid forgetting anything when writing, you start by creating a rough outline. This outline gives structure to your essay and helps you from straying out of the topic. You adjust your outline to organize your thoughts and ideas as you write.

Include the following in your outline

1. An introduction

In the introduction, you must ensure that it clearly states what your nursing application essay entails. The introduction should also engage the admissions board; else, your career is doomed.

1. Body paragraphs

Expound on your story, points, or ideas through various paragraphs. Avoid being too wordy, redundant, and obvious. This is a sign of mediocrity in writing.

1. Conclusion

After expounding on your thoughts and ideas, it is time to tie down your essay. This means that you summarize your nursing application essay’s key points uniquely and memorably. Remember this, don’t introduce new points in your conclusion.

4. Making your essay personal

The only way to gain authenticity in your nursing application essay is by using personal examples. Personalizing your essay means avoiding the use of overused phrases and cliches’. Try being vulnerable and honest and use fresh content that isn’t familiar to the admissions board.

If you find it tricky to personalize your essay by conveying emotion and showcasing your motivation to become a nurse, you can google ‘sample application essay for nursing school admission.’ The internet never disappoints but avoid plagiarism.

5. Describing your skillset and empathy

Do you know of all the qualities of a good nurse? Showcase those attributes by narrating a personal tale. For instance, you can share your favorite memories as an intern in healthcare, volunteer in a nursing home, or care for a parent or sibling during an illness.

6. Writing your first draft

You already have the outline for your essay, don’t you? Now it is time to create a draft. This is the most challenging part, so consider keeping your paragraphs short for easy reading.

7. Thorough proofreading

Is your nursing application essay correctly formatted and has no grammar errors? How is the sentence structure? Proofreading helps you produce an impeccable essay. Error-free essays also make a lasting impression on the admissions board. Isn’t that your aim?

Summary

You have mastered writing a good nursing application essay and a nursing application essay on diversity, right? Don’t be afraid anymore; overthinking will not overcome fear, but action will. It is time to actualize that dream.