Introduction
Nursing is an illustrious career that comes with the thrill of extending medical knowledge, and the reward of assisting in the treatment of patients but along with that comes the obligations of achieving high GPA scores, doing exceptionally well in mathematics, nutrition, anatomy, psychology, biology, chemistry and many more. The question arises how hard is UCLA nursing.
UCLA School of Nursing, anchored in California, Los Angeles, is a University infamous for its low freshmen acceptance rate of 2% annually and as a consequence, 95% of its students graduate yearly. The school is notoriously difficult but extremely fulfilling in return. However, if you’re a student ready to bide your time, it’s no big deal.

Hardships of UCLA School of Nursing
UCLA School of Nursing tops among some of the most prestigious and best nursing schools at 19th rank. At the University, students are educated on the theoretical essence of nursing along with its practical representation of it.
The nursing course demands three college years as well as a mandatory amount of coursework and a minimum of C grade and GPA of 3.5. Students need 90 to 105 quarter units of transferable coursework. The practical skills of nursing are acquired through the several versatile clinical work opportunities Ucla facilitates for its nursing students. Students are mentored and supervised for these clinical practices at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center which is a technology advanced center owned by the Regents of the University of California.
Why is UCLA Nursing hard?
The last two years of the nursing course are harder than the former first because the students are prepared to appear in the Nation Council Licensure Examination to become licensed professional nurses immediately and attend patients at their bedside.
Typically, UCLA has the reputation of not cutting down the failed students and several students do fail as the percentage of passing is 74% but they are allowed to repeat the year.
Contrary to popular belief, the school of nursing does not require anything much different than most universities do out of their students. What is the secret to accomplishing something? balance!
Insights on some classes at UCLA SON
Students with a considerable amount of transferable AP high school credit are free to opt for a minor, otherwise, students are often adamant about achieving the required coursework time.
- Nursing and Social Justice is a class that would be called a ‘scoring’ subject. At UCLA, the center of this subject (Social justice) is not as much of a focal point rather the essays are.
- Physiology and Anatomy are some classes where the theoretical data is straightforward and the tests quite easy. These classes describe the human body parts and how the basic bodily functions take place, which is essential for caring for the patients.
- Pathophysiology is a crucial subject and is known as one of the hardest classes of nursing. You would need to revise the theoretical data well over time to aid the injured patients.
- Calculus for Life Science Students is an exciting as well as a rigorous class. It is where the high requirement of mathematical scores comes in handy.
What are some tips to make the UCLA School of Nursing easier?
Yes, hardships are a huge part of a nursing major but here are a few tips to get over these hurdles:
- Getting help from your fellow students can help a great bit, it is a given. They might be aware of the solutions. This helps socializing skills greatly.
- Memorize and revise the details repeatedly over time, and learn the information provided through and through.
- UCLA SON looks at the potential of students rather than memorized knowledge. The students who possess the ability to take on risky AP classes. It shows the admission team that the student is willing to extend boundaries and is dynamic.
- Time and work management are the keys to beating the pressure of coursework and speedy education at UCLA. Nursing students are expected to also have qualities outside of medicine, if one handles academics in time, extracurriculars can easily be pursued whether it may be sports or partying.
- Extracurriculars, as mentioned above, are a big win in the eyes of universities. There is no requirement of picking multiple activities that one is only partially good at, just one suffices for increasing the credibility of the student.
- Leadership: Nursing is an assessment job rather than leading, partially yes, but the skill of owning up and working the room is greatly appreciated in medical fields in case of emergencies. Just as volunteering adds to the experience, leadership builds a sense of confidence which is a highly sought skill.
Clinical practice:
In the third year of UCLA School of nursing, students have regular clinical work shifts scheduled. After a certain period of second-year finals, students begin their summer ten-week maternity clinical shifts. Initially, students are asked to perceive the respective nurses they are assigned at all of their shifts to get a practical hold of how the procedure works. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has over 520 private rooms to facilitate Ucla students’ clinical learning.
Conclusion
UCLA School of Nursing (SON) provides an extremely difficult course, Urbanly it is a myth that it is one of the most difficult courses that needs rigorous practice, however, with the right type of time management, one can ace it smoothly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there any achievements that might help students boost their application?
Coming from students of the UCLA Nursing course, Ucla appreciates leadership positions, is big on volunteering, and students who can handle tasks in a time of work pressure.
Does Ucla have any extracurricular clubs and activities?
UCLA provides fraternity houses for socializing like ATD for which the students have to pay $90 annually. It also has volunteering options.
What are some of the highest-paid nurses?
Cardiac nurses, Nurse anesthetists, and Emergency area nurses are some of the highest-paid nurses as they are taught critical care, catheterization, and diagnosis among other skills.
Can you switch from UCLA to UCLA SON?
No, it is not possible for students to switch from one major to a nursing major.