Baby Nurse

by Céile Day
(Scarborough, Maine)

Sample College Essay - Nursing

I was the eight year old who knew what I wanted to be when I "grew up". I spent hours in my playroom taping pretend electrodes to the chests of my baby dolls. I would lay them in "isolettes", clear Rubbermaid containers meant to contain toy food, musical instruments, and crafts. It was normal for me to watch birthing shows while other children my age were watching cartoons. I sucked up any and all information about babies and hospitals like a sun-dried sponge. I told anybody within ear shot that I wanted to be a "baby nurse".

A decade later, many things in my life have changed. The one constant, though, is that I still intend to be a neonatal nurse. My drive to have a career in neonatology has led me to set some aggressive goals for myself. My main goal is to graduate with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. After graduation, I plan to pass the NCLEX and go on to be a phenomenal neonatal nurse. Over the last year, I visited numerous colleges. I spoke with many nursing professors and well as administrators. Upon telling them that I intended to be a neonatal nurse, I was often met with the same appraising look followed by, "Well, everyone wants to work with the babies." I would smile and agree with them but inside it would just make me want to work even harder to prove that I have the stuff to make it in this competitive field of study. I have seen the need for neonatal nurses who honestly care about their patients. By setting high educational goals for myself, I am preparing to succeed in the career and lifestyle I've chosen.

My objective is to be a neonatal nurse in a large hospital. I plan to give all attention possible to reaching this goal. I am determined to succeed in college so that I will have the personal resources to do everything I can for the babies I have chosen to care for. Over the last two years, I have volunteered over 400 hours at the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center. While most teenagers are sleeping in, I spend Saturday mornings at the hospital. I soothe narcotic addicted babies, walk countless loops of the pediatric unit while attempting to put a baby going through chemotherapy to sleep, or simply talk to patients who are too ill to even be picked up. My innate passion to be a neonatal nurse was fueled even more by the experiences I have had while volunteering for the smallest of patients. My objective to be a neonatal nurse is certain to be tested by many challenges, but I have too much passion to allow myself to fail at my goal.

The eight year old version of me did not know how much work would be involved in order for her to become a neonatal nurse. She did not know that some babies are born addicted to methamphetamine, some a born with their bowels outside of their bodies, or that some are born with diseases or abnormalities that will not allow them to live past childhood. She did not know what a CPAP machine was, nor did she know that a baby who has had recent heart surgery must be "scooped up" beneath the body so as not to re-break his ribs. She did not know that nearly one tenth of babies never leave the hospital. The experiences that I have had have taught me all of these things. My educational goals and objectives have been shaped by these experiences. Despite this, there is no replacement for the innate desire that I have to serve babies as a neonatal nurse.

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Comment from your friendly team at College Financial Aid Advice


Thank you Ceile for sharing your passion for nursing in your sample college essay. I’m sure there are many nursing schools that would love to have you as a student. Check out some nursing scholarships and grants for college.

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Why Do I Want To Be a Psychiatric Pharmacist?

by Olena Northrup
(Highlands, NC, USA)

Pharmacy College Admission Essay - Ukraine, like any other country, has its own unique set of values, priorities, and norms that are viewed as social markers for success and failure. The desire to achieve high social status, enjoy an elaborate lifestyle, and portray the image of being a problem-free individual led to the cultural inability to accept psychological issues and mental disorders. Lack of knowledge about depression, stress-coping tools, and encouragement to seek help and support early on put Ukraine on the map as a country with one of the highest numbers of alcoholics in Europe.

Based on my personal experience and observations, I recognize the destructive nature of addictive and abusive behavior for both the addicted people and their families. While pursuing my psychology degree and volunteering my time to help a school psychologist manage a self-esteem building group for kids from dysfunctional families, I learned that counseling alone was not always sufficient. Further studies allowed me to see a fascinating body-mind-behavior connection. Consequently, all my experiences, personal and educational, led to my interest in Pharmacy.

In 2004, I moved to a small rural town in Western NC. Observing, comparing, and adapting to the new culture and way of life brought on the realization that the mentality about psychological issues and methods to cope with them can be different; however, the underlying physiological causes of mental disorders are the same around the globe and helping people to improve their health is universal.

Pharmacy is a broad, complex, and multi-faceted field of study that finds its application on all levels of human well-being. Participation in Science Enrichment Program and LEAD program for future leaders in Pharmacy allowed me the opportunity to expand my knowledge about my chosen career and meet true pioneers and experts in the field, whose passion and commitment is changing the role of the pharmacist from counting pills to being a crucial part of the health care team as a drug information specialist.

My shadowing experience with a psychiatric pharmacist in geriatric and crisis units let me see how important the pharmacist's role is on the treatment team, how much pharmacists get to know their patients and impact their health. My visit to the crisis unit deepened my desire to be a psychiatric pharmacist; it furthered my passion to help people deal with their psychological issues; it reinforced my belief in how debilitating mental disorders are, whether they are episodical or life-long sufferings.

Global collaboration of pharmacists, central tracking systems for narcotics, raising social awareness about the importance of mental health, and educating future professionals with an emphasis on practical approach are my professional goals. I want to be a pharmacist, not only as a job, but as a life-long commitment.

I strive to have the same kind of commitment my mom taught me by working late hour shifts as a construction worker for months at a time away from home so that she could put me through college. Despite her inability to help me through my educational struggles at school, she never suggested taking the easy way out or settle on “good enough”. The current difficult economic situation and the rise of unemployment called upon my responsibility to provide for my family during my preparation time for the PCAT in September; however, I am striving to achieve better results on my second try and start my journey to fulfill my dream – to become a psychiatric pharmacist.

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Comment from your friendly team at College Financial Aid Advice

Thank you Olena for sharing your college admission essay about your dream to become a psychiatric pharmacist. Good luck to you in Pharmacy College.

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