Chico State nursing students are considering alternative majors as a backup plan in case they don’t get into the program.

There are more than 900 students declared as nursing majors at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate and graduate levels, said Allan Bee, director of the office of admissions.

Recording arts and nursing are the two most impacted majors this year, he said.

“We have many pre-nursing students on campus,” said Carol Huston, director of the School of Nursing. “More than we can possibly admit to the nursing program.”

According to Huston, the nursing program admits 40 students per semester, making that a total number of 80 students in one academic year.

“We would like to grow the program but we’re limited by the number of clinical agencies that we have in Northern California,” Huston said. “That is our most significant obstacle in increasing the size of our program.”

“If students are bright, capable and willing to work hard, they have a reasonable chance to get into the nursing program,” said Huston.

Jonathan Gurrola, a sophomore pre-nursing major, is one of the many students trying to get accepted into the nursing program.

“Every day I think about not getting into the nursing program,” Gurrola said. “Knowing that a B isn’t good enough, I strive for an A in any course I take.”

He’s already planning to apply to other schools this semester in case he doesn’t make it into the nursing school, he said.

“I hope I do get accepted into the nursing program here at Chico,” Gurrola said. “It’s been my first choice since day one.”

Among those who are trying to get into the program, some students have decided to change their major because of the unlikelihood of getting accepted.

“I dropped my major because it was very competitive and I felt like I wasn’t on the same level as the other students,” said Katie Olson, a sophomore business major.

“I chose business because it still incorporates math, which I love, and it pays a good salary,” she said.

This fall, the business major has the highest amount of newly enrolled students compared to last year, Bee said in an email to The Orion.

According to preliminary fall 2014 data, there are approximately 2,544 undergraduate students in the College of Business, making it the third college with the most undergraduate students.

The other top two colleges with the most enrollment are the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences with 3,532 undergraduates followed by the College of Communication and Education with 3,001 undergraduates.

The total number of students enrolled in each college won’t be determined until after the university census Sept. 19th.

Daisy Dardon can be reached at: [email protected] or @daisydardon on Twitter.