Orange County Hosp-Saddleback & Hoag

I am going to be graduating from nursing school in May of 07. I've talked to a bunch of hospitals in california to get information on new grad programs and pay rates. The best hospitals I have found are Hoag, Saddleback Memorial in Laguna hills, and the Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo. So i was wondering if anyone can give me some bad or good things about any of these hospitals? I am living in pA right now ... im relocating to CA once I graduate. I'm wondering though since I can only apply online if the face to face interview would have to wait until I move out there... which would be 2-3 weeks before a new grad program starts? How does this whole interview thing work out? I'd hate to move out there and have to wait months to get an interview. But its hard to fly out there just for interviews.


Although maybe I can go on vacatino in June once I graduate and schedule a bunch of interviews. I don't know if thats good or not though because a lot of the new grad progrrams start in Sept or Oct and you have to apply wayyy before that.

Are the new grad programs hard to get into? I will have been working as a nurse extern for a year when I apply for the jobs... will this give me a little bit of an advantage over everyone else and make them possibly consider me sinceI have more experience?

And when you are offered a job do they offer you a certain shift? I read a few posts about Hoag that they offered only Night Shifts to new grads, but these posts were from back in 2005 and early 2006 so hopefully that has changed.

Also.. how are the new grad programs? I didn't really ask much specific info on them because I wasn't sure what to ask.

I know that laguna hills offers relocation assistance but I'm not sure about Hoag bc I forgot to ask.

I realllly like Hoag the best I think but.. i know newport beach is realllly expensive to live at. I really want to live at the beach, or close to it but I don't know if I'll be able to afford it. I do want to live very close to where I work though because I know traffic is crazy in CA.