UFV January 2013 BSN Hopefuls

World Canada CA Programs

Published

Well yesterday was the application deadline for the University of the Fraser Valley's January 2013 BSN intake. I'm just curious if there are any other anxiety-ridden current applicants out there like me. I'm hoping to create a place where maybe we can all help calm each other's nerves, but in all honesty probably just make each other much more anxious.

This is my first time applying to UFV's nursing program. Previously, my plan was to move to Ontario and complete my degree out there (where I'm originally from). I was accepted into my first-choice school, and made plans to go. Then many situations including money...and money...and well...more money ended up nixing those plans for me. I was BEYOND disappointed to eventually turn down a NURSING ACCEPTANCE, but I know in the long run it made more sense for me to stay local, and complete my degree here (and for about $50000 less since I won't have living expenses). I knew it was in my best interest to go through the program without loans and without having to work. The one positive thing was that I made room for another anxiety-ridden applicant to get a spot--it's one way to make light of the situation, I suppose.Anyway, so here I am.

I have been working my little buns off for the past two years trying to prepare myself for this application process. I upgraded 4 high school courses and I am currently registered to do two of my non-nursing classes for the fall 2012 semester. The school I was accepted to in Ontario didn't require volunteer hours, so I scrambled to complete them all this year since turning down my acceptance. I have completed 60ish hours in a long-term care home and I'm currently volunteering at a hospital emergency room (which just began, so unfortunately won't show on my application).I feel extremely ready for this program. I'm in the right mindset; I graduated 5 years ago, completing a post-secondary certificate through UFV and working full-time since. I have fairly good grades. I'm paying for the entire program myself and have no commitments...so I'm hoping that gives me a bit of an edge.If any of you are like me (psychotic, obsessive compulsive, over-thinkers), you'll probably have sifted through hundreds of other posts and are just as confused as I am on how the selection process works with UFV. Of course, I know they have their point system. I've read into incredible detail as to how this works, but even still I've read of people not being accepted with incredible grades, tons of volunteer hours, and a positive feeling from the interview/essay--while in the same intake, people with 40 hours volunteer, and pretty decent grades did get in (not bashing those people at all! In fact, they're the ones that gave me some confidence). I'm assuming a major chunk of this selection comes down to the maturity and approachability they experience from you in the interview/essay.

So really, my feeling is that any complete applicant has a fair chance up against each other.My ultimate goal is to get in for the September 2013 intake, as I know how competitive this process is and I'm just trying to be realistic with the timeline. This way though, if I'm not accepted into the January intake, I can at least get an idea of what I need to improve on.I would love to hear anyone else's journey thus far. And hopefully find some people to lean on throughout this process--people who fully understand the stress and determination we all feel going through this. I'm pretty sure my friends and family are ready to chop off my head off!

Paraston

118 Posts

Sorry about the lack of formatting!! I did it on my phone and apparently it didn't want to accept paragraph breaks! I'll try to fix when I have computer access!

7angeldust

28 Posts

Hi there I'm not applying to your school but Macewan here in Edmonton instead for Jan 2013. I think I'm just as or more neurotic than you LOL (i keep checking my application status every day even though I wont hear anything for months!). I've already applied twice and failed to get accepted (my parents are about to cut me off if i don't get in this time :X) but I worked my buns off this year and pushed with an 88% average (acceptance is 80%) so I'm confident :S I think there was 1200 applications last year so it's getting really competitive..

For my school we don't really need volunteer hours or interviews so that's good cause i really suck at those. What are you going to do while you wait for school to start assuming you're accepted? I think I'm going to work right up until December that way I can save some money and not have to stress out over finances (at least for the winter semester). Starting in winter is also a bit annoying since I'll only be going to school for one semester and then I have a huge break. I also have to do a criminal check and all those things maybe you could get those out of the way?

Anyways I'm rambling but i think the best advice I can give you is hand everything in and forget about it. I mean once you do that it's pretty much out of your control and stressing about it and trying to calculate your chances will give you mega anxiety/panic. But I'm going to be completely honest if I was you I would have hopped on that Ontario admission because admission just gets more and more competitive every single year so there is really no guarantee than anyone will get in.

Goodluck on getting in :)

riri.g

118 Posts

Hey!! I started a forum a couple weeks ago and I just realized I put JAN 2012 Intake.. Not 2013. I must have been completely out of it haha! But good thing you started a forum yourself because I too want to get feed back from people who are on the same boat as you and I. I'm sure a lot of us are freaking out because I know I am. I handed in my application form a couple weeks ago and I also handed in my post-secondary transfer credit. This my first time applying for the BSN program at UFV as well and like you, I've been constantly re-reading the UFV posts on allnurses.com. I've also been checking up on my application status almost everyday even though I would have to wait a month or so to hear from them? Well that I'm not entirely sure. I don't know how long the process takes. Aside from the point system, I don't know how else they choose their suitable candidates. I don't know if they look at the electives you've taken in post secondary or the non-nursing related courses you've taken in the past. From speaking to some of the UFV admission assistants, they're only concerned with what they need to look at which I hope is the case because I went into post secondary when I wasn't fully ready and my final grades were horrible! I started getting serious like a year ago so my last three post secondary courses had good grades but even still it didn't bring my GPA by that much (again I don't think they look at that... I really hope they don't).

I don't have straight A's on my prerequisites and I have about 85hrs+ of volunteer experience. I have taken some electives though. Like I said earlier, I don't know if they look at that. I'm super frustrated and I haven't gone a day without thinking about it-- it's driving me nuts! And I know there are some people who are "B" average students that got in and some "A" students that didn't get in so it really is a hit or miss in terms of getting in. I got that information from previous forum posts about a couple years ago. The most recent forum on allnurses.com would be the "UFV Fall 2012 Intake" and after reading through it numerous of times, I've came to realize that straight "A" students with a large amount (300hrs+) of volunteer hours got in and those who didn't have straight "A's" but have 100+ in volunteer hours did not get accepted to the program. After reading that I was a little shaken. Oh and some people had to apply twice before being accepted. I still have some hope though... Keep in mind that UFV does a point system so hopefully we get invited to an information session and interview where we can prove to them that we are more than ready, and that we take the program seriously.

*Sorry if my reply didn't make any sense.. I'm sick in bed so I'm literally just typing whatever comes to mind. & it really unfortunate how you had to turn down your nursing acceptance. I would be so devastated.

My whole entire family is practically involved in the medical/health industry but lucky for them, the nurses in my family got their degree when nursing wasn't a high demand or when it wasn't so competitive getting accepted. The prerequisites are much higher than before. It went from a minimum of "C" to a minimum of "B" (depending on the school). Even having a minimum of "B" in your prerequisites is sometimes not good enough.... Oh gosh I'm getting stressed out again!

Paraston

118 Posts

YAY!! There are others!! Sorry for my late reply. I was camping all weekend without reception.

7angledust - I'm definitely hoping that third times a charm for you. I'm sure the school likes to see that you've continued to reapply, so I have my fingers crossed for you! 1200 applicants is pretty intimidating. From what I know, UFV is usually somewhere around 200 applicants per intake with 30-some accepted to the January intake.

I'm working full time right now, so if I ended up getting an acceptance, I'd work up until January. We also have to do the criminal record checks and a few other requirements, but we get those forms to complete if we're asked to come in for an interview--so I don't have to worry about those just yet.

And you're right, there's absolutely nothing else I can do right now (until my essay anyway). It's just the sitting and waiting that I find the hard part! Good luck to you getting in as well! Do you just have to wait to hear for an acceptance? Or are there any other steps you need to complete?

riri.g - Don't worry, you made perfect sense! You have no idea how happy I was to read your comment! I swear it sounds like we're in the exact same position right now. I felt like I was reading a comment I wrote! I had handed everything in for my application July 10th (well...or so I thought). But since the Chilliwack campus moved over to the Canada Education Park this summer, the fax number written on the reference form was unplugged. I got a letter about a week before the cut off saying they still hadn't received my reference. And on top of that, I also got a copy of my high school transcript in the mail that didn't show two of my upgraded courses. Needless to say, that was a horribly stressful week trying to get a hold of everyone. BUT I got the grades sorted out and physically walked my reference in to UFV and watched her date stamp it! (after about 6 failed attempts to have it faxed to a new number...ahh stress!)

So anyway, I finally got everything in...and now we wait! I'm so anxious just to get the letter in the mail saying when the information session is. I'm really excited for it, but at the same time I'm nervous to see how many people we're actually up against :S. Also, after reading what others had said, it looks like if they're already impressed with your application you'll receive a second letter that comes along with the information session one asking to set up an interview, rather than finding out after the essay. So after reading that I'm just beyond anxious to see if I get that letter. It looks like that's been a pretty good thing for anyone who has gotten that.

I'm about the same as you with grades. On my prerequisites, I have one A and 3 B's. I did some post secondary as well and did really well on that, but it's absolutely not related to nursing or even health care in anyway whatsoever. So I'm not banking on them even taking a look at those grades. I wanted to get some of my non-nursing courses out of the way, so I'm taking an English and an Anthropology course in September.

I love that you've read the UFV Fall 2012 Intake forum as well. I've read through it so many times I've practically memorized it. That's what I love about this site. It's so helpful!

You're lucky you have family in health care. That's an awesome way to learn about the field. I'll actually be the first of my family to enter the field (provided I get an acceptance), but I've been fortunate to have a lot of friends who are RNs and LPNs.

Be sure to keep me updated with your process! I'd love to have someone to talk to who knows exactly what I'm going through! I'll be checking my application status everyday as well (yes...even though it's not supposed to change until I've been accepted or not). I just can't help it!! Hopefully the information session letter comes soon, so we at least have a date to look forward to!

losublime

17 Posts

Hi everyone!

So glad you started this forum Paraston. I've been waiting to talk to others applying for January 2013 and here you are!

I have also read through all the past forums to get a better idea of what to expect and they have helped a lot.

I am incredibly nervous waiting to find out as well. Mostly nervous about the interview. From what I know its what really counts. Its my first time applying and I really hope there is just one interviewer and not more than that. It would definitely be less nerve racking.

I too check my school account quite often to see if there are any changes on my pending application. I am so antsy to receive the info session and interview letters. Although thinking about knowing the date of the interview makes me feel a bit queasy haha.

I went back and did three of the four prerequisite courses and now sit with 3 A's and 1 B. I have 150 volunteer hours in a retirement home working with a doctor. I hope this is enough.

Its hard to say exactly what they are looking for judging by the mixed information on past forums. I think as long as we get invited to an interview we just have to wow them and hope for the best.

Anyways, I have to get to work.

Talk to ya later fellow hopefuls.

riri.g

118 Posts

Yay more replies!! I am really hoping that we all get an intervierw... It would be really awesome if we all got accepted. I'll be praying every single night until we know haha! So far losublime has the highest grades for prerequisites and the most volunteer hours.

Paraston after you reminded me about the relocation of the campus, I called to double check everything has been recieved ha ha!

I am trying really hard not stress so much about it because really there's not thing we can do but play the waiting game. Does anyone know when we should be expecting a reply from UFV?

I'll keep everyone updated if I find anything or if I get a letter etc etc. Hopefully this forum will become just as successful as the UFV Fall 2012 Intake forum!!

careubc

83 Posts

Hey guys, I've also applied and I've read the other forums religiously. I'm very very anxious to get my nursing future started as well!

A bit about me: I applied with an A and 3 B's. I had about 80+ hours volunteering on my references from two seniors homes. I also volunteered overseas briefly and at a Doctor's office here over the years. I have about 70 or so credits at the moment.

Last year's info session was around Sep. 22/24, so I'm assuming we'll get an invitation to the info session around the 1st or 2nd week of September. I think we will be invited to an interview around Sep. 29 while the interviews take place in the 1st-3rd week of October. (Judging by last years forum)

We still have quite a while yet but I thought I would introduce myself!

Paraston

118 Posts

Ah so happy to hear from more people!! And to hear that we're all in very similar positions.

So welcome to everyone so far! Hopefully we'll attract a few more people as well.

careubc covered everything I've read as to when to expect the information sessions. UFV's site says to expect the letters a couple weeks before, so first week or two in September makes sense. It's just soooooo hard to wait. At least before the application deadline it felt like there was still something we could do to improve, but as of now it's all up to our essays and interviews! My concern is my grades and volunteer hours. I know they're not the highest compared to other applicants, so I'm really hoping I get an interview. That will be my time to shine. But until I get that letter it's the waiting game!

So far we all sound like we're ready for this program. Really, I think anyone who is able to become a complete applicant is ready for it. I know that for me it was a really tough process with working 40 hours a week, upgrading up to three courses at a time, taking vacation time to volunteer, and trying to get the whole application together in the meantime. It was stressful, but absolutely worth it! All the stress we're going through just proves how badly we want this.

I'll be sure to update you guys as soon as I hear anything from UFV. Hopefully sooner than later because this is literally taking up all my time thinking about (I think that's the neurotic side kicking in...heh heh) Like I said, I just want the date of the information session to look forward to. I think I've literally looked up every single possible question we could be asked to write about at the information session...and I've already written up essays for each. I actually love writing, so I'm looking forward to that part. Like I said, it's my grades and hours I'm worried about! Oh dear...I'm starting to repeat myself! This is probably a good place to end. :bugeyes:

riri.g

118 Posts

Oh dear! 1st and 2nd week of September is sooo far from now! :(. I will probably reread the forums again to calm myself a bit. I am hoping that the bar isn't set so high so we all have a really good chance of getting in.. Ha ha if only that was very likely to happen

Paraston

118 Posts

I know how you feel riri.g...I'm thinking of starting a countdown to September 1! Try not to stress out too much about the post-secondary GPA (biggest hypocrite in the world right here! haha). The only reason I say that is because in the letter we received stating that we are complete applicants, it clearly says "Points will be given for academic performance on prerequisite courses, work/volunteer experience in a health care setting, personal essay, reference(s) and personal interview". So based on that I'm assuming they just want to see your Math 11, Chem 11, Bio 12, and English 12. The only reason I can see them looking at post secondary is if you're completely neck and neck with another applicant after looking at all the above stated requirements.

I could be wrong, but I'm just going by what the letter says!

losublime

17 Posts

Hi

riri.g.

I too was worried about my post secondary GPA. I spoke to one of the ladies responsible for all of the health science programs. She ASSURED me they want nothing to do with anything but whats involved in the points system. Don't worry!

Hope this helps.

+ Add a Comment