[Mrs. Rx]

Hi,
I was just wondering if there where any OU 2nd degree students here. The orientation is coming up May 19th for the fall start and I was wondering if anyone is as nervious as I am. Is anyone planning to work during the program...(or if you are in or completed it are you working or did you work durning the program?

[parris]

I am looking into applying to the program. Do you have any advice? How hard was it to get in and how many do they accept? Did you have your degree finished when you applied?

Any help would be great. I just got denied my third time at Michigan State and I am not going to graduate next May with a BS in Psychology and apply to second degree programs so I am looking into all of them that are in Michigan!

Thanks and good luck!

Cassey

[WayneStateKatie]

Originally Posted by parris

I am looking into applying to the program. Do you have any advice? How hard was it to get in and how many do they accept? Did you have your degree finished when you applied?

Any help would be great. I just got denied my third time at Michigan State and I am not going to graduate next May with a BS in Psychology and apply to second degree programs so I am looking into all of them that are in Michigan!

Thanks and good luck!

Cassey

You need to already have your degree for any accelerated second degree program so if you graduate may 09 w your program you'd have to speak to the nursing office for the schools you're applying to (I know at wayne you need to submit all your stuff by June 1st so potentially you could graduate in may and submit proof to the school by the june 1st deadline or whatever it is for a particular program that you have finished your degree) BUT (this is the huge but) you need to have all the program prerequisites done before applying to the program. When I was taking prerequisite courses there were many students who were second degree seekers that were having to spend a whole additional year after they got their degrees just taking prerequisite courses but hopefully you have most of them like anatomy and physiology and microbiology, orgo/ biochem etc out of the way. Each school has different requirements and what might work at one university is not the course another university wants.... I swear they just do that to make it annoying for us to apply to multiple programs

That said, entrance into nursing school is exceedingly competitive as you already know. I've heard that you need AT LEAST a 3.0 to even be considered for second degree programs but even that is not a very competitive GPA. I know at wayne the lowest admitted into the second degree program was a 3.2 and they give preference to people who took classes at Wayne so that person likely took all courses there.

I'm only familiar with the programs in my part of the state (south east) but there are a ton of options: Oakland University, Wayne State, U D Mercy all have second degree programs as does U of M. Madonna doesn't, but it looks like they only have 4 semesters of nursing classes so if you had everything else done you could be out of there in two years if you transferred all your other courses....

Something else to consider although it might not be the route you want to take is to consider community college. It may take a while on the waitlist, but if you meet the criteria for some you will be admitted but it might be several years before you can start. If nursing is truly your dream you will find someway for it to be a reality. And the great news if you wanted to go for your BSN after graduating from a community college program you likely have almost all requirements met from your previous bachelors degree and would only have to take a couple more nursing classes. Admission into RN to BSN programs is considerably less competitive than BSN programs both traditional and accelerated.

Hope that helped a little. Contact the nursing offices at all programs you're interested in. If you need to retake some classes to have a more competitive GPA go ahead and do it. Good luck to you into getting into a program somewhere and following your dream.

[parris]

Thank you so much for your reply. I am talking to everyone I can from every program I can. It is nice to hear from people doing it first hand. I feel like if I had the chance to talk with people before I began this route I would not be so stuck now. It is so heart breaking when you know what you want to do with you life you know what you want to do is needed and it is so hard to do it!
Thank you again and the best of luck to you!!!
Cassey

[Lisa621]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Rx

Hi,
I was just wondering if there where any OU 2nd degree students here. The orientation is coming up May 19th for the fall start and I was wondering if anyone is as nervious as I am. Is anyone planning to work during the program...(or if you are in or completed it are you working or did you work durning the program?

Hi-

My friend started this apst monday and she is already getting me nervous. SHe has an exam on Monday and 20 page paper already due next week. Oh and also you have to take these exams and pass with a 90 percent or your kicked out...and you have to learn med term on your own. She is taking it one day at a time but wow!

This being said I am in the spring 09 class so good luck at orientation--she said that was no biggy at all. You go through what you need for the program such as insurance/cpr/immnizations and such...get a mock schedule and listen to previous students.

[SP79]

I am a May 08 graduate of the OU program. Congrats to you in your upcoming adventure.

The program is demanding, but good time management makes it quite possible. Many of my classmates graduated with honors. Many of my classmates had children and/or jobs.

I have a few pieces of advice:

1. Be sure to use some sort of planner or calender to stay organized. There will be times when its impossible to get everything done as well as you would like- you will have to learn to prioritize (unless you aren't interested in having a life outside of school at all).
2. Learn to lean on your classmates. You will have many group projects in the course of your degree. Also, no one understands the insanity quite like your fellow nursing students. I couldn't have done as well as I did without my lab partner and other buddies to help me study and join me in venting when times got rough.
3. Be flexible. Your schedule may change with little notice. You may dislike some of your instructors. It may seem as though your instructors have no idea how much work your being assigned. Trust me, they know how stressful it is. Take a deep breath and try to keep a professional attitude. Your instructors will respect you more, and you will respect yourself when you see other people losing their heads.
4. The first semester was the hardest for me. Learning med math, med term, and getting through head to toe assessment and the fundamental skills labs can seem totally overwhelming in combination with lecture. I highly recommend making note cards to study when you have a few moments of down time. Learn a little every day because cramming just won't cut it.
5. It doesn't ever get easy, you will just learn to adapt. Looking back I am incredibly thankful that my instructors pushed me so hard and that I kept high standards for myself.

Best of luck to you!

[Mrs. Rx]

SP79,
Thank you so much for your post...it was so helpful! I am really trying to stay optimistic! But it seem idea of working and the program is overwhelming to me right now...but has you said I will adjust.

[kcleavinit]

I graduate the program in Aug., and it has definitely been an adventure. I appreciate OU, and have been very grateful having this opportunity. It is hard, no doubt. But I truly feel they give people every opportunity, and really want their students to graduate and do well. You hear alto, "if this happens you're out, fail this, you're out"....but they do care and they have worked with people to help make them successful. I personally think each semester is harder than the last.....though I think the material is hardest to learn in the 2nd semester, and time constraints are just killing me in my third semester here (my fault because I picked up an externship). However...I think if it's what you expect from the beginning, then you are prepared, and you just get through it. I have been counting down the weeks since day one, and it has kept me motivated. I'm down to 13 weeks to go and I so can't wait.

It's one tough year, but people can do it.....it is a very rewarding feeling to see the light at the end of the tunnel (I'm sure more rewarding once it's done!). It's funny, I think of 1st semester when you're learning all these basic concepts, and then next thing you know you're in a hospital actually doing it, and being competent, and helpful...it's great.

Good luck!