[ParamedicGuy]

Hi Everyone,

I am somewhat worried about my admission prospects for the 2009 ADN program at OCC.

First of all let me start by telling you a little about my background. I have been a Paramedic/ACLS Certified for 6 months now working for a local EMS Company doing all 911 work. Concurrently (to date) I have been working as an ER Tech in the ER and as a CNA on the Pulmonary/Vent Unit for over a year at Botsford Hospital in Farmington Hills, MI. So i feel i have at least a little health care experience under my belt.

I am starting my pre reqs in the summer II semester at OCC, I'm taking: Humanities 1900, Sociology, Stress and Relaxation PER 1300, Nutrition and English Comp I.

I plan on taking the rest of the pre reqs in the Fall: A&P I, A&P II, Micro (no lab), American Govt. and English Comp II. I already took intro to intro to psych and have some credits from my Paramedic program that may assist me: Medical Terminology, Medical First Responder, Bio 1530

So there you have it, i would cover my pre reqs by the 2009 application deadline (that being December 15th 2008). Do you think this is a realistic aspiration to accomplish given the time period alloted? Or do you think I should stretch it out over a FULL Fall and Winter semester and wait a year to get in the ADN program? Is anyone in a similar situation?

Also - does anyone know why OCC chose to put the application deadline in the middle of the school year???!! That sets a lot of people up who would be easily finished with their pre reqs at the end of winter semester to now not be able to apply. --- just curious on this one.

I plan on attending an information session in October at the Highland Lakes campus to gain answers to all of the additional questions i have about the program. Forgive me for rambling at all, there is just a storm of thoughts running through my head right now.

Thanks Much!
Brandon T.
NREMT-P, CNA

[jugre]

Hi Brandon,

I just started the Nursing program this spring. The only thing that concerns me is that you have a heavy classload. If you can handle it then that's great! If not, I would think about spreading it out some. The application deadline was moved from May to December because there is a lot of things to get done before you can start classes, i.e., physical, drug testing, titers/immunizations, fingerprinting, etc. I also think it was moved because a lot of students didn't have enough time to come up with the funds to pay for class. They also changed from a wait list to GPA for admission. Also, last year I tried to apply in April for the May deadline (this was before the deadline was changed to December) and I wasn't done with my last pre-req class. They wouldn't let me apply because there was no final grade for them to go off of. So I had to wait until December. I think that they may not let you apply in December because you won't be done with your pre-req's until after the application deadline date. I MAY be wrong but that's what has happened to me in the past. You should check on that before committing to those last 5 classes.

[ParamedicGuy]

thanks for responding to my post... if that is the case with the classes not be viewed as complete then I will most likely spread out my classes over two semesters since I would still be waiting the same amount of time regardless of when I completed my classes.

It seems to be common place for everyone to have a gap year between prereqs and the ADN program.

Are you in the traditional 2 year program or the 18 month accelerated? If the 2 year, do you know any info about the accelerated program and how one is selected to be invited?

[jugre]

Yes, there is about a year gap. If they kept the wait list instead of changing it to GPA, I wouldn't be in school right now. It seems to be very competitve. My GPA was between a 3.60 and 3.70. The cutoff GPA for this year was 3.612, so keep the grades up as much as you can!

I am in the standard 2 year program. I wanted to be in the accelerated program but I think I would have gone crazy with no break for 18 months!

A few weeks after we got our acceptance letters, we were all invited to take part in the accelerated program which again was based on GPA. So if you have a great GPA, your chances would be good. I think the cutoff was around 3.8 (?) I just didn't want to do it and I wouldn't have gotten in anyway. It sounds like a great program if you decide to do that. I just threw away the info on it but it is in the DMC hospitals and I believe they offer a position to you as well. You'll find out more once you get in. Let me know if you have any other questions! I'm just startng out in the crazy nursing world but so far, so good!

[a_damsel]

Originally Posted by jugre

Also, last year I tried to apply in April for the May deadline (this was before the deadline was changed to December) and I wasn't done with my last pre-req class. They wouldn't let me apply because there was no final grade for them to go off of. So I had to wait until December. I think that they may not let you apply in December because you won't be done with your pre-req's until after the application deadline date. I MAY be wrong but that's what has happened to me in the past. You should check on that before committing to those last 5 classes.

you can take pre-reqs the same semester as the due date. i had was taking 3 pre-reqs in the fall of last year & the due date was december. i got in. they don't send you their decision until march of the next year so there is plenty of time for them to get your grades. of course this was last year, please check with a counselor to see if things have changed. good luck.

[logique]

I just filled out my application with a counselor at OCC a week ago...and it is ok to take pre-req's in the fall and apply in December.

[jugre]

Thank you! I didn't know if that had changed or not. So if you can handle that classload, go for it!

[ParamedicGuy]

Thanks to everyone who has posted for easing my mind a little bit. I know I can handle the heavy course work load from my recent/previous experience of going through a rigorous accelerated paramedic program. I'm very excited to get going again starting this July.

Any other advice anyone can offer to me before applying in December would be great!!

Thanks Much

[Sarey32]

Wow it sounds like you are going to be really busy with all of those classes! Good Luck! I'm sure that since you have all of that experience that you will be okay. I just wanted to let you know that while the official cut off for the program was a GPA of a 3.612 for this falls program, make sure that you apply no matter what your GPA is because they do let students in who might fall below that range if people decided to decline their offer. I recieved a letter telling me that I was not in for this fall in March and was crushed because my GPA was not too much lower then the cut off and it was my second year applying for the program. I started to come up with a plan to retake some of the classes that I got B's in so that I could apply again in December. However, in April I recieved a letter telling me that a spot for this fall was available and I just finished my Pharm class with an A-. The bottom line is to definitly do your best (which is obvious) but never give up hope! Good luck and if you have any questions about applying or any of your classes just PM me and i'll try to help!!!