Lady of the Lake Accelerated ASN

U.S.A. Louisiana

Published

Hi. I am very interested in the accelerated ASN program at Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge. Can anyone give me any information on this program? I've seen the information that is available online. However, I am looking for information from experienced insiders such as: getting accepted, true level of difficulty, etc. This will be a major career change for me, and I do not want to make a bad decision. I have a 3.6 gpa from SLU w/ AA in OSH and BA in Gen Studies. I consider myself a capable, hard working student but all I have heard is HORROR stories.

Thanks!

curiouskaypee:

i was told about three references, who do i mail them to and how long does it have to be?

when you fill out your online application for the nursing program, there will be a pdf document attached somewhere in the application for you to print, fill out your personal information, and give them to whoever you want to write the recommendations for you. there are directions on the forms for those filling them out instructing telling them where your references should be mailed after they are completed. i recommend that you ask people who know you well on an educational and/or professional level to write your letters for you. i really don't know how long the letters have to be. i never saw my letters again after i gave them to my recommenders. it's really up to the people writing your letters for you how long they make it. i asked one of my former professors, one of my former college organization coordinators for a club that i was active in, and a nurse i interacted with while i was still working in a local hospital to write my letters for me.

would you recommend working a prn shift here and there during school?

i think that this would be up to you to decide because i don't know your study habits and how much time you need in order to prepare for a test. there are many, many people in my class who work and are doing really well. some of them have young children on top of work. so, it's not impossible to have a job with school. i'm just an average student and with my study habits, i know that i have time to work if i got to pick the time and days that are convenient for me. sorry, i'm not much help to you on this one.

from the time you began to now, how many of your classmates didn't make it?

somewhere around 40 students were at orientation. around 35 people sat through pharmacology. after pharmacology, we were down 6 people where 4 didn't make the required grade and 2 left the program. we just got done with fundamentals, so i won't know if we lost anyone until we start the next class. i really hope we didn't lose anyone because it's really disheartening.

hope this helped. merry christmas!

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Pinkpadots: yes it helps tremendously! I'm so glad that you and everyone on here is available to share your knowledge and wisdom. I hope you don't lose anymore classmates either, that would really be hard for you to see, I can only imagine! Please continue when you have time of course to stop by and chat with us, I know your schedule is hectic, but any wisdom you can give, is greatly appreciated always! Good luck to you, I know you will prevail through the end, God Bless you!

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Pinkpadots: what was available to you all as far as assistance with paying for school? Were there payment plans available?

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curiousKayPee:

what was available to you all as far as assistance with paying for school?
I worked after I graduated from college, so I am using a lot of that money to pay for everything. I also qualified for student loans, so that’s helping too. My advice to you, if you want to take out a loan, is to fill out your FAFSA. I was able to borrow quite a bit for school. Unfortunately, since we have all graduated already, we don’t qualify for any grants.

Whenever you get your acceptance letter from OLOL, go to the WIA office in your parish. I didn’t do this, but a few people in my class did to get some extra help with tuition. They'll give you a packet to fill out. Then, you'll have to go through an interviewing process with them, but they can grant money for nursing school. I heard that they give a lot of money, but I don’t know too much about this since I didn't do it, so you’ll have to do more research on it if you want it.

Were there payment plans available?
Yes! Go to the school's FACTS Payment Plan here: Fee Payment Plan (FACTS)

Good luck!

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Pinkpadots: Honestly that's what I'm am more worried about than passing the classes. I am working now, so hopefully I can save enough money. I also plan to work PRN somewhere also. As far as the WIA grants, I know here in TX certain offices gives more than others, have you heard this to be true, if so, is there a particular office you would recommend me going to? I know that you said you are not to knowledgeable on this subject but any knowledge helps @this point. I will also research as well.

Regarding the FAFSA, I was under the impression, that since you have a bachelor's degree already, you didn't qualify for it, since you're going for an associate's degree. I will definitely look into all options, thanks again for all your info.

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curiousKayPee: I'm sorry, I don't know too much about WIA. I think the people who can give you the best advice are those who went through it and qualified for it. If I tried to give you advice, I would just misinform you. Maybe call the school's Financial Aid office?

If you're worried about money, then you should really fill out your FAFSA. You won't qualify for any grants because you've already graduated, but you will, depending on if you're dependent/independent and how much you and/or your parents make, qualify for loans. That's better than nothing, right? I have a bachelor's degree, and I qualified for both the subsidized and unsubsidized loans. I was offered a comfortable amount of money to help pay for school! Good luck!

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Pinkpadots: I never thought about it like that, I will definitely fill out the FAFSA! You're so awesome with information, I'm so glad you're on this. How long of a break did you all get for the winter holidays?

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How long of a break did you all get for the winter holidays?

We get about 12 days total this year!

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Whohoo! Enjoy your break!

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Does anyone here have an advice for how to study for Pharm. I have the first exam coming up on Tuesday and I'm kinda lost as to how to study because I feel like I might under-study for her expectations. Do you know how the questions are posed and if we're supposed to know every little detail from the book or the notes? What would you say the main focus should be on when learning the effects of different drugs on different systems? I'll appreciate your help, thanks a lot!

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Hi, you should look at the blue print for the test. It is posted on blackboard. You should also review the note pages. Pay special attention to the objectives and makesure you know the answers to those. I would also recommend looking at your notes and anything that Dr. Hull mentioned that was very very very important you can bet she will have on the test. Know your safety issues. Dr. Hull is very big on safety. Also know the antidotes for the various drugs and indicators/contradicators for various illnesses / drugs.

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Once you begin the program and have passed the first semester, if for some reason you didn't pass the second semester, you have to start all over or retake the second semester once it comes around again?

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