Bergen Community College Nursing Program Question

U.S.A. New Jersey

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Last Thursday I was at the college for the purpose of collecting my Chemistry grade with some classmates. Apparently, there was a graduation ceremony for RN's going on that night as well, and my friends started talking to one student to ask her about the program. I didn't hear the entire conversation, but one of my cohorts told me the student had stated that ELEVEN people had failed out of NUR-181 alone during her course! :eek:

Now, there's always a chance there was some sort of misunderstanding or miscommunication, but does this sound right? For what it's worth, I would think the application process and competitiveness of getting in to the program would assure a strong student population, so it makes me nervous to hear these things. I already received some insight from someone privately, but I was wondering what the public population made of this info.

Thanks!

Hi Rory92,

I am a Level 1 student and trust me...a lot of my classmates got into the program with scores in the mid (and lower) 80s. Don't panick! The most important thing I have learned in this entire process is to not listen to what everyone around you is saying. There is so much negative chatter that goes on on these websites and at school. Last fall, other applicants were all saying that you "had" to get a 90+ score to get into the program and so I went into freakout mode. The reality is that only a few people who entered the program had scores into the 90s (when I asked to see my placement compared to others, I quickly glanzed down the page at other scores and didn't see many 90s). However, that doesnt mean that you shouldnt study your butt off :). Study your hardest and do your best!! I scored a 91.75 on the Hesi and immediately posted study recommendations. Go back several pages and you'll see the post that I made with a list of what to focus on. The Hesi book was a great source for the vocab (make sure you know most of the words in the book!), and it was great for the math as well. I would pull out some of your old science books though and refresh yourself on biology, chemisty, and maybe a little anatomy as well. The test isn't too difficult, but make sure you're well-rested the night before. Best of luck!!

Kristy

Thank you Kristy! How is the program? I'm hearing it's a lot of work but worth it! I looked at your older posts as you mentioned and I think I have everything down, but I'm still worried I don't know enough. The only thing I need to memorize is the steps is meiosis and mitosis. Overall my only worry is chem because I have not seen this material for quite some time. Also, can you tell me if the periodic table needs to be memorized? Thanks!

-Rory

The program is harder than I thought it would be in some ways and easier in other ways. Some of the material is a little more common sense which is refreshing after dealing with all of the microbiology, chemistry, and math courses! But, some of the exams are tough because they're not as black and white so memorizing a textbook and class notes doesnt always help you prepare. It's shocking when you're used to getting all A's and all of the sudden you are praying for a C. lol. The hardest part for me so far is the time investment. You will spend many hours a week in class, in lab, at the hospital, at home studying, etc. It's totally doable, but be prepared to work hard. It's a lot of fun though and you will actually WANT to come to class most days :)

For the chemistry portion of the test, I believe there are some questions related to periodic trends (e.g., is Oxygen more electronegative than carbon?"). And, there may be a couple of questions where you'll need to identify one of the elements, such as "what does Fe represent on the periodic table"? You will want to be somewhat familiar with the periodic table, but just review the basics (mostly the trends). I had no questions on limiting reagents, enthalpy, acid base titrations, or thermodynamics; in other words, they left a lot of the hard stuff off of the test.. thank God! If I remember correctly, you will want to know: scientific notation, all about molecules, atoms, electrons, neutrons, protons, the different types of compounds, the differences between solids, liquids, and gases, unit conversions, heterogenous vs. homogenous,the different types of energy (kinetic, chemical, electrical), the different types of bonds...so basically, know the basics of chemisty. It's mostly what you learned in Intro to Chemistry. Do you still have a chemistry book? I would review the first several chapters in your Intro book. That is what I used to review and I scored high on that section. I think what I did for both the chem and bio was looked at what was in the Hesi book and went back to my textbooks and read those sections for more information. I also went onto Youtube and would listen to online instructions and easy tutorials. That is a good way to refresh your memory of some of this stuff. For the most part, I remember being surprised at how relatively easy the chemistry section was, but felt that the bio was a little tough. Just do the best you can and I am sure you will do great!!! Good luck!!!

Thank you so much! hopefully I do well. Good luck with school!

Hi Everyone...Long story short..I took the HESI exam last year got an 89, didnt get accepted at first, then someone turned down their seat and i got in...unfortunately things did not work out financially, causing me to reapply again this year. BCC said I did not have to retake the exam...but I am afraid the class average might be higher than it was last year which was 79...I have about 11 days to study maybe less, and if I get a lower grade, that is what I will be stuck with....does anyone think I should re-take the exam, or should I stay with my grade and see if I get in?

I know it is ultimately my decision...I just wanted to hear other people's opinion.

Thanks!

tempestkayne, i think it is a great score and i would sit tight waiting for the admission letter...the highest scores barely ever exceed 94ish and BCC nursing department staff doesn't make decision based solely on HESI scores ( classes are perfectly diverse - with a certain percentage of male students, as well as representatives of all ethnical minorities...) I got in last year with a 93.4 as out of county ( they admitted only 6 out of 80 out of county students) and met many students with as a low as 80 on HESI...So again, if i were u, I wouldn't put myself through a 4 hour HESI hell just to improve ( even if) my score by a few measly points which IMHO don't really matter. Good luck and let us know if you get in;-)

Thank you! I was thinking the same thing, especially when I was reminded of the price and how loonng the exam was - especially reading the passages. When I tried to register, I was only given 1 day - which was much less than the 11 days I thought I was going to have. If for some reason I don't get in, I hope I will have the same luck as last year *crossing fingers*. Thanks again for your response!! How is your first year going btw?

Thank you GlossyViolet! I was thinking the same thing, especially when I was reminded of the price and how loonng the exam was - especially reading the passages. When I tried to register, I was only given 1 day - which was much less than the 11 days I thought I was going to have. If for some reason I don't get in, I hope I will have the same luck as last year *crossing fingers*. Thanks again for your response!! How is your first year going btw?

tempestkayne, it is not as difficult academically as i thought it would be as it just darn stressful especially the first semester...the material is not rocket science ( i honestly thought it would be harder) however, quite a few times i thought " why in the world would someone want to do this to himself?" i mean i was dying to get into the program ( was waiting on pins and needles for the admission letter...) and i honestly can't wait to be done : i find myself worrying all the time: will i pass this test? will i pass this course?will i get the clinical instructor who has a reputation of being simply abusive to the students?urgh...It is especially distressing to see people leave the program not because they failed ( which is 15% the case in the first semester) but because they simply had enough...but from what i know every nursing program is this way ( nobody holds your hand and you have to toughen it out) i used to have a 14 - 16 credit load and my life was fantastic compared to an 8 creadit load in the nursing program. it is just this fear of failing the course and starting all over when so much time and mental energy was spent on getting here...But at the end of the day I do enjoy it and I learned to love nursing ( it wasn"t love from first sight LOL). the most important thing for me was to get a hang of nclex type questions ( once u know what they want from u - u will be fine;-) and manage the stress and ruthlessness of some situations ( when the professor gets stressed out in clinicals she/he can get pretty rough with the studens, nurses can be on the rude side in some settings, etc).

Hi all! I just took the HESI A2 Exam for the nursing program at BCC and I did so well on everything until I took the BIO section and got an extremely low grade making my average 85%. At the moment the class average is at 78%. I am in-county, over 30, but only have a 3.1 gpa. Should I start reviewing Biology to re-take the exam in October or can I still hold on to some hope of being accepted into the program?

Hi! I took the test last Wednesday and was happy with my score. I'm not really sure how the admission process works. I've heard mixed things. I'm trying not to freak out. I scored high in the BIO and believe it or not vocab was my lowest but still in the 80's...I'm still not sure what happened there. Anyway...I wouldn't panic yet. I'm also over 30 and in county. I've heard that there is an equal mix...men, women, age, etc... Fingers crossed...the wait is horrible though.

How do you know what the class average is at the moment? And does anyone know when we would hear from Elsa if we got in or not? Also, can someone give me the statistics of last fall? like what was the class average, how many people took it, how many people got in, etc. Thanks!

Do they take gpa into consideration as well?

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