HELP...Stony Brook nursing program

U.S.A. New York

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Hi everyone I am in my third semester ready to apply as a transfer student to different nursing programs, but I really want to go to stony brook. I hear so many great things I have read many great things and I want to attend next fall as a transfer student in stony brook. I would really really appreciate if any of you attend stony brook how did you get in especially as a transfer student. What was your GPA? Did you take an entrance exam? And basically everything you did to get accepted and if you have Anything to say about the program and dorms any advice would be of great I hear so much hype about the university .. is the nursing school great? I mean are there other schools who have excellent nursing programs. I feel that it somewhat matters were you get your bsn from. Please any advice or any qns that you can help me answer I will really appreciate it.

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Hi everyone I am in my third semester ready to apply as a transfer student to different nursing programs, but I really want to go to stony brook. I hear so many great things I have read many great things and I want to attend next fall as a transfer student in stony brook. I would really really appreciate if any of you attend stony brook how did you get in especially as a transfer student. What was your GPA? Did you take an entrance exam? And basically everything you did to get accepted and if you have Anything to say about the program and dorms any advice would be of great I hear so much hype about the university .. is the nursing school great? I mean are there other schools who have excellent nursing programs. I feel that it somewhat matters were you get your bsn from. Please any advice or any qns that you can help me answer I will really appreciate it.

Hi! I graduated from Stony Brook this past May 2010 from their 2 year program so I hope to be somewhat helpful to you.

- Stony Brook's Nursing Program is really great. It is definitely an affordable BSN program, in comparison to the other ones available to you in LI & the NYC area. The professors are all very knowledgable, helpful, & awesome. I still communicate with some of my clinical professors via email from time to time. My 2 year class had about 57 students, but we were one of the largest classes that Stony Brook Had. The one year accelerated program we combine with during our 2nd year - and they usually have a class of 50-60 as well.

- I got accepted into the nursing program coming from stony brook university undegrad .. but we sitll had to apply into the program. My GPA around that time was a 3.4-3.5 GPA. There was no entrance exam, there isn't even interview opportunties. The nursing program emphasizes that they prefer to take students that come directly from Stony Brook University because they are familiar with the type of curriculum these students have experienced, however my nursing class had MANY transfer students so do not be discouraged! I did a lot of things as an attempt to guarantee a spot in the nursing school since that was my #1 choice. I worked, volunteered, took on leadership positions in different things, etc. I made sure I got impressive letters of references - make sure the people that write them for you can really attest to your character. A lot of other people in my graduating class got accepted into the program and they were not stellar 4.0 GPA students (& yet are still awesome RNs today) even when they applied. I believe the real KEY to securing a seat into the nursing program is by pouring your passion as to why you chose nursing into your personal statement. if the admissions committee can read that you are really passionate about why you are choosing nursing as your career, i dont think it matters that you are a 2.5 gpa student vs. the 3.5 gpa student.

* Also the transfer students from my class mentioned that they harassed the Office of Student Affairs. They made sure their name/face was known and that they were incredily determined to get into the program.

---

I loved my nursing school experience. My class felt like family, the nursing professors were really caring & supportive, and it made me incredibly proud to be a part of this profession. I continued to dorm there and there is housing available at Stony Brook campus. Stony Brook Hospital is where you'll do a majority of your clinicals, and its a great hospital. The nurses are very open since its a teaching hospital, and its level trauma 1 so you get to see a lot. Im not sure if this was of any help, but if i can answer any more questions - feel free to PM me :)

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Hi!... I am so clad that you replyed I have so many questions and I am so. Happy thaT you graduated congratulAtions!!! Were you are right now is were I plan to be soon. I am new to all nurses so I don't know what PM is but if you can message me I would really appreciate it. I have so many questions from pre required gpa to dorms to faculty. I really want to go to stony brook and complete there nursing program. I am hoping I can use you as a mentor. Thanks so much and message me.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

pm is private message and members need 15 more posts to be able to send one. If you look under member's name you should see some little icons, they indicate whether member is accepting emails or pms and clicking one will mean you can send one to that member as a new box opens for you to complete

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Hi!... I am so clad that you replyed I have so many questions and I am so. Happy thaT you graduated congratulAtions!!! Were you are right now is were I plan to be soon. I am new to all nurses so I don't know what PM is but if you can message me I would really appreciate it. I have so many questions from pre required gpa to dorms to faculty. I really want to go to stony brook and complete there nursing program. I am hoping I can use you as a mentor. Thanks so much and message me.

Hi! Unfortunately I dont have enough posts to message you back (i did receive your messages though!) so I will reply here in hopes that you will see it (or until I get enough posts?)

Anyway, thanks for the congrats! I still consider it to being the biggest accomplishment to date.

- I chose Stony Brook because I was attracted to the school being a really strong school in math&sciences. It was also appealing to me that they had their own hospital. Bing and Buffalo were a little too far for me from my family, and I didn't look into the city colleges because I figured housing would be a problem. Regardless, I am very very happy with my choice of Stony Brook :)

- The difference between the 2 year BSN program vs. the 1 year BSN program is the time. They essentially have the same curriculum but the curriculum is split into two years (fall & spring, fall & spring semesters) vs. the accelerated 1 year program (summer, fall, winter, spring, & early summer semester). The 2 years graduate in May and the accelerated 1 year program graduate in June. If you can take the time and afford it, the two year program is a lot easier to handle since the course workload will be less rigorous. Also, during the summer months in between the two years you have the chance to do an internship and will allow you to get additional hands on experience as an RN. However if you don't have the time the 1year program is just as good, but it's definitely a very demanding year.

- Don't stress so much that you can't start right away! 19 is still very young :) I'll be honest, it took me 3 years to finish all of my pre-requisites on time. I know the pre-reqs are overwhelming. When I finally started nursing school I was 21 years old already - but in my class I was in the younger half of my class. A lot of students were much older, with the age range typically in the late 20s-early 40s.

- I know they prefer to take Stony Brook students because they are familiar with their academic curriculum but it doesn't mean that they only take stony brook students. a lot of my classmates took their pre-reqs from other suny schools, and even the local community colleges. I think what is most important in getting into the program is you show them you are genuinely interested in their program and what they have to offer and the real passion as to why you want to be a nurse.

- The best advice I have is if you have the chance, to try to attend an information session from them that they hold once a month. You'd have to call the office of student affairs to get a date. Make your face known, bring your unofficial transcripts if you can and show them you are really really interested!

=) I hope this helps

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Yes I contacted the nursing office to schedule me for an appointment I registered and didn't get an email I guess I will call the office of student affairs ..... also I know it is to late to transfer for spring 2011 but do you think that I can transfer for fall and finish my pre reqs there? Is it possible? Would it be an advantage? Also I just read some post that you were deciding between bellvue hospital and a hospital close to your family. I live in queens and you are definitely in a position I dreamed on being since high school. Bellvue hospital hands down would be the opportunity of a life time!! You are very lucky and definitely qualified. Your family will always be there as your support group. Do you think that stony brook was a big help for landing that job especially in trauma 1 that is intense!... I hope you can enlighten me on how it is going so far also how did you land the job I personally feel that you worked sleepless nights to get were you are now . Besides having your RN license what other qualifications do you have. I mean reading posts under the state of new York all I read is how many newly grads don't have jobs and that can be discouraging. I know it is a lot of information to answer but I am clad I found someone who literally is someone I want to be in a professional level. Thanks so muc h for your help

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Yes I contacted the nursing office to schedule me for an appointment I registered and didn't get an email I guess I will call the office of student affairs ..... also I know it is to late to transfer for spring 2011 but do you think that I can transfer for fall and finish my pre reqs there? Is it possible? Would it be an advantage? Also I just read some post that you were deciding between bellvue hospital and a hospital close to your family. I live in queens and you are definitely in a position I dreamed on being since high school. Bellvue hospital hands down would be the opportunity of a life time!! You are very lucky and definitely qualified. Your family will always be there as your support group. Do you think that stony brook was a big help for landing that job especially in trauma 1 that is intense!... I hope you can enlighten me on how it is going so far also how did you land the job I personally feel that you worked sleepless nights to get were you are now . Besides having your RN license what other qualifications do you have. I mean reading posts under the state of new York all I read is how many newly grads don't have jobs and that can be discouraging. I know it is a lot of information to answer but I am clad I found someone who literally is someone I want to be in a professional level. Thanks so muc h for your help

Hey cookie,

i think the best way to contact school of nursing is to call office of student affairs - number can be easily found somewhere on the stonybrook.edu website. Definitely look into the option of going to an info session if possible.

I think transferring is highly possibly, and if you can afford to attend - i say go for it. It might help your chances a bit, but at the same time if it is unfeasible for you to go there then finish your pre-reqs elsewhere & just try to do as best as you can.

The education I received was very valuable. The friendships and relationships I made from nursing school were great, the professors were great, and I look at my classmates who are now working as RNs now and stand behind each of them - I know they are awesome nurses.

Getting a job is definitely really tough right now, esp for new grads! i graduated from stony brook with an overall gpa of 5.58, was inducted to sigma theta tau and a couple other honor societies, i have my BLS, I did a nurse internship over the summer & worked as a nurses aide per diem during my last school year. I had a couple other jobs throughout college as well I am not trying to "show off" by any means, but I worked hard throughout college& nursing school and did all those extra things to make me stand out, but even still the job hunt was brutal. I was just so grateful to have an opportunity! Currently right now,6 months after graduation, a LOT of my classmates have been hired, or are in the process of being hired. There are only a few handful that are still on the hunt. You really gotta be aggressive when it comes to looking for a job. Hopefully when you finish nursing school the market will be a lot better =)

Anyway i hope this helps again! Goodluck to you! please do not hesitate to come find me on allnurses if you have anymore questions! :)

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Hi Cookie91,

Just saw your post. I'm in the 2-year program right now. It's the best place to be; all my classmates feel the same way. There are many transfer students in my class; I've transferred from Nassau CC, I'm not the only one from there. There're transfers from Suffolk CC, and graduates from other colleges besides Stony Brook. I had a 4.0 GPA, good references from professors, but no related work experience, and I spent a lot of time writing and revising my personal essay. Make sure it's a statement that shows your character and why you want to be a nurse. All nursing professors at SB are very committed to nursing, and they expect the same committment from us, whether it shows in your grades, or extracurricular activities, or both. Good luck!

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No disrespect to those students in the program, but I was turned off by the excessive emphasis on "heart" and "passion to be a nurse" as expressed by the personal statement and actions such as last minute volunteerism and joining of nursing associations.

Unlike the years and the blood/sweat/tears/sacrifice required to build an outstanding academic record, these tokens are easily faked once you know that is what they harp on based on the info sessions and informally chatting with the support staff.

One staff member who shall remain nameless went almost far enough in this "heart and passion" fetish, vs academic credentials, that it bordered on anti-intellectualism. Something about not looking for study robots with perfect GPAs.

I dont quite have a 4.0 GPA, but I didnt bother to apply here.

-

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to cookie's PM, what I meant was that some staff seemed to almost disparage an ultra-hi-index academic record in favor of (real or manufactured) demonstrated greater "interest in nursing as a profession" (join a few associations/go to a few meetings) and demonstrated "heart and compassion" via some volunteer work.

all well and good, but repeated a few times too many imo.

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Hi cookie91,

I can't PM yet. I took all SB requirements, but not at SB (one organic chemistry at Molloy, and the rest at Nassau). There were no heavy sciences, just the pre-reqs. I think you can get away with any college level chemistry, but there must be 2 chem classes. I did not do any volunteer work or internships; I worked as an artist for many years before I decided to change careers. Among my classmates, there are many types: 22-year-olds, EMTs, older students changing careers, people with prior degrees in bio or psychology. Some had prior health care experience, either volunteer or paid, but many didn't. I feel that one has a good chance with a solid record, whether it's in academics or extracurricular stuff. The program is intense, but I haven't yet met a person who had regrets about coming to SB as opposed to another school. The faculty works very hard, they're a bunch of dedicated professors. Good luck, and feel free to ask other questions.

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hi all,

I am strongly considering SB college for the 2 year BSN program. I am a recent grad from John Jay College and received a Bachelor's in Science majoring in Criminal Justice. I have all the pre-req for a nursing school. Biology, anatomy I and II @ chemistries ans so on.... My question is I was always considering an associate degree vs bachelor's because of the workload. I personally think that when it comes to nursing taking 4 classes plus clinicals and labarotory work is a lot to handle as compared to Associate in nursing when you take only 2 classes a semester plus laboratory and cliniclas. So my question is for those of you who is graduated or in the program would you please tell me how many classes did you take a semester? and in general how hard is the 2 year program. I do obviously understant that nursing in general is very hard but in some colleges it is easier than others especially when professors dont care about you and not very helpfull. For example, my friend went to Pace university where a prof. told everybody that their job is to fail as many people as possible as oppose to help them. Please help. I would greatly appreciate it. Oh,by the way I have a 3.7 gpa and no prior experience in health care.

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