Stony Brook Accelerated BSN class of 2013

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2011

Some of you already know me ... tips from a current SBU ABSNer: Get LoRs from your prereq professors, particularly if you got an A in the course! They can speak to your prowess with science-related coursework. I had 2 of these, and my other was from the director of volunteer services who supervised me when I was a volunteer at a hospital. Avoid asking for LoRs from people that don't have any familiarity with the nursing profession. I got waitlisted after my first application, and I think one non-nursing recommendation I had was one of my negatives. It might have been glowing but probably could not apply to nursing too well. I changed my recommenders around and 2nd time was the charm!

As for the personal statement, pour your heart out with those! Try to write something that will make you stand out from the rest. Make them remember you! Write 5 drafts if you have to, and have it proof-read by someone who knows something about writing! Never send in something you wrote on the fly. That would be the kiss of death.

Joie - I got your PM. Please give me a few days to reply. Our fall semester just started today and we hit the ground running, lol.

Mindylane · Aug 30, 2011

Hi Paco,

Thanks for the info. How has the course been so far?

I'm slowly getting everything together, and I am thinking about what to write in my statement. I was wondering if you had any insight here -- I would like to get a recommendation letter from the nursing supervisor where I am interning. However, as I had mentioned, I only just started interning. Needless to say, I'd like to get my application in as early as possible, but the nursing supervisor likely cannot say much about me yet. Should I wait to apply so that I could get a good letter from her? I have one from the RN that I work with, and another from an LCSW, and like I mentioned before, one from a professor from Stony Brook University.

Also -- is there any way you could tell me approximately how much the course costs. And, finally, is there any chance of working (even part-time) when enrolled in the program?

Thanks!

SPK0085 · Sep 1, 2011

Good luck guys!!! I'm in the program right now so feel free to ask questions

Mindylane · Sep 1, 2011

Sure, SPK, I had a bunch of questions in my above post, so I PMed you, hoping that you could help! Thanks!

SPK0085 · Sep 1, 2011

Hey Mindy, I cant send a personal message because I dont have enough posts, I just joined....

In my opinion, I think the recommendations you have are enough. When I applied, I had one recommendation from

the Stony Brook chem professor, one recommendation from the academic advisor at Stony Brook and a third one from my sociology professor (I was a soc major at SBU)...Sciences and gpa are very important...When I applied I was told it was better to have more science classes then the basic requirements...I was pre med so I had orgo/physics and a lot of upper division bios....It is very competitive, they accept 64 students out of 700. You have to make yourself stand out...Like Paco said, pour your heart out in your personal statement...I agree with that 100%. I would not recommend working, the program is intense....and for cost, I'll have to look at Solar and get back to you....

Mindylane · Sep 1, 2011

Thanks for the info. My GPA at SBU was 3.54 (I graduated cum laude) and my GPA at NCC is a 3.71. Not the BEST, but I think that I could definitely impress with my statement (I am a decent writer). I was a Psychology/Philosophy major, so most of my courses are in those disciplines.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2011

Hi Paco,
Thanks for the info. How has the course been so far?
I'm slowly getting everything together, and I am thinking about what to write in my statement. I was wondering if you had any insight here -- I would like to get a recommendation letter from the nursing supervisor where I am interning. However, as I had mentioned, I only just started interning. Needless to say, I'd like to get my application in as early as possible, but the nursing supervisor likely cannot say much about me yet. Should I wait to apply so that I could get a good letter from her? I have one from the RN that I work with, and another from an LCSW, and like I mentioned before, one from a professor from Stony Brook University.
Also -- is there any way you could tell me approximately how much the course costs. And, finally, is there any chance of working (even part-time) when enrolled in the program?
Thanks!

A little confused, sounds like you have 4 potential recommendation letters already, you only need 3. Go with the RN you work with (my confusion: is this one the same as the nursing supervisor?), the LCSW and the SBU prof. I am assuming the RN and LCSW know you for a respectable amount of time? It's really not about the "title" of a recommender as much as it is the quality of the recommendation and how long they know you. As for the prof, it does not matter how long they know you - I think admissions understand that one often does not know profs for that long. But as long as you proved yourself to that prof with an A and they can say you're among the top of that class and explain how you will be a great nursing student because of it, it's a great recommendation.

As for the personal statement, I think PERSONAL is the key word. If you can bring in some personal stories about how something has motivated you to enter nursing AND what exactly made you pursue a 2nd degree in nursing, you're halfway there. You need to make your statement your own and engage the reader, that is the most important thing. I think the "I want to help people" statement is overused for nursing student admission statements and I think the committee already knows nursing is a helping profession. You need to come up with something more innovative than that, particularly what YOU can contribute to the profession.

The cost of attending SBU: the university has tuition and fees posted on their website, it's easlily Googleable. I cant speak to how much exactly if you're a NY resident, as I am paying out of state rates (which ironically are still way cheaper than a private school like NYU). During the summer, DON'T plan on working at all, it's only going to hinder you. Those 7 weeks are quite demanding on your time and you need to focus on school. One class (Fundamentals) is 10 credits alone (out of the 19 you will take in the summer) and if you mess up in that class it will really reak havoc on your GPA! It's not an easy class (it's actually a lot of info and requirements - lecture/lab/clinical - more than it is difficult) but the lucky thing is that it's taught in the summer by one of the best profs in the school! Yes, 19 credits is a lot for 7 weeks, but it is completely doable if you focus! Hey, I did it ... and so did SPK :)!! I did hear from one of the students from the class of 2011 that she worked during the fall/spring, but I don't have any details on how she managed. I would try to avoid it at all possible.

One other thing: if you can manage it, try to live off campus, it's a lot cheaper than on campus it seems. If you don't have a car, it may not be an option but I know some people without cars live really close to campus.

The fall semester is underway and from the looks of it, it will be busy! I will check in here from time to time tho! Get working on those applications! Hopefully I will see you at next year's orientation when the graduating seniors speak to the orientation class :up: .

kay1024 · Sep 3, 2011

Hi everyone!! I have a questions about letters of recommendations. I graduated from college an year and a half ago, so I really dont want to ask my old professors to write me a letter. I work for my aunt so I'm wondering if having a letter from her would look bad. Any advice????

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2011

i work for my aunt so i'm wondering if having a letter from her would look bad.

:uhoh3: for real??? yes, it looks very bad. it's bad even if she does not mention the fact that she's your aunt - plain dishonest. not fair to other candidates who are getting legitimate recommendations. you're not supposed to get lors from relatives, that's a bias on any level.

i graduated from college an year and a half ago, so i really dont want to ask my old professors to write me a letter.

i asked a prof to write me a recommendation whose class i took over a year before i applied to sbu. i'm currently in the absn class ... so clearly, an "old" professor recommendation was not a disadvantage! i even feel comfortable asking a recommendation from a professor from 10 years ago (provided i excelled in the class)! it's what is in the recommendation that matters!

kay1024 · Sep 3, 2011

I completley understand what you are saying. When I went to an information session we were told to have anyone who knew you well enough to write you a letter (he did say to maybe not have your mom write a letter). Which is why I'm nervous asking a professor that has not seen me in two years write me a letter, especially because these letters (along with the essay) are extrmley important.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

I completley understand what you are saying. When I went to an information session we were told to have anyone who knew you well enough to write you a letter (he did say to maybe not have your mom write a letter). Which is why I'm nervous asking a professor that has not seen me in two years write me a letter, especially because these letters (along with the essay) are extrmley important.

You're right, the letters AND essay are your golden tickets. Your grades are important too, but clearly they are not determinative to getting a nod from admissions. If I remember correctly, I am pretty sure I heard one of my classmates got a C in micro and they still got in to our program (I have to assume however the rest of their grades were good and they had impressive letters and essay). It does not hurt to have a 4.0 in your prereqs, but as you can see it's not what SBU solely looks at.

If I were you, I would go in person to request this LoR from this prof. It will show that this is very important to you (and don't worry about being nervous, I still was even though I knew the prof and got As in his courses). It will be more impressive than an email (my prof thought it was :) ... he even said that when I approached him for the LoR). But if you're no longer in the area, an email is fine provided you say you would have come in person to ask this if you were still in the area. 9 times out of 10 they will be happy to write these letters for you. I have personal friends who are profs (I never took courses with them) and they are forever writing a LoR here and there. They usually have working templates already saved and they tweak it for individual students. When you do request the letter, have the following info ready to hand to them typed up on a sheet of paper: your name, course you took with the prof with semester/year, grade in course, and a paragraph discussing what you have been doing with yourself since completing their course if at least a semester has elapsed since the course ended, and anything you would like for them to emphasize in the letter (this is something my micro prof required for people that wanted LoRs from her). SBU uses electronic LoR so make sure you get their email address! Tell them they will get an email to complete the letter. It's cool that you can see right in your application when they start the letter and when they submit it, this way you know if you have to "remind" them, lol.

Bite the bullet and get that letter already ... I'd like to see you thanking me for that on orientation day! :lol2:

Mindylane · Sep 6, 2011

Oh man, I just found out that the applications are due on October 17. That doesn't leave a lot of time to get recommendation letters (despite that fact that I let people know that I'd need them by September back in June :/) How is everyone doing in the application process??!