Any Accelerated BSN at IUPUI Fall applicants?

csab: thanks! Yes, I'm in my second semester out of five (which is technically called 5th semester because they go by the traditional schedule), just two weeks away from being onto the next! My previous degree is in neurobiology and physiology.

I know for sure that Clarian and Community both give scholarships to ABSN students. When I started, Clarian gave a $15k scholarship with a 2 year post-grad job committment at the downtown hospitals...I don't remember what Community's was (I think a similar amount), but it had a 3 year post-grad job committment (as in, if you accept the scholarship, you agree to work there after you graduate).
At least with Clarian, the money is put directly into your bank account if you get the scholarship. They take taxes out and literally just shove it all into whatever account you want...so technically you could go buy a car or groceries with the money! (Though not recommended )

Most people in the program work a few hours a week/month somewhere. There's an opportunity to become a student nurse extern (SNE) that you'd be eligible for once you complete your first semester clinicals, which is where you work on a unit at a hospital (preferably one you have a scholarship with if you go that route) with the hopes that you like them/they like you well enough to hire you when you graduate. The hospitals are extremely flexible with your school schedule, and it's always nice to have some sort of income.

You can apply if you still have prereqs to get through as long as they're all finished (and you get a C+ or above in them) by the time you start the program. So it sounds like you're OK with that.

One thing I've also noticed about the ABSN program, and I'm pretty sure it's not just my class, is that everyone is very career-oriented. We're all at least a little bit Type A personalities. If you want to go on and get an advanced practice degree, you'll need a BSN first. For many of us, it was a feeling of "why not?"...why not do the extra stuff and get a BSN right away so that we won't have to worry about any sort of advancement we might want in the future? Based on what I've seen and heard so far, if you have the time and the means I think it would be best to start out as a BSN.

Overall, the program itself is great. If you talk to others in it, you'll probably hear that we run into a lot of little organizational/logistical glitches, which is true. Nothing major, usually related to scheduling, but things that get on your nerves at times. That's probably the only bad thing I can say about it. (Plus, as nurses we're supposed to be adaptable, right? :P ) The professors are very helpful and truly want everyone to do well. (That's not to say that sometimes you don't feel like they're making your life miserable with studying! )

Anyway, I'd love to answer any more questions you have or elaborate more on what the program is like if you'd like to know! Good luck!!

Okay all you ABSN at IUPUI ladies! How did the orientation go? What is your schedule going to be like? What did you find out about the scholarships? If you have any time to post about it I sure would love to hear about it and would really appreciate it!

Congratulations on getting in the program!

I have some questions for you all, if you'd be willing to answer them.

I applied for the program (2nd Deg BSN to begin in Spring 2010). I was told multiple times that acceptance is based almost exclusively on pre-requisite GPA, and I was wondering if anyone else received that information, or if that has been your experience.

Also, I was wondering how much the CPR class offered during orientation costs, and if anyone took it. Also, did you take care of immunizations before you were admitted, or were they offered, and are they offered at a discounted cost?

Lastly, I went through and looked at all the textbooks listed for the first semester of classes (for Fall 2009 on the bookstore website), and was wondering if the curriculum is stable from semester to semester. The required books are not listed yet for the spring semester, but I was hoping to buy some I found on Ebay at a steal and wasn't sure if they would be using different books next semester.

Other than that, if you would be willing to share any information that you found useful or just interesting, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you!

Hello there,

Thank you for posting your input about your experiences, this is really helpful and encouraging for people like us that are still completing the requirements to get into the ABSN program. I'd like to know in terms of GPA, what is the very minimum you think it is necessary to have a good shoot at making it? I've heard everything from 3.7 to 3.98, and I wonder also if it is the varies depending of the term that I'm planning to apply. Anyways, any comment wil be really appreciated, thanks!

I don't know about GPA to get in, as I've only looked at the website but not talked to anyone in person. I talked with someone that I have a class at Ivy Tech with, and she is going to apply for the second BSN program to start next fall. She said that they told her she has to retake basic Psych 101 (or whatever number IUPUI calls it) because they consider it a 'science' and her credits for it are over 7 years old, even though her bachelors is in Behavioral Science! That is ridiculous. Sheesh I thought the whole point of the second BSN program was that you already have a lot of credits from the first degree, to be applied to the second degree. Also, she said that IUPUI's Lifespan Development is a 300-level and thus she can't take Ivy Tech's Lifespan to cover the requirement because Ivy Tech's is 200-level. I myself applied to Ivy Tech and will start the ASN program in January, but since I do have a previous bachelor's, I was still mulling this program over in the back of my mind. But I think I would just have too much left to take as prereqs and wouldn't even be able to start until Fall 2010, and I'd rather get started earlier and graduate earlier, even with it being an ASN. . . hopefully I'll go on after that to an RN-BSN program.

Csab,

Do you know who your friend spoke with at IUPUI/IUSON?

The reason I ask is because I have received a lot of conflicting information from people I have spoke with about the A-BSN program, and the information I have is different than what you posted above.

For example, I printed out the application for the program before and after I filled it out online, and it says: Courses identified by a * may be no more than 7 years old at the time of admission to the nursing major. The only courses identified by a * are:

Anatomy
Physiology
Microbiology
Statistics
Life Span Development

(In other words, PSY B104/B105 or Introductory Psychology are not listed as having to be less than 7 years old.)

Also, I am currently enrolled in PSYC 201 through Ivy Tech. I took a lifespan development course when I obtained my undergraduate degree, but it didn't transfer, so the academic counselor I met with to fill out my program planning sheet told me to enroll in the course at Ivy Tech.

Just thinking...

agetroe,

The academic counselor I met with said for the Fall of 2009 they had 125 applicants and they accepted 30-40 students--anyone with a GPA over 3.77.

Most people have stated that the GPA they consider is the pre-requisite GPA.

A person I have talked to who is in the program said for their class the lowest pre-req GPA was a 3.7, but it varies a little from semester to semester (class to class).

I hope that helps.

Anomaly, I don't know who this girl talked to. But I will tell her to ask more questions before she retakes Psych and before she takes Lifespan from IUPUI rather than Ivy (which is obviously cheaper).

I have also heard that IUPUI is very tough to get in to. If they really only accept people with an over 3.77 GPA, that would be pretty dang hard! Does anyone know how their program ranks with others in the area? I have looked at U of Indianapolis and Marian University. Marian has a new online porgram that I looked at that has no waiting lists and your GPA doesn't have to be as high as IUPUI i think. Just wondering how they might compare, because I am definitely going to apply to both next time, because IUPUI seems so hard to get in to.