National University SD Cohort 55 - July 2018

Mr_Edwino · Feb 5, 2018

oh my goodness, how stressful that must have been for you!
thank you for sharing - I think the essay portion is the most nerve-wracking part of the process since it's a completely unknown prompt.

More than that, the criteria is very ambiguous as to what they are looking for. I just created an essay response that would fit several prompts and spun it around the theme. I got 4.7/5

Be creative

klm18 · Feb 6, 2018

That's what I'm trying to do to prepare, because they told us in the info session it would be more or less a "why nursing" question.. but then I read that one of the last cohorts had a question like "describe a time you had conflict with someone" ..are we supposed to skew that to nursing??? Lol so stressful!

also one of my a&p teachers said he thought it was vague scoring bc they tend to favor previous/current NU students but who knows if there's really any truth in that.

Mr_Edwino · Feb 6, 2018

That's what I'm trying to do to prepare, because they told us in the info session it would be more or less a "why nursing" question.. but then I read that one of the last cohorts had a question like "describe a time you had conflict with someone" ..are we supposed to skew that to nursing??? Lol so stressful!
also one of my a&p teachers said he thought it was vague scoring bc they tend to favor previous/current NU students but who knows if there's really any truth in that.

Definitely include nursing no matter what the prompt.

"Conflict is inevitable in a work place.....

That's why chain of command is important....

Everyone has a job to do......

Cultural sensitivity in a hospital is important.....

My approach to conflict is...

This is why it worked...

In nursing there will always be conflict, but I will.....".

Brainstorm your outline

klm18 · Feb 6, 2018

Hey,
Quick question for you guys and anyone else who can answer this. When you calculate your GPA do you count each lab as its own grade or A&P I and the accompanying lab as one single grade for example?

FYI - based on one of the recent comments on here about GPA discrepancy, I emailed elizabeth to calculate my GPA points & she got back to me like 2 minutes later!

uh, no · Feb 6, 2018

FYI - based on one of the recent comments on here about GPA discrepancy, I emailed elizabeth to calculate my GPA points & she got back to me like 2 minutes later!

Yeah, she's pretty awesome compared to what I'm used to in contacting college advisers, and she's the only one in the department!

uh, no · Feb 6, 2018

More than that, the criteria is very ambiguous as to what they are looking for. I just created an essay response that would fit several prompts and spun it around the theme. I got 4.7/5
Be creative

Was the question you got pretty standard or out in left field? Did everyone get the same one?

Altaha · Feb 7, 2018

I hope so. Thanks so much for the support!

Altaha · Feb 7, 2018

Definitely include nursing no matter what the prompt.
"Conflict is inevitable in a work place.....
That's why chain of command is important....
Everyone has a job to do......
Cultural sensitivity in a hospital is important.....
My approach to conflict is...
This is why it worked...
In nursing there will always be conflict, but I will.....".
Brainstorm your outline

This is totally helpful stuff. Thanks!

Altaha · Feb 7, 2018

That's what I'm trying to do to prepare, because they told us in the info session it would be more or less a "why nursing" question.. but then I read that one of the last cohorts had a question like "describe a time you had conflict with someone" ..are we supposed to skew that to nursing??? Lol so stressful!
also one of my a&p teachers said he thought it was vague scoring bc they tend to favor previous/current NU students but who knows if there's really any truth in that.

I think I may agree with your teacher's comment about grading. My sister is an English Professor and she told me that grading essays is completely subjective. Evaluators can two completely different scores so a third evaluator should be used, but they don't do that at National. That said, I think ensuring that you have a proper thesis statement, all supporting paragraphs, and proper conclusion to bring everything together is key. Mr. Edwino's suggestions are also really great in regards to content.

Mr_Edwino · Feb 7, 2018

Was the question you got pretty standard or out in left field? Did everyone get the same one?

You come in, pick a computer, open word, then they give you at random a paper facedown with your prompt (there are several different ones) on it. When they say begin you flip and start writing. You have one hour, and there's a few time warnings. My prompt was: What skills/attributes do you possess in order to become a good nurse? I basically said I had no skills or attributes, but I outlined an incident (a kid chopped his leg with a machete)where I showed leadership and potential to be a great nurse. I really played on my creative story telling talents and embellished details. I went on about how this changed my career path and how I learned something about my potential. My essay was 5 paragraphs, apa format with an intro/thesis, 3 paragraphs of body, and the conclusion. It was 2 pages exactly( maximum length; don't go over!) I had just enough time to edit. Many did not finish. If you guys need ideas for prompts just post them and I'll tell you what I would write. I would have used the same story for every prompt, just outline it differently.

Mr_Edwino · Feb 7, 2018

Oh BTW, I'm in cohort 54. I got in with GPA 3.9, teas 90, and essay 4.7/5. Hope I could clear some things up for you guys, there really wasn't anyone in cohort 54s thread that knew what the hell was going on. Lol

AMA, I'm here to help.

kprose · Feb 7, 2018

May I ask you a question......How is the GPA portion of the GPA points calculated? Where do the x/30 come from? For instance, I know that this is 40% of the total points, but the "out of 30" portion I do not know where that comes from. What is the 30?