CCAC Fall 2014 Applicants

wmr5 · Jan 29, 2014

Cole04, I understand your anticipation and really hope to see that "Congratulations" greeting in that letter this time around as well. I will keep everybody posted on my progress throughout this process. Having the sciences out of the way and with good grades is definately a bonus for everybody. I will venture to guess that most accepted applicants have the pre-reqs, of course, AND some co-reqs at least; not 100% on that assumption but I feel strong about that statement. As for recommendations, I am pretty sure, not 100% again, that the current ranking system by GPA is what they will use to rank applicants; regardless of a compelling letter. That would add a valuable dynamic in the application process though, I like the proactive approach pdxphotolover. All too often a person is "ranked" by a transcript when there is SO MUCH MORE to every individual that is extremely relevant and valued in a profession where caring for people and providing healthcare is your responsibility. Being smart is very important, don't get me wrong; but being personable, easy to work with, willing to learn everyday, able to demonstrate a great work ethic year after year and managing your life with great results is in many ways more impressive. I have worked in various positions for the past 20 years and will tell you that the smartest of the group is not necessarily the person you want looking out for your well being; honestly. Every now and then you meet people that are exceptional at both academics and communicating, along with some good old fashion work ethics and compassion; a transcript can only tell you that the potential for these qualities is there, not if it is. Having said all this, I hope these things are important to you and hope you get your well deserved opportunity to begin training as an RN; hard work does pay off and don't quit if the letter is not what you expected. You will get there, and be better off for the extra year of preparation and growth, trust me. :up:

pdxphotolover · Jan 30, 2014

Wow. Very very well put :) I think it's insane that they only look at grades. I also worry about not being full time and somehow they will look at that badly. But in the end, all we can do is try. I'm going to try my best to not let my fear get the best of me. What is meant to be will be.

amcmanus88 · Jan 30, 2014

I feel your pain all too well. I also got denied for last spring due to gpa. This time around I'm going in with a 4.0 at ccac and 5.5 with added points. I'm really hoping for the fast track but after my denial last year, I'll take any spot. I completely agree that its crazy to only take into account gpa. I completed my BS degree from Pitt in microbiology and I think its completely unfair to judge my B in organic chemistry against an A in an into chem class. But I guess it doesn't matter what I think. I wish everyone the best of luck!

wmr5 · Jan 31, 2014

Ok, updated my profile so anybody who wants to know my goals, a little about my life and my background are "briefly" summarized for Allnurses.com, as well as for discussions and feedback moving forward. I also officially turned in my Fall 2014 Allegheny evening nursing program application yesterday after confirming the grade correction in Pharmacology to an A on CCAC Central, nice! About the weighted grade question, I do agree that my B+ in Organic chemistry, and your B, from a respected 4 year institution is much more intuitive of our apptitudes than an A in Gen Chem I&II in chemistry; as well as for everybody with that academic achievement. I can't help but think the admissions faculty and staff do use those achievements as criteria when choosing applicants they want to raise the pass rate for the RN liscensing exam in the end, or perhaps not. Again, who knows and what is really fair to anybody this day and age; whether your striving for that starting out "chance" to succeeed with an unblemished anything is possible perception and more years to commit to nursing, theoretically, or you have several more years of valuable academic and life experience with a "worn and faded" anything is possible attitude; which is still the fact that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! :-) I want to see "everybody" do well, that ultimately brings everybody up and that is awesome! The A&P classes I completed at CCAC Allegheny campus during the evenings were very, very good; the professor taught at Carlow during the day and earned her graduate degree at NYU in Human Anatomy. I was very pleased with the class and am confident moving forward to a graduate level anatomy and physiology class in the future because of the classes. The Pharmacology class was disappointing, that is all I am going to say about that. The Microbio class was pretty detailed but the tests were not exactly what was discussed in class; at all. I am satisfied with the core sciences in the end though. The key concepts are taught and yes, I can relate them to my 4 year courses completed over 10 years ago in many ways. I have also heard from several senior and faculty level nurses I work with at Presby that CCAC does a good job of preparing new nurses and is a great route to earn the opportunity to get in a challenging field, like ICU, ER or GI, for example, as a new RN. Also, you can complete an RN to BSN program with tuition assistance for a considerable fraction of the cost while gaining valuable experience as an RN and while making the same salary as a BSN; maybe a dollar less per hour in some instances than a BSN. This fact, along with the evening and weekend option at Allegheny (I can continue working in research and earning a salary) and the price of the program are ultimately the reasons why I chose to pursue a program at CCAC and not commit to the $50,000 BS to BSN programs I was accepted in last year. So, I hope that everybody gets good news and we can begin the journey of becoming RN's soon! Any insight on why you chose CCAC would be welcomed and I am always curious about what people want to do after they finally begin thier carerrs as RNs. Good luck!

wmr5 · Jan 31, 2014

Ok, RNs and careers; I saw the typos above and am compelled to correct.:)

Newme17 · Jan 31, 2014

@wmr5 same here. I chose ccac because of the nights and weekends and the cost. I can keep my day job and still go to school. Hoping to get into south. Good luck to you!

mrsralph · Feb 14, 2014

Hi everyone!!! I am currently in ccac Boyce nursing program!!! I can say this far it has been a boat ride!!! I applied with a 3.7 gpa with only A&P 1 done to give those hope who don't have everything done it is possible to still get in!!! Boyce is an excellent program everything is web enhanced and very helpful when it comes to exams!!! I heard we are the only campus using the web!!! The only stressor is that we have an exam every week (that's at Boyce day not sure about other campuses)! But listen enjoy your anticipation and your time before you get in! Because once your in you have no time for anything but studying. Dedication is the only way you will pass!! So many people dropped already and we started with 80 students we are down to about 65 give or take. Good Luck to you all applying. I'm sure you guys will get in!!

amcmanus88 · Feb 19, 2014

@mrsralph Do you know anyone in or anything about the Boyce fast track program. I am trying to get information about semester terms and when breaks are.

jimmiss71 · Feb 24, 2014

I recently applied for the fall semester at CCAC-South campus. I was thinking of CCAC through Cal U but missed the application date since I wanted to be done with A&P and Micro before applying again. If things don't work out for the fall semester at South, I will apply to Cal U for 2015. My GPA is only a 3.6 due to a big ole "F" I got in two classes a while back, before I changed to nursing. (I need to see if I am eligible for academic forgiveness to get those babies removed.) In any case, I wish you all good luck and look forward to the ride that is ahead. Take care, Melissa

only1sunshynne · Feb 27, 2014

Mrsralph I was accepted last year but was unable to attend due to personal reasons, but i was wondering can you tell me days/hrs you have clinical, labs and theory? Reapplied this year to Boyce fast track evening and hoping I can work while attending. I am currently an LPN. Im hoping me turning down the offer last year wont affect my chances this year.

only1sunshynne · Feb 27, 2014

My previous post is for mrsralph but anyone who may have any insight on the subject can reply. I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

mrsralph · Feb 28, 2014

I'm in the day program at Boyce. We have clinical once a week. We are split into groups my group goes every Friday and the other group goes every Wednesday. Our lab and theory are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Some are long days and others are half days. The latest I have been in class was until 3pm. Our clinical the first 6 weeks was from 7:30-3:30 and our new site will be from 6:30 to 2:30. As for the fast track program I know they go through the summer. Once you start you are in school for 18 months straight with no break. For the Day program We get summers off. Since fast track is evening weekend your clinicals are mainly on weekends and your theory and labs are evenings through the week. It def keeps you busy. We did not have clinical today because of our dosage calc exam tomorrow. Everyone has to pass with at least a 92. You get two chances to take it and if you don't pass they will let you go. We have lost a lot of people. We started with 80 and we a pretty low. The instructors are not as bad as people were making them out to be although there is this one everyone can not stand but for the most part they are very helpful some are motivational others are very hard to deal with but it's def manageable. I work 3 twelves every weekend in a hospital and it works perfect with my school schedule. It can be done. It's a little crazy in the beginning, the test are a lot different than what we are used to but things have gotten better. Be prepared at orientation to buy your books and begin your readings that was a shock to everyone in my class. And make sure you do everything that needs to be done on certified profile, it's best to get started right when you get your acceptance letter. Oh and be prepared to pay 130$ For it they will take for ever to send you your packet!!! Certified profile is a site where you do your background check, finger prints and medical records(Shots, tb, etc) Everything is web enhanced at Boyce. All our assignments are online. It's a really nice program. I love it but everyone's experience is diff. It's a challenge and dedication is key. Nothing but studying is all you have time for since they are testing us every dang week! Remediations aren't fun. But you'll hear more about those once you get in! Oh and be prepared to spend at least 1400$ on books! Good luck to you all. Let me know if you have any other questions!!!