Direct Entry MSN Programs 2013

the healer's art · Nov 2, 2012

I purposely did not apply to places that required the TEAS. Ick!

soulshine101 · Nov 3, 2012

I'm taking the TEAS in November. Yikes, scared. Although some of the local programs only require a 45% to be considered:)

rainkissedleaves · Nov 3, 2012

Hey guys,

For those who are applying to UCSF especially-

Yesterday the Dean of School of Nursing from UCSF had a good 1.5 hour evening with my friends and I (connections :) ) and I got a lot of useful information from him regarding the direct entry program. If you guys have any particular questions - PM/comment on here and I would love to fill you in with the answers (if I have them).

Thanks and have a good weekend!

kdiem · Nov 4, 2012

Hello rainkissedleaves! That must have been an awesome talk you had. I bet you're application will definitely receive a closer look, you're so lucky :) Was there anything that seemed important or good for applicants to know? Any generalized information regarding their program? UCSF would be such an amazing school to attend!

rainkissedleaves · Nov 4, 2012

Hey kdiem- its Kritkat!! I just changed my screen name to rainkissedleaves:cat:

And unfortunately I am not applying to UCSF. I don't wish to stay in the Bay Area. :shy:

Let's see- the main points

> He strongly suggested to not apply to CNL programs (some schools give generic masters with CNL degrees) because its just not the same as NP and CNS. This one got me! I removed Millikin and Rush from my list of schools. CNL job description that he provided us was so basic that it was hardly any direct patient contact. Its mostly management and paperwork (something personally I am not looking for). Unless CNL is really is something you would like to be go for it! But NP and CNS are very different job descriptions.

> GRE is important. Very important when applying to UCSF. Yes, of course they look at the overall application but having a strong GRE score is crucial to be competitive (155 V and Q; 4 written).

> GPA- be at least at minimum a B average student.

> They overall look for empathy in the applicant's portfolio- which reflects via your essays and the extra curricular.

In addition, we talked about the basic such as DNP programs and their need, things not to do in your application (incomplete app and not so strong recommendations etc), his personal life (time management), his background and history in nursing (which was VERY fascinating and inspiring).

Hope this helps! :smug:

kdiem · Nov 4, 2012

Hi rainkissedleaves/kritkat! Thanks so much for the information. I didn't apply to UCLA (although I would love to go to school in socal) because they only offered the CNL degree. I was really really tempted though. I am so sad to hear that they emphasize the GREs that much That's probably the weakest aspect of my application. I think I have great letter of recs (one from a midwife that works and teaches at UCSF) so I'm hoping that will allow UCSF to consider my application. I guess we'll see! About one month until they start giving out responses... I think? I think last cycle was around the beginning of December too for interview offers.

kdiem · Nov 4, 2012

Btw, I want to thank everyone for being so helpful and supportive with this thread! I've heard of the SDN (student-doctor network??) website that premed students use... and apparently the students/applicants are pretty feisty and aggressive with one another. The whole nursing application is so grueling and talking to others who are going through the same process is so comforting.

rainkissedleaves · Nov 4, 2012

You're so welcome! Kdiem- the ucsf recommendation looks awesome! I am sure it will be very beneficial. I just can't wait for the day I get into my top choice and shower my recommenders with sugar, spice and everything nice! Haha

And THANK YOU EVERYONE from me too! :cheeky:

hopefulnurse24 · Nov 4, 2012

I want to thank everyone for being so supportive as well. I'd be honored to work in the same profession as you guys, and I really hope we all hear exciting news from our top choices. You're all passionate, empathetic, and hard-working, and you would all be excellent additions to any of these schools and the nursing field as well. It's November, which means we will be hearing soon from Penn regarding interviews, and in a month or so from Duke about interviews! I'm nervous but excited! It's been a crazy ride, and very stressful, but I know it's all going to pay off in a wonderful way. :)

And rainkissed, thank you so much for the awesome insight on UCSF's program! I'm starting to wish that I had applied there, but my GRE isn't competitive so I'm thinking I may not have had the complete package they were looking for, so it's okay. It sounds like such an excellent program though!

morganw1 · Nov 5, 2012

Has anyone looked in to University of Florida? Their deadline is Dec 15th ( which changed from a spring deadline last year). They had been on my list but their housing turned me off from it. Seems silly but I'm from CA so it does mean a lot to me. Anyway, their program looks good it starts as an accelerated program and then you can apply to the MSN. I'm thinking of adding it on to have a total of 5 this fall and 2 in the spring. Thoughts???

hopefulnurse24 · Nov 5, 2012

I currently attend the University of Florida, and am very involved in pre health and health science activities and know many people in it so I can tell you a LOT about their program, morganw... here's a few things I can share with you right off the bat. It is VERY numbers based, as in if you don't have a 153 and 144 minimum GRE they will literally throw your application away. I think it is a requirement for any health program at UF, and it makes it very easy for them to disqualify otherwise qualified candidates. When I was originally pre-PA, the PA school came and spoke to one of my clubs and they told us they won't even look at your application if you don't have the minimum GRE score and that it was a University of Florida rule due to the emphasis placed on it being a research school (not sure if this is necessarily true for the entire university and all of their graduate, but maybe just for the "health science" programs, as they all fall under one big umbrella and are all in literally one big building... PA, nursing, medicine, OT, PT, speech). I also know this is true because I've had quite a few friends who either missed the minimum score or had just the minimum, with otherwise great stats and they were denied admission and this was the reason cited when they asked admissions for advice on improving their application.

Also, they only take like 25 people for their ABSN, because the ABSN students are mixed in with the regular BSN students so they don't have a lot of room for them. It isn't a separate ABSN program like what Duke offers, you're mixed in with regular BSN students. And then finally, it really depends on your masters specialty... a lot of them are only online classes (not all, but a lot of specialty classes are from what I understand), and I think they make you take time off for any acute care specialty. I know this is true for neonatal, but I can't remember your specialty (was it adult acute care?).

I love my university and it has afforded me many excellent experiences, but these things ultimately made it a poor fit for me, and made me a little uneasy so I chose not to apply. PM me if you have any further questions or want me to go into more detail...

morganw1 · Nov 5, 2012

Hopeful!

Thank you soo much for that. I didn't know you attended there although I'm sure you probably mentioned it earlier in the thread. I don't think I am going to apply. I would be wasting my time and money. I would definitely not want to do online classes. I'm adult acute care so yeah I would probably take time off like you said. It's for sure a poor fit for me. Thanks again!