Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing-FNP Program

oldnightnurse · Dec 10, 2009

Congrats on pursuing such a great profession. I am in love with my new role as an NP.
As a Frontier grad (class 53), I will warn to you be very on top of the administrative staff or they will drop the ball. This is especially true of Financial Aid. The newly hired director of financial aid is absolutely terrible. Not only is she rude but she really doesn't care to facilitate your financial survival.

Congrats to all who have been accepted so far:yeah: For those of us who haven't heard, fingers and toes are still crossed! I'm going to go ahead and call tomorrow to see if they can shed any light... Almost two weeks after I sent my application packet in, I received an email from the student services coordinator to set up an interview. Forwarded in that email was an email to me from the registrar that had been addressed to me at "gmai.com" instead of "gmail.com" to let me know that they had received my application and all that was needed was the interview. I had not received it since it was an incomplete email address. Are you all getting your acceptance email from the registrar?

I emailed the ssc last Friday and have not yet received a reply. Several weeks ago I emailed the director of the WHCNP/CNM program, as advised by another person in administration, with a question regarding preceptors and still haven't received a reply. I don't know if they're sending replies to the wrong email address or not responding because they're extremely busy or what. It's frustrating to be told that "she will respond" and not hear anything back. Then again, there was no time frame given, so maybe my expectations are out of line...

FrontierFNP, when you refer to being "very on top of administrative staff" are you speaking of things such as this or am I misunderstanding? No matter what I end up doing, I'll have to stay on top of the financial aid piece of things; I already owe close to $25k in student loans for my RN to BSN program and I'm praying to find scholarships/grants to help pay for a nice chunk of my MSN. There are several scholarships with looming deadlines that I want to apply for, but I have to know what the heck I'm doing in order to apply!!

ms_sheesh · Dec 10, 2009

oldnightnurse,

I wouldn't fret. I believe they notify students based on programs. It is possible that they haven't started to notify accepted students into the CNM or WHNP programs yet. I don't think a phone call would harm anyone. Good luck to you and I'll keep my fingers crossed for you too.

Sugarcoma, RN · Dec 11, 2009

Hello, I am also considering Frontier's ADN-MSN program and have a question. There website says they do not confer a Bachelor's degree for the bridge program. Does this mean you go straight to MSN and do not receive a Bachelors degree at all?

oldnightnurse · Dec 20, 2009

oldnightnurse,
I wouldn't fret. I believe they notify students based on programs. It is possible that they haven't started to notify accepted students into the CNM or WHNP programs yet. I don't think a phone call would harm anyone. Good luck to you and I'll keep my fingers crossed for you too.

Hey ms_sheesh and Sugah Britches, I've been really busy and haven't had a chance to come back here to post. I got my acceptance email so I'll be joining y'all in Hyden in February. I've been doing the happy dance since I found out! Fingers & toes still crossed for everybody else waiting...

oldnightnurse · Dec 20, 2009

Hello, I am also considering Frontier's ADN-MSN program and have a question. There website says they do not confer a Bachelor's degree for the bridge program. Does this mean you go straight to MSN and do not receive a Bachelors degree at all?

Sugarcoma, you are correct. This is probably the page you read: http://www.midwives.org/academics.asp?id=162&pid=56. About halfway down the page it states "The Master of Science in Nursing degree will be granted upon completion of all remaining coursework in the clinical specialty track. No Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree is awarded as part of the Bridge entry option."

I wish that I had known about that option before I started the RN to BSN program that I finished in August. I sure wouldn't have borrowed $25k for that degree! Oh well, it is what it is. It brought me to where I am, and I am thankful! Good luck with whatever you decide.

ms_sheesh · Dec 21, 2009

Congratulations, oldnightnurse!! See you there!

EquuszARNP · Dec 21, 2009

I'm also thinking of applying to the ADN-MSN bridge. I hope to be licensed in March and apply to the April bridge deadline. Do any of you think that they would accept 18 years paramedic experience as the "significant other healthcare experience" they say they will consider in lieu of the one-year experience requirement? I emailed them about it but would like to hear from people who have been accepted.

Also, do you know if they have any problem with Excelsior grads?

Thanks!

--Equusz

studentnurserachel · Jan 2, 2010

I'm also thinking of applying to the ADN-MSN bridge. I hope to be licensed in March and apply to the April bridge deadline. Do any of you think that they would accept 18 years paramedic experience as the "significant other healthcare experience" they say they will consider in lieu of the one-year experience requirement? I emailed them about it but would like to hear from people who have been accepted.
Also, do you know if they have any problem with Excelsior grads?
Thanks!
--Equusz

Is Excelsior accredited by CCNE or NLNAC? If so, that should not bar you from the bridge program.

I just want to add here, to echo what others have said, I think Frontier is amazing. I am a former bridge student, now FNP class 63 (you stop being "bridge" after you finish your bridge year). It has been an amazing experience so far, although certainly challenging. Going to Hyden for Frontier Bound was one of the best experiences of my life, something I never would have anticipated for grad school. I can't wait to finish (in about 17 months!) but will really miss the experience.

Please feel free to PM me with specific questions about Frontier or the Bridge program!

blueindigo79 · Jan 5, 2010

Hi, i posted this on the main board but thought i could post it here as well:

"

I'm thinking about applying to Frontier's FNP program and was wondering about clinicals. Are you completely on your own to find clinical placements or do they help somewhat? for students in the FNP program there, is it hard to find clinical placements?

Thanks! "

TxNurseRN · Jan 22, 2010

Hi to all Frontier folks. I have been eye-balling this program from the time I was in my ADN program. The more I learn about it, the more convinced I am that this is the program for me. I am especially impressed with their focus on community and rural health, which is right up my alley in rural Texas.

My question is this: Would anyone who has been accepted to the FNP program mind disclosing their GPA? It has been said in the past that all who meet the minimum requirements are accepted, but I think that this program is getting more popular, and thus more competative. I meet the minimum requirements (2 yrs nursing in ER, 3.25 GPA and good reccomendations), but I am just curious about the acceptance statistics from recent classes. Also, I understand that students can opt out of having Pelvic exams performed on themselves during Frontier Bound. I hope that this is true. I realize that it is just another body part, but this is just a little too close for comfort for my taste and makes me uncomfortable. Any thoughts?

Thankd for any and all responses. I value the input of current students!

Laurie, R.N.

Cove, Tx

EquuszARNP · Jan 22, 2010

The pelvic exams are only for the midwifery program, not the FNP. And yes, they can opt out.

I talked to them on the phone and they were very responsive. While they won't say that they accept everyone who meets the minimums, I got the impression that most get accepted, just maybe to a later class. The one thing she told me was that the ADN-FNP bridge is getting really competitive and they only do 4 enrollments a year as opposed to 8 enrollments for the BSN-FNP, so they are going strictly by the one-year experience requirement, which I don't meet. She told me that I should use that year to finish my BSN (which I can through Excelsior), and then apply to the BSN-FNP with almost sure acceptance. Sounds like you meet the experience requirement so I bet you'd get in, but it might be later in the year than you want.

You should call them and talk to them, they're very easy to get ahold of.

--Equusz

Sugah Britches · Feb 14, 2010

Everyone packed and ready?