Seattle U - APNI 2012

Nursing Students NP Students

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Anyone already applying at Seattle U? Which track? I haven't finished my pre-req's, so I am probably not too competitive this year, but I am going to apply anyway. I am applying for the nurse-midwife track and my background is Microbiology (UW).

Just received the ID number via snail mail!

Does anyone know what a typical accepted applicant looks like? GPA, GRE, clinical experience. What speciality is more highly sought after? FNP or CNM?

I don't understand how you perceive volunteer experience weighs heavier than clinical experience? You would think that applicants who have direct patient care working with nurses, NP's and Docs would be more competitive than applicants who volunteer at a school or some other organization. Did it just so happen that your cohort was heavy on volunteering and short on clinical experience or do you truly believe thats the type of applicant SU looks for?

Well the first yr I applied I wasn't going to have my BA or my prereqs done until June but I applied for the hell of it. The second time I blew the interview, they told me that I would make a good nurse but maybe I should shadow an NP and I was waitlisted. Last year I nailed everything but was still waitlisted. I was taken off the waitlist in late March or April. I volunteered with hospice that year as well and think that may have made the difference but I had plenty of volunteer experience before that too.

I can tell you that literally every single student has a lot of volunteer experience, so if you don't have some now GET IT NOW, you can tell them in the interview since its too late for apps. I don't think having health experience helps a whole lot. There are only maybe 4 or 5 students with previous work in health. The APNI program and teachers view all of our diverse degrees as our strengths not weaknesses. Being more diverse gives us a broader scope. Hope that helps little (:

I don't understand how you perceive volunteer experience weighs heavier than clinical experience? You would think that applicants who have direct patient care working with nurses, NP's and Docs would be more competitive than applicants who volunteer at a school or some other organization. Did it just so happen that your cohort was heavy on volunteering and short on clinical experience or do you truly believe thats the type of applicant SU looks for?

I don't think having direct patient care will hurt, it's not that. I am speaking as a person who's been involved in research at the UW and considered going for a PhD myself a few years ago - so I talked to a lot of people. But I am not a student at Seattle U yet and what I am going to say is based on my previous endeavors.

I believe they are looking for a specific type of person who gets what it is to be a nurse practitioner and the responsibilities that come with it more than anything. Nurse leaders typically are people who are involved in social causes and fighting for justice and dignity of the patients, more than just knowing how to do x, y, z. Having direct patient care can give you tons of experience in the area, no doubt, and teach you valuable lessons, but by showing that you care for vulnerable people you are in keen with the mission of this catholic school.

I see your angle a bit clearer now and would agree with it to some extent. Nursing in general is centered around caring for those in need regardless of race, religion and SES so if you don't possess this first quality, you probably shouldn't be in the field. Playing the role of a NP goes further than all of this. You need to be able to make the correct decision the first time around because ultimately the responsibility for treating that patient is on you. The NP's I work with are all sharp people and understand the essence of treating patients. Yes, showing altruism through volunteering is an important step in formulating your view on helping others but shouldn't be the golden ticket, especially in an accelerate program. I would think those with the tools readily equipped would have an advantage, however, SU might look for applicants who don't possess much clinical experience so they can mold their nurses/NP's from what their programs sees fit. Nice bit thought, you can tell you've thought hard about it.

You're probably right about that - last year there was a lady who was a physician from another country and she didn't even make it to interview. She seemed well qualified, makes you wonder.

I disagree that it is a golden ticket though, I think it is about being well-rounded, you just have to be good in every area and not have one lacking. One could ague that smart people (based on high GPA, GRE, letters of recommendation, letter of intent and interview) can learn how to be great health care providers but they can't teach you altruism. Medical schools are here to prove it: many of them prefer that you have experience in research showing critical thinking rather than in clinical.

Does anyone know what a typical accepted applicant looks like? GPA, GRE, clinical experience. What speciality is more highly sought after? FNP or CNM?

I can't speak to everyone in my cohort in terms of their background, but here's my stat. I applied to the FNP track and got in the very first time that I applied. I have a BS in business administration, Master in social work, undergrad and graduate GPA 3.8, science prereq GPA 4.0, and I didn't have to take the GRE because it was waived since I had a Master degree.

I am not a representative from SU, but like I wrote in my previous post, I don't think volunteer experience is everything. They look at the overall package! I had only four months worth of volunteer experience! However, I have 1 year experience as a school social worker, another year in behavioral health, and about 7 months or so in nursing home and as a residential counselor.

IMO, I think both clinical and volunteer experiences are wonderful. IF you have clinical experience, it will only make it easier for you when you do your first clinical in terms of being comfortable interacting with patient. We have several classmates who were CNA or tech and their experiences definitely did not count against them. Hope this helps somewhat!

yeah, sorry didn't mean for it to sound like volunteer experience is everything, just wanted to emphasize that we all have volunteer experience so they might as well make it a prereq. Im SURE actual work around healthcare will look good too. I just know they look at the person as a whole and those people that don't have work in health care should not worry. In our cohort there are probably 4-6 people with previous work in the health care field and from talking to the cohort above us it sounds similar. They really do see our various degrees and coursework as a strength, kinda like they see us more well rounded I guess. Listen to MSW she got in first time round lol!

Hello everyone,

I've just joined this forum after applying to some other direct-entry nursing programs. I graduated in with my Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Washington last year, and I decided not too long ago that I wanted to go into nursing. Seattle University, from the start, was one of my top 5 choices, and after attending the information session they held recently, it's now my 2nd choice...I've sort of been dreaming about going to Columbia U forever, and experiencing life somewhere new in NYC. However, after submitting my application (and the worst personal statement i've ever written), I realize this dream is quite unrealistic, especially considering the rest of my stats.

You all sound like a deeply committed and highly qualified group of individuals. At the info session I remember there being many professionals and people with great GPAs and GREs. Unfortunately, although I have done really well in my nursing prerequisite courses, my undergrad GPA is low and my GRE scores could have been higher, although they are apparently competitive from what I heard during the info session. I've been dealing with some personal/family stuff for the past few years. Now that I've gotten over it all, I am currently re-taking some courses and doing really well. Now that I've discovered what I want to do, I'm pouring my heart and soul into it, but I'm really scared about applying and not being as competitive as everyone else who earned high grades the first time around.

The admissions officers seemed very encouraging and said that these things were understandable, but if I showed a commitment to getting the knowledge from these courses that was what was important. She also said these factors won't be held against me...

I do have volunteer experience of several different types, although this past year I have just been working and taking classes and had stopped volunteering for a while due to the stuff going on with me personally. I'm looking for volunteer posititions and shadowing opps so that if I do get an interview I will have a lot to refer to...

But overall, I'm just really concerned that I'll be waitlisted a bunch of times because of my low GPA.

:uhoh3:

Feedback would be great. I'm also struggling with my essay because I want to include EVERYTHING and I can never get it narrowed down. That's why for Columbia I kept rewriting until the deadline and had to go with the first essay I had written originally because I couldn't figure out how to make my essay good enough. HELP!

Pooja, your story sounds a lot like mine. If you want to talk in PVT we could probably exchange some ideas.

Is your GPA higher than 3.0 in the last 90 credits? Btw, are you taking courses at UW right now? How are your prereqs going, have you finished them?

I wrote three versions of my statements, in all honesty, the first two had a lot of explanations and too many personal details. The third I think it's very good because I started sounding like I was worth it, what's past it's past, you know?

Try contacting a good professor or the people who wrote you the rec letters, so they can review your essay. Someone with a least a PhD after their name ;) BTW, I just received email of personal statement and CV workshops that are going to happen tomorrow at Mary Gates Hall. Let me know if it's something that you might want to attend.

I'm from the midwest and unable to attend any information session. What were some of the main points they made in the presentation? Did they mention typical GPA, GRE and experience? As far as what you perceive as vulnerable points in your application, I think thats a great opportunity for you to explain your struggle and show how you've used those experiences for personal growth. I feel most applicants applying to these programs have found there path towards nursing in an atypical way. I would stress how the beginning of your journey wasn't the easiest and now that you've found direction, you've developed a great deal of passion for helping others.

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