UHV Second Degree BSN Spring 2014 Applicants

U.S.A. Texas

Published

Hi all, anybody out there applying for this program? I haven't seen an updated thread on it yet. I just finished applying to UHV- just waiting on NursingCAS to receive my final transcript for my application to be considered "complete" I'm also applying to UTHSCH UTHSCSA accelerated programs, and TWU-Houston traditional BSN program. I have my B.S. in Human Biology from UT Austin in Spring 2010. My undergrad GPA was definitely less than stellar, but all my pre-req coursework is not too bad. What is y'alls impression of this program?

Hi everyone!

I'm a little late to the forum. But I am from group B and was also accepted to the program!!! :) I just sent my request to the FB group so hopefully I will see you all on there soon. But as far as the insurance card, it is my understanding that everything that goes through CertifiedProfile is not due until Jan. 13th. However, I takes about 48 hours for the profile to be updated once you upload your file.

Hope that helps! :)

Hi everyone! I am in the process of applying for UH 2nd degree for cohort Spring 2015 and I wanted what is a good TEASV score to get into the program? Also, how fast pace is this program? Do the teachers actually teach or are you on your own most of the time? Also, are you in good Monday-Friday from 8-5 most of the days? When do you have clinical? How are the tests like? What is the chance of survival hypothetically speaking? Will you have time to even sleep? Where are the clinicals will be held at? Does the school give scholarship or is the whole tuition placed on student loans? Please someone write me back! Thanks

Hi [COLOR=#003366]apriljacklynn! I have been folowing this and ur other posts on here. I am curently applying to the Spring 2015 cohort for UHV. If you could give me some insight into the application process, the interview, and the actual year you have been experiencing at UHV that would be awesome!

I have read alot of posts from the 2014 cohort of this being a "weeding out" school in order to maintain their high NCLEX rating . Do you feel like this is true? I have read some heart breaking stories on other posts.

Thanks!

Hi everyone! I am in the process of applying for UH 2nd degree for cohort Spring 2015 and I wanted what is a good TEASV score to get into the program? Also, how fast pace is this program? Do the teachers actually teach or are you on your own most of the time? Also, are you in good Monday-Friday from 8-5 most of the days? When do you have clinical? How are the tests like? What is the chance of survival hypothetically speaking? Will you have time to even sleep? Where are the clinicals will be held at? Does the school give scholarship or is the whole tuition placed on student loans? Please someone write me back! Thanks

Hello, all! I am in the current 2014 cohort of this program, and I wanted to take some time to reach out to you. I apologize it is so late, but as you can imagine, this program does keep us pretty busy. I will try to succinctly answer each of the questions you have posted.

@Angie:RN:

- I believe the school looks for a minimum of 75% cumulatively on the TEAS. A decent score would be >80%, I'd say.

- The program is SUPER fast paced. A body system per week fast. Altogether, you're looking at around 20+ chapters of readings per week between all coursework. The first semester is the toughest, as they frontload a lot of the readings toward the beginning of the semester and *sort of* ease up. You can't really read every single thing, but you do your best with the time you have. You must learn to be efficient with your time.

- Yes, teachers teach. That being said, this is a very self-driven program. They typically hone in on key points to really understand in class, but they expect you to have read before class so they are doing an actual review and not teaching it all. You have to put in the effort to understand on your own free time. So, yes, you're on your own and they give you which chapters/sections to have read/reviewed. HOWEVER, they are ALWAYS accessible to you via office hours if you are confused or need further clarification or guidance. DON'T be lazy though. You need to show that you have tried to understand/sought the answers in the text, at least. They want to see you take the initiative. If you are completely lost, they are more than happy to meet one on one to clue you in.

-This program is 5 days a week. The first semester you have Sim lab Monday, class Tues and Thurs, and clinical either Weds or Fri. The day you don't have clinical is technically "free", but you have assignments, readings, etc to complete such as the VCE (virtual clinical excursion) which counts as the online component of clinical which you get to do in the comfort of your home.

-Nursing school exams are unlike any exams you have taken. You are constantly prioritizing care, so all answers may be correct, but you must select the MOST correct or the HIGHEST priority. You will soon come to understand how it works. It's not impossible, just very different.

-I don't know how to answer "chance of survival" because that is all up to you. I was VERY hesitant to apply to this program because I didn't know if I was capable of actually succeeding. I'd never taken more than 14 hours in undergrad, so I thought, surely, I couldn't survive taking 20 hours. I was fortunately very wrong, and apparently, did have it in me to do well.

-YES, there is time to sleep. You need to take the time to sleep. That's not really negotiable. You do lose 1-2hrs than your used to, but you HAVE to remain functional as we are taking care of people in hospitals! It may seem that you don't have time to sleep, but trust me, you can and MUST. Staying up until all hours of the night isn't exactly conducive to retention of information. Really, focus first on BROAD ideas then hone in on the details whilst studying.

-Our spring clinicals were at Harris County Psych Center, Texana and either of two Methodist hospitals; in the summer we went to Texas Children's- Med Ctr, and either two Methodist hospitals for OB and medsurg. This final semester, we are at Shriners, in different public schools for community health, and not quite sure of our placements yet which will occur the last 8 wks of this semester.

-Being that everyone in the program already has a bachelor's, this second bachelors is NOT funded by the government. This means you are ineligible for grants. They offer pretty much loans, however, they DO offer scholarships which you must apply for each semester. They try their best to get you some kind of money thru scholarships. That being said, Financial Aid is hard to mitigate, as the office is currently located in Victoria, TX. I have typically not been awarded and funds dispersed until the middle of each semester, I think partially because I am not a Fort Bend resident. Once dispersed, the financial aid package is not really enough to live on. I was able to apply and be awarded for outside scholarships which greatly helped for bills and such. For the most part, everyone in the program has someone to help lean on to help pay bills, be it a spouse, significant other or parent. You WILL need support in this program- financially and emotionally.

Hi [COLOR=#003366]apriljacklynn! I have been folowing this and ur other posts on here. I am curently applying to the Spring 2015 cohort for UHV. If you could give me some insight into the application process, the interview, and the actual year you have been experiencing at UHV that would be awesome!

I have read alot of posts from the 2014 cohort of this being a "weeding out" school in order to maintain their high NCLEX rating . Do you feel like this is true? I have read some heart breaking stories on other posts.

Thanks!

@Ktrinv:

I'm sorry I'm too late to help with the application process. As for the interview, it was an 8-1pm thing for us last year, I think. They divy the candidates into smaller groups which go through rotations of a tour, online component, interview and uniform section. They might change things up, but who knows.

As far as the actual year, I am not going to lie- it has been tough. I went Greek in undergrad, and I often equate this program as if I was "pledging" to be a nurse because it is such a time committment. lol Right around the time you get comfortable and you feel like you're getting the hang of it, the next wave of panic and assignments and deadlines comes up. You really just need to maintain your cool, breathe, do what you can, focus on the task at hand and take it day by day. It's the small victories.

It's been mentally, emotionally and physically trying- but such is the life of a nurse. This program really captures the epitome of a career as a nurse, as you MUST be adaptable. Personally, I have enjoyed this program very much because I greatly missed being in school and academia in general. It is challenging, yet rewarding how much you see yourself grow. The faculty is EXCELLENT, and they really are invested in our education. Of course, they want to see that you truly care and are trying to find the answers for yourself before coming to them. The worst thing you can do to yourself is do the same thing over and over and expect different results. If you study the same way for two tests and don't do well on both, you can't do well on that third without making a change.

Another key thing is you really must follow the Dean's 5 rules to give yourself the best shot of success.

1) No jobs. ESPECIALLY the first semester. You are not setting yourself up for success. This is where it is helpful if you have financial support somehow- spouse, S.O., family, parents..etc since you will no longer be earning income. APPLY for scholarships left and right.

2) No weddings. This is not the year to plan or get hitched. if you must, elope. Go away for the Saturday. Then get back to business. NO PLANNING!

3) No babies. If you're currently pregnant or newly pregnant, you might want to reconsider. Between clinicals increasing, your need to make MD appts and the actual physical exhaustion, this would not be the year to expand your family. There are several superwomen in my class who are mommies (something like 9 of my peers) and they have amazing support systems which have allowed them to be successful.

4) No drama. Dont make drama for yourself, cause problems with your S.O or family, be a negative nancy, etc. Lay low, do your work, be positive, expect good outcomes and make it work. ain't nobody got time for drama.

5) HAVE A SUPPORTIVE FAMILY/SYSTEM. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having some sort of support system. I have an amazing bf who feeds me and chaueffers me since my car decided to die on me 1 month into the program! Being a broke unemployed student isnt conducive to having the money for car repairs + gas! We all have somebody or people who can keep our morale up when we're down and feeling defeated, love us and cheerlead us-and if needed, throw us some $ for lunch. Seriously, food is a big deal. for me, at least. lol

Long story short...but still long, this program IS DOABLE. You must have the resolve in your mind that failure is not an option. It is scary. You will have checkoffs where faculty will observe and pass or fail your clinical skills competency. You will get nauseous and freak out. Every. single. time. But at the end of the day, the faculty wants you to succeed, but YOU have to do everything in YOUR power to make sure you do. Mind you, EVERY nursing school will have all these kinds of problems and assignments. This program is just that more intense because they cram a 24month program into half the time, so you're feeling the effects of everything in a bigger way. ALL nursing schools lose students. I don't believe this program purposefully "weeds out" the weak. If you get anything from this post, let it be that YES this program is tough and intense. However, YES it is doable and you must prepare your mind for the investment of this program. It is 1 year of your life, then you get to have a career of never-ending possibilities and the rest of your life. Not to mention the truly great faculty you get to learn from! AND lucky for you guys, the SON is transitioning to be under UH Main's name, so your class of 2015 will get a degree from UH NOT UHVictoria. UH is a tier1 institution, and the possibilities are truly endless with this program and where it's going thanks to that affiliation. I hope this helps!

Thanks so much! this really helped. I have applied and just currently waiting on decisions. Good luck on your last semester!:nurse::)

Specializes in ICU and ER.

I was accepted into UHV!!

Congrats on your acceptance. I would like to apply for spring but don't have all pre-reqs complete.

Best of luck in the program

Specializes in ICU and ER.

Spring 2015 nursing students the Facebook page is up:

+ Add a Comment