Shenandoah University Accelerated BSN - page 4

It honestly depends. My cohort started with around 30 people but the one before mine had about 60. Not sure how it is at the Winchester campus however.

Also, I wanted to let people know a few things that differed from the admission packet in terms of price. First, the expected $1100 for books for the program is way low! I spent about that for the first semester, and that's with using other book sources than the school bookstore to get the cheapest price. Not sure what the prices will look like for the second semester as they haven't given us a book list yet, but be prepared. I have heard that if you rent books it is much cheaper but it seems like very few people use that option in case they need the books for later.

Second, you don't need scrubs for the first semester (at least at Leesburg)! The first clinical is Mental Health and they require you to dress business casual for that as no one on the psych units wear scrubs. If you're feeling overwhelmed by how expensive everything is, it might help knowing that you don't need to spend more on scrubs at first. You do, however, need a lab coat for labs.

Also, financial aid can be a pain. If you can, try to get all that sorted out as soon as possible. Things were a bit delayed, which messed up a lot of things. Both my roommate and I lost out on a grant because financial aid did not send out all the information necessary for it. Hopefully for the fall start they will be more organized but it was terrible for the spring. If you do have to call them, make sure to request they call you back otherwise they won't.

Despite those few frustrating things, doing this program is honestly so much fun. If you truly want to be a nurse, it's definitely worth it. The classes are fascinating, if a bit challenging at times, and the professors are wonderful. If I think of anything else that might be helpful for incoming students, I'll write it down and feel free to ask questions. I might not be able to answer right away but I'll do my best. I know that would have helped me a lot

nermface, were you able to get all your questions answered at the info session? If not, I might be able to help out a bit. Actually just came back again to give some advice from my roommate. For the first semester, if you have the time to search for the books that come in the bundle, do that as it will probably save money and the frustration of having bought books you will never use. It may also be worth waiting to get to class before buying some of them because I think of that bundle we used two books this semester and it doesn't seem like the others will be used any time soon.

As to havehope's question, I can't remember the pre-reqs. I tried finding them on the site again, figuring it might be easier since I searched it before but no luck. It seems like they're having issues with links right now but maybe you could try emailing one of the advisers there. I remember Karen O'Neil was very helpful in getting everything straight.

nermface, were you able to get all your questions answered at the info session? If not, I might be able to help out a bit. Actually just came back again to give some advice from my roommate. For the first semester, if you have the time to search for the books that come in the bundle, do that as it will probably save money and the frustration of having bought books you will never use. It may also be worth waiting to get to class before buying some of them because I think of that bundle we used two books this semester and it doesn't seem like the others will be used any time soon.

As to havehope's question, I can't remember the pre-reqs. I tried finding them on the site again, figuring it might be easier since I searched it before but no luck. It seems like they're having issues with links right now but maybe you could try emailing one of the advisers there. I remember Karen O'Neil was very helpful in getting everything straight.