Shenandoah University Accelerated BSN

rose0220 · Jan 10, 2012

Hi ai am enrolled in SU accelerated program, I just completed the first semester at the Leesburg campus.

Medic2RN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Jan 10, 2012

Moved to the VA forums for more of a response.

shamrock529 · Jan 11, 2012

Hi rose0220

Thanks for replying! Can you tell me anything (and everything!) about the program? I am really interested to hear what you think about it :)

Congrats on finishing the first semester!!

Saflanut · Jan 11, 2012

HI, I also finished my first semester at Leesburg campus. So far I do like the program. We have small lab groups and classes, so you get a lot of individualized attention. Most of the instructors are very helpful. WE are assigned Macbooks and all of our lectures are posted on Blackboard. Some instructors are very organized and have everything on their lecture slides, while some are somewhat disorganized and you have to take your own notes and sift through their slides to make sense for your studying. Also all the class exams are given through blackboard. I think they do a good incorporating technology. WE are also required to have a mobile device ( Iphone, Itouch or I pad) with Nursing central app uploaded which becomes pretty handy when you are looking up medications.

Nursing skills and assessment labs are demonstration based and instructors are very helpful in every step. We were also given ATI exams for psychiatric nursing and pharmacology. We had to pass Psych with level 2 proficiency in order to process further. These exams are pretty good indication of NCLEX success. Luckily, ATI exams have their own study books which will distributed to you as a part of your tuition. Pharmacology is the hardest class in my opinion.Make sure you study really hard for it. The textbook is very detailed, it would take hours to study. I made flashcards and did a lot of NCLEX type of questions which helped a lot. Anyhow this is what I can think of now. Good luck this MOnday!

shamrock529 · Jan 12, 2012

Hi bokerglory!

Thanks so much for your detailed response. I actually deferred my acceptance until Fall, because I am a) waiting to hear back from other schools and b) Live in California and was not ready to move across the country just yet. Come August tho, I will be stoked :)

I am so glad you are loving it-SU is def one of my top choices. I heard pharmacology was hard, ugh.

I heard the pass rate is pretty high at Leesburg, is that correct? Why did you chose Leesburg not the Winchester campus?

Also, do you need a car to get around Leesburg or can you walk/take public transportation?

Are the other students in your cohort helpful and friendly as well? That is fabulous the professors are so great.

Sorry about all the questions, I am so excited/glad I can talk to someone who is going thru it right now! :)

Saflanut · Jan 12, 2012

Hi Shamrock529,

I understand why you have deferred. My husband's family is from Bay Area and we lived in CA for 6 years, somethings are really different here in East coast. I choose to go to Leesburg campus because we live in Northern VA, husband is in the military.

I believe they do their best to prepare us for NCLEX and this is why we do well. Also most of my classmates graduated from well-known universities and by now we all have been through one undergrad. So, we are more seasoned and efficient learners. Study groups form quickly and you become friends with your lab/clinical groups. People are willing to help each other. I am an older student with kids and family responsibilities but I was in a study group and we shared and compared notes before the exam especially. Some stay after the classes to study with their groups almost every day.I am an extrovert, so it easy for me to be friendly with people.

In terms of deciding on which school to go, I also had to decide between SU and GWU, eventhough GWU is more well known university it was much more expensive. I found SU more reasonable also I was able to get some scholarships and grants.

My take on that at the end we all have to take NCLEX and as long as we pass it that is what matters most. Going to a private school has its advantages in terms of attention from the instructors and also 1-1 lab time. It is also up to you how much you want to put into your education. There are tons of NCLEX and other types of study material out there. For some classes, you have to do more of the learning outside of the classroom. For example Pharm was one of them. There is no way you can learn all that drugs in the 4 hours of class time. Self- motivation and self- study became very crucial when I started to think about the big picture, meaning passing NCLEX and becoming a competent nurse. WE start our first real clinicals in this semester. First semester we had Psychiatric clinical which was not too demanding. So it is going to be more challenging in terms of the knowledge application and also practicing our skills. What I have been hearing about clinicals though to be eager to do everything and practice IV and catheter insertion etc. So, again it is up to me how much I learn and practice.

In terms of the campus location, we are in a big office building with 10 or so classes, computer lab and two labs for assessment and skills classes. Some people choose to live close because they are single. People like me commute form different parts of VA and Maryland. YOu will definitely ned a car to get around. Public transportation is not really good at this part of VA. Northern VA is a little bit better.

I think that is all for now. WE are starting this Monday. Back to grind

Good luck on making your decision.

Jwtanner · Mar 21, 2012

Hey Shamrock,

Small world but I am from the Bay Area as well and just got accepted into the SU ABSN program for fall 2012. Have you decided on schools yet? Maybe we could share information. I am super excited for a new place and to finally be done with the prereqs!! If you decided on SU, are you attending one of the orietation dates?

Jwtanner · Mar 22, 2012

So are there any current SU students that are still using this forum??

jmb12 · Apr 9, 2012

Hi everyone!

I just got into SU's Fall 2012 program today. I am also coming from California. Any suggestions on where to live? I was going to live in leesburg, va where our clinicals will be held at. Also, are anyone living off campus or have any ideas about on-campus housing?

Also, anyone who currently are in the Leesburg program, is it best to live in Leesburg or nearby?

Shamrock,

Did you decide on SU or are you waiting on more schools? Also, your question regarding to Leesburg campus...I believe that program are for students who are in the accelerated bsn track.

Jwtanner,

I am from the Bay area as well! Have you finally made your decision on SU or are you still waiting on other schools? Jw, have you visited the campus yet or know anything about housing?

Saflanut · Apr 13, 2012

HI jmb12,

I am a current student at Leesburg campus. Just wanted quickly answer your location questions. Leesburg is a satellite campus, so there is no on-campus housing. A lot of single people share apartments in the Leesburg area. OUr clinicals are all located in NOrthern VA. Loudoun Inova is the closest (10-15 min) to Leesburg campus. Fair Oaks Inova and Reston about 25-35 min driving distance. We have a lot of commuters also. But I would recommend getting an apartment with some room mates in the Leesburg area.And you will definitely need a car. Good luck!

jmb12 · Apr 16, 2012

Hi Bokerglory,

Thank you for the reply! Greatly appreciated!!! I was so confused on where to live....Winchester or Leesburg. I have a few more questions to ask. Hope you don't mind. :)

Do we take any classes at the main campus in Winchester or is it all at Leesburg campus? Also, do you know if there are any good public transportations such as the metro, or train? I heard many people in general take metro, or train to get to places. I am not sure yet if I will be driving. I am not familiar at all with Virginia. I need figure out how to get to clinicals. I also read your post and you mentioned that public transportation is not good around Leesburg at all? Oh no...I might have drive then.

Regarding to housing-is there a site where I can see if any students need roomates? During my undergraduate, I used uloop.com. It is a site to look for roomates, housing, selling books,etc. Also, do you have any suggestions where to live in Leesburg? I hope to live near a grocery store, gym and convenient public transportation. Also, if I can find a safe area to live in that would be great!

Also, how are you doing in the program and do you overall like the accelerated-classes, rotations? Karen sent me a powerpoint of our academic calander with classes and such. I am a bit worried because this program is fast-paced 15months.