Student Applying to NVCC For Nursing Program Starting in Fall 2013

[Tricia328]

Hi Everyone!

I really wanted to begin a thread about NVCC's Nursing Program due to begin in Fall 2013 (Applications are due May 2013). I am starting my pre-reqs in January, because I have been in school elsewhere. I know it will be tight to get them completed in time to apply, but I want to be considered in time for the Fall 2013 program.

For anyone who has applied and been accepted to NVCC's nursing program, or for anyone who plans to in May, will you tell me what your credentials were (GPA, TEAS score, any certifications etc)? As in, if you could describe the perfect nursing school application, what would it include?

I want to do this right! Any support/insight is great.

[Massage2bRN]

For those that did the anatomy and physiology 1 and 2 plus microbiology route, did you take a years worth of chemistry to get into microbiology or did they let you take micro without the years worth of chem. I really don't want to the NAS route since I plan on later on going back for my BSN. I'm going to talk with the assistant dean, but I'm worried she might say no since I hear some of the people who were approved to take it without the chem prerequisites already have a bachelors degree..

[Sambreen]

When I was taking all my prerequisites Nova didn't accept bio 150 as microbiology but I've heard that they do now. As far as I know Mason still accepts 150 for microbiology (so other universities might also). So it'll be simple to just do bio 141/142 then bio 150. I can't remember for sure but I think you need bio 101 (or maybe not?)

[NOVA EMT]

To Massage2bRN and Sambreen,

I decided to take A&P 1 (BIO-141), A&P 2 (BIO-142), and General Microbiology (BIO-205) because NAS 161 and 162 will not be accepted if I want to apply to a BSN degree program later on. You are wasting your time and money taking NAS 161 and 162 unless you do not intend to pursue a BSN degree after the AAS Nursing degree. NVCC required me to complete Chemistry (Organic Chemistry) 101 as a prerequisite for enrolling in General Microbiology (BIO-205), even though the college catalog required one year of college chemistry as a prerequisite for taking BIO-205. I then took Chemistry 101. I also decided to take Chemistry 102 because I had the time to take it before beginning BIO-205. So I completed BIO-141, BIO-142, CHM-101, CHM-102, and BIO-205 with a 3.8 GPA, which took me one year to finish as a part-time student.

The NVCC nursing program science prerequisites have since changed and Introduction to Microbiology (BIO-150) is now accepted instead of BIO-205, and BIO-150 does not have the one year of college chemistry prerequisite. This means that you should take BIO-141, BIO-142, and BIO-150 at a minimum. However, I would also advise you take CHM-101 and CHM-102 so that you already have them done if you intend to attend a BSN degree program later on. Furthermore, you will be more competitive for acceptance to the NVCC program if you complete the five science prerequisites, but you have to have at least a 3.0 GPA in the science prerequisites. This because the five science prerequisite courses are difficult and provide the NVCC nursing program a good indication of how well you will do in the nursing courses, which are science-based courses.

In summary, I recommend that you take all five science courses instead of only NAS 161 and NAS 162 if you want to be accepted to the NVCC program next year. This is because in 2013 approximately 150 new students were accepted to the traditional nursing program from approximately 300 applicants who had completed the science prerequisites, which is only a 50% acceptance rate. The average age of the students in the program is 32 and many appear to also have previous college degrees.

[NOVA EMT]

To all,

I made a mistake in my previous post. CHM-101 is Inorganic Chemistry and CHM-102 is Organic Chemistry.

[NOVA EMT]

To all,

For your information, there are 142 first-year students in my 2013-2015 class at the NVCC traditional nursing program, of which 17 (12%) are men. There are 190 second-year students in the 2012-2014 class, of which 19 (10%) are men. The reason for the increase in the number of second-year students from the number of first-year students is because the first-year students are joined by approximately 50 LPNs in the second semester of the traditional nursing program in January of each year who do not take the first semester Nursing course, so our numbers will increase with the LPNs in January 2014 but will also decrease by the number of first-year students who drop out or flunk out by December at the end of the first semester. It appears that there is an overall attrition rate of 25% in the nursing program, most of which occurs at the end of the first semester due to voluntary withdrawals and academic failures. I have met several students who were in the traditional nursing program last year and who failed because they did not maintain a 78% average, but who were readmitted this year.

[summer03]

NOVA EMT, those are interesting statistics and seem to be consistent with what I observed when I was there, graduating May 2012. How did you get those data? My sense is that more of my classmates have ended up at INOVA. I run into them often and it is nice. I really like Alexandria Hospital, where I am. I know your class will do equally well. Good luck.

[hanoi98]

Don't forget by the second year (fall 2014), you will also be joined with the online-hybrid track that start in spring 2014. That would be about another 40 to 50 students.

[NOVA EMT]

To all,

I came up with those statistics by looking at the lists of the names of the nursing program students posted on the bulletin board at the Medical Education Campus. However, it is not clear from those lists which students are traditional nursing program students and which students are hybrid program students. I believe that there is a maximum of 80 seats in the hybrid nursing program each year.

I had an interesting conversation with one of the nursing program instructors. I asked her if the nursing faculty really expected the nursing students to read all of the assigned readings, which is very time-consuming. She relied that they did not really expect the students to read everything because of the time that it takes, but that that the reading assignments have to be in the course syllabus in order to meet accreditation requirements. I have met some students who do not do the assigned readings and who rely only on the lecture class powerpoint presentations and their notes because they don't have the time to complete all of the assigned readings between going to class and clinical, working at part-time jobs, and fulfilling their family responsibilities. I am carrying 17 credit hours and I am in class 16 hours per week, I am spending 10 hours per week commuting to and from class and clinical, and I am studying 20 hours per week doing all of the assigned readings, which totals to 46 hours per week consumed by the traditional nursing program. I don't understand how anyone who has a family and a part-time job can devote that much time to being a full-time nursing student. I expect to see several traditional nursing program students I know to be gone after the end of the first semester.

[hanoi98]

NOVA EMT, the hybrid students will not be in the BB until the end of this semester because they start in spring. About the reading, everyone has his or her own way of study. Some of my friends do not read the text for the first year. I always try to read as much as I could from the text, but you just cannot remember them all. However, second year is a lot of pathology and you do need to read the text. The reading is not as much though.

For me NUR 111 was the hardest. The nursing tests are not like my engineering ones at all. I have always been able to go through school with minimum study, not for nursing. Once you pass 111, you will get the hang of it and everything will be much easier.

[summer03]

I focused on the powerpoints, but also read as much as I could. My estimate is that the reading helped me with maybe 5-10% of the test points. 17 credits is a lot for a semester. My typical was maybe 11 or 12, but I did have the benefit of transfer credits from my bachelors and only had to take the nursing classes. Even so, I put in long hours studying and doing homework. Good luck to all. I am sure you will find it worthwhile when you graduate. I love my job at Inova, feel NOVA did a good job of preparing me, even though when I started at InovaI felt like I knew almost nothing. My preceptor said everyone feels that way, though. And I assure you, Inova finds NOVA nursing grads very attractive. And I don't mean cute. :)

[NOVA EMT]

To Summer03,

I would like your opinion regarding whether to take the on-line courses. I am spending alot of time sitting in class for courses which I could be taking on-line instead. Every three hours sitting in class represents an investment of five hours of time because of the time used commuting to and from class. Do you recommend taking the HLT-250 Pharmacology course on-line, as well as the NUR-254 and NUR-255 on-line courses? Are they more or less difficult and/or confusing than the in-residence courses? Thanks.

[spoland]

NOVA EMT- Not adding anything important here, but just wanted to say...if you can take pharmacology with [moderator edit of name], DO IT. Love him!! Such a fun teacher, and very intelligent. Plus he almost always lets out at least an hour early (but our class was 3 hours, so I don't know if they're the same way currently).