Advising and application process

mrsboots87 · Sep 20, 2014

Right now in particular is a very busy time. They are setting up for the new placement run coming up soon, and classes just started so there are probably a good amount of students making appointments with the advisors. What exactly are you having trouble with. I could possibly help, but you can also find all the answers to anything about the CEP and traditional programs on the nursing.maricopa.edu site.

JellyBiscuit · Sep 29, 2014

Hi azgal81! Don't give up! The process is frightening, really. But worth it. Like mrsboots87 said, you happen to be doing this at a time when things are super busy. Classes just started, and they are placing students on the 30th, which they have been preparing for for some time now. Truly, don't give up! Look on the website (nursing.maricopa.edu) and see if you have the pre-reqs done or if you still need to take some more courses. I would try to find a time when you can maybe take a half day or a long lunch, and see if you can get an appointment. But my advice to you is to wait until mid-October. Hope that helps!

azgal81 · Sep 30, 2014

I am happy to report that I was able to get a walk-in advising appt and applied to Gateway and I am awaiting time stamp!!

I am finishing up my last couple prereqs for NAU CEP to apply in Feb. I signed up for the Nov info session! I feel like I am finally moving in the direction I need to be. My current prereq grades are good and so were some of my old ones but unfortunately NAU counts a few I took when I was 18 and didn't take school as seriously as I should back then. I am in my 30's now and this is a second career so it is hard not to kick myself for mistakes I made at 18. I am hoping my GPA will be high enough for NAU CEP in Feb but if not I can retake a class or two and apply in May.

Hobberdog · Oct 14, 2014

They are horrible no matter the time of year you try to contact them. I got so fed up with the process that I applied to ASU and GCU (and got into both). Every academic advisor advised me against it (even ASU) because they said it was too difficult and too competitive. They were all wrong. Go for your BSN. It is much harder to get hired today with an ADN. I graduated last May from ASU (and was finally accepted into MCC's program last January). The community college nursing program is run by communists. No reward for hard work and they don't care for the individual. They know that you have limited options so they don't have to be nice.

Yes, in case you were wondering, I am bitter.

mrsboots87 · Oct 16, 2014

I wouldn't say communist if you are being literal as it would be incorrect. And my experience was nothing like yours. It's ok to be bitter about a poor experience, but putting down an entire program over it is a bit much. And MCCCD is far from being the only wait list school in the nation. Plus all the info needed for application and ensuring correct classes are taken is readily available and easy to find the nursing website.

You are however correct about ADN nurses being less desirable but it is a much more affordable route to then bridge to BSN in the two semesters following licensure.

Hobberdog · Oct 16, 2014

I'm not putting down the program at all. It is a great program. The administrators in charge of admissions are the problem. Correction... the admissions system is a communist system. Maricopa community colleges administrators, like many other community college systems around the nation, are populated with a bunch of recent graduates who don't have the experience necessary to run an efficient system based upon merit and quality. I went to the community college for my prerequisites. I sat through classes with students who wanted to become nurses and they were satisfied with C's, because that is all that was necessary to get into the program. I am in no way saying that all community college nurses are C students, or that they have no drive. Most students in any program are great. My problem is that the few who only want to get by are given the same opportunities as students who work hard, simply because they applied. There should be a standard of excellence. If the standard is C's, then there will be some who enter the program with straight C's. If the standard is, "we will accept the best 100 applicants," then the bar and quality of nurses has been raised as a whole. It is a foolish notion that they have to accept all students who apply. Personally, I don't want a nurse to take care of me or my family unless they applied themselves and studied hard in school. Sorry, but nursing is not for everyone. It is hard. Many nurses quit shortly after graduation because it is harder than they thought it would be.

The administrators made a huge mistake by changing the admissions from merit based, to everyone is accepted (communist). The problem they are stuck with is that they cannot fix it without making everyone mad who has been waiting in line for 3 years. The only saving grace is that soon ADN nursing programs will be a thing of the past. The concurrent enrollment programs will be the only way to enter the nursing programs at the community college level. The universities that back these programs only select the top students (merit based)... the way it should be.

Once more so as to be clear... MCC and the other ADN programs are great programs. Most students leave with a top quality education and make excellent nurses. My problem is with the admissions policy that allows sub-par students equal standing. A lot of these students wash out after a semester or two, but that just makes the wait longer for the other students who have the drive and grades to be successful.

Yes, it is cheaper to go ADN and then bridge to BSN. That is the exact route I had in mind before I was confronted with a 2 1/2 year wait list. ADN's are less desirable to employers, but are just as qualified as BSN nurses.

mrsboots87 · Oct 17, 2014

I guess I just misread. I do get what you mean about the entrance standards and students who barely get by getting in over those who worked hard. That does bug me a little as well, but I guess since I went into it knowing that, it didnt really bother me as much. I have heard from my instructors that the HESI entrance score requirement has been raised to 85% for both math and reading now, which has cut down on wait time, and there are many who are pushing for a 3.0 entrance requirement over the current 2.0 or 2.5 or whatever it is because so many students are failing first and second block because they didnt have a strong enough foundation in the sciences.

Hopefully in the near future this happens. Then it will kind of be a middle ground between both sides. They can still keep the waitlist, but with a little stricter entrance requirements, there wont be as many low grade students getting in over those who worked harder. And the waitlist will be much shorter. Even with just the HESI requirement change, I saw that a good amount of students have been placed by the second run with only waiting a year instead of the advised 2-2.5.

I would hope that students also realize that just because the entrance requirements arent very competitive compared to the unis and other CCs in AZ, that they will still need decent grades. Most places want BSN nurses and the RN -BSN programs usually are competitive, so if they want long term job security, they need the good grades now. I didnt get all As in my pre reqs, but mostly As, 1 C and a couple Bs (this is including all BSN pre req requirements) so I have a decent GPA that if I keep doing well in nursing school, I should be able to bridge right away.

Wasnt trying to call you out or anything. You have every right to your opinion on the waitlist vs competitive entry. I didnt agree because I misunderstood, but no need to defend yourself, I get it now and mostly agree.