Anyone applying to 2008 UW MEPN Program?

U.S.A. Washington

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The October 15 deadline really snuck up on me, but I just turned in all of my materials. (Am I the only one who felt like they kept changing the instructions?) Just curious if there are any other hopefuls out there and what specialty/ies you applied for? What's your background, etc?

I too applied and am interviewing - in person. Thanks for all of the great information on this thread, it was reassuring to find others - Stella and Fibergirl - as anxious as myself (congrats Fibergirl)! As it was to find others willing to share so much of their experience - lc3! I wish that I had found this forum a long time ago instead of last week! Better late than never they say ...

Anyhow, it is my understanding that the interviews are meant to be super stressful situations with several candidates interviewing together and completing a group scenario (?) ... but lc3, you mentioned "individual interview" and Fibergirl has mentioned a phone interview. I guess that I am confused a little as to the interview's purpose and layout?

Of course, any and all feedback, suggestions or experience would be helpful and appreciated!

opal :idea:

Hi Opal,

Congrats on getting an interview as well! The interview is a challenging process. It is a 30 min group interview and some focal areas have an additional individual interview. I don't exactly know how the phone interviews work, but I imagine some kind of conference call with the other candidates. Yes, the interview is very stressful. Some of the candidates will be in the same focal area and others may not. There is a group senario too.

From my experience, the interview wore me out. Nevertheless, I think everyone is stressed out and so you all won't be the only ones. Good luck! Its a very big accomplishment to get an interview!

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I'm interviewing in person as well. Not exactly looking forward to it but hoping to do my best. Good luck to everyone!

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Congrats Stella!

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awesome, everyone! congrats! i am going to make the (very long) trip out there after all. i'm excited, and of course, terrified... :uhoh21:

opalopo, what specialty did you apply to?

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I applied to nurse-midwifery. I had more options for a second choice a few years ago when I started looking into the program. Those are all MN/DENP/DNP focal areas now!

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Hello All,

Congratulations on being invited for an interview! I applied to the program and felt relatively confident that I would at least be invited to interview but received a rejection letter this weekend. :o I shadowed the director of the doctoral program and she wanted me to apply for the GEPN doctoral program but I decided to start with the Master's program. I am so curious what it was that eliminated me but will have to wait until April 15 to receive advice from admissions on strengthening my application.

I still have applications in to Pacific Lutheran University and Seattle University, but the UW was my first choice.

Do you mind if I ask what your backgrounds are and whether you applied multiple times?

I have a respectable GPA of 3.4-3.5, though I had some academic bumps about 10 years ago, which I explained in my application.

I work in clinical research in a job with a great deal of responsibility for coordinating clinical trials at the University of Washington. I wonder if I didn't explain well enough how this position is applicable.

Any feedback would be welcome.

Thanks again and good luck to each of you!

Jenni

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hey Jenni,

sorry to hear about your situation. this whole thing is kryptonite for the self-esteem. hopefully the other schools will invite you on -- with your GPA and your work experience, I don't know why UW didn't. especially since i can't claim to be a better candidate.

this is my first trip through the application process anywhere. one of my application's biggest weaknesses is my official undergraduate GPA -- a very low 3.1. which there is an explanation for, although I'm not sure they heard it unless my college advisor wrote about it. but I do have 4.0 in all of the prereqs that I took in the last few years. I currently do clinical research as well at a major hospital (direct patient interaction), but I have a lot of different health-care experiences. In the last few years I've been a hospice volunteer, a hospital volunteer (in PT and same-day surgery), an elder companion, and program coordinator for an elder services agency. I also worked in the ED before I did research here.

But before I decided to go into health care, I ran a small internet business, and my undergraduate degree is actually in Art. So I'm kind of all over the place. If I had to guess what got *me* an interview, I would say it was probably my references and my essays, combined with my choice of specialty. I'm wondering if maybe my specialty (geriatrics/AOANP) isn't as competitive as the others. Why don't you all want to work with old people?! ;)

What do you think your application's weaknesses are? Who were your reference writers? What specialty did you apply to? Do you have direct patient experience? Obviously I have no clue what they're ultimately looking for, and hell, I've only gotten one interview so far, but maybe that helps? I think we're learning that lots of good people don't make the cut for what must be pretty arbitrary reasons. But you'll get in somewhere, I'm sure. Good luck!

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Hi Jenni,

I totally empathize. I'm having a similar experience with U. of Portland not accepting me--at least I assume that's what's happening since they have interviewed and accepted other applicants, and I was not even contacted for an interview. :uhoh21:

I have an MS in another field, about a 3.9 in prereqs, some experience in health care admin, and a fair amount of volunteer experience. I did re-take some prereqs, just so the information was more fresh in my mind + to make sure it's really what I want to do--this is a second career choice for me.

I've heard that essays and letters of req are the most important pieces of the UW application. But in the info. sessions they seemed to stress that some specialties don't even accept applicants every year. So maybe it was the specialties you chose?

I think it's important to keep your eye on the prize and not get discouraged. That's what I keep telling myself anyway.

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I am sorry to hear this news. I would like to echo Stella and Fibergirl - their system is complex and cryptic. I wish you great luck with the other two applications that you have out there.

Opal

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Hello All,

Congratulations on being invited for an interview! I applied to the program and felt relatively confident that I would at least be invited to interview but received a rejection letter this weekend. :o I shadowed the director of the doctoral program and she wanted me to apply for the GEPN doctoral program but I decided to start with the Master's program. I am so curious what it was that eliminated me but will have to wait until April 15 to receive advice from admissions on strengthening my application.

I still have applications in to Pacific Lutheran University and Seattle University, but the UW was my first choice.

Do you mind if I ask what your backgrounds are and whether you applied multiple times?

I have a respectable GPA of 3.4-3.5, though I had some academic bumps about 10 years ago, which I explained in my application.

I work in clinical research in a job with a great deal of responsibility for coordinating clinical trials at the University of Washington. I wonder if I didn't explain well enough how this position is applicable.

Any feedback would be welcome.

Thanks again and good luck to each of you!

Jenni

Hi Jenni,

I'm sorry to hear about your news. Hopefully, the other schools will contact you. I also applied to SU last year and was accepted. If you have any questions about SU's application process and interview process I would be more than happy to try to answer them for you. The admissions office at SU was not so forthcoming in answering questions during the application process from my experience.

As for UW, what speciality did you apply for? The school really seems to emphasize on the essay and your fit with the focal area. Hence, I really tailored my essay to emphasize my past healthcare experience. Last year I know that the ranked each of the applicants from 1-150 and invited the top 50 for interviews. So, your not really competing with the folks in your specific speciality area per se, but competing with the entire applicant pool. They also generally look at your last 90 credits and not your overall GPA (just as long as it is a 3.0 for undergrad).

Do you have any hands on health care experience? If you planning on reapplying I would volunteer somewhere that applies to your focal area. Is it possible that your application may have been incomplete? They automatically throw those apps out. I only mention this because last year the transcript office forgot to send the second page of my transcript with some my coursework. They would have thrown out my application if I did not catch this in time.

Good Luck!

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Hi,

Thanks for the message. I'll just keep plugging away.

Take care,

Jenni

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Thanks:-)

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