Austin Community College Fall 2012 hopefuls

Nickasarbata-

I've heard about your type, a couple of people in my phys last semester (that class almost broke me) were taking phys, pharm, and micro simultaneously. that anyone can do that is nothing short of a miraculous feat,almost mythical, so props to you :) And yes i was compulsively checking my e-mail the past couple weeks, which started to worry some of my nursing friends who are transferring to other schools. I believe UT has sent out acceptance letters (unless it's just for the summer), so this excruciating wait it simply agonizing. I also have a 56, but most people i ask at school say it's impossible to get in your first time, but I've decided to be optimistic and keep up hopes of admission for all of us on this thread. I believe they send out official acceptance letters, but i'm pretty sure they'll send out e-mails first. i'm also hoping that the first week of June is the absolute latest they'll have them out, and that they'll send out acceptance e-mails much earlier, but we'll all know within the month :)

Thanks for the all the info Purkinje!

What route did you take in the nursing program? (RRC, CEC, hybrid??) I am leaning towards Hybrid just to have one extra day that i dont have to leave the house and can stay at home and study!! Would you recommend the hybrid if that is what you chose or have you heard positive things about it?? I agree with you though, we'll all will love what route we choose if we work hard!!

And when they do send out acceptance letters, do you pretty much get the campus that you asked for usually?? I'm more nervous about what to do once we receive the acceptance letters...I want in, but I want Hybrid or RRC too!

I did hybrid -- it was always my first choice, and I'm so glad I got it. It takes a lot of self-determination and discipline to be successful, but the reward is flexibility. There isn't a lot of hand-holding, which I appreciated. I don't need someone to read the powerpoints to me, I can on that on my own time! Our instructors were readily accessible. If I was studying and needed an immediate answer, I'd call the teacher and ask. If it could wait, I'd email -- responses were usually fast.

Our group is small (about two dozen), so we really bonded through the semesters. I think hybrid attracts a particularly dedicated sort of student, so we had that in common.

For the campus choice, it depends on how many people want each campus, and how fast they reply. (The acceptance letters are sent to your ACC gmail account, and you reply to that with your campus choice -- first come, first served. I set up my phone to alert me when emails came in, so I could reply fast.) I was worried I wouldn't get hybrid, but I guess it wasn't that popular, lol. Most people do get what they want, I think.

My, my how things have changed. My first round applying was for Fall 2010 and I was initially denied with a score of 50! I only missed the cutoff by 14 spots or so and I was devastated! Imagine my surprise when I got a call a couple weeks later saying there were a lot of people who were accepted by either changed their minds or didn't pass background checks...believe me, it happens! I had my mind set on hybrid also since I work full-time and all they had an opening for was CEC. Took alot of thinking but I went ahead and turned it down after getting confirmation that once I re-applied and got the bonus points my score of 56 was a sure fire way to get in. So I waited a few months, got accepted after I reapplied and got first pickings for hybrid. And now here I am one final away from finishing level 3! Purkinje was right....it definitely flies by so fast!

If ya'll have any questions from some people, Purkinje or myself, just post them on here and we will be happy to answer.

I'm curious to know if required nursing courses can be taken during a summer session? If I'm lucky enough to finally start in Fall 12'- is it possible to take certain level 3 classes during the summer ( or are these sections just for the mobility students)? So excited to finally receive my nursing skills petition and now the many other questions are coming to mind!

Yes you can take some nursing courses during the summer but the spots are limited and it is first come first serve.

I have a question for you guys that have already been through the program!!?

Is there anything that you would suggest for those of us who will be starting in Fall Level 1 to do over the summer to help us be one step ahead, or atleast just prepared!!? Of course, reviewing drug calculations and practicing and reviewing everything from nursing skills, but is there anything extra that might be of any help!? I'm not taking any classes and kinda just planning on relaxing and organizing my home and study space over the summer...to be fresh to kick start NURSING SCHOOL!!! Any advice would be awesome!! I'm a sponge!!

And for those of us waiting anxiously, May is already 1/3 gone!! Come on JUNE!!!!!

Make sure you know your 1105 skills for checkoffs, and be ready for dosage calculations. Our 1105 "checkoff" was a test on the computer, but I think they aren't allowed to do it that way anymore.

If you want to work ahead, I think the best advice I can give is to get familiar with all the skills -- because there are a LOT of them at the beginning of level 1. Especially physical assessment, because that one takes a really long time.

ACC switched to a new Fundamentals book, so you're going to learn skills a little differently than some of the other recent classes did. Get your hands on the checkoff sheets from the ACC site and learn 'em. (When you practice in open lab, you might hear people in other levels doing things a little differently because their group uses the old checkoff sheets. Stick to yours.)

It's fun to see y'all so excited about starting the program. :-)

Nothing really specific to prepare except to enjoy the summer off!!! You will hear a lot of people tell you "OMG enjoy your last few weeks of freedom" but honestly it isn't THAT bad. The content isn't really difficult in level 1. The people who did have problems had problems with time management. It is more homework and deadlines than any pre-req. To me, pre-reqs were more difficult than the content in nursing school. Nursing school isn't about memorization, it is about applying knowledge, thinking critically, and understanding what is going on with the patient. We had many classmates with 4.0 in pre-reqs yet struggled with nursing school and vice versa.

It can be overwhelming to go to the clinical site on a Tuesday evening, pick a patient, write down as much info as possible, then do all the prep work that night and have it ready by 0630 the next morning.

Question for the nursing students about nursing school, itself. Do you really ENJOY it or is it just non-stop stress?

I love it! It has been a great experience. The friends I have made have definitely made it worthwhile also. So to answer your question vaguely, it really depends on the student.

In my level 1 clinical group alone we lost 4 students. One due to failing (a lot had to due with english not being her first language and she struggled), one girl was making straight A's on the exams yet dropped out due to realizing nursing school was not for her, another girl dropped because of the same thing, nursing just wasn't what she really wanted to do, and the last guy we lost failed out of clinical and he was borderline passing the lecture portion.

If you stay on top of things and stick with the required reading deadlines the stress is very minimal. If you wait until the last minute and try and cram before an exam then you will be stressed out. It is A LOT of material but it is manageable if you dedicate everyday to reading or doing something to help.

Hybrid vs. CEC - time and clinicals

Guys, can anyone give me any advice on clinical locations and the ability to choose a clinical site? I'm going back and forth between CEC and hybrid, but I'm trying to figure out how to fit everything in. I'm also working as a CNA and not sure I'll be able to work even one day a week, let alone two.

Hybrid sounds like a really interesting option, but I've heard most clinicals are up in Round Rock or Georgetown. That would be pretty inconvenient for me since I live in far south Austin. But I did hear that some hybrid students can do clinicals at Texas Neuro Rehab. That's VERY close to my house, and would be amazing! Do we have the possibility to choose or influence our clinical sites at all? If so, I'd definitely like to apply for Hybrid.

If not, I'll really have to do some thinking. I like the idea of being at CEC, but it seems like it's full-time, five days a week, and I'd pretty much have to quit my job entirely and apply for some serious loans. I just don't know what to do! I guess CEC is where I'd like to be, but hybrid would give me much more flexibility... unless I have to drive waaaay up north three days a week, in which case I'm not sure it's worth it.

Thoughts from you wise people who know more than me? Thanks!