BCIT September 2019 Intake Discussion

jteoh · Apr 29, 2019

Hi there! I took both exams, the non-cognitive questionnaire for BCIT and CASper questionnaire for UBC. I personally felt the CASper helped me prepare for the the non-cognitive questionnaire, due to the 5 minute limit on each question. For the CASper, use all the prep and resources on the website. As for the questionnaire, do some research on non-cognitive tests. I also brainstormed experiences that touch on the themes of leadership, communication and ethics. One thing, I realized during the CASper is that it may be challenging to give a health related experience for each question and that you will definitely have to draw from experiences outside of health and wellness. Good luck! ?

sumad · May 4, 2019

Hello everyone! I made an FB group for our cohort. You can find it by searching "BCIT Nursing September 2019 Cohort". Please feel free to join! ?

yaboyalx · May 6, 2019

On 4/28/2019 at 7:03 PM, futureRNcanada said:
Hi everyone! I'm planning to apply for April 2020 (1st time applying!) and I have some questions regarding the non-cognitive questionnaire and CASper questionnaire. Do you have any tips to prepare for either of them? What kind of questions are asked and what are they looking for? What's the difference between the two questionnaires? I understand that the non-cognitive questionnaire will be done once you've been shortlisted and CASper is for everyone to complete...any advice will be appreciated. Thanks everyone!!

Don't worry about the questionnaires - from my experience, they're fairly easy and is in a paragraph or two format per question. The questions were like, describe a situation where you made a mistake and how did you respond; describe an event where you had to use communication to get yourself out of a bad situation; and recall a time when you were disorganized, how could you improve your time management yada yada.

Avoid sob stories they don't have time for that.

Use your volunteering or job experiences to explain the events being asked and be confident with your responses. If you got no experience, then perhaps it's best to start really soon - otherwise use your imagination (fake it until you make it). Be cautious because everyone can smell BS if you’re not a pathological liar ?

There's no real 'right' way in answering the questions. From what I recall I used the "STAR" format (look it up in your preferred search engine). You summarize the situation in a couple sentences, explain the task required, explain how you overcame it in chronological order (action) and then describe the results of the experience.

If you’ve written an academic paper for a lower level division course, you'll somewhat already understand the format. And if you've already have had some upper division academic papers written and have been getting relatively good grades, you're pretty set to be honest.

yaboyalx · May 6, 2019

On 4/23/2019 at 7:59 PM, spring2019 said:
Did anybody on the waitlist here get offered a spot?

On 4/23/2019 at 9:16 PM, kb9595 said:
i haven't heard anything yet

Don't sweat it, some people are still getting their seats withdrawn. I just got an email today this morning (I'm not planning to accept BCIT) so someone is going to get an acceptance letter fairly soon,

"Your commitment fee for the Nursing Program is overdue. Please send me proof of your fee payment by 11:00AM tomorrow, May 7, 2019, otherwise you will lose your seat in this program. Alternatively, if you are no longer interested in this program, please also let us know immediately so the next qualified applicant can take the seat. If I do not receive a response by May 7, 2019 – 11:00AM, your acceptance will be withdrawn."

You'll know when you get in because you’ll get that congratulatory acceptance email. Otherwise enjoy your day and try again next year.

chyl · May 7, 2019

On 4/21/2019 at 6:36 PM, yaboyalx said:
Before submitting the question for others to answer in this thread, I was also indecisive. However, I think it's safe to say that Langara is currently the better school to go to if you want to have a slight advantage when put into clinical. BCIT is still more well known; I posted a question on whether I should go to Langara or BCIT on my social media and over 2/3rds of my friends had voted for BCIT. But they don't know the insider scoops so I instead relied heavily on what my nursing friends had informed me and I've made the decision to head to Langara!
Only benefit I can see that BCIT has over Langara is it's cheaper cost and potentially closer to where you live(?). Weigh what is more important for yourself! ?

Thanks for your input. I've decided to choose Langara as well after asking my friends from BCIT. They've also mentioned how BCIT has paid preceptorship while Langara does unpaid employment in the last term. So Langara students have more seniority when hired after graduating.

Hopeful_Nurse2018 · May 7, 2019

3 minutes ago, chyl said:
Thanks for your input. I've decided to choose Langara as well after asking my friends from BCIT. They've also mentioned how BCIT has paid preceptorship while Langara does unpaid employment in the last term. So Langara students have more seniority when hired after graduating.

I'm confused about this - what is the difference between the paid preceptorship and the unpaid employment? Are Langara students hired into a health authority before graduating? I also cannot find much on the paid preceptorship at BCIT outside of anecdotal forums.

chyl · May 7, 2019

26 minutes ago, Hopeful_Nurse2018 said:
I'm confused about this - what is the difference between the paid preceptorship and the unpaid employment? Are Langara students hired into a health authority before graduating? I also cannot find much on the paid preceptorship at BCIT outside of anecdotal forums.

From what I’ve heard, Langara offers an ESN (Employed Student Nursing) program which allows RN students to be hired as casual employees and the earned seniority can be applied towards your future job when hired after graduation. I've always thought (and based on what I've found online) that students are paid during their ESN but my friend who graduated from BCIT says otherwise. I think it may depend on which health authority you're with.

boomshakelaka · May 7, 2019

BCIT has a partnership with the hospitals that gets their students a bursary for preceptorship. It’s basically like being paid but you are not hired by the health authorities. You are also not allowed to find ESN employment because of this partnership. BCIT is the only school that has this.

Langara, UBC, Douglas and the other schools do not have a bursary at preceptorship, but you can work as an ESN. You are officially hired by the health authority so by the time you graduate you already have seniority and have access to internal postings.

futureRNcanada · May 7, 2019

10 hours ago, yaboyalx said:
!Don't worry about the questionnaires - from my experience, they're fairly easy and is in a paragraph or two format per question. The questions were like, describe a situation where you made a mistake and how did you respond; describe an event where you had to use communication to get yourself out of a bad situation; and recall a time when you were disorganized, how could you improve your time management yada yada.
Avoid sob stories they don't have time for that.
Use your volunteering or job experiences to explain the events being asked and be confident with your responses. If you got no experience, then perhaps it's best to start really soon - otherwise use your imagination (fake it until you make it). Be cautious because everyone can smell BS if you’re not a pathological liar ?
There's no real 'right' way in answering the questions. From what I recall I used the "STAR" format (look it up in your preferred search engine). You summarize the situation in a couple sentences, explain the task required, explain how you overcame it in chronological order (action) and then describe the results of the experience.
If you’ve written an academic paper for a lower level division course, you'll somewhat already understand the format. And if you've already have had some upper division academic papers written and have been getting relatively good grades, you're pretty set to be honest.

Thank you so much! This was very helpful!!

futureRNcanada · May 31, 2019

Hi again everyone! LOL I have question for those who applied (again!)...has anyone taken the Health care assistant/support worker program prior to nursing (specifically with Douglas)?? I'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on the program!

joe5634 · Jun 1, 2019

Hey everyone on the waitlist, just wanted to share some info from the nursing department:

"As students withdraw their seats are filled immediately from the waitlist applicants. There have been 2 withdrawals and more are expected once full tuition is due on July 5th.

Being in the top 15 of the waitlist gives you a good chance of starting in the fall, as the number of withdrawals from the program in recent terms has been 15 to 20 students.

Top of the Waitlist applicants, who are not offered a seat for the September class, will automatically be considered for the January 2020 class".

sandosan7 · Jun 1, 2019

2 minutes ago, joe5634 said:
Hey everyone on the waitlist, just wanted to share some info from the nursing department:
"As students withdraw their seats are filled immediately from the waitlist applicants. There have been 2 withdrawals and more are expected once full tuition is due on July 5th.
Being in the top 15 of the waitlist gives you a good chance of starting in the fall, as the number of withdrawals from the program in recent terms has been 15 to 20 students.
Top of the Waitlist applicants, who are not offered a seat for the September class, will automatically be considered for the January 2020 class".

Hey!

What does it mean by they will be automatically considered for the January 2020 class.