Cal State San Marcos, CSUSM, Accelerated, ABSN 2011

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Anyone planning on applying to the Spring 2011, CSUSM, accelerated ABSN program? Just wondering if there is anyone else out there:)

I was recently at an information session and the counselors don't just deal with the ABSN program, but several other of the EL programs. I was told that they send offer letters to the top candidates each month, but as the months go by they will start sending out more letters. I got the impression that by June and July they would be sending out a lot more offers. Do you have all of the pre-nursing core classes completed? I believe that if you have over 33 points, you should be in good shape.

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I applied in early february and haven't heard anything but my application was a resubmission because I didn't accept for the spring 11 cohort. The first time I applied, which was actually years ago, they just send a print out with all your info and that took a few months. From my end if I had never contacted them by email then they never would have either. As far as I can tell there are only a handful of people actually administrating the program so they have a lot to do. I think it mostly takes time to evaluate all the applications and match the admission requirements with one's transcripts. For this last cohort which began in january, I was notified in november. That gives you a timeline for their response. I have heard they accept a few people quarterly but I am not positive. good luck.

Can I ask why you didn't accept for spring? It seems like there are a couple others on the thread who got accepted, declined and then apply and re-accept down the line...

Just wondering why that is happening with the program in particular!

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I was recently at an information session and the counselors don't just deal with the ABSN program, but several other of the EL programs. I was told that they send offer letters to the top candidates each month, but as the months go by they will start sending out more letters. I got the impression that by June and July they would be sending out a lot more offers. Do you have all of the pre-nursing core classes completed? I believe that if you have over 33 points, you should be in good shape.

Oaktown - is 33 the point cutoff they stated in the info session for acceptances so far?

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Specializes in ER psych.

they don't state the cutoff, but you can tell by looking at their statistics for past cohorts, and mapping the trend, you'll need at least 31 points to get into the next cohort.

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Can I ask why you didn't accept for spring? It seems like there are a couple others on the thread who got accepted, declined and then apply and re-accept down the line...

Just wondering why that is happening with the program in particular!

A number of reasons. At the time a had a financial venture which required my attention, I have a baby to coordinate and I was admitted to temecula and not san marcos. So I figured that I could wait til next time. Sucks to be me that they got rid of the fall san marcos cohort. My score is well above their historic admissions average so I wasn't concerned that I could not get accepted again. But, you never no and I could have screwed myself.

When you see that the average has been high 20s for acceptance that means that there are people with higher points and lower. I have to guess that there are at least several people with low 20s scores getting accepted in the later months to fill out the cohort. It is one thing to get accepted and then another to come up with 35,000 dollars for 2 years of school in which you can't really work during that period not to mention your living expenses. In the end they may admit people last minute who have the cash. Just a thought.

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mimizan - 33 is definitely not a cutoff. I believe that he was saying that you were pretty much guaranteed to get in if you had 33 and above, but that can always change. And gc1010 is correct, with the averages that are listed, there are definitely people getting in who had less than those averages.

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Specializes in ER psych.

Right now I have 28 points, but I took a math class to replace my core math (which was a C). They are reevaluating my new score and I should have 31 points. I am taking a critical thinking class this month, and if I get an A (God willing), I will have 36 points. If I can't get into either the Fall 2011 or Spring 2012 cohort with those scores, I might as well go fill out an application at the local McDonalds, at least they're hiring.

I will add to those of you just starting out on this journey, I applied back in 3rd quarter 2009. I thought I would be in the program by Jan 2011 at the latest. Hope for the best, but be prepared, you will be going through an emotional rollercoaster trying to get in, with ever changing requirements and deadlines, it's a wild ride.

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djexpress - I would think that you are fine. I won't be finishing my pre-reqs until next month and they said that I should still have time to be evaluated for fall. I didn't mean to scare people with the 33. Based on the averages posted, you should have a chance with fewer points than that. And if you get your A in critical thinking, you should have no problem. If I was in your situation, I would definitely hold off of the McDonald's app. :D

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Hi All! Thank you so much for the advice and support, I really appreciate it. It helps to know that others are in my shoes. I have been in an unfavorable situation throughout my nursing journey because I didn't do that well in college--basically had the time of my life at UC Irvine, but ended up with a 2.8 Cum GPA in political science. After I had decided to pursue nursing I was able to get Straight As and one B in prereqs, however my bachelors GPA never fails to haunt me. Hence why I didn't get into Concordia's ABSN, even though they claim that they only "focus on your science GPA." I started this journey in early 2009 and over the past 2 years I feel that it's just gotten more and more competitive because of our current economic crisis. Right now CSU San Marcos is my only hope, although I have yet to apply to National University. I'm in such a bind trying to find an Accelerated BSN or entry level MSN program that is under $50,000 and doesn't require a 3.0 Bachelors GPA, and years of volunteering. I have 40 points right now, considering I calculated my GPA correctly (had to convert quarter units to semester units, so I hope it turned out right!) so I'm hoping to have a fighting chance. I will call them on Monday to see what the status is and report back soon!

djexpress- Thanks for the advice! I totally feel you!! I've been holding off on having a full-time job because I've been waiting to hear from schools, but now I'm thinking I should just use my bachelors degree to find a job because I have a feeling I will have to wait a rather long time! Best of luck to you and I surely hope that we hear from them soon :)

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Specializes in ER psych.

Regarding calculating points, there is one HUGE thing that they do that I didn't catch until I got my calculation scorecard and went to the info session. When they calculate your Prenursing Core, they don't calculate the GPA the same way as a normal GPA is calculated (i.e. the way they calculate the last 60). Instead of taking your GPA for each class x the number of units each class is and dividing it by total GPA points, they just take your GPA for each class and divide by 8 classes. This essentially makes your Prenursing Core GPA less than what it really is.

Another thing you need to do is when you calculate your last 60, whatever quarter your last 60 units falls on, you need to take all the classes in that quarter, you don't just cherrypick the best grade. So if you had 5 classes in the quarter counting backwards that your last 60 units would fall in, you need to add all of those classes to the GPA. So you may actually have 62-64 units calculated and it wouldn't really be your last "60". Hope that's not too confusing.

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djexpress - I would think that you are fine. I won't be finishing my pre-reqs until next month and they said that I should still have time to be evaluated for fall. I didn't mean to scare people with the 33. Based on the averages posted, you should have a chance with fewer points than that. And if you get your A in critical thinking, you should have no problem. If I was in your situation, I would definitely hold off of the McDonald's app. :D

If life really hands you a bad hand get a job at the Goodwill. They hire a lot of full time, regular scheduled employees and you are eligible for killer medical coverage after 90days that is super low cost for what you are getting. My brother-in-law works there and pays like 175 a month for a 0 dollar deductible and 5 dollar copays. I think the max out of pocket is 1500. Privately that would be like 600 dollars a month. but if anyone you know needs a non-skilled job I cannot recommend Goodwill high enough. Just info.

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Regarding calculating points, there is one HUGE thing that they do that I didn't catch until I got my calculation scorecard and went to the info session. When they calculate your Prenursing Core, they don't calculate the GPA the same way as a normal GPA is calculated (i.e. the way they calculate the last 60). Instead of taking your GPA for each class x the number of units each class is and dividing it by total GPA points, they just take your GPA for each class and divide by 8 classes. This essentially makes your Prenursing Core GPA less than what it really is.

Another thing you need to do is when you calculate your last 60, whatever quarter your last 60 units falls on, you need to take all the classes in that quarter, you don't just cherrypick the best grade. So if you had 5 classes in the quarter counting backwards that your last 60 units would fall in, you need to add all of those classes to the GPA. So you may actually have 62-64 units calculated and it wouldn't really be your last "60". Hope that's not too confusing.

Hi djexpress,

I'm a bit confused about your posting regarding the prenursing core GPA. Could you give an example of the calculation? ... Thanks!!!

...Oh nevermind! I realized I calculated the GPA for my labs as an additional class. Good tip. Thanks!

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