Calling ALL Southwest Tennessee Community College Spring 2011 Hopefuls!!!

Yeah the 400-500 number was an estimate that admissions said (this past summer) they were expecting....the actual number of applicants is hopefully much lower!!! Speaking with an advisor yesterday, she said the number of spring applicants from last year was at 300. One of my teachers said in class there was now a waiting list to enroll in Southwest? She also said throughout 2010 enrollment was maxed out... this could be the reason they were expecting an increase in applicants? Just speculating there but it makes sense.

Good luck to everyone waiting it out, it's not going to be much longer and hopefully we all meet in January. :)

I was called and asked to attend the Male Nursing Orientation. Wasn't much of an orientation, more of a testimonial by a male nurse. There was about 20 people there, half of whom were already students. I have no idea if that means anything or what not. Is wasn't made clear if it means anything. It seemed very thrown together and by the time the guy finished talking people were worn out and didn't ask many questions. I did however get a chance to chat with students in various semesters in the program. The overall consensus was that the school sucked, the teachers sucked, and it was more less a self taught curriculum. Being as SWTCC is my only alternative at them moment, I was really glad to hear that lol. Good thing for me I'm able to teach myself very efficiently and will probably need a minimal amount of help. In hind site I should have went to U of M but I'm sure I'll be joining some of you this Spring.

As for competition, if the standards are of those of the students I spoke to, then I wouldn't worry to much. I heard a lot of 3.0 B,B,B nln:120. So, I'm not thinking it's that competitive. If you attend SWTCC then you have to think of the applicant pool as a whole based on people you were in class with. Everyone wants to be a nurse right now, so your going to get more apps yes, but that doesn't mean your going to get slammed with 400 4.0's and 150+'s. Just my thoughts. I may be totally wrong. I can't imagine, other than me, a 4.0 150+ student that would want to go there. Most will pick U of M or Baptist. I mean, I know there are some in the program for sure, but they'll probably wind up in the RN-BSN at U of M after graduation anyway.

Keep your heads up. I don't see that competitiveness being an issue if you have above average scores.

Congratulations to you Xandar, good job! I hope the program hasn't headed south, I've met a few graduates from SW that are doing great in the nursing field and had mostly good things to say about the program. The first semester is the most difficult, I'm told, because students have to self study to pass. I've not heard that about the rest of the program though. All nursing schools are hard, no matter where you attend. That being said, at least your foot is in the door now and you are on your way...congrats again! (desperately waiting by the phone now!!!!)

Congratulations Xandar! That definitely has to mean that you are in there. ;-) I work with several graduates of Southwest and they all say that the school has it's moments where they totally hated it but overall they are pleased with the level of education they were given and felt completely prepared when they began working. One of coworkers also teaches at Baptist and she says she hears the same things from those students about hating the school. I think it probably comes down to the fact that these programs are designed to eliminate people who cannot think quick or work under pressure. If you didn't hate it at some point, then there probably something wrong with you!!! LOL I chose Southwest for practical reasons. Since new nurses make the same thing whether they have a BSN or an ASN, I decided to get my ASN and then I can already be working in the field while I bridge at U-Memphis for my BSN. However, after reading the posts yesterday I have calmed down a lot since I know the call probably won't be coming before next week... :-)

Thanks you guys..... This is just merely another stop in my journey to become an NP. I'm an older student and the four years + left in front of me feels like running up against a bus. I decided to attend SWTCC's nursing program so that I could secure my license and work while pursuing my BSN then to my MSN. I calculated the time going both ways from a two year or four, and realized I could cut a semester out by goiing the SWTCC route. I might have just needed to fight out the extra semester at a four year, but ohh well now.

I've also heard the same negative comments in regards to other nursing programs. I assumed it was similar for all of them. My biggest thing is getting some applicable knowledge out of the program, which I'm sure I will. I don't mind the self teaching concept as long as there's an inkling of guidance along the way.

I'm sure there are many students that were satisfied with their experience at SWTCC. In admittance , the students I spoke to weren't doing all that great in there classes, so it may just be a battle of the fittest type thing. I mean, I remember reading about my AP, Micro, Chem, Physics professors and seeing horrible comments about how hard they were, uncaring, ect.... When I attended those classes I didn't find them to be that way except attitudes. Usually the attitudes did match up, but other than that I found the instructors to be very straightforward, knowledgeable, and quite easy to be honest. So, I guess subjectivity is as much a part of it as anything else.

So we wait..........

Don't let it freak you out about self-teaching. A lot of nursing school has to be self-taught due to the overwhelming amount of information there is. There's just no way to teach what you have to learn in 4-6 class hours a week. No matter what school you attend, you need to plan on at least 20 study hours or more each week. You will learn a ton in clinical, so seek out every opportunity you can there.

@Xander - I plan on becoming an NP too and I know that I won't make the MSN cutoff, I will have to get my DNP for the NP. I'm a year ahead of you. Is there a school locally that is offering the MSN for NP past this fall? I thought most of them took their last master's prep'd NP's this fall semester.

I am thinking of doing the same, going for an NP, are the local schools discontinuing the program? I've honestly not looked past the RN-BSN program I will eventually go into, given I am accepted at SW this spring and will not be applying to UM for next fall.

Scifihippie, do you consider the teachers you have had so far in the nursing program to be fair or purposely difficult?

@scifihippie- You are probably more informed on grad schools than I am at this point because you're further along. I talked to the U of M grad department this past spring and at that point they were still offering the MSN. I also saw that recently they had retained status from TBON for their MSN program. So if they're changed to 3 years, I had no idea. I have a couple of friends that are NP's. One of them just recently graduated and he did his Masters online from MTSU. As far as I know, ASU(arkansas state university) still has a 2 year MSN program as well. If I were you, I'd check into every Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi college and see if they have an online program. From what my friend told me, you can do all your clinicals at local hospitals. I think, as with most graduate programs, the course structure is much more pliable than an undergraduate degree program. I personally am not against out of state grad programs either. I've looked at North and South Carolina schools, Florida, and Georgia schools. There are even two year CRNA programs in those areas. I refuse to do a 3 year NP program because I believe it's for total monetary gain of the educational institution. But hell, at my age, another year is just a year. In the end I'll do what needs to be done to get where I'm going. Are you planning on doing your RN-BSN online at Memphis? That's what I'm going to do, I believe.

Omg, they just called!! I'm in!!!!!:yeah

I'm so excited I am jumping up and down!!!

So happy for us both!!!! I know exactly how you feel!!!