College of Marin Fall 2014

meib92 · Mar 7, 2014

Hi there! I also applied for COM's RN program for Fall 2014. 147 applicants seems like a pretty small and less intimidating number compared to other nursing schools in the bay area. I also hear they take 36, but if they receive extra funding they let 10 more in (I'm thinking either wait listed students or alternates from that didn't get in from the previous year?) Do you know when they send out their notifications?

mswtruth · Mar 8, 2014

I think they reach out to applicants in April. TEAS is usually in early May. Thankfully I already took it and passed with an 84% this past January.

meib92 · Mar 8, 2014

Wow April seems really early! That's good news then, I was expecting to wait until June. Good job on the TEAS. I already took the TEAS as well, feels so good to have out of the way! I took it in December and got an 88, then took it again in January and got a 96. I studied forever because I wanted the highest score possible to get max points for the CSU's I applied to.

Did you apply to any other schools? With there only being 147 applicants, and you already taking your TEAS with an awesome score, I'd say your chances are pretty high! Best of luck to you:)

mswtruth · Mar 8, 2014

96 congrats! I didn't study nearly half as much as I should have so I was happy with an 84%!

I did apply to other schools. CCSF, although I got #208 in the lottery so chances are very slim I'll get in for fall. I also applied to csueb and srjc. I got into Dominican for this Spring 2014 but would have to wait till Spring 2015 to start. Plus its so expensive. I'm holding my spot there and enrolled but if one of my other four options come through I'll go there.

COM is my top choice since I did my prereqs there and live in Larkspur. Plus I love the instructors there. If I get in I plan on doing the BSN bridge with SSU.

Where did you also apply?

meib92 · Mar 8, 2014

Congrats on getting into Dominican! I have a friend who just graduated from Dominican, aside from the price, she says it's a great program. I didn't apply there because the cost and the wait scared me away. I applied to SRJC, COM, SSU and CSUEB. SSU is my top choice because it's the closest to where I live (Petaluma). SRJC is my second choice because it's where I took all my prereq's. COM is my third choice because it isn't too far, plus they do the bridge program with SSU like you mentioned! CSUEB is my back up. That school is such a commute, if I go there I'll have to buy a hovercraft. :wacky:

My school counselor says the bridge program for SSU isn't nearly as impacted as the regular programs. So that's reassuring!

mswtruth · Mar 8, 2014

I plan on only attending Dominican if everything else falls through. It would cost me over $80,000 with my merit scholarship to go there. Csueb is my last choice too. I have a husband who travels often and a 4yr old and a 7 week old baby. We would move rather than have me commute that far. So here's hoping COM or SRJC come through! Been saving up my good karma! Good luck to us both!

meib92 · Mar 9, 2014

Aww congrats on the brand new baby!!! That's so wonderful! Kids are a handful... I have a two year old daughter myself. I can empathize with how difficult it is to go to school with kids. Good thing they're so much fun!:)

Best of luck to you!

mswtruth · Mar 9, 2014

Thanks! I really hope I get into COM. We love raising our kids in Marin.

mswtruth · Mar 11, 2014

Meib92 do you know how many students they accept and how many they wait list at SRJC? I just found out they had about 300 applicants.

meib92 · Mar 12, 2014

SRJC takes 120 students each year. They start 60 students in the fall, and 60 students in the spring. They also keep an alternate/wait list for both semesters, but I'm not sure how many. Only 300 applicants this year is good news compared to the usual ~500! Looks like our chances of making the lottery are better than I imagined!

But I wonder why less applicants this year... Maybe people are scared away at how impacted the major is? Or maybe because there is less of a "shortage" of nurses (especially in this part of California)? Either way, 300 applicants at SRJC and 147 at COM isn't nearly as daunting as programs that receive 800+ applicants (like CSUEB). Hooray!!!

mswtruth · Mar 12, 2014

Just guessing but one of the factors shrinking the ADN applicant pool is the trend towards getting your BSN. There are a few state BSN programs that are only 2 years as opposed to the 3 years it will take doing a ADN-BSN bridge program. I'm pretty sure the BSN programs are still as competitive as ever. I also think some people have a bias against ADN programs as opposed to BSN. They think the city college programs aren't as good when every nurse I've spoken to says the ADN students from the local JCS are the best students to work with and have the best critical thinking skills. Just my thoughts.