CSULA ELMN 2011

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Anyone else applied? I know they're supposed to notify us on April 1st but I'm curious if anyone who applied got any feedback yet. :)

Yes, I sent my acceptance e-mail. Now I'm just waiting to see what loan rate I would get. I wasn't able to get FAFSA this year because of my savings which brings me to another question. How does everyone handle their finances? It is possible that we may need to be full-time students even up to 3 years and not work except for part-time at most.

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Wrightnurse,

Did you fill out the FAFSA at all? I didn't qualify for much assistance at all, but I was still able to take out a $12,500 federal loan (some subsidized, some unsubsidized). I got the rest through Wells Fargo. As grad students, we can take up to $20,500/year. I work mainly for spending money.

The whole financial aid thing is a pain in the butt - they want you to spend down your savings and be "poor" before you qualify for much assistance. Some people in our class are paying for school with their savings, some took out loans, some have family help. My parents help me out by paying for books.

Also, remember to apply for scholarships. I applied to the general scholarship last year, http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/finaid/on_campus.php, and never heard back from them by the deadline. But I assume they passed my application on to some other committees because I got a Nursing Scholarship last quarter out of the blue.

Every little bit helps!

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Dear Wrightnurse,

Here is my 2 cents:

I got accepted to the program but I am now having doubts that I'll be smart enough for the program. I do have a GPA of 4.0 but that does not necessarily equate success in a nursing program. Did you have any fears in succeeding in the program? Does anyone ever fail?

I don't want to tell you that you will be fine because that would be providing false reassurance (a nursing joke you will understand in a few months) Obviously, you are smart if you have a 4.0 (much higher than my undergrad GPA FYI) and you understand how to get good grades. I would think that as long as you keep up what you have been doing, you would probably continue to see the same results.

If you could compare your current classes to those you took during undergrad studies, is there a big difference in difficulty levels? What is the hardest part academically?

I agree with Inntchka, the hardest part is the volume of information you have to learn in a short period of time. Also, the tests in nursing school are very different then any I have taken before. You don't just memorize info and regurgitate it on a scrantron. Questions generally are a scenario where you have to consider many different things and make a decision about what to do. Generally two of the answers are correct and it becomes about being able to determine which one is MORE correct and which one is the distractor. It took me a couple quarters to get the hang of it and now that I have the difficulty level seems to be going up so I have to step up my game even more.

Do you study from morning through night (as in MSMC ABSN) or you actually have time for other things as well?

No, I am a slacker when it comes to studying and I think there is time to live your life because I certainly do. It's all about time management. Personally, I generally prefer to use my ATI books instead of the text books to study (you will learn more about ATI at orientation). Most professors give us a study guide before the test as well so I make sure to learn everything on the study guide backwards and forwards before the test. That and I rely on my ability to think through the questions to get decent grades. I don't have the highest GPA in the class but I don't have the lowest either and I am comfortably over the 3.0 minimum.

How popular is the ANP track?

Again, Innatchka's summary is right on. It's probably a smart choice though given our aging population in america. Geriatric care is going to explode in the next 10 years.

What is the reality when trying to get a job as a new grad RN while completing the NP track at the same time? How do you juggle both? Kathy did state that sometimes you need to pull out of the program for a little while while working as a new RN grad.

It is going to be hard I'm sure and I will let you know if/when I am in this situation. I am currently looking for a CNA job and they are very hard to come by for someone like me with no medical experience and 3 quarters of nursing school on my resume. I think an RN job will be tough for me as well. It's just the reality of job market right now. It's tough in every field right now but things will change, they always do. On the upside you are 18 months away from getting your RN license, focus on school for now. Take things one step at a time and when you get your RN license hopefully the market is different than it is now.

Can you study NP track part-time if your new RN grad program does not fit with school schedule?

Yes

What is the schedule in general for NP track? Bunch of other schools have once a week class for NP track.

Classes meet once a week and you usually have class 1-2 days a week. Lenght of class is determined by the # of units and it is generally 1 hour of lecture per unit each week i.e. a 3 unit class will be a 3 hour lecture one day a week.

What are the job prospects for grads in CSULA program? I was told at CSUN that I may not find a new RN grad program for up to a year. It's that tough out there.

Again, this will be determined by the job market at the time you get your RN license/NP license. You can't predict the future but this recession can't last forever. Study hard and make good connections with your classmates, instructors and the people in your clinicals/preceptorships. That's how you are going to get a job in my opinion.

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Yes, I sent my acceptance e-mail. Now I'm just waiting to see what loan rate I would get. I wasn't able to get FAFSA this year because of my savings which brings me to another question. How does everyone handle their finances? It is possible that we may need to be full-time students even up to 3 years and not work except for part-time at most.

Fill out a FAFSA ASAP and talk to banks. I have a decent amount of money in savings and I got $12,500 in federal loans (some subsidized and some not) and made up the rest of the tuition costs with private loans. Personally, I refuse to spend my savings to make myself poor enough to qualify for fully subsidized federal loans. I would rather have my savings safety net and pay a little more in interest on my loans than be screwed if something unexpected happens because I spent all my savings on tuition. One thing you can count on in life is something unexpected happening.

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Innatchka,

Wow! What great answers. Maybe you should be doing our orientation ...

Thank you so much

Umm, funny you should say that. Most likely she'll be there and so will I.

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Thanks for the info everyone! :) Do you know about the financial info more specifically? Aka, how much should we honestly be worrying about it before orientation? I did the FAFSA already but I have no idea where to go, will CSULA let me know how much loan money I get, ect? I feel kinda in the dark about finances, and considering the program starts in June I'm wondering how I'm gonna pay everything!!

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Thank you for your answers innatchka and bababaowman! You two have been very informative and helpful!

I'm also in the same boat as everyone else! Worrying about finances. I did the calculations and it came out to about $7000 for each of the pre-licensure quarters. Is that about right, innatchka and bababaowman? How is the tuition paid anyway? Does it have to be one big sum each quarter, or can we pay in installments?? It's so hard to get financial business sorted out without our financial aid packets.

How is everyone doing on searching for a place to live? I've sort of started looking around, but I think I'm going to be more worried about it in May, since I can't really make any offers right now as I'll be moving down in June. Or am I wrong, how long does it take to find a place anyway?? Ahhhh!

Any input is greatly appreciated. :):):)

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More questions ...

How would you apply for a job as a new grad RN if the job posting states BSN only?

I understand that the first 76 units do cover BSN portion. Yet, we do not get a BSN but only just RN license. This may pose a problem when applying for jobs, especially if online application systems specifically reject those who cannot check BSN.

How would you then classify yourself? RN going for Masters?

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This is the info I have received from financial aid:

-We will begin our awarding process on or after April 1st, 2011.

-You will receive an email message from our office to your CSULA email address instructing you to check the status of your awards online via GET.

o How to Accept Awards Online via GET - http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/finaid/accepting.php (go here for step-by-step instructions)

Type of Aid Available

-As a “Conditionally” Classified ELMN student you will be eligible for $12,500 in federal student loans (Subsidized + Unsubsidized combined) for 12-months/1-year.

o Loan Chart - http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/finaid/loanlimit.php (see below)

-You may apply for a private educational loan with any lender of your choice to cover any expenses not covered by your federal loans.

So, in a couple weeks we should find out about financial aid stuff.

Kathy also just emailed me saying they finalized the cost at $450 a unit.

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More questions ...

How would you apply for a job as a new grad RN if the job posting states BSN only?

I understand that the first 76 units do cover BSN portion. Yet, we do not get a BSN but only just RN license. This may pose a problem when applying for jobs, especially if online application systems specifically reject those who cannot check BSN.

How would you then classify yourself? RN going for Masters?

Just to be clear, you will NOT be given a BSN at the end of the first 5 quarters. There was some confusion about this with my cohort and we had multiple discussions about it with the faculty. There is also no plan to offer ELMN students a BSN at the end of the first 5 quarters so don't waste your time trying to get them to change their collective minds. What you do get is a letter from CSULA stating you have the equivalent of a BSN. Some hospitals will take it and others won't, unfortunately here is no hard and fast rule about it. Again, worry about this a little later, there are a lot of other things you need to do first to even get to the point where you will have your RN.

I would highly advise getting a CNA job ASAP after you complete the first quarter. Some hospitals will hire nursing students to be a CNA without a CNA license. Then work you tail off as a CNA while you finish off the RN portion so when you have your RN, you manager and co-workers will help you get an RN job at the hospital where you are already working. That is the best way to get an RN job and that is what I am trying to do.

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Thank you for your answers innatchka and bababaowman! You two have been very informative and helpful!

I'm also in the same boat as everyone else! Worrying about finances. I did the calculations and it came out to about $7000 for each of the pre-licensure quarters. Is that about right, innatchka and bababaowman? How is the tuition paid anyway? Does it have to be one big sum each quarter, or can we pay in installments?? It's so hard to get financial business sorted out without our financial aid packets.

That sounds right on cost for the first 5 quarters, we pay SLIGHTLY less but the cost of the ELMN program has gone up every year so take comfort in the fact cohort 9 will pay more than you. :)

Its a little complicated how the ELMN program works so I will do my best to explain it. You are in sort of a grey area with the school during the first 5 quarters, you take classes through extended education, you pay a much higher tuition rate then traditional BSN or MSN students because you are classified as a "conditional" student. It's too long of a story to explain why this is here. Becuase you are conditional, you cannot get the full federal financial aid of $20,000. They most the feds will give you for the first year is $12,500. To get this money, you have to fill out a FAFSA. If you have not done it, do it ASAP today, the deadline was March 2nd. You can still qualify but might not get the full $12,500 since it is after the deadline. To make up the difference, most people in my cohort took out private loans. I have a medcap loan from wells fargo. Most major banks offer student loans as well.

You will become an official student once you complete the first 5 quarters and get your RN license. When you start your NP track, you tuition will drop to the standard graduate student rate and you will be classified as a traditional graduate student. This will allow you to borrow the full $20,000 per year from the federal government to pay for school. If you need more than that you will need to do a new private loan with your bank for each year you are in grad school.

When it comes to paying for school each quarter you have a few options. You can take a copy of your financial aid package to extended ed each quarter and they will register you without paying. Then when your money comes in, they will deduct your tuition and send you a check for the difference. If you are like me and have a credit card with a high limit, you can charge tuition and pay off when you get your aid check. This gets me lots of points on my card and paying for school like this will earn me a free vacation by the time I finish my MSN. Your other choice is cold, hard cash.

A rep from financial aid will be at orientation to explain everything in more detail but this is a quick thumbnail of how it works.

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Thanks for the info everyone! :) Do you know about the financial info more specifically? Aka, how much should we honestly be worrying about it before orientation? I did the FAFSA already but I have no idea where to go, will CSULA let me know how much loan money I get, ect? I feel kinda in the dark about finances, and considering the program starts in June I'm wondering how I'm gonna pay everything!!

Get on financial aid now and get on the medical clearances now as well. There are a lot of things you need to do in order to be ready to go at the end of June.

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