CSULA Fall 2013 Basic BSN hopeful

Lwang13 · May 6, 2013

@Lwang: 1st quarter starts heavy and gets heavier as you progress throughout school. My first quarter i had one lecture wednesday night and 2 lectures on thursday. The units and times are a little different than it is for the rest of the school. Most lectures are 3 units. Labs are 1-2 units. Being that the lecture classes are only 3 units, you might want to consider taking some additional 1 unit classes on the side, because you need 12 units to be considered a full time student, and even with all the nursing classes, the units don't add up to 12. Plus, most likely your GPA will start plummeting, so the 1 unit classes will help boost your gpa. Fees are standard for undergraduates, 2000 something a quarter. I don't have financial aid either, so i know how you feel. Since CSULA is on the quarter system, it'll take about 10 quarters to finish. You get next summer off, but no more summers after that.
@anxiousantsy: No, unfortunately. You cannot take nursing classes at another school and then transfer over. The program is 3 years. But if you are a transfer, i would recommend you use one of your summers (this summer or next summer) to get your upper division classes out of the way. Those are required for transfers and current students. It won't be as easy to get the classes because of the nursing school class times being different than the university class times.
hope this helped. I know it's a lot, but i hope this eased your anxiety a bit.

Than you so much, Azhan. The infor helps a lot. The first quarter sounds like nightmare :blackalien: , so how do u suggest to prepare it since I have a loooong summer(about four months) this year? The letter says the orientation is just one day before fall starts, which doesn't make much sense to me. I went to the nursing office and the lady told me the nursing classes are reserved for us already, are we just goona fallow the set schedule? Or we can add 1 or 2 units as u said?

As for preparation, do u suggest to purchase the books in advance? Or do u have any books from first year that I could borrow? I feel so nervous, and couldnot wAit to study? I found a roadmap schedule for nursing, are the classes goona be NURs100, 105,214,272,and273?

Lwang13 · May 6, 2013

Does anyone who accepted the nursing offer get the NURsing package for various tests for clinical class? Doesn't anyone know when can we start the tests?

Priaz · May 6, 2013

@Lwang13: you've done your research. good for you. Indeed those are the classes offered for your first quarter. I recommend you enjoy your summer, because once fall rolls around, you're gonna wish it was summer again. Im not sure if they are changing the books, so i would recommend waiting until they put out the textbook list. When the list comes out, then purchase them. You will have a good month or so to start reviewing. As for what you can do over the summer, I recommend getting your titers and immunizations squared away. Get your MMR, Varicella, Hepatitis B titers done, and if you are not immune (like I was), get the vaccines as soon as possible to save headache when you start the program. The Hep B series takes 6 months to complete, so it adds to the already heavy workload you have. I just finished my 3rd shot and have to have my titers done again. It's a real pain in the butt to do, so get as much out of the way as possible. If you are not BLS certified yet, I recommend finding a class and taking it, to get it out of the way, or you could wait and take it at school. It's cheaper to take it at school, I believe. You will most likely not get the nursing packet until August. The nursing schedule is set, but the other university classes are not. If you are a transfer, good luck getting the classes you want.

Relax. I know you're stressing, but you shouldn't be. Yes, the first quarter is the toughest I would say, but the next quarters are similar, you just adapt and get used to it so it doesn't feel as overwhelming as the first quarter. You've made it this far, you'll make it through nursing school. If I can, you will!

MkHm · May 6, 2013

@Lwang13: you've done your research. good for you. Indeed those are the classes offered for your first quarter. I recommend you enjoy your summer, because once fall rolls around, you're gonna wish it was summer again. Im not sure if they are changing the books, so i would recommend waiting until they put out the textbook list. When the list comes out, then purchase them. You will have a good month or so to start reviewing. As for what you can do over the summer, I recommend getting your titers and immunizations squared away. Get your MMR, Varicella, Hepatitis B titers done, and if you are not immune (like I was), get the vaccines as soon as possible to save headache when you start the program. The Hep B series takes 6 months to complete, so it adds to the already heavy workload you have. I just finished my 3rd shot and have to have my titers done again. It's a real pain in the butt to do, so get as much out of the way as possible. If you are not BLS certified yet, I recommend finding a class and taking it, to get it out of the way, or you could wait and take it at school. It's cheaper to take it at school, I believe. You will most likely not get the nursing packet until August. The nursing schedule is set, but the other university classes are not. If you are a transfer, good luck getting the classes you want.
Relax. I know you're stressing, but you shouldn't be. Yes, the first quarter is the toughest I would say, but the next quarters are similar, you just adapt and get used to it so it doesn't feel as overwhelming as the first quarter. You've made it this far, you'll make it through nursing school. If I can, you will!

Hi Azhan, thanks for the info, very helpful!!! Can you tell us more about BSL? is it just regular American Heart Association CPR?l

Priaz · May 6, 2013

yes, the BLS is the CPR license.

Lwang13 · May 6, 2013

Thank you, Azhan, u are so helpful, and as you say, I am doing my tests and immunzations now, which I don't have any documentations. I will take a BLS for CPR as soon as possible, rather than wait for the package. How about the drug test, do u suggest to do it now, I can do it between June and July.

Thank you again. I appreciate your infor. Hope see u soon in Cal St LA! I will FOR SURE get through nursing!!!

Priaz · May 7, 2013

@lwang13: I wouldn't worry about the drug screening. I havent even done it yet. As long as you get your immunizations done, you should be good to go. No sweat! I look forward to meeting you. Enjoy the summer

peachdove903 · May 8, 2013

Hi everyone! For anybody who did get accepted for Fall 2013, if you want, I started a new thread, https://allnurses.com/california-state-nursing/admitted-csula-fall-831852.html so that we could start to get to know each other! Of course everyone is welcome to input in the thread!

ShyeoftheTiger · May 8, 2013

@Lwang, just call them ASAP and tell them that you decline. I'm sure many students have been in your situation and accepted early b/c they send out acceptance letters early. And if they ask you for a reason why you want to decline, just tell them that you just found out that their program isn't certified by the National League of Nursing. Thats what I would do. You are about to make someone on the wait list at Rio Hondo really happy.

FYI CSULA isn't NLN accredited...

AnxiousAntsy · May 8, 2013

FYI CSULA isn't NLN accredited...

What? I did not know that. Does this prevent graduates from applying to graduate school?

ShyeoftheTiger · May 8, 2013

What? I did not know that. Does this prevent graduates from applying to graduate school?

Well, there are only two graduate schools that are NLNAC accredited, either...

AnxiousAntsy · May 8, 2013

But they are accredited by the CCNE.. which is only for BSN programs right? The reason why I denied Rio Hondo is because they weren't accredited by the NLN and my future plans were to further my education after the ADN program.