CSULB Nursing Program Fall 2023

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Hi everyone! I wanted to start this thread to compare our stats since the deadline to send in the supplemental application is approaching soon. CSULB's program is definitely competitive and I hope I have a chance to get in with my scores!

My stats:

4.0 GE GPA

4.0 Science GPA

92.7% Composite TEAS score

82.1% Reading TEAS score

 

Best of luck to everyone applying!! We got this!

Hey everyone! I'm currently a first semester student at CSULB and I was in the Spring 2023 thread. If you have any questions feel free to ask me! I remember how nervous I was before the communication exercise, but it's honestly not bad at all. Good luck to all of you!

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Mrod3434 said:

Hey everyone! I'm currently a first semester student at CSULB and I was in the Spring 2023 thread. If you have any questions feel free to ask me! I remember how nervous I was before the communication exercise, but it's honestly not bad at all. Good luck to all of you!

Hi!! Congrats on getting accepted for Spring! Do you remember any of the questions they asked during the interview portion? It'd help to get some insight on the potential questions they'd ask.

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harukachow said:

Hi!! Congrats on getting accepted for Spring! Do you remember any of the questions they asked during the interview portion? It'd help to get some insight on the potential questions they'd ask.

Thank you!! I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say the exact questions, but they're pretty basic interview questions that revolve around nursing (kind of like the why nursing type). We were put into breakout rooms with about 8-9 people and each person got one question with 2 min to answer. Just take a second to remember why you're going into this field, what your plans are, etc. They just want to get a sense of who you are. 

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Mrod3434 said:

Hey everyone! I'm currently a first semester student at CSULB and I was in the Spring 2023 thread. If you have any questions feel free to ask me! I remember how nervous I was before the communication exercise, but it's honestly not bad at all. Good luck to all of you!

Thank you and congrats!! How are you liking it so far? Also, do you know how the admissions process works after the interview?

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anaphylaxis222 said:

Thank you and congrats!! How are you liking it so far? Also, do you know how the admissions process works after the interview?

Thank you!! It was honestly pretty difficult trying to adjust while working on top of school so I put my two weeks in. It's not too bad, just a lot of modules and readings! 
We were notified of our admission about 2 weeks after the comm exercise and then had orientation a little over a month later. After being notified of our admission we had about 2 weeks to submit official transcripts and scores. 

Alternates still attend orientation, and each alternate that I met made the cut (I'm not sure how many alternates make it though). At orientation you'll do uniform fittings and order your stethoscope, BP cuff, etc. and then you have to purchase your background check and document manager through Castlebranch. You can also purchase your drug testing through this site as well. This is where you'll upload immunizations/titers and other required documentation. I highly recommend saving as much money as you can if you don't qualify for much aid. After paying tuition, books, and various fees I probably dropped $4,000-5,000. 
 

Also, another piece of advice I wish I would have gotten was that they will probably give you your nursing schedule after your registration date. Since I was a transfer, I was required to take an upper division GE-C course (the qualifying courses are listed on the CSULB website). Because I got my schedule after my registration date, I didn't know which class to register for since I didn't know what my schedule would be. When you meet with your SOAR advisor (registration and orientation), ask them to assist you in finding an asynchronous (completely online) course that will meet the requirements so you don't have trouble finding a class after the schedules are released. 

Sorry, I know it's a lot of info but I wish someone would have told me!

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Mrod3434 said:

Thank you!! It was honestly pretty difficult trying to adjust while working on top of school so I put my two weeks in. It's not too bad, just a lot of modules and readings! 
We were notified of our admission about 2 weeks after the comm exercise and then had orientation a little over a month later. After being notified of our admission we had about 2 weeks to submit official transcripts and scores. 

Alternates still attend orientation, and each alternate that I met made the cut (I'm not sure how many alternates make it though). At orientation you'll do uniform fittings and order your stethoscope, BP cuff, etc. and then you have to purchase your background check and document manager through Castlebranch. You can also purchase your drug testing through this site as well. This is where you'll upload immunizations/titers and other required documentation. I highly recommend saving as much money as you can if you don't qualify for much aid. After paying tuition, books, and various fees I probably dropped $4,000-5,000. 
 

Also, another piece of advice I wish I would have gotten was that they will probably give you your nursing schedule after your registration date. Since I was a transfer, I was required to take an upper division GE-C course (the qualifying courses are listed on the CSULB website). Because I got my schedule after my registration date, I didn't know which class to register for since I didn't know what my schedule would be. When you meet with your SOAR advisor (registration and orientation), ask them to assist you in finding an asynchronous (completely online) course that will meet the requirements so you don't have trouble finding a class after the schedules are released. 

Sorry, I know it's a lot of info but I wish someone would have told me!

Don't apologize! That's extremely helpful to know, and I really appreciate your thorough response. 

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anaphylaxis222 said:

Don't apologize! That's extremely helpful to know, and I really appreciate your thorough response. 

Of course! Any other questions? ?

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Mrod3434 said:

Of course! Any other questions? ?

How far are clinical sites from the university itself? 

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anaphylaxis222 said:

How far are clinical sites from the university itself? 

Depends on what program you're doing (semester or trimester). Semester is 5 semesters for only Spring and Fall for 2.5 years so they switch clinical sites each semester. The two sites that I know of so far are Saint Mary's and the VA hospital. I know that Hoag is a site as well but I'm not sure which semester. The VA hospital is directly next to the school and St. Mary's is about 12min from the school. 

I'm in the Trimester program which includes Summer semesters and is also 5 semesters long (1.5 years). We stay at one clinical site the entire program which is at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. It's about 15min from the school. 

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Mrod3434 said:

Depends on what program you're doing (semester or trimester). Semester is 5 semesters for only Spring and Fall for 2.5 years so they switch clinical sites each semester. The two sites that I know of so far are Saint Mary's and the VA hospital. I know that Hoag is a site as well but I'm not sure which semester. The VA hospital is directly next to the school and St. Mary's is about 12min from the school. 

I'm in the Trimester program which includes Summer semesters and is also 5 semesters long (1.5 years). We stay at one clinical site the entire program which is at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. It's about 15min from the school. 

That's super good to know clinical sites aren't too far from the school. I'd be commuting! Are there students in your program that make commutes and still find balance within the program?

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anaphylaxis222 said:

That's super good to know clinical sites aren't too far from the school. I'd be commuting! Are there students in your program that make commutes and still find balance within the program?

Yes, I'm one of them! I live in Costa Mesa so for clinical days I usually wake up around 4:30-5am and leave by 5:45am to make it to pre-conference at 6:30am. It's not horrible because for first semester you only have clinical one day a week. You do have to do pre-planning the day before clinical though, which is where you go and pick your patient for your clinical day. This is also at the hospital and your group has an assigned time of 2.5hrs to get that done. My pre-planning is on Sundays which can sometimes be a pain due to weekend traffic, but it's usually not that bad.

1
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Mrod3434 said:

Thank you!! It was honestly pretty difficult trying to adjust while working on top of school so I put my two weeks in. It's not too bad, just a lot of modules and readings! 
We were notified of our admission about 2 weeks after the comm exercise and then had orientation a little over a month later. After being notified of our admission we had about 2 weeks to submit official transcripts and scores. 

Alternates still attend orientation, and each alternate that I met made the cut (I'm not sure how many alternates make it though). At orientation you'll do uniform fittings and order your stethoscope, BP cuff, etc. and then you have to purchase your background check and document manager through Castlebranch. You can also purchase your drug testing through this site as well. This is where you'll upload immunizations/titers and other required documentation. I highly recommend saving as much money as you can if you don't qualify for much aid. After paying tuition, books, and various fees I probably dropped $4,000-5,000. 
 

Also, another piece of advice I wish I would have gotten was that they will probably give you your nursing schedule after your registration date. Since I was a transfer, I was required to take an upper division GE-C course (the qualifying courses are listed on the CSULB website). Because I got my schedule after my registration date, I didn't know which class to register for since I didn't know what my schedule would be. When you meet with your SOAR advisor (registration and orientation), ask them to assist you in finding an asynchronous (completely online) course that will meet the requirements so you don't have trouble finding a class after the schedules are released. 

Sorry, I know it's a lot of info but I wish someone would have told me!

When do you chose trimester or semester or is it already chosen for you? Also when you get your nursing schedule is that something you have to go through and sign up for yourself or is it predetermined for you?

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