CSUN ABSn 2011 applicants

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I'm sure there's lots of you out there applying to the CSUN 2011 ABSN program. Just wanted to get the conversation rolling for those of us who are in the process. Anyone else think 2 pages is too short for the personal statement?:eek:

I want to respond to a few posts:

Regarding registration for classes at CSUN, don't worry about it. Only ABSN students can register for the ABSN classes, and you will get the needed code numbers at orientation on May 26.

Regarding ADN vs ABSN, more hospitals all the time say they plan to hire more BSN nurses, so I would say go with the ABSN over an ADN. Its hard but if u got accepted u can do it.

And regarding the changes in the program at CSUN, I am just sad thats such a great team of instructors is being broken apart. The program will go on, and if you didn't experience what it was like before you won't know the difference. But thicken up that skin, cuz you'll need it. I don't expect my posts to have much influence on anyone's decision, i just think people deserve info. Listen to your intuition and decide what to do.

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thank you wrightnurse for your words of wisdom. i also had a most positive and accepting interview experience with three faculty members and am looking forward to being in their classes. i have been taking classes for many of my adult years (too many to admit to!) and have had a wide range of teaching personalities to look up to, admire, or not. one thing that i've learned is that there is always something to learn from everyone, whether it is a positive experience or something a bit less than positive. a person can learn how to get along with someone who may be a bit more indifferent or less demonstratively warm than other more supportive people. it takes a whole lot of effort, and sometimes it is necessary to think about where that person might be coming from and what they might be dealing with. every person has their trials and tribulations. i realize that it's not something that everyone is ready to cope with during an intense 15 months of study, but there is no guarantee that there will be a smooth course of student-professor interactions in any nursing school education (from what i have heard). at the end, we will all be more seasoned, mature people for having learned how to support each other and learn in all kinds of situations.

in addition, as graduate nurses, we will be treating occasional patients who will not necessarily be unchallenging to work with, so if we are somewhat challenged by certain personalities in our program, be they professors or other students, it will be good practice for us when we get out into the world of working with patients and colleagues! just my :twocents:!

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wrightnurse and flocknight--Thanks for the input. I actually have been researching this quite a bit and talked to several well-respected hospitals. I have been hearing that many hospitals will only hire BSNs but oddly, every hospital I've talked to (some of which CSUN does clinicals at), has said that they very willingly hire ADNs, and usually help them with continuing ed to get their BSN. All three hospital administrators I talked to, said it's really just about the person and the contacts they have made. That being said, I agree that taking twice as long to get that BSN may not be wise. I'm still figuring it out.

But thanks for all input.--I even think the 'warnings' are helpful. It's good to be prepared. I want to reiterate and back up some of what has already been said....that if we have the support of our classmates and put in the effort, it will be worth it. While I am sad that an evidently good team of teachers is being broken up, we can learn from difficulty too.

And I am still excited for nursing school no matter what!

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Thanks for letting us know about the changes, floknight and rkay. I think it's really helpful to have some idea of what the program will be like and what to expect. Like wrightnurse, though, I am interested in hearing about the situation in a little more detail. How exactly are the professors different? There seems to be something very upsetting about the change to the program but we haven't gotten very specific information as to why. Please do elaborate.

Thank you!

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Does anyone know if I need to formally accept my spot by e-mail or letter? I just got a call and accepted over the phone.

Thanks!

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Thanks for letting us know about the changes, floknight and rkay. I think it's really helpful to have some idea of what the program will be like and what to expect. Like wrightnurse, though, I am interested in hearing about the situation in a little more detail. How exactly are the professors different? There seems to be something very upsetting about the change to the program but we haven't gotten very specific information as to why. Please do elaborate.

Thank you!

I'm not sure if this will clarify anything further for those of you with questions about the changes, but here goes:

The program did lose some amazing professors and it's really sad for all of us, including the new students who have yet to start. You made it this far, and there's no reason to turn back now, but honestly we don't really know what the road ahead will be for you guys. The program we talk of was truly an amazing program. It's a beast no matter which way you slice it, but the professors we're everything you could have hoped for. When people spoke about their dissatisfaction with their nursing programs, I felt fortunate because I couldn't relate. The program at CSUN was organized, had amazing professors, and a wonderful group of students. Unfortunately, take out one element and everything has changed. The program did not start out perfect, nor was it perfect before those teachers were forced out, BUT it was pretty close to it. There have been many changes over the years by students who advocated for themselves, and for the future cohorts for things like changes to syllabi, schedules, and so on. What we're left with now are replacements, some of whom are temporary and don't even know much if anything about the A-BSN program. Teaching an ABSN is not like teaching an ADN course or an RN-BSN course. The content is generally the same, but the students and their workloads are not. When you have teachers that come in with their new syllabi, not realizing that you have 5 other days of classes all with their own syllabi and clinicals, you can quickly go from bad to I didn't even know it can get worse. Until now, almost all of those kinks had previously been worked out. The load is still seemingly unbearable at times, but the teachers knew the students and understood what type of load we're responsible for and cared enough to make the changes. That's no longer the case.

Aside from the workload, we had lecturers that you truly felt were experts in the area they were teaching. Not only were they knowledgeable, but they loved teaching and loved the students.

I won't say any cliches like hang in there, and I don't really have any words of wisdom to share and because I have no idea what your experience will be. What I can say as someone who has been and is currentlly there, is that by time you start I hope they've found some better replacements. Best of luck in the program...we'll all need it!

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Wrightnurse, when I received my congratulations call, I was informed that a large packet of information would be forthcoming in the mail sometime this week. I imagine there will be a form in there that we will send back signifying our formal acceptance into the program. I might give Sandra a call later today to verify that and let you know.

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perseveRaNce23, I guess it's time for me to invest in a weekly planner :p Thank you for the information. Of course, like you said, I won't be changing my mind about attending the program, but I'm braced for tough times =) I just hope people over at csun are voicing their opinions so that whoever is in charge there is at least aware that people are dissatisfied and students are under undue stress. Thanks again for the info =)
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Yes, thanks, perseveRaNce23. We appreciate your input.

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Hi everyone,

Congratulations to all of you who just got into the CSUN ABSN for this year! Would any of you mind letting me know what your overall GPA was from your first degree, and your prerequisite GPA or science GPA, as well as experience in the field or volunteering. Any info. is much appreciated. It's so tough out there now days getting into these programs so it'd be good to see if there's any fluctuations at all with acceptance, like if you have a lesser GPA but a lot of experience if that matters or not.

I'm a psychology major who's currently taking my prerequisites for nursing. I won't be applying until next fall (2012), because I'm going to be taking my last science prerequisites while working hopefully as a CNA and one or two courses at a time. I'll be applying to as many programs (Entry MSN/Accelerated BSN/RN) as I have money to next year!

Thanks!

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Sciences GPA 4.0

Bachelor GPA 3.93

1/2 year volunteer in hospital

Spanish and French

References from RN (and 2 other excellent references, of course)

Over 2 years of experience in healthcare field

Degree in health

You really need to have seen what nursing job is really like in order for you to be taken seriously. How can you tell the nursing school that you want to be a nurse and never have witnesses the realities of nursing?

Would be nice if you were able to demonstrate that you are financially able to be out of working world for easily 1.5 years or more. In my interview I told them that I have over 45k in savings (true) and I have no need whatsoever to work during the program. I think that sold them. I am that committed to the goal.

I was also told during interview that I may need to be prepared to not find any RN work for up to a year after graduating so better to have plan B in place. And I had a plan.

So, I was offered a place.

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Hi Amerae,

I have a B.A. in psychology with a 3.86 overall GPA.

Science GPA - 4.00

I'm an LVN with med-surg, maternity and labor and delivery experience, and also had my own medical transcribing business in the past.

During my undergrad years at CSUN, I did a clinical internship at the VA as a research coordinator on a psychiatric-substance abuse floor.

If you haven't already done so, be sure to attend one of the information sessions for the CSUN ABSN program. All the GPA and clinical prerequisites and parameters are explained in detail and questions are answered. Check the website periodically for scheduled meeting updates.

I had the same experience in the interview as did Wrightnurs*** regarding financial matters and the scarcity of jobs at the present time. I am going into this with the knowledge that it won't necessarily be easy or quick getting that first nursing job, so I also have a back up plan in place!

An essential point here is to do the very best you can in your prerequisites, if you want to be competitive for this particular program. I wish you the very best of luck!!:heartbeat

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