CU UCAN spring 2016

Hi there!

I have applied and am waiting to hear back as well. I am assuming we will be notified tomorrow evening or Monday. I am extremely anxious, and excited. Hoping for good news.

also, in the past, applicants have made Facebook pages to get connected with those applying. If those that read this post and believe a Facebook page dedicated to staying on track with application updates and so forth would be helpful, please comment and I'll create one!

I am with you on the anxious and excited! I am hoping for good news as well but trying to keep my hopes a little down at the same time. Hope we hear sooner rather than later but they did say that tomorrow is a holiday for them so figuring Monday. Let's for sure do a facebook page. I saw the others as well so may be a great way to meet others and stay connected! Let me know if you create it or if you want me to create it. Thanks girl and hope we both get interviews!! Andrea

Hello!

I've been reading through the posts for previous cohorts and love the idea of getting to know each other before interview day.

I would definitely join a Facebook page. Let us know if you create one and send the link.

I'm very excited! I just received an email tonight inviting me to interview on July 23rd!! I can't wait...

That's great! Congrats! I haven't heard anything so figuring no interview which is a bummer but didn't have high expectations as I am just finishing up prereq's this summer. I do have 15 years of experience in physical therapy and in cardiac and stroke rehab and a 4.0 in my sciences so was hoping enough for an interview. I did get into DSN for October start but was hoping to get a shot at CU. Good luck all!

I have created a Facebook page for those interested!

Here is the link: facebook.com/CUUCAN2016.

I look forward to connecting with you all!

Thanks for creating the Facebook page! Did you get an interview?

I heard about getting an interview yesterday evening. I look forward to meeting you guys on the 23rd. Who else will be interviewing in the morning group?

Hi there, enthusiastic future nurses! I hope this anecdote isn't uncalled for, but I want to offer a word of caution about the UCAN program. I had a less-than-ideal experience with them a few years back.

During the interview process, we were told that the accelerated program required students to come in for regular orientations once a month every month in September, October, November, and December since the program moves so quickly. However, the assured us, that would be a ridiculous expectation for out-of-state students to fly to CO every month and that we'd have an alternative option.

When I got my acceptance letter from the program, I was working with the Gates Foundation on a childhood vaccination project in South America. I figured that there was no way they'd expect me to fly back to CO once a month since I was both an out-of-state student AND out of the country through December. Turns out I was wrong. When I brought that up to the admissions officer, she basically told me, "Even though we said that it was optional for out-of-state students, you're the only one who can't come. If you can't commit to making this program a priority, then maybe you don't belong here. We just want you to understand that this is a very accelerated program; we won't accommodate any special circumstances once you're in the program, and we won't accommodate them now."

That mindset was really concerning to me. It reminded me of something else they mentioned during the interview meeting: if you fell behind in the accelerated program (even for reasons like illness), they stated that you couldn't continue on the traditional track. I know that nursing students have to take accountability for their actions, but that mentality did not sound very supportive of their students. In any event, I was accepted into another program that was less expensive and more highly ranked; they were happy to work with me from South America.

I wish you all the best, and hope that this post doesn't sour you to nursing school! Nursing truly is an incredible profession.

Hello all! I'll be in the morning interview group on the 23rd! Sooo excited! I also joined the Facebook group so we can all keep in touch :). Thank you for creating the group. I know I can't be the only one who's experiencing crazy anxiety about the process, so it will be great to be in contact with fellow applicants! Good luck to everyone :)

I just heard about the interview details. Sounds like a group interview! I'm super excited but also super nervous! I wonder how to prepare for a group interview...

I'm excited to learn too that it's not just the interview that we should expect, but also a tour and even a mock lecture, which I think will be super useful.

If anyone has been through this process, I am sure that we all would appreciate any info that you may have :).

I just heard about the interview details. Sounds like a group interview! I'm super excited but also super nervous! I wonder how to prepare for a group interview...

I'm excited to learn too that it's not just the interview that we should expect, but also a tour and even a mock lecture, which I think will be super useful.

If anyone has been through this process, I am sure that we all would appreciate any info that you may have :).

I interviewed a few years back, so the process may have changed and I don't remember all of the details, but this was my experience:

The group interview is more like a group activity. We broke up into groups of maybe 6 applicants with 2 staff for about half an hour. We sat in a circle, went around the circle once and introduced ourselves, including "Why you chose nursing." Then they asked us another question, almost no recollection of what it was (maybe something like, "What do you think is an important quality for a nurse to have, and why?" Maybe?) and went around the circle again. They gave us an activity to do individually in which we had to rank our own nursing priorities (i.e. compassion, skills). Then they had us come together and set the priorities as a team. It seemed really trivial and trite to me at the time, but now I get it. The point was a) to see how you work on a team to accomplish a goal, and b) to get a sense for how you view the nursing role. You can't really 'prepare,' per se. My biggest advice on the group interview is to be sincere, be respectful of your peers, and don't overthink it.

We spent the rest of the day in presentations (financial aid, student panel, curriculum, mock lecture). The mock lecture really freaked me out; they kept implying that we should already know concepts that I'd never heard of before (i.e. the relationship between blood pressure, cardiac output, and peripheral resistance, aka BP = CO x PR). If you're reading this and freaking out because you don't know what those things are, don't worry, you learn them in nursing school (that's the whole point of nursing school).

Anyway, I was accepted, but declined due to the confusing/uncomfortable situation described in my prior post.