Direct entry and graduate entry programs II

Gennaver, MSN · Apr 18, 2005

Hello there,

I am sort of unsure about this, the NHSC website lists requirements for their scholarships and part of it is that the program or courses must start after july 1st and no later than Sep 30th.

However with my program it starts at Jan 2006 and goes straight through until Mar 2007.

Now,the NHSC scholarships pay for a 12 month straight slot which would be perfect, if they allowed us to start at the Jan semester.

This is only for the nursing scholarships as dep are not eligible for the NP portion, yet, are for nursing.

Let me paste:

Enrollment in Fully Accredited Schools and Programs

(Note: Program must be fully accredited by May 2005).

To be considered for a scholarship award for the 2005-2006 academic year, applicants must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment and must begin classes on or after July 1, 2005 and no later than September 30, 2005.

Then they list A, B, C, and A-ADN schools, B-BSN or graduate but not bridge programs and C-diploma schools.

Hmmph. I guess that if I have to miss this years application I can try for next year and loose scholarship for the first two semesters of my program, (the spring and summer 2006).

Okay, thanks for reading.

Gen

elizabells, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2005

Then they list A, B, C, and A-ADN schools, B-BSN or graduate but not bridge programs and C-diploma schools.
Hmmph. I guess that if I have to miss this years application I can try for next year and loose scholarship for the first two semesters of my program, (the spring and summer 2006).
Okay, thanks for reading.
Gen

Hey Gen -

I've been having the same problem with almost every scholarship I've looked at - it looks like no one is taking our type of program into account. Most of them require you to already be in a BSN program, or be in an ADN-BSN bridge, or something else we are not. Sigh. Looks like it'll be loan repayment programs for me!!!

Jess RN · Apr 19, 2005

Hi guys!

Thanks Gen for starting this new thread! Have you heard about your interview time yet?

I have to start researching scholarships too. Every little bit helps and it seems to me that there should be money out there considering the "nursing shortage" you hear the media go on about.

Well, my girls are napping so I have to get some things donw around the house while I have the time.

Have a great day everyone!

-Jess

Gennaver, MSN · Apr 20, 2005

Hi guys!
{snipped the thanks, thanks!}
I have to start researching scholarships too. Every little bit helps and it seems to me that there should be money out there considering the "nursing shortage" you hear the media go on about.
-Jess

Hello Jess,

No luck on my interview date, however I did phone the assistant to the dean and she responded that the med/surg track was going to let us know about our interveiws sometime soon.

My thinking is that they may not have enough applications for that specialty for them to feel 'ready' to call us in. I hinted in another post that there were only a few more than 10 applicants for the adult np. ?

I believe that there is a special link on this site for nursing scholarships too, nice.

I also sent a request to the NHSC website about the scholarships.

What I do know from calling them a few months ago is that as a non RN grad student that we would be applying for the regular nursing scholarship, (which is NOW online and the due date is May 27th.)

Good luck everyone!!

Jen

p.s. I am also seriously interested in the NHSC loan repayment agreement in case I don't qualify for the scholarships

kessler · Apr 21, 2005

Hello.

I am new to posting on this forum. A couple of days ago I found the 72-page thread... There is so much to read, so I apologize in advance if this topic is redundant.

I am planning to apply to a small hand full of Direct entry programs in the fall and spring. I have taken the most common prereqs and now neeed to take the gre test. What do you recommend for preparation? How much time did you spend preparing? I am trying to figure out if I am being realistic about what I can accomplish in a few months. Also, did you feel that you had a good idea of what your scores would be going into the test? So many questions. Can you tell that I not feeling very confident about this?

Thanks for reading. And congrats to all those who have been accepted. I hope to be in your shoes in a year!

rachel

smile123 · Apr 21, 2005

Hello.
I am new to posting on this forum. A couple of days ago I found the 72-page thread... There is so much to read, so I apologize in advance if this topic is redundant.
I am planning to apply to a small hand full of Direct entry programs in the fall and spring. I have taken the most common prereqs and now neeed to take the gre test. What do you recommend for preparation? How much time did you spend preparing? I am trying to figure out if I am being realistic about what I can accomplish in a few months. Also, did you feel that you had a good idea of what your scores would be going into the test? So many questions. Can you tell that I not feeling very confident about this?
Thanks for reading. And congrats to all those who have been accepted. I hope to be in your shoes in a year!
rachel

Hi Rachel,

How well do you do on standardized tests? I would just get a prep book either from the library or buy one; make sure they come with CDs. Then you can work on the problems and understand the way the test is administered via computer. The GRE people also have software which you can download online or you can request a CD to get used to the user interface and typical sample questions.

There's a definite strategy to taking the GRE. It's an adaptive test; if you do well on the first 4 or 5 questions, it will give you more difficult questions to answer and keep your score relatively high even if you miss a few after that; those questions were considered "harder". On the flip side, if you get the first 4 or 5 questions wrong, the test drops you down from 800 to say, 450; it will give you easier questions to answer thereafter. If you answer those "easy" questions, it will raise your score up smaller increments, so you may end up with 550 or 580 at the end of the exam.

What does that mean? It means you want to spend a little more time on the first few questions to give yourself the best chance of attaining a higher score. It also means you do need to practice doing the problems quickly and narrowing down your guesses. For example, say there are 5 possible answers to a question. If you can eyeball the answers and determine 2 are definitely not in the range, you have increased your odds of guessing correctly. Many GRE books help you with this strategy.

On the CDs, it gives you your sample scores at the end of each practice test. Most people have not had math in a while, so it pays to review your basic algebra, geometry and word problems. There's no trig or calculus, so you don't need to worry. The verbal section is pretty straight forward; do review common vocabulary words. Some prep books give you lists of words or common prefixes/suffixes. There is also a reading comprehension section: "What is the main point of the article?" "What did the author's tone imply?" How quickly can you scan the article to address the questions (usually a series of 3 or 4 questions per article)?

The final section is the written essay. It's usually a very broad, open-ended question asking you to take a side and defend it. The best approach is to jot down a rough outline on scratch paper and then type your response in the space provided. The interface is not MS WORD based; it's totally generic. (There's no spell checker or grammar checker either!) Two readers grade your essay; there's third reader in case there is a difference between the two readers.

I had 10 days to study because I decided at the last minute to take it; there very early deadlines for some direct entry schools. (Be sure to allow time for the schools to get your scores!) I studied from the GRE CD and prep books I got from the library and from a friend, complete with CDs. First, I reviewed math concepts and did the problems with no time limit just to get back into the math mindset. Then I timed myself to gauge whether I was answering them correctly within the time limit. Finally, I used the CD and familiarized myself with the user interface. I also reviewed the strategy on how to eliminate a couple of the answers and shortcuts to deduce the correct answer. I practiced a lot!

I did the same for the verbal section, brushing up on vocabulary, reading passages and taking in the tips. The essay section was also a matter of thinking through the issues, deciding which side to take and clearly expressing ideas in a short amount of time.

I ended up doing just fine and got accepted for several direct entry BSN to MSN programs. So whether you take 3 months, 3 weeks or 10 days to study, really depends on how much time you are willing and able to devote toward the GRE. It also depends on how well you do on standardized tests. Some people want some sort of structure so they enroll in GRE study classes. I pushed myself because I didn't have much time to study in structured class setting. Hope that helps! Good luck! You can do it!

Smile123

Starting at Johns Hopkins University June 2005!

Gennaver, MSN · Apr 21, 2005

Hello.
I am new to posting on this forum. A couple of days ago I found the 72-page thread... There is so much to read, so I apologize in advance if this topic is redundant.
I am planning to apply to a small hand full of Direct entry programs in the fall and spring. I have taken the most common prereqs and now neeed to take the gre test. What do you recommend for preparation? How much time did you spend preparing? I am trying to figure out if I am being realistic about what I can accomplish in a few months. Also, did you feel that you had a good idea of what your scores would be going into the test? So many questions. Can you tell that I not feeling very confident about this?
Thanks for reading. And congrats to all those who have been accepted. I hope to be in your shoes in a year!
rachel

Hello Kessler,

Smile123s post is really good. When you sign up to take the test they also send you a practice CD, (which takes a couple of weeks to get there.)

Checking out or getting the practice book is great. I used a practice book with two cds and used one of them until the last few days. Then I tried the true practice one and wow, what a nice difference, the scores were higher and I felt much better, (it was the one which was exactly like the test.)

A professor at my school highly recommends taking a course, (can cost about a thousand dollars) but, I was already done with my 10 day review too. I have heard that the course and longer study can raise your score by about 100.

The pressure of that test and all that was riding on it really had me nervous and if it wasn't for the review book and those 10 days I surely wouldn't have done at least well enough to qualify. I only just covered the minimum but, so far so good.

Book, CD, rest, enough months to study, (really, spreading it out is best I think) and maybe a course and you ought to do super!!

Gen

p.s. this is the same question that brought me to the 72 page thread too!

p.p.s. remember to try not to freak when you hear how great some other peoples scores are! There are super numbers from our posters, really great! Hopefully yours will be there too, (no doubt of course.)

Jess RN · Apr 21, 2005

Hi Kessler-

I too had major stress about the GREs I had about a month to prepare- but I'd say I really made a consistant effort for the two weeks before the test. I used the Princeton Review book and cd as well as the cd that ETS mails out to you when you register for your test date. My best advice is to focus on the math- because with enough prep you can make a big difference in your score. Verbal is harder to improve because your vocab is what it is, you know? It's pretty hard to improve your vocab and reading skills in a short amount of time, imho. That said, there are test taking strategies for all sections that should improve your chances of selecting the right answer through the process of elimination. I also would prep well for the analytical writing section. You don't have to be a great writer to get a good score- there is totally a system to it and the princeton book is good at breaking it down.

Good luck!

-Jess

Oh, also, my test scores were higher in both verbal and math than I was scoring on the CD practice tests. So I was pretty pleased with how it all worked out!

NP-to-be · Apr 21, 2005

Hello.
I am new to posting on this forum. A couple of days ago I found the 72-page thread... There is so much to read, so I apologize in advance if this topic is redundant.
I am planning to apply to a small hand full of Direct entry programs in the fall and spring. I have taken the most common prereqs and now neeed to take the gre test. What do you recommend for preparation? How much time did you spend preparing? I am trying to figure out if I am being realistic about what I can accomplish in a few months. Also, did you feel that you had a good idea of what your scores would be going into the test? So many questions. Can you tell that I not feeling very confident about this?
Thanks for reading. And congrats to all those who have been accepted. I hope to be in your shoes in a year!
rachel

Rachel - Hello and welcome!

I took an online prep class through The Princeton Review which was great (it was about ~$400 I think)! Depending on how much time you have before your scheduled test day, they design an appropriate sylabus for you. I took about 2 months to prepare (really only cracking down during the last 2-3wks). It was not only a helpful review of material but it was heavily focused on strategy. Knowing how the test works is 2/3 of the battle, I think!

Come test day, just try to relax and don't let the timer stress you out. Also, if you can, take the test w/ plenty of time to spare for deadlines. That may take some of the pressure off because you can always retake it if you're not happy w/ your scores !!

Good luck ... you'll do GREAT !!

- Jen

elizabells, BSN, RN · Apr 21, 2005

You guys - I'm kind of freaking out.

They made us buy Henke's Med-Math book and told us we were going to be tested on "the material" the first week. What????? No seriously, WHAT???

So I get through the first couple of chapters, and I'm like, okay, basic arithmetic skills, cool, learning the abbreviations for nothing by mouth, etc., no problem, and then bam - justifications for using different types of syringes for different formulations of insulin!!!!! I - I - what the hell??? Are they screwing with me? Am I totally about to fail out of school before I even start? I have a full time job and I'm trying to pack and get ready and get all my titers done and figure out my loans and oh my god!!!!!!!

Please just tell me it's going to be okay.

Gennaver, MSN · Apr 21, 2005

You guys - I'm kind of freaking out.
They made us buy Henke's Med-Math book and told us we were going to be tested on "the material" the first week. What????? No seriously, WHAT???
So I get through the first couple of chapters, and I'm like, okay, basic arithmetic skills, cool, learning the abbreviations for nothing by mouth, etc., no problem, and then bam - justifications for using different types of syringes for different formulations of insulin!!!!! I - I - what the hell??? Are they screwing with me? Am I totally about to fail out of school before I even start? I have a full time job and I'm trying to pack and get ready and get all my titers done and figure out my loans and oh my god!!!!!!!
Please just tell me it's going to be okay.

Hello Elizabells,

Okay, imagine you are looking at a calm face with a nice and 'in control' sounding voice saying, "everything is going to be fine....breath in. You are fine." You are fine and you will do well. This is scarey, that is normal so you are doing well already!

I came here to post about the UIC website and paste their update but, you definately are going to do fine and need to remind yourself that. Take a breath in, you are in control, you can do this, you are ready to do this, you want to do this adn are able to do this. :)

Okay, here is the update from my school:

Graduate Entry Program Admissions & Application Materials

These application materials are for non-nurses who hold a Bachelor's degree in another field. Due to a large amount of applications, the following specialties are the only ones that remain open for January 2006.

Mental Health CNS and NP

Occupational Health CNS and NP

Pediatric CNS

School Nurse CNS and NP

Administrative Nursing (and MS/MBA and MS/Health Informatics)

Advanced Community Health Nursing (and MS/MPH)

ALL OTHER SPECIALTIES ARE CLOSED FOR JANUARY 2006. Applications for January 2007 will be available by September 2005.

Gen

p.s. egads, look at all those slots still taking applications until June !! Anybody want to give it a shot? Anyone who didn't make it to another school but wants to give fate a chance, on the number 8th ranked school in the nation? Good luck! To all waitlisters, what do you think?