Duke ABSN Spring 2011

Lauren4268 · May 5, 2010

Hi sandy! I've been thinking about applying for that program as well, still waiting until the deadline gets a little closer. I'm hoping to get into Creighton, since it's a great deal cheaper and I wouldn't have to move AS far (im In California right now). My whole family lives in Charlotte, so it would be nice to be a 3 hours drive versus a 6 hour plane flight away =) I don't know what my chances would be of getting in though...I have a 3.4 overall undergrad and a 3.3 pre-req. I know Duke will be really competitive, but I may be able to make up for it with the writing statement and interview. I'll most likely apply if Creighton doesn't work out....I'm also keeping OCU on the ack burner as a back up. So many things involved with the applications! I wish I could do one leter, get the same 3 letters of rec, and be done!! haha

glassprn · May 5, 2010

Hi, I am also planning to apply for 2011 spring. I will start writing personal statement pretty soon ( spring semester is literally almost done! two more days to go!) and hopefully finish the whole application prep by end of this month. =)

Unfortunately I have "really" bad GPA from undergraduate (my graduate GPA is slightly better, but it doesn't count...) and I am not a native speaker...(I have lived in the States about 3 years) I know it is really competitive to get into this program but at least I want to give it a shot.

I'm almost done with prerequisites ( I registered micro and English com II for summer).

It will be a bumpy road, but we can pull it off!!

SandyH · May 5, 2010

Hey guys! Nice to meet you!

Lauren-

I'm with you on the one letter and being able to use the same letters of rec! LOL! Wouldn't that be great! I have some family that lives near Charlotte too! I'm sure your family would love to have you closer. I live in Raleigh, so Duke is choice number one for me! Although, I'm still trying to figure out the whole financial aspect. I'm also applying to UNC and Watts, as my backups. Good luck with Creighton! Have you already applied there? When do you expect to hear from them?

Glass-

Where are you from originally? Congrats on finishing up spring semester, I'm about to have a bumpy summer myself! I'm taking A&P I and II (both short 5 week courses). I have taken them before, but unfortunately they didn't have a lab component....so here we go again!

Oh, and don't worry to much about the GPA's, just go for it! From what I have read, Duke looks highly on the personal statement and recommendations, and prides themselves on diversity. They are looking for great nurses and leaders, not just a brain! Good grades won't necessarily make you a good nurse!

Take care! Talk you guys again soon!

Sandy

glassprn · May 6, 2010

Hi, Sandy

Thanks for encouraging comment! =)

I'm originally from South Korea & I came to the States to work as an intern at whole sale company in L.A. I though it'll be a great experience and good for my resume, to be honest. But that decision drove my life in a whole different direction.

I met my husband at local church in L.A. Of course, we fell in love almost immediately :redpinkhe lol Shortly after we started dating, he got into medical school in Vermont. Even though we did not date for a long time(less than 6 months...), we knew we are meant to be together.

So we got married right before we moved to Vermont.

He is now in third year, and is supper sopportive of what I'm doing and What I want to do. Even though we have to live separately, "if I get in", my husband and I agreed that this is the right time for me to pursue my career.

Whoo~ it seems like I wrote too much (maybe nobody wants to know... :uhoh3: )

Anyway, good luck with all the application process & keep in touch!!

p.s. I'll apply to University of Rochester Nursing school along with Duke.

And whole different schools later...if I have to....=p

Tgrndkie · May 8, 2010

Hey guys! I am currently in the ABSN program at Duke and as I was reading over your posts I took me back to what I was experiencing at the time I applied. If you guys have any questions about the program or the process let me know. My advice to you all is to not worry! I know, easier said than done but don't worry about your GPAs... Mainly make sure your essay is catching and intriguing. Be sure to address both your strengths and weaknesses and what you have to offer the nursing profession. The program here is so great and I wish you guys the best of luck. One last thing... I would not be concerned about the financial aspect as there are many options! Like I said let me know if you have any questions I am more than happy to help:)

Monica

glassprn · May 9, 2010

Hi, Monica!

Thanks for great tips!

If you don't mind, could you let me know how many pages did you write?

As far as I am concerned, there is no "limit." Right?

I am trying to write less than 2 pages, so the people will not be bored...=)

And which route did you choose? ( research or Spanish)

I'm interested in Spanish route, but I haven't learned Spanish before.

The last thing I want to ask is do they really look for the person who have lots of life experiences?

What I've read so far here, there are so many people who have outstanding work experiences(whether related to health care or not).

Your comment will be highly appreciated. =)

ncemt · May 9, 2010

Hey guys,

I'm applying for Spring 2011 as well, I'm living in Florida right now and working as a Patient Care Assistant in the NICU but I actually went to Duke for my undergrad (finished my degree a semester early in Dec 2009). Would LOVE to be back in Durham, I have a lot of great friends and contacts there from school and I really miss the area. Still need to finish my psychology and sociology prerequisites but I'm planning on doing that this summer and fall. As for the application process, I definitely second the question about the personal statement...not too clear what they're expecting in terms of length. Also, does anyone know whether the clinical sites are mostly in the Raleigh/Durham area or if you end up at sites all over NC? Applying to UNC as a back up (as I'm sure a lot of people are), but Duke's my #1 choice. Go Devils!!!

Tgrndkie · May 10, 2010

If you don't mind, could you let me know how many pages did you write?
As far as I am concerned, there is no "limit." Right?
I am trying to write less than 2 pages, so the people will not be bored...=)
And which route did you choose? ( research or Spanish)
I'm interested in Spanish route, but I haven't learned Spanish before.
The last thing I want to ask is do they really look for the person who have lots of life experiences?
What I've read so far here, there are so many people who have outstanding work experiences(whether related to health care or not).
Your comment will be highly appreciated. =)

So, for my personal statement I wrote about 3 pages; however, like someone else mentioned they really dont specify a length, and they do that for a purpose. I would say keep it around 3 pages (double spaced). If you can get out what you want to say in less than that, by all means do it. They don't put a limit on the number of pages so people wouldn't feel pressed to get in all they had to say in a specified length... I know some applicants who wrote around 5 pages. Also, I chose the research route only because I know I want to do research; therefore, I was going to get a lot more out of those classes than I would the Spanish ones. If you are a good/fluent spanish speaker, and you are somewhat interested in doing research I would suggest the research route. There are many options through the school of nursing to travel abroad to spanish speaking countries for your community health rotation, so if you are interested in spanish, you can get experience through those options. Finally, the life experience question... I wouldn't say that is necessarily the case. They love a diverse group of people, and some students in my cohort are directly out of undergrad so life experiences wasn't exactly what they saw in them. I think passion and the drive to be a great nurse, despite your past experiences, is what they are more interested in. Hope that helped and let me know if there is anything else! I would also suggest, if anyone is in town... to go to the information sessions that they have, they really helped me confirm my decision to go to Duke!

Tgrndkie · May 10, 2010

Also, does anyone know whether the clinical sites are mostly in the Raleigh/Durham area or if you end up at sites all over NC? Applying to UNC as a back up (as I'm sure a lot of people are), but Duke's my #1 choice. Go Devils!!!

Hey there! This is how the clinical sites are as of now... your first semester you can be in Cary, Raleigh, Durham, or CH. For the second semester, you may be in Alamance, Butner, Durham, Raleigh, and CH. For the third semester, the choices are about the same; however, they have a diverse number of sites so you aren't always working at Duke Hospital. This is definitely one of the strengths of the program, I believe. You get to see so many clinical sites so you just aren't learning the Duke way, mainly because a majority of the students don't always stay to work through that hospital system. They do a great job with following your requests when it comes to clinical site and clinical days of the week.

Lauren4268 · May 13, 2010

Sandy- good luck to you to!! Creighton has rolling admissions, so you're not comparred against all the other applicants. Im hoping this may help get me in =) they said I would hear back fairly quickly (4-6 weeks), and I applied 3 weeks ago, so I'm halfway there!! =)

Monica- thanks for all your encouragement about GPA...I'm deifinitely going to apply now, regardless of what happens with creighton, since it doesnt hurt to have options right? I was wondering if you could speak a little bit more about the program. what's your typical week like during the program in each of the semesters? I'm not planning on working, but I'm guessing it is still quite an intensive program. I've been working 40 hours a week while carrying 12 units a semester...will it get worse than this? haha is there any type of preparation you would reccomend to someone? I don't have any experience with direct patient care, i.e. giving med's, starting IV's...ect. Did you find that many students were able to pick up on this quickly? Sorry for all the questions....I'm just getting kinda nervous since I could potentially be in school in a few months (fingers corssed)!!! =) thanks you for any info you can provide!!

-Lauren

Lauren4268 · May 20, 2010

So I was researching the Spring 2010 thread a bit to get some info on dates and what we can expect...Its really great to see how quickly things will move once the deadline hits! App deadline is July 1....looks like they do interviews that same month, and admission decisions come out early/mid august!!! so only a few weeks after the interviews (if we get one). I'm really hoping things go well, this is definitely my number 1 choice!! :yeah: