FRCC Fall 2016

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Specializes in Med Surg/Ortho.

I don't see a recent thread for FRCC nursing students. I got into the Fall program at the Larimer campus and was curious if anyone else on here is going to be in the program. We start in 3 weeks! I'm so excited but nervous as well This is a second career for me. I'll be 40 when I finish. But I figure I'll be 40 anyway, might as well be in a better career, making more money, and hopefully happier than I what I am doing now. I also have 2 kids, so it is a struggle trying to figure out my schedule (which changes almost every week!) and their schedule. My husband is a truck driver and gone most of the time. My dad is retired and planning on moving here, but his lease isn't up until end of September. Also, there is a new rule that we have to do a dual BSN at the same time. Which I had planned on getting anyway, but I am worried how that works with financial aid and how many classes we will need to take every semester.

So who will be doing this journey with me? What are you excited or nervous about? Any challenges you are facing with this program?

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Hi,

I'm hoping to attend FRCC Nursing in Fall 2017 and I was wondering how competitive the admission process was? I'm hoping the HESI isn't too bad as long as I study well.

thanks :)

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Specializes in Med Surg/Ortho.

I think its pretty competitive, but not as bad as some schools. They only require a GPA of 2.75, Cs in all of your prereqs, and a cumulative score of 75% on your Hesi to apply. But I was told after being admitted that they get so many applicants that they are actually pickier than that, and pretty much only look at grades above Bs, GPA above a 3.0 and a Hesi score over 80%. I don't know the stats of other students admitted but I had a GPA of 3.89 (prereqs) and cumulative GPA of 3.6. I also got a score of 90.5% on the Hesi (92% Chem, Bio and Reading, and 89% in Math). All of my prereqs were As except for A&P, that was a B (missed by just a couple of points!).

As for the Hesi, I was very nervous about it. I studied a lot, probably more than I needed to. I got books from the library on Bio and Chem to brush up, looked up HESI questions on quizlet and bought the Elsevier study guide. Honestly, all I needed was their study guide. The questions were very basic, foundation questions, nothing too specific.

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Hi there,

I am going to start nursing program at FRCC on this spring 2017. I tried find some infos about school program here, but it was bit hard to find any that I want to see.

I was glad to read your post that you are now in the program at the same campus which I am going to be in, If you could, can you tell me how is the program like? I know that it will be a lot of stress. I am kind of freaking out because the completion rate is only 59% at the Larimer campus back in 2014. and they only allow to fail the class only one time during the whole program.

I started my pre-nursing 2 years ago, and I completed and got accepted Larimer campus, and now I am 40 years old :)

Since I start to go this journey in this such late, I really don't want to fail. I would really appreciate if you could tell me about the program.

Plus, Since I am living in Thornton, I will have to spend about 2 hours for round trip...

I am now under stress to thinking about the program stress plus the driving..

Thanks for the reading, and looking forward to hear from you! :)

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Specializes in Med Surg/Ortho.

I understand your concerns. I'm 38 with 2 kids, and this is a second career for me. I feel like I can't fail either. Do you have any specific questions about the program? I really like it so far, but it is a LOT of work. I did more in half a semester than I was used to doing in a full semester for other classes. First semester is Fundamentals, Pharmacology, and Math. Fundamentals you have online lectures, usually a few for every test (and you have a test almost every week). Then you come to class and talk about the material, do case studies. We do a lot of hands on stuff and have skills labs every week as well. And you will be tested on all of those. So far we have done vital signs, sterile hand gloving, foley catheter, and a physical assessment. Next week is trach suctioning and placing a NG tube.

Pharm is not as much material, some classes are online, some in person, but there are quite a few drugs you need to learn. And you need to know everything about them. I'm not a fan of the math class. The first half of the semester, you are reviewing algebra, and even do silly things like graphs. I thought it was a waste. But now that we are finally doing dosage calculations, its good.

You definitely need a lot of time to study. Having a job is difficult during the program, but doable if you manage your time. Traveling can be difficult as well. We had two people coming from Denver that were constantly late and having issues on I-25, so give yourself more than enough time, especially in bad weather. One good thing about the care ride you could possibly listen to online lectures in your car.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

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Hi, Thank you for your reply, feel much better after read your comment!

so, how are you feeling about the stay in the course? you think it is really tough to keep good grades?

are they really let you fail only one time to stay in the course for whole 2 years?

I know I will try my best and do study a lot, but sometimes scares me :)

how is the clinical going?

you think the nursing program is doable for you to taking care 2 kids? I have one and he is 9 :)

I know you are busy, please reply me whenever you have a chance.

and I really appreciate for your reply. Have a good one :)

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Hey ladies! I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but this one is the most recent and relevant to FRCC.

I'm hoping to get into/start the Fall 2017 program. I'm done with prereqs this semester ( December). I'm kinda freaking out about actually getting in! I am a 4.0 student in prereqs, 3.3 overall. I'm studying for the Hesi now...

I'm an EMT, 30 with 4 kids. So I feel you on the whole "second career" thing.

Any advice? Words of hope?

BTW congrats on getting in and getting through it this far!

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Hi Satori77! Thanks for all of the insight you posted. I am starting the program in January of 2017 and I am really nervous! Do you have any suggestions on what I should do now to prepare for the program? I started reading the fundamentals book, but it would be good if I had a little more direction on exactly what to study. Does it seem like a lot of people fail even when they put forth the effort? I hope you have a wonderful break and holiday! Thanks. :)

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The HESI book at the Harmony library helped me pass. I also used one from Elsevier that is available at Barnes and Noble. I'm sure you'll do great! Don't sweat it! :)

Admission Assessment Exam Review / Edition 4 by HESI | 978

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Hi GGAlice, glad to hear you are going to start same time with me. I'm going to start the nursing at Larimer campus. How about you?

I haven't start the read a book yet, got everything else except the fundamental book, It is always good that you read prior the program start, but one of my friend told me they started from later chapter, she is in the other states though. Yes it would be much better if we know the directions.

anyway, congrats and we will be in the same cohort if you start at the Larimer í ½í¸€

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Hi there NurseKatrina

I got accepted for spring 2017, and I had a 4.0 GPA of pre-reqs, and had 91? Overall on Hesi.

If you are going to apply for Larimer, I suggest you to focus study on biology and chemistry, as you already know you are going to earn lot of points if you have 86 or 88 on these subjects.

I had 3 hesi books, but I didn't really study on these books over and over again. I followed their directions but I practiced a lot on Bio and chemi through the phone app. It's called pocket prep Hesi A2. I practiced like on going, they also explained about the problems so you will learn a lot through that. It helped me and I got 92 and 96 on bothe subjects.

Wish you luck!!! Hope everything will be good with you!

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Hi Reiny76! Yes, I am at the Larimer campus too. Congrats to you also! I did get an email from Professor Jane Beard that included the syllabus for our Nursing Fundamentals class. So, I do have kind of an idea on where to start. I am reading the vitals section of the Fundamentals book for now. Do you know what kind of shoes we are supposed to wear?

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