FREE TUITION - FREE BSN - University of Arizona

peruanachica · Feb 18, 2009

I'm fairly late here, but I just joined allnurses. I also got an interview for the 2009 ABSN and these forums have really helped me anticipate what will happen in the interview process. Thank you!

It took me 3 tries to even get this interview (3 times a charm, eh?) Luckily, I live in Tucson already. Thanks to my husband I've been living in the area for over 2 years now (moved from Seattle). Looking forward to meeting some of you on Saturday morning. I'll be at the info session the night before too. Good luck to everyone!

xxmikiexx · Feb 20, 2009

I am a lil sleepy right now but really excited! my plane leaves early tomorrow morning

mikie

chinook · Feb 21, 2009

All done!!! I'm glad that's over- but now I have to find something to do for 2-3 weeks until we find out! :banghead:

How'd everyone do?

Does anyone know how many interviewees were there? DMSKOKA: sorry I missed you! I hope you did well. Mikey, it was a nice surprise to meet you!

dmskoka · Feb 22, 2009

so sorry to have missed you. Looked for you today.. Went and looked at apartments .. found a nice one.. I think there were 130 of us for 48 positions.. Really think that they should have told us before!!!!that they had a huge change in the plan. oh well. see what happens now.

chinook · Feb 22, 2009

Ouch. Brutal taste of the economic climate these days. My heart sunk when I heard carondelet dropped out! Our interviewers told us, though, that there were 30 groups of three. You do the math- some didn't show up. Hnmm... Everyone in my group was so qualified and personable- I don't know how they are going to make these impossible decisions! It's going to be a long, long, loooong couple 'o weeks. The mailman will be ready to hit me with the mail truck by the time we receive our letters. Good luck!

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Feb 22, 2009

Ouch. Brutal taste of the economic climate these days. My heart sunk when I heard carondelet dropped out!

Carondelet dropped out? So is UMC the only place to work after you're done?

To the people who traveled, was the weather nice enough for you? This is the best time of year to visit, IMO.

chinook · Feb 22, 2009

nope-- umc, tmc,and northwest medical center. umc takes the most students. all other hospitals are taking way less students.

dmskoka · Feb 22, 2009

67 degrees at 9pm.. very nice...

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Feb 22, 2009

nope-- umc, tmc,and northwest medical center. umc takes the most students. all other hospitals are taking way less students.

I can't see how TMC can still do it. My money is that they will drop out soon too, as they were the ones unable to find work for thier own on-site ADN program...

chinook · Feb 23, 2009

If I don't get in this year, I will be reapplying next year. I hope they are able to increase the # of students by then.

Waiting, waiting for the days to pass...

giardiafan · Feb 23, 2009

All,

I heard through the grapevine that 130 were INVITED to interview, but that roughly 100 actually did so, and these are just estimates. The final number interviewed is probably +/- 10 from that 100.

Anyways, I was rather disappointed in how the UA administration handled the notification of Carondelet's withdrawal from the partnership program. Apparently, they had the news for upwards of a week and opted not to say anything until the Friday night 'info. session.'

The interview, I felt, was very straightforward and predictable. My panel was composed of 3 women, of which 2 were faculty and 1 was a hospital HR rep. They were all very professional and smiled, but were maybe a little less than creative than anticipated. They just asked their questions, listened to the responses, and drafted notes. No follow up Qs or delving deeper for more profound responses. I was surprised how little actual dialogue or informal chatting there was between candidates and the panel. They just seemed hellbent on checking off questions and ending the interview on time.

I was little impressed. I've interviewed with other schools, and found them to be more personable, probing, and seeking a good institutional match for their candidates. One school I had a telephone iview with lasted 45 minutes and the admissions officer opened with, "Your qualifications speak for themselves, so we don't want to discuss grades or previous jobs. Let's talk about what attracts you to nursing and why your previous experiences on a holistic level lead you to nursing at this point in your life." That was it. I was pleasantly floored and it was a great conversation.

Anyways, the chance to meet with the current students post-interview was the only real value for me, and from their comments, I am more confident in the academics and clinical experience. I just wish we could have had contact/communication with the students Friday night pre-interview, rather than Saturday post-interview. That made grand zero sense to me, if only to bolster the likelihood of retaining candidates who do get accepted.

So I ultimately conclude that the program is demanding, but doable, and the clinicals seem to be the best part, according to the students I spoke with. The only shining negative is that the program administrators are somewhat subpar in terms of things like internal communication, timing, scheduling, organization, and coordinating concurrent classroom/clinical learning so everything is properly synchronized. Still, in the end, I think this is one of the better ABSN programs in the region, although I think that the first impression made (from the information sessions) leaves much to be desired, although it could be intentionally designed that way to discourage mass applications from students with casual interest.

I'm sure we'll hear more in the next 2 weeks or so. Good luck to you all!

GF.

chinook · Feb 26, 2009

In response to what GF posted: My hunch is that the "cookie-cutter" interviews were a way to confirm that the students placed in the top 48 should, indeed, be the top 48. I assume that we are ranked according to GPA and then they go from there... This is speculation, I have no idea- but it helps me pass the days. My interview panel was extremely personable and conversational. I must have lucked out. I was also early in the morning-- maybe by the end of the day the enthusiasm and desire to learn more was lessened by their weariness over the sheer volume of interviewees.

Aside from that, how's everyone holding up?

Anybody need to vent? It may help pass the time...