GMU ABSN program 2017 applicants

U.S.A. Virginia

Published

Hello, everyone!

I am a prospective student for the GMU ABSN program for 2017. I am working on completing my A&P I and II before applying in January. I have already have a BA in Psychology from GMU. My overall GPA was not great due to an undiagnosed chronic illness that left me with many incompletes that I couldn't get done. But my last 50 or so credits were all As and I was on the Dean's List every semester. I don't know if it will help me at all to be an alumna or not. I am an older student (35 yrs old) and I have three little girls. My older two are already in elementary school and my youngest will eligible for Pre-K by the time the program starts if I'm accepted. I'm a little intimidated by the 1 year, intensive program. Anyone else thinking about applying for the same program? Any advice from those who have already started or completed it? Thanks!

Specializes in Oncology, OCN.
hope2nurse2017, 4 times? mine was like 50 tries. Start and halfway through got tongue tied. Only did one perfect video and in that I forgot to say my G number at the start. Had to go through another bunch of fails until finally got a video that was 2:58 minutes long with my G number at the start. Videos are worse than essays.

All of this! I was getting so frustrated trying to get a good take. Still not thrilled with what I ended up with but it was good enough.

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@hope2nurse2017- Nice! From your previous post it sounded like you hadn't so I just wanted to be sure you got it in! I actually had never used imovie before either, I was able to figure it out well enough but probably would have been better off with a photobooth video.

@soccergod- Same with me too haha I started filming it a few days ago but did about 90% of my video yesterday because of all the takes I screwed up on. Definitely agree that the video was worse than the essay

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Hi All,

I'm also a 2017 applicant-- I've been working towards this for years!!!!!!!! I have a 4.0 prerequisite GPA, a 3.6 undergrad GPA and a 2.5 law school GPA (my weak spot). I scored a 94% on the Hesi with a few perfect score sections. I got an 88% on the reading comprehension lol!!! Can't wait to tell future applicants to look at ALL sections before taking the tests. I didn't practice RC questions and was kicking myself when I saw my score. Anyway I liked my essay (hard!!!) and my video was fine (NERVOUS!). I woke up this morning in a panic realizing I didn't put my G number on my transcripts. SIGH. How I remembered that in my sleep is beyond me. Hopefully, they don't count that against me. I was putting the final touches on my packet while my 2 year old sat on my lap with a 103 fever and snot running down his face. It is what it is. I can say, however, I was never happier standing in a long line at the post office on a Saturday morning. I am soooooooo excited to make this happen!!! Now how long do we have to wait? :)

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GMU essay prompt: Scenario: You are finishing up your shift and are about to grab your things, when all the sudden a patient begs you for one final request before you leave. You have an appointment in 1 hour that you cannot miss. The dilemma is that the request can take 30 seconds or 30 minutes. You won't know which unless you decide to hear her request. What would you do and why?

any idea on what to do

What did you end up writing about? It was tough I thought but I know it was well-written. My theme was "using your judgment".

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Specializes in Oncology, OCN.
GMU essay prompt: Scenario: You are finishing up your shift and are about to grab your things, when all the sudden a patient begs you for one final request before you leave. You have an appointment in 1 hour that you cannot miss. The dilemma is that the request can take 30 seconds or 30 minutes. You won't know which unless you decide to hear her request. What would you do and why?

any idea on what to do

I wrote about work life/personal life balance and the importance of taking care of yourself. Also the importance of prioritizing and being able to multi-task. Then wrote about my current job and how I use those skills each day.

We should hear back about getting in by early April.

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It looks as though from posts in last year's forum the emails went out on March 23. That's not so long to wait! I'm so in the weeds with my last three prereq courses that it should fly by. Plus I have to get my taxes done early so my kid can finish his college applications, LOL!

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I am in the current ABSN cohort. Good luck to everyone on hearing with good news. I know waiting is the hardest part. And lucky for you, GMU is building the beautiful Peterson health building to be opened in late 2017. As I recall, the information session was intimidating and everyone seemed so bright. The program is intense and the first semester is a shocker. As one of the advisors mentioned in our boot camp, "you worked hard to get in but you will work even harder to get out." Having said that, you will do fine as most professors want you to succeed. Make sure to surround yourself with many cohorts who are positive, diligent and helpful. One thing I did before I started the program during the summer was to first enjoy my time off, saw family and friends and started doing NCLEX review to get familiar with some of the topics. I use UWORLD.com software as it has great rationales. Even if you don't know the answers, just going through the questions will get you in the mindset. Once you all find out in March, start a facebook group so you can start networking and meeting each other before the boot camp week. One of our fabulous cohorts did just that and half of us were able to meet in June for happy hour and it really made the boot camp not so scary. Good luck everyone!

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PP---- what do you think GMU is looking for in a candidate? Is it all grades? I mean I worked soooooo hard and got the best scores on everything I could (3.6 undergrad, 4.0 prereq, 94% HESI, volunteering...etc.) but I am still incredibly anxious. I went to an info session once and one of the Dean's made me feel really bad about having a law degree (probably b/c my GPA was terrible and I went to a low ranked school....hence the career change). It's been haunting me since. Do you have any classmates that were really removed from healthcare? I feel like an ABSN is meant for people like me who didn't like their first career....do you have any insight into this? Thanks!!!!

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You look great for GMU with your grades, HESI, volunteering, and law degree. Based on knowing the professors and advisors a bit, I would say GMU is really looking for a serious applicant who will finish the program, add diversity and value to the group, and pass the NCLEX. Currently, we have people from all backgrounds, young and more seasoned, single or married, with kids or some with grown kids, and many in other prior fields like music, editor, nonprofit, stay at home moms, military, etc. Don't stress too much. You seem well suited. I was an accountant for 20 years and only worked in hospital for 6 months as a tech. It's been a great experience so far.

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Hi TaxRN,

Thanks for taking the time to encourage us during this nerve-wracking waiting period. What is your day to day schedule like in the program? Full class days? full clinics? what will this summer look like for you--any time off at all? I'm really interested in the nuts and bolts day to day

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I just got an offer for Critical Care too. Just passed my nclex as well. 😎😎 hope to be meeting y'all July

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Are you the same hope from my micro class with bibha?!

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