IUSON 2nd Deg BSN: Spring 2010, Current, Recent Grads: Info, ?s, Textbooks

anomaly · Sep 28, 2009

hi everybody! this is long, but please help if you know anything about the 2nd deg bsn program at iupui/iuson in downtown indianapolis.

i applied to iuson (indiana university school of nursing) in indianapolis for the class beginning in the spring 2010.

i am hoping to receive feedback from anyone who is also applying to begin in january, from anyone who is currently in the program, or from anyone who has recently completed it. also, if you just happen to have done know of any information that might be useful, i would appreciate that as well. :)

i spoke with someone in the program before applying, spoke with people who had been contingently admitted, met with a counselor, and had e-mail and phone correspondence with multiple counselors at the school before i applied.

i like to ask questions of several different sources and multiple times, so i wanted to share some of the things i learned about the program that i found useful. though i did request this information multiple times, i must say that at times the person offering the information seemed uncertain of their response, so please don't hold them as absolute truths and ask your own questions.

they had about 125 people apply for the fall of 2009, and they accepted between 30 and 40 (at the time, the summer semester had not ended; there wasn't an exact tally because contingent admits had not submitted their final grades).
for fall 2009, they admitted anyone with a pre-requisite gpa above 3.77.***
though there is an essay on the application, it is of secondary or little importance. admission is based almost entirely on your pre-requisite gpa.***
on the website it says that you need to have an undergraduate gpa of at least 2.5 to be considered, but my counselor mentioned 2.7 (which the website specifies will be the minimum requirement for those entering in the fall of 2010 or later).***
there is no interview for the Accelerated BSN program. there are interviews for the traditional bsn program.
the admissions committee does not show preference to iupui or iu students when considering applications for the accelerated bsn program. (if you read the undergraduate bulletin on the iupui website, you might come to this conclusion as well, but i asked just to be sure.) like any university, they show preference to iupui and iu students for the traditional bsn program because their undergraduates (who already attend their university) are applying to enter the program because they have completed pre-reqs or finally decided on a major. (i obtained my undergraduate degree out of state.)
letters of admittance will "most likely" be mailed out the week after thanksgiving. they interview students for the traditional bsn during the first week of november and that is one process that delays the decision process.
clarian health and community hospital do make presentations to the entire class during orientation, and each hospital usually offers between 5 and 6 scholarships. also, if you browse the iupui website (nursing.iupui.edu) you will find an 11 page pdf file of scholarships for nursing students.

***gpa issues were the most confusing to me. i am absolutely sure that during my in-person visit my guidance counselor said that undergraduate gpas were not considered competitively (in other words, you simply needed at least a 2.7) and that for the fall 2009 semester they accepted anyone with greater than a 3.77 gpa. however, this is the one issue that i am paranoid about, so if anyone in or out of the program could attest to this, i would greatly appreciate. the reason for my fear is that a girl i met during the summer said she had been accepted for the fall 2009 class and that she didn't know anyone with less than a 3.9 gpa. she could not say whether they meant undergraduate or pre-requisite. however, she was not a reliable source of information because she told me that there was an interview when there is not.

requirements for current students

the questions that i have all relate to what happens after you are admitted. since i will receive my letter (whatever it may say) during the first week of december, and because christmas and new years are the worst times of the year to try to accomplish anything, i was hoping to fulfill as many of the requirements asap so i will be prepared in the event that i am admitted.

requirements:

1. i know that cpr is offered during orientation, but i was wondering how much it costs? also, has anyone taken it through the american red cross, and if so, can you tell me/us exactly which "section" to sign up for.

3. i have heard that the university offers health insurance. does anyone have this insurance, and if so, can they provide any information about the company/provider, rates, etc.?

6. and 7. i was employed by a pharmacy earlier this year and completed both osha training and hipaa modules and am curious as to whether i will need to complete them again. also, is it possible and/or acceptable to complete them ahead of time if you already have a onestart account?

9. with respect to uniforms and supplies: is there anything listed that you do not need? is there anything not listed that you do need? what supplies would you have on hand in order to be prepared?

textbooks

lastly, with respect to books. i attempted to peruse the books for the spring 2010 semester on the iupui bookstore website, but they're not available yet, so i looked over the ones listed for the fall of 2009. i would like to buy a few of them, since i have found them online for considerably less than they cost--even used--in the bookstore, and i don't want to wait until december and try to get books over christmas break.

does anyone think that they will change the books before the spring semester?
would you advise buying the publication manual of the american psychological association or just using online resources and/or the library?
lastly, can the turning tech response card be used repeatedly? i couldn't find it cheaper than the $40.00, and it is listed as a required resource for multiple semesters.

if the books will still be relevant for the spring, i was planning on buying the most recent edition (or waiting until it is published).

i'm sorry for all of the questions. i hope some of this information is helpful to someone. and i look forward to hearing from anyone who can provide any information whatsoever!

thank you!

p.s. i'm sorry if i elucidated anything that seemed self-explanatory or was common sense. i like details, and sometimes i get frustrated or feel silly when people use acronyms that i don't recognize.