Lonestar Fall 2013 hopefuls

Jessi29 · Mar 28, 2013

But on the bright side the nursing advisor told me the year before last the applicant pool was so low someone in the 10 point range got in... So you never know!

Hemcdougall · Mar 28, 2013

Well I hope it's more like that this year!!! Fingers crossed!

Pengüino · Mar 28, 2013

I just had my LVN orientation this past Monday at the Montgomery Campus and the Director of Nursing stated that one should start the FastPass process ASAP, and you don't need to be accepted into any program in order to do so. Just know that once that process is complete then all you have to worry about is if you have any trouble with the law thereafter that with the exception of traffic violations, etc. Good luck!

Pengüino · Mar 28, 2013

Just to give you all some comfort about the process, I was accepted and had been attending LSC-North Harris up until the end October of last year. I want to give you all my experience.

Letters were sent out late last year and I received my letter on the 9th of April. I would expect letters to come any day now. I applied last year to North Harris, first, and then Montgomery, second, and was accepted at the North Harris Campus with an 11.67. I don't know the cut-off but I do know that one student mentioned they had a ten point something, which kind of shocked me. Ninety-five students was the official headcount when the term began last fall. The orientation back in May for the ADN program was 130, I assume this included alternates, however, they didn't say. If you really plan on attending a nursing (BSN or ADN) or LVN program, then I would encourage you all to get your background checks in order before hand, as well as, a current Tdap, TB, Hep B (hopefully you have only one shot left at this point), flu shot, MMR, and Varicella.

Good luck everyone, I am sure each and every one of you will be accepted.

Please let me know if you have any questions about testing once you're in the program. I had straight A's when I dropped out due to personal reasons, and the biggest challenge I saw during test days is that they didn't study smart. I spent half the time studying what some of my friends were studying and they were making C's, and I was getting A's.

Again good luck to you all!

Jessiwebb · Mar 28, 2013

What do u mean fast pass process?

Pengüino · Mar 28, 2013

Please see the following link under BACKGROUND CHECKS. It is from UTHSC-Houston, but the same lingo and concept is used at LSC Nursing Programs. They do a better job than I would. (Grin)

The University of Texas Health Science Center - School of Nursing

emagine · Mar 28, 2013

@Penguino what study tactics did you use when preparing for test?

Pengüino · Mar 28, 2013

First, always ask yourself when reading: How can I use this information to keep the patient safe? Essentially, what the NCLEX is going to do is test to see if you can be a safe nurse, and recognize which patient requires your attention, hence prioritization.

I "looked" over the material first to see what would be the most challenging for me to learn first, and if I could find it in Saunders NCLEX-RN Review by Silvestri [yellow cover] then I would start there to get the gist, then I would go back to the textbooks and read over and pick out what I think the professors would ask. NOTE: Saunders NCLEX-RN is not a required text, but most everyone purchases it because of how helpful the reviews are and some the questions show up on tests. So, I'd definitely buy it.

Look for key words such as commonly, average, some, generally, always, etc. Look for opposites as well within a sentence. You probably already know that there is more than one correct answer, but they're looking for the BEST one. At any rate, the questions themselves are a duel testing technique where they are looking for you to answer the question correctly and use critical thinking at the same time. My advice, grab an NCLEX-RN question with answers and rationales study guide and start looking over test questions to get into the habit of noticing this pattern. I figured it out when I had to work with a testing expert on Pharmacology and Pathophysiology at the University of St. Thomas here in Houston. It will make your life so much easier. I am not at home at the moment, but will post more specifics if this this doesn't make sense.

I know this may seem too easy, but it really is, and this is how I did so well, plus I think I just kind of "got it" from being a CNA for six years.

Also, for those who end up at North Harris ADN, they front load your labs so this is how it'll go.

First, three weeks of the Fall semester will be Monday-Friday 0800-1500 (approximately). This will be all of the skills you'll need to learn to work with patients your first semester. Beginning week four is when all of the book work begins. You will be asked to prepare for lecture over the weekend, goto class Monday and Tuesday, goto clinical either Wednesday or Thursday and take an exam Friday morning on a computer NCLEX-style at the campus over that material learned Monday. Then the process begins all over again. The amount of reading is anywhere from 100-200+ pages a week, and it's just too much so start now to try and figure out how you will plan to attack your studying.

I am sorry to write a dissertation, obviously I am very verbose. Don't hesitate to ask any questions again, or if you need clarification let me know.

On a side note, I was accepted into the LVN at Montgomery (had orientation this week), but I also applied to the ADN at Montgomery (only that campus) with a 11.67 (again).

emagine · Mar 28, 2013

Thank you soo much!! That is a great way to study and understand the material. You will be an excellent nurse. If you have any other info to share it would be greatly appreciated.

Stephalump · Mar 28, 2013

I called and they said that Montgomery last year was 11.4 and north Harris said 10.1 I thought it was higher but hey i won't complain If it is like that this year

North Harris's cut-off is always low(er) because they take a huge amount of people. They're also notorious for losing a huge number of people, so it's all about weighing the pros and cons.

The people with 11.4s at Montgomery were from the waitlist; however, I wouldn't be surprised if the cut-off is even lower this year. Hospitals requiring BSNs means fewer and fewer applications!

Hemcdougall · Mar 28, 2013

North Harris's cut-off is always low(er) because they take a huge amount of people. They're also notorious for losing a huge number of people, so it's all about weighing the pros and cons.
The people with 11.4s at Montgomery were from the waitlist; however, I wouldn't be surprised if the cut-off is even lower this year. Hospitals requiring BSNs means fewer and fewer applications!

I didn't even think of that! good point!

addismama · Mar 28, 2013

Thank you so much Penguino! What great information! I had to do a bon declatory report and I had to cal bon to find out the outcome. They told me I was clear on their side (bon) but that I still had to get cleared by the school and haven't heard anything thus far. I started the declatory process last July. I am really starting to get anxious about it all.