hopefulBacc2010

Welcome Acrugrat, Ms. Sealy gave you a great link. The cost for student health insurance through UTMB is only $92/month. If you have a spouse or children, you can add them as well. I know the spouse payment is $267/month. I did call United Healthcare to find out when to sign up. They said we can sign up as soon as we start classes. The coverage starts the day they receive the premium. Hope that helps, Deb.

Hi Sherbevs, 1) No, I called and they are backed up. "A" from student wellness said just to bring a copy to orientation as back up in case they have not entered it into the computer. 2) We will not have access to Blackboard until we are registered. I received a Spring calendar in the snail-mail on Saturday. 3)We won't have access to the UTMB e-mail until we have a badge and have heard the IT blurb at orientation. Hope that helps. All the best, Deb.

Pretty much. It will change a little bit when we start clinicals. It looks like we need 7-12hr shifts of clinicals total for the semester. The calendar has clinicals Mon 3/29 then Wed/Thurs/Fri the last week of March until April 16th for a total of 10 shifts, so I'm wondering if we will only be scheduled for 7 of the 10. I guess we'll find out, soon enough. I'm commuting from Friendswood, so it stinks a little bit. I've commuted to Galveston before, and it's not as bad as trying to go to West Houston. Take care, Deb:)

Hi all Bacc2s, Just a heads up: I received my orientation and spring schedule in the mail yesterday, so expect yours soon. They said they've been having "technical difficulties" so the paperwork was mailed instead of e-mailed. It looks like we are going to be in Galveston more than 1x a week this semester which is a bummer for me. The schedule has us in Galveston Tuesday/Thursday/Friday. It looks like actual clinicals start in March, but we have skills labs up until that point. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone! All the best, Deb :)

Hi Kliz18, I don't have any clinical experience, but I have lots of research experience in the life sciences field.

Hi johnsonag415, I was told that the clinicals will be scheduled as close to your home address as possible. The clinicals in Galveston are usually reserved for students living on the island. UTMB is not fully functional after Ike yet, so clinicals there are limited. I have heard this same information from several sources. I am Bacc2 also and will be living in Friendswood. I do know we will have one day a week where we have to be in Galveston for lab. Have any of the Bacc2s heard about the schedule yet? I haven't received a schedule, yet. How about fin aid? I received my award letter with the stafford loans, but it didn't have my scholarship on it. I've been trying to call, but no live person. PS: The commute from the med center would be one hour at least to Galveston. You could try out staying with your friends the first couple of weeks just to get a feel for it, and you'd know more about clinicals after orientation. I, personally, think the drive is not so bad to Galveston, much better than West Houston/59 area. Take care, Deb.

hi albkat, i also am a nontraditional student. i just put in that my degree would be nursing and status as 4th year since that is what we would be considered in bacc2. there's a lot of overlap with fastweb, but i did find a couple that were not. -deb

another good scholarship site is www.moolahspot.com. i found a couple i'll be applying for on there that were not on fastweb. -deb :)

Hi Meghan, I found a website with the UT scrubs if you want to order online. It's the only place I found that has the multiple pockets - https://www.collegiatescrubsonline.com/products.php?scrubsname=University-of-Texas&cat=54 There should be places close to the medical center that sell them since the UT med/dental/nursing school are up that way. Have a Happy Turkey Day! Deb.

hi katie lou, first of all just relax. if you had some minor indiscretions as a teen, that is probably what they want to talk about. they probably just want to make sure you are the responsible student that you are. we will all represent utmb son, so they just want to make sure you will be a good example. my tips would be to go over the questions they asked you in interview 1. the dean will probably ask again. why should we (utmb son) pick you as a nursing student? what will make you a good nursing student? how will you handle the coursework? also, if you made a mistake as a teen, what have you learned from that and how did it shape you into the person you are, now. they want to see that not only are you not that person anymore, you learned from your mistakes. lastly, practice-practice-practice. practicing outloud makes all the difference in the world. if you have someone to practice with, it makes it better because they may think of follow-up questions to ask. this makes it less nerve racking for you and will make you more confident and relaxed in the interview. you'll do great and good luck tomorrow :) -deb.

Congrats to all the awesome new nursing students! I cannot wait to see everyone at orientation. -Deb:)

Hi Sarah_Ashley, Sorry to take so long to get back to you. SD from Enrollment Services sent me an e-mail with a link to the portal and instructions to retrieve a password. The Award letters haven't been downloaded yet, though. Probably waiting for all the AWESOME generics to receive their awards and accept/decline. Take care, Deb.

Thanks toasterbell, I'm gonna see if I can snag one on Black Friday.

Hey All, A question for the Bacc2s - on your financial aid portal - the "cost of attendance", does this really include tuition and books for the year? I figured tuition/fees and books would cost about 13-14k total for the whole program, so if I subtract this number, the remainder is for living expenses, insurance, etc..?? I was going down to UTMB to talk to them about it since I'm kinda freaking out. There's less than 6 weeks until orientation. If anybody has any questions they want asked, please let me know and I'll ask the fin aid peeps. All the best, Deb.

Hi All is on, I've bought my shoes and stethoscope, but nothing else yet. I'm going to get my books used, if possible. The only ones I've found online used are the Pharm, Patho and Drug calculation books. I'll probably go ahead and purchase. I've been looking at the scrubs online. Have you found any for less than 21 and 25 bucks for top and pants, respectively? It looks like the software is going to cost over $200. Have you purchased it, yet? What kind of PDA are you getting or do you have? I'm thinking about the ipod touch. Take care, Deb.:)