Mount St. Mary's College Los Angeles AccBSN 2013 Applicants

larapn · Feb 25, 2013

Thanks, Colette! Questions: Do you have any free time at all? How late do lectures usually go?

snowyshan · Feb 25, 2013

Thanks Colette for the information! Was the class at Taylor University difficult because I always have a hard time doing online courses versus regular classes.

creineck · Feb 25, 2013

For holidays, it depends. We usually get the big holidays off (Memorial Day, etc) and are off pretty much the entire month of December. President's Day, MLK are not days off. Our cohort was off on Labor Day but I am not sure if that is always the case. We are also getting a 4 day weekend for Easter.

Free time is tough. For the first semester, you are in class 2 days a week, usually from 7 am to 3:30 pm and then you have two or three days a week at clinicals (if only 2 days a week, they are 12 hour days; if 3 days a week, they are 8 hour days). I was able to still see my friends but it was definitely less frequent than before. It is very difficult to work. There is only one person in my cohort that still works (she bartends on Saturdays) and she considered quitting because of the amount of time she needed to study. There is an exam almost every week so many of my weekends are spent studying. Also, some of the instructors expect you to have read the material prior to class so that can take time.

As to Taylor, I didn't think it was that difficult. There is a lot of reading but most of the people who took the course, didn't do the reading. They looked at the assignment, answered the questions and flipped through the book to make sure they were on the right track. If it is still the same instructor, he has you answer the questions and then he responds to your answers with questions about your ethical argument and you need to respond to his concerns. I was working at the time and I was able to complete one or two of the assignments a week.

jamooode · Feb 25, 2013

For holidays, it depends. We usually get the big holidays off (Memorial Day, etc) and are off pretty much the entire month of December. President's Day, MLK are not days off. Our cohort was off on Labor Day but I am not sure if that is always the case. We are also getting a 4 day weekend for Easter.
Free time is tough. For the first semester, you are in class 2 days a week, usually from 7 am to 3:30 pm and then you have two or three days a week at clinicals (if only 2 days a week, they are 12 hour days; if 3 days a week, they are 8 hour days). I was able to still see my friends but it was definitely less frequent than before. It is very difficult to work. There is only one person in my cohort that still works (she bartends on Saturdays) and she considered quitting because of the amount of time she needed to study. There is an exam almost every week so many of my weekends are spent studying. Also, some of the instructors expect you to have read the material prior to class so that can take time.
As to Taylor, I didn't think it was that difficult. There is a lot of reading but most of the people who took the course, didn't do the reading. They looked at the assignment, answered the questions and flipped through the book to make sure they were on the right track. If it is still the same instructor, he has you answer the questions and then he responds to your answers with questions about your ethical argument and you need to respond to his concerns. I was working at the time and I was able to complete one or two of the assignments a week.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions!

superfryk · Feb 25, 2013

Got my packet today with t-shirt enclosed... Ferlinghetti pretty real!! Eeeeeeeee

superfryk · Feb 25, 2013

Got my packet today with t-shirt enclosed... Ferlinghetti pretty real!! Eeeeeeeee

That was supposed to be "feeling"

larapn · Feb 26, 2013

For holidays, it depends. We usually get the big holidays off (Memorial Day, etc) and are off pretty much the entire month of December. President's Day, MLK are not days off. Our cohort was off on Labor Day but I am not sure if that is always the case. We are also getting a 4 day weekend for Easter.
Free time is tough. For the first semester, you are in class 2 days a week, usually from 7 am to 3:30 pm and then you have two or three days a week at clinicals (if only 2 days a week, they are 12 hour days; if 3 days a week, they are 8 hour days). I was able to still see my friends but it was definitely less frequent than before. It is very difficult to work. There is only one person in my cohort that still works (she bartends on Saturdays) and she considered quitting because of the amount of time she needed to study. There is an exam almost every week so many of my weekends are spent studying. Also, some of the instructors expect you to have read the material prior to class so that can take time.
As to Taylor, I didn't think it was that difficult. There is a lot of reading but most of the people who took the course, didn't do the reading. They looked at the assignment, answered the questions and flipped through the book to make sure they were on the right track. If it is still the same instructor, he has you answer the questions and then he responds to your answers with questions about your ethical argument and you need to respond to his concerns. I was working at the time and I was able to complete one or two of the assignments a week.

Thanks for the response! I'm reading a lot about how hard it is for nurses, especially new grads, to find jobs right now. Is that something you guys are worried about?

snowyshan · Feb 26, 2013

Thanks for the reply colette I have one more question was there a math test you had to take before you started I read something on the website that you had to pass a test to be officially accepted

creineck · Feb 26, 2013

Sure! Feel free to send any questions my way and I will try to help if I can.

As to jobs, we are all worried about finding a job when we finish but we are trying to be optimistic. We've heard that the best options are to try to get into a New Grad program (UCLA and Children's, among others, both have them) but you can also try to get a job right away. Thankfully MSMC has a really good reputation so that should help. I heard that the most recent New Grad group (August '12) for UCLA was over half MSMC grads (traditional and ABSN).

As to the math test, if you do not pass it, you just need to take some remedial math course prior to the program start. At least one person from my cohort did not pass but they did the remediation hours and are fine. There should be a sample test in your orientation packet and if you can do those, you should be fine.

kcorn · Feb 27, 2013

Hi Creineck, thanks for blazing the path for us. :)

What is the New Grad program at UCLA, is it paid? Or you need to pay tuition again? :)

larapn · Feb 28, 2013

Has anyone in your cohort dropped out or been kicked out for not passing a test?

kcorn · Mar 1, 2013

Hi guys, look what I found!

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CEgQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.msmc.la.edu%2FInclude%2FAdmissions%2F08-09%2520ABSN%2520PP.ppt&ei=3SkwUauZHqvliwKnoYG4Dw&usg=AFQjCNHuzpIHC0laiYtS4PpRvyqOFEJwyg&sig2=VZ41SrRokx8BM7M_nvqPcA&bvm=bv.43148975,d.cGE

its a ppt presentation on the orientation! i just typed in "taylor university online bioethics discount", and it's the 3rd search result on google.

this will give us a head start on the orientation on April 29 & 30, and will help us prepare more for the program because it has the schedules for all semesters (not actual dates, just which days for lecture & clinicals)! yay!