NJCU ABSN current students or graduates?

U.S.A. New Jersey

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  1. where are you attending?

    • 1
      Wall Cohort
    • 5
      Jersey City Cohort

4 members have participated

HEY!

I just got accepted into the ABSN program at NJCU for this fall! And I'm super excited and freaked out all at the same time. I know its suppose to be super competitive and rigours, since its just 12 months long!

Are there any recent graduates or current students who can share some stories and experiences and some TIPS?!

I would love to hear back and find out more! (I am also applying to other schools but won't hear back from them until way after the non-refundable deposit is due, eeks! but this was my top choice)

Any advice and tidbits would be greatly appreciated!

And some general questions I can think of, probably will have many more later lol once my brain is working again

how are the rotations, do they start right away, and how often do we attend?

I know uniforms are required for (hunter green/white pants/ white shoes (ew)/little to no jewelry) for clinical and labs,

but what about for classes on campus?

I did find this on a closed topic, so it does answer some questions I had, if anyone else is wondering.

1 May 30, '10 by [COLOR=#003366]Kaylah18

[COLOR=#003366]Quote from Aly1025

Hello Everyone!

I also received an email yesterday and the dean told me we should be hearing from them next week:yeah:! I had a couple of questions for those of you who graduated from NJCU Accelerated BSN....

Do you know what the NCLEX passing rate is?

Do you feel well prepared for the NCLEX ?

Was it hard for you to find a job after you completed the program???

What clinical sites did NJCU use?

Sorry for all the questions! I hope someone can answer them for me!

Good luck to you all!

Hi, Congrats to those of you that were accepted! :yeah:

For those that weren't, I try to look at things like that as "meant to be" and something better will come... (((hugs)))

Our professor told us that last year for NJCU the 1st time passing rate was 90.53% Keep in mind that this was last year, and the NCLEX has been changed as of April 2010. We don't have any information as to the pass rate on the new test yet.

As long as you study hard, pay attention in class, take good notes, and...uh...study hard :) you should be OK. I don't necessarily feel prepared because I don't know what to expect. I am worried about it though! I'll let you know after I take it :uhoh3:.

We had a recruiter from a local hospital come speak to us our last week of classes and because of the economy being as it is, a lot of hospitals are having budget issues and such. We were told to keep an open mind and not to box ourselves into one particular position or hospital because we might not get it. Since I haven't taken the NCLEX to become licensed yet I do not have a job yet.

As far as clinicals go...once again, we were down here in Wall Township (Monmouth County) NJ so your clinical sites will be different. But anyway we were at:

*Meridian Rehab at Wall (Gero)

*Jersey Shore University Medical Center (Adult Health 1 & 2, and Psych)

*Community Medical Center (OB, and Adult Health 1 & 2)

*Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (Peds)

*Shoreline (Psych)

I hope that answers your questions. Did I forget anything? Once again, congrats and good luck!!!

some other things I found, since this post isnt getting many answers, I'll just post what I find, hpoefully it helps other students....

Jul 3, '08 by [COLOR=#003366]NJRNtobe Hi Adp (and others),

I just saw your post asking questions about the program and I apologize for the delay....I haven't been on here in a while.

So to answer some questions...

First things first...while the RN to BSN program is accredited, the accelerated program at NJCU is NOT accredited...BUT...and it's a big but...don't let it deter you, and I'll explain why.

In order for any school to even apply for accreditation, the program has to have enough students enrolled, and they have to graduate a full class first to even be considered. Given that the first class is just graduating, the school is now in the process of accreditation, which they will most likely get, given the curriculum is built around what accreditation committee looks for. That also being said, accreditation is not as big a deal as some people make it. I'm not trying to downplay it - but here's the deal: if you graduate from a program that's been around for 10 or 20 years and they still don't have accreditation or somehow lost it along the way, you can assume the program is pretty worthless or had to make some major changes to get it up to snuff. When a program is 2 years old and in the process of accreditation, it's considered normal. Chances are...the program will be accredited by the time you graduate.

This was also a concern for me since I have intentions of going on to graduate studies here in NJ. So I called a few different schools and even though they say the program you graduated from "needs" to be accredited, it's simply not the case. They all understand the process of accreditation, and they know you can't even apply for it until you graduate a class, regardless if you're a community college or Harvard. So don't sweat that too much.

Currently, I'm in the Wall Cohort. We started our first semester this past May and we're done the end of July....:yeah: 22 credits almost done! It's been a long semester already!

But let me start by saying this...the program is the shortest and cheapest in the entire state. That was a big deciding factor for me. Given my financial situation and the fact that we started in a summer, I'll be able to finance the entire program through Stafford Loans. Big plus. If your situation is different and this isn't an issue, so be it. Also, I live in Monmouth County. The only other program relatively close to me is Seton Hall's program through Georgian Court University, and they want 60k! That's criminal if you ask me.

And since I mentioned Seton Hall...at least 60% of the faculty at NJCU has transferred from Seton Hall (including both Program Directors and the Program Assistant) because they didn't like the way the program was being run and wanted to start a new one where they could fix the problems that were occurring. In my opinion, I think the faculty are AMAZING. They bend over backwards to help you. They want you to succeed. And they're flexible. That's really important to me. I have no complaints on that end.

Another thing I love is that they start prepping you for NCLEX on day 1. Most of your tests are NCLEX format so you get used to that line of questioning, and you go over each test question and rationale so you can really understand why something's wrong or right. That's a big plus. I have a friend who did a traditional 4 year program with great grades and failed her NCLEX the first time around because she had never seen that type of questioning before. It requires lots of critical thinking and you have to practice, practice, practice. So I love that about it.

As far as clinical and theory goes, you have to understand that ALL accelerated programs are giving up clinical time to teach you theory. There's just too much material to go through to get it all done. And you also have to understand, learning the skills is just repetition: foley catheters, meds, IV's, injections, etc... the most important thing you learn in the program is theory. You can always teach someone the "how", that's the easy part. But teaching them the "why" is more important. And once you learn the why, the how becomes 2nd nature. Now don't get me wrong, we have clinical. One full day a week. But that's really just the tip of the iceberg. A lot of the skill learning is something that's gonna be mastered on the job. And I'm fine with that. I've yet to meet any nurse, whether from a CC program, a trad 4 year, or an accelerated program that said they felt comfortable in their first year of nursing. I believe it's very scary and uncomfortable because you're so preoccupied with the idea of not wanting to make a mistake. But everyone does it....and they all get through it. So yes, there's clinical. Is it a ton? Probably not. Can I compare it to other programs?...no. You have to decide for yourself how important that is to you.

The schedule is pretty much M-F, 8am-5pm, so it's intense. The tougher classes (Pathophysiology, Fundamentals, Health Assessment), they're usually straight lecture. There's some class discussion and things like that, but for the most part you're doing a lot of sitting and a lot of listening. I don't necessarily mind that. But sometimes it's hard to sit through 2 four hour lectures back to back. There's breaks and lunch and all that good stuff, but those are the longest days. The other classes (IT, Contemporary Nursing, Cultural Nursing), those are more discussion based. And there's usually projects and lots of debates, so it's a nice balance.

(FYI - I'm sure it comes out of our tuition, but everyone get's an awesome PDA. And then you have an IT class to learn how to use it. It's a beautiful thing).

I'm sorry this is so wordy...I've had tests all week so this is the most recreational thing I've done since Monday! I apologize. If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to PM me. School takes up most of my time, but I'll try to answer any questions I can.

Hope this helps!:D

i tried to contact some of them for more answers, but they all arent as active, some more stuff:

Apr 13, '09 by [COLOR=#003366]NJ2008 [COLOR=#003366]Quote from oldfashionedlove

Hi, I was wondering if you could help me out. I sent an e-mail to Angi but I did not hear back. It has been a week. I wanted to know about the following questions.

1-Is anything under a C+ considered failing. Also, does a person get another chance to pass?

2-How many people are accepted as opposed to how many seats are available?

3-Are clinicals factored into grades?

4-If a person does not get into the accelerated program, are they able to enter the traditional nursing program and graduate in two years?

Any assistance is appreciated.

Hi Oldfashionedlove,

I am in the NJCU acclereated program and I'm going to try to answer some of your questions

1. Anything under a C is consider failing and if you fail a class you get one more chance to repeat it.

2. I believe for my class there were 50 seat available and they accepted 50 people out of well over 100 applicants. So it is kind of competitive.

3. Clinicals are graded as Pass or Fail so clinical grades are not averaged into your final grade.

4. At the NJCU campus in Jersey City I don't think there is a traditonal 2 year program only a RN to BSN and an acclerated but I am not sure about the school in south Jersey.

Hope this helps!

By the way, which campus are you applying to?

i guess ill keep posting quotes until someone more recent can help us out...

Apr 13, '10 by [COLOR=#003366]Kaylah18 Hi LovingCare84,

Congrats on getting accepted!!!

We have a few students that are from north Jersey and the commute is tough for them, but they make it work....

Our schedule (Wall Cohort) the first semester generally went from 8am or 9am-4pm Monday – Wednesday and Thursday & Friday were clinical days: 7am – 1pm.

Second semester we went Tuesday – Thursday classes 8am -4pm and clinical was Friday and Saturday 7am – 3pm.

Currently, our classes are 8/9am – 3/4pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday. Clinical Tuesday 8am – 1pm. Friday 7am – 3pm and a few days 7am – 7pm.

Each year they shuffle the classes around between the semesters because of instructor/facility availability, but your schedule should be pretty similar to that. If you have any other questions, please ask. Good luck!

about working

May 26, '10 by [COLOR=#003366]Kaylah18 I didn't work, but a bunch of people in the program did keep part-time jobs. You have to be really dedicated and study hard, so judge for yourself if you can handle it!

I didn't have a problem with any of the professors...they were all great! I think the administration aspect of the school was the problem. A few students had an issue with the financial aid office, like getting dropped from classes for non-payment when their check was received/signed for by the office. Also, there were a few times we were told we were required to come to the Jersey City campus to take care of some paperwork (That's about an hour north of the Wall campus and some students live farther south than that!). Lots of little things like that. I guess it's just issues that can happen at any school, but it was just annoying to have to deal with that on top of handling course work...

i feel like i ll be the only one on this thread, haha

May 27, '10 by [COLOR=#003366]Kaylah18 How were the days? Do you mean the schedule? You're applying for the Jersey City campus, correct? I was in Wall, I know the clinical sites will be different, but I think the schedule will be pretty similar:

We were in class most of the day on lecture days (8am-4pm)

The half of the first semester we were at Brookdale's lab practicing skills on the mannequins and each other. The second half of the first semester they set us free in a nursing home (LOL). That was pretty nerve wracking. I had never worked in any health care setting before and our first assignment was just to walk in the door and talk to a patient. Sounds silly now, but it took me and another student 2hrs to give a bed-bath! Wow!

The first semester we had class Mon-Wed, clinical on Thursday 7am – 1pm). Friday was open lab where you could ask questions and practice skills you needed to work on (In the lab with the mannequins).

Second semester we had class Tuesday – Thursday and Adult health clinical was on Friday. Our OB/Peds clinical was on Saturday. Again, class all day and clinical was 7am – 1pm.

Third semester, classes were Mon, Tues, Thurs. Adult health clinical was Friday from 7am – 3pm. Towards the end of the semester, we had a few shifts of 7am – 7pm. Our Psych/Community health clinical was Wednesday (hours vary for those clinicals depending on the instructor you have).

When I say “class all day” I mean that there are lessons you must get through, as per the syllabus and depending on how fast you go through them, the instructor my let class out earlier. Some days we ended early because proff had a meeting or something like that….typical college stuff. But most days you will be in class from 8 or 9am to 4 or 5pm.

Sorry this is so lengthy/rambling. If you want me to answer a specific question let me know.

lost people

0 Jul 18, '11 by [COLOR=#003366]2011gradbsn

Hey,

I'm finishing up the NJCU program in a few weeks (jersey city cohort)! The program is a bit disorganized, and some of the clinical faculty isn't the greatest, so you really need to be on your A game before beginning the program. The curriculum, classes, etc are pretty good and overall, the program gets u out in 1 year with a BSN, which is HIGHLY needed these days.... we had a recruiter come a few weeks ago and they said they really aren't hiring Associate degree RN anymore, and things aren't looking better in the future, since there is a push to get as many people as possible with a bachelors degree..... I would recommend it if you have a pretty good head on your shoulder and can get your work done without much babying..... we lost about 4 people this year and it was mainly do to slacking off.....

more stuff

Jul 18, '11 by [COLOR=#003366]2011gradbsn Hi,

congrats! It will fly by trust me.... as far as your questions:

Its jersey city, so for those of you that are not from here... its not as bad as other parts of town, but I wouldn't leave your car unlocked... I usually park in the school garages, or on shorter days on the street since its free.... be careful though bc several of the students have gotten their cars booted since you need permit parking after 3pm. I live about 30 min away and usually we are out between 1-4 depending on the classes, and traffic can go either way on most days

You will be in school 5 days a week... first semester its Monday through Fri... second semester u have one day during the week off and then clinicals on Saturdays.. EARLY.. so that sucks, but it goes by pretty quick. There is a 1 month long break from mid december through mid january, and then a week off in May between spring and Summer. Work Load is ALOT... even for some people that are very organized, the amount of work can be way to much... learn how to skim effectively and focus on the important things, because otherwsie you will sink. Also, forming study groups early is VERY beneficial... got alot of us through.

One thing I cannot recommend enough is preparing for HESI early... we just took our second attempt today (u get three tries) and a good portion of us who didn't take it seriously the first time had to retest and passed today... there are still some people who need to take it, and I'm sure you know that without passing it, you will not get your diploma. I would suggest starting to do just a few questions in the spring semester everyday, because what ended up happening to some people was that we were given 5 weeks to prep and it took some longer than others to understand the concept of HESI and the way the questions are worded.... it is harder than the NCLEX and is all about HOW you answer a question, as opposed to how much you know. At the end, you'll finish in mid August, and from what I hear we'll be able to take the NCLEX soon after which is great! The last semester, once HESI pressure is over is really smooth sailing with a few annoying assignments in the way of your summer.... hope this helps

some other quotes

Jul 18, '11 by [COLOR=#003366]east-westRN Thank you so much for your answers!!

First semester you said there is school 5 days a week - What is your schedule like? Is it 9-5 in a classroom all 5 days/hospital? How is the week broken up? I am trying to get a handle on what my days will consist of. Just looking for a bit more detail. Sorry to ask so many queries!!

Thanks again!!

Jul 18, '11 by [COLOR=#003366]2011gradbsn first semester 5 days @ jc, mostly 9-4 until Oct. when you will start going to the nursing home on Thurs or Fridays and the schedule for that varies.... you will also have a clinical test out at the end of semesters 1/2 where u have to partner up and actually complete an assessment and demonstrate your skills to the faculty... u get two tries to pass no one had any issues with it as far as I remember

Jul 21, '11 by [COLOR=#003366]east-westRN Sounds reasonable. I mean you have to be tested on your skills and how to handle patients since that is so important. I guess I just have to hope for a good partner so they don't mess me up!

I heard about a medical dosage calculation test at the beginning of each semester and you need a passing grade each time. Are these really hard? What do they consist of? Basic math?

Thanks again so much!

May 29, '12 by [COLOR=#003366]east-westRN I am finishing the program this August in the JC cohort.

The program is a 24/7 commitment for one year. It is not for anyone who is lazy or disorganized. Although you may have another degree, this program will not compare to your past studies. Stay focused, use your peers and have a support system at home or else you will go crazy.

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