Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) ABSN 2024

A Wri · Mar 12

NuFoLi said:

Hi Everyone,

I was offered a spot in the Winter cohort this morning, so just came off of the "highly likely" waitlist.

I want to share a little of my experience/thoughts for future (or current) applicants reading this. I graduated in 2016 from a WA state school with a degree in EnvSci and a Math minor. The last 6-8 years I have been sampling a lot of different careers/jobs/taking sabbaticals and got excited about nursing last Spring. For several reasons, I think it will be a very good long-term fit for me. I started working in healthcare as a patient care technician at Providence last October. That was my only healthcare experience before applying to OHSU.

This Fall I started my prerequisites, so when I applied I only had 2/8 completed (BI 112, BI231 both at PCC), both with 'A's. My undergraduate GPA was 3.85. It included a full year or organic chemistry, I'm not sure how deep they dig into undergraduate coursework. I think my admissions essays were generally pretty insightful, and I'm a strong writer. My feeling is that they were very important in my getting an interview. It feels very good to be admitted, because I was told by an advisor at PCC that not having my prerequisites done would keep me from even getting an interview. If you are trying to write good admissions essays, find a faculty member/professor that you trust to work with you on crafting strong essays. I had a positive experience doing so during my undergrad.

So a message to my past anxious self: You can definitely get into an ABSN if you meet the minimum prerequisite requirements (for OHSU must have BI231 completed) and have only minimal healthcare experience. I trust that the applicant review is actually holistic.

I am very hopeful that OHSU will offer the hospital fund. Even if they don't though I think this will still be a better financial option than waiting for a CC program that is cheaper, because of the time trade-off of being able to start working as a nurse sooner (that time is valuable when you can easily make $40-60/hour as a nurse). To elaborate, I was not eligible to even apply for any local community college ADN programs this cycle, because I don't have enough prerequisites done. My judgment, correct or not, is that CC programs are very competitive in that they require you to "check the boxes" (I.e. grades, volunteer exp, shadow exp, prereq's completed), where the accelerated OHSU ABSN may be more of a holistic application. They are both competitive in the PNW, in different ways.

Also, don't limit yourself to the PNW unless you really must... (I have a partner who works here in PDX, and we have a cat, and moving would be a pain in the butt...) If you can easily pick up for 12-24 months, even if you want to return to PNW, take the opportunity to do so and get a new life/culture experience. My older sister did her ABSN at MUSC. Some of the east coast schools also have LOTS of money to give.

For anyone considering an ADN vs BSN, I think the ADN is generally a good choice financially, as long as you don't have to trade a ton of time waiting to start the program (also hospitals will hire ADNs, pay them what they pay BSNs, and pay for them to slowly get their BSN). I made a spreadsheet to compare the cost savings of doing the soonest start ABSN vs the soonest start CC ADN program; The ABSN, even though more expensive, allowed me to start working sooner and was the financially better option in the long run. I also think the career outlook is good for nursing, even if you have to swallow taking out a 60k loan for an ABSN.

Good luck to everyone. Don't be too hard on yourselves if you don't get in to your top choice program. Sincerely,

Just curious if you got a call or if it was an email?

PDX12345 · Mar 12

Dude. What is the hospital fund people keep posting about? Thanks LOL

birdieboo · Mar 12

jmpg said:

No. I was told via email by the director of admissions "We haven't confirmed that this scholarship will be available but if it is we will reach out to all eligible students." on 3/7. I'm really hoping it will be available. Maybe reach out to admissions and inquire so they know people are interested?

For comparison, last year we didn't get information about the hospital fund until April. I believe it was about a month after acceptances went out.

NuFoLi · Mar 12

PDX12345 said:

Dude. What is the hospital fund people keep posting about? Thanks LOL

They will pay for your school if you work for them for two years for free (jk, they pay you). If you bail before 2 years, I think the agreement is something like you have to pay 120% of your tuition.

dskvr · Mar 13

Anyone else on the "highly likely" waitlist received an offer of admission for Portland campus to start this fall or Winter 2025? Curious to see if @NuFoLi is the only one at the moment.

portiayeti · Mar 13

dskvr said:

Anyone else on the "highly likely" waitlist received an offer of admission for Portland campus to start this fall or Winter 2025? Curious to see if @NuFoLi is the only one at the moment.

I am on the highly likely list and have not been offered a spot for admission yet.

A Wri · Mar 13

dskvr said:

Anyone else on the "highly likely" waitlist received an offer of admission for Portland campus to start this fall or Winter 2025? Curious to see if @NuFoLi is the only one at the moment.

I'm on the highly likely list and haven't heard. The deadline to respond is 3/19 for those offered a spot from the beginning, so I suspect we will hear more after that time. I'm trying to not worry about it but it's so hard!

C Class · Mar 18

Just got an email from Admissions about Fall 2024 Ashland Cohort!

dskvr · Mar 19

Today is the deadline for admitted students to pay their deposits, if they want to keep their seat in the ABSN program. Starting tomorrow, things will hopefully start moving a bit for students on the waitlist. If you get admitted, please share with all of us 🙂

HMICHELLE18 · Mar 19

I was admitted to the Ashland campus fall cohort yesterday as well!

Chloe Monday · Mar 20

I just got my admissions packet today!

dskvr · Mar 20

Chloe Monday said:

I just got my admissions packet today!

Portland campus ABSN?