Jefferson 2012 APW Program

jocy_anne · Mar 2, 2012

gglove317, congrats on the interview invitation! I can only hope I'll get the same e-mail soon...anyway, I've read up on the FACT thread, and from what I understand, the interviews are in person. Depending on where you are in New England, it may be cheapest to take a train into Philly (30th Street Station). I, too, have 2 outstanding prerequisites - I'm in the middle of Gen Chem II right now, and then I'll have to take Microbiology over the summer. Good luck and keep us posted about your interview! I don't live in the city, but I live about 20 minutes outside of it (in NJ), so if you have any questions, let me know. The FACT thread was useful to read, but it would be great to get more people involved in the APW thread.

gglove317 · Mar 3, 2012

Thanks Jocy! I actually spoke with Niki Kelley today about the interview and she said she'd be willing to do a phone interview. I don't know if that's good or bad... I told her I'd be happy to come down (I already searched flights and luckily my friend lives 10 blocks from Jeff!) but she said that the phone interview would be fine. It's next Friday so I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. However, I think I already screwed myself over by even asking if it was by phone or in person to begin with... I should have just said "okay, you tell me the day and I'll be there!" but it's hard when you've got a full time job and your employer has no idea you've applied to graduate school. ;-)

And as for microbio in the summer - you'll be fine! In my experience, the exams counted LOTS more than the labs, but the labs were what pushed me from a B+ to an A- because I was thorough and asked questions. As for Chem II - I have no help for you there! I took Biochem instead and I still actually have to take Chem I. I was trying to get as many prereqs in for multiple schools and figured if I heard from Jeff I'd take them both this summer (Chem I and nutrition). Money is tight! Good luck to you and I'll be in touch soon!

jocy_anne · Mar 3, 2012

gglove, I think a phone interview is still ok! Someone on the FACT thread posted about how they had a last-minute, unscheduled phone interview with Niki Kelley, and they received an acceptance e-mail the same day. I met her at an information session back in August/September and she was very nice and extremely understanding. She knows that many (if not most) of the people applying to the program have full-time jobs. And since she knows you're not local, I'm sure she won't penalize you for doing a phone interview! I bet you'll get an acceptance e-mail the same day! :)

And thanks for the encouragement with Microbio! I've heard so many people in my classes talk about how hard it is, so I'm definitely nervous. I would hate to mess up my GPA, lol. Chem II isn't too bad so far. I have an excellent teacher and actually got a 115 on the first test, so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping to keep that trend going! I think you'll be good with Chem I, and Nutrition was pretty easy, but also a bit demanding since I took a condensed online class that went from 1/3 - 2/10. I agree, money is extremely tight right now! I just keep telling myself it will all be worth it in the end when I'm doing something I really want to do.

Good luck with the interview! I can't wait to hear that you've been accepted! :)

PITTgal · Mar 6, 2012

Don't worry about the interview with Niki.. She was very nice and it felt more like conversation then an interview process. She started off asking me questions about my grades and undergrad schooling. She then asked me questions like why I wanted to go into nursing? Even though I was very nervous for my interview, she was very easy to talk to which made it easier!

Good luck!

jocy_anne · Mar 6, 2012

Thanks for the feedback about the interview process, PITTgal! I sent another e-mail to her today to let her know that I sent another updated transcript...I'm really hoping I'll get an interview invite soon and am trying not to give up hope. Hopefully we'll all be classmates in the Fall! :)

gglove317 · Mar 6, 2012

Thanks to you both PITTgal and jocy_anne! I am putting together all my notes for the interview about why nursing and why Jeff and so on and so forth. My grades and GRE scores are certainly not the highest of the bunch, so I do hope that the other parts of my application show through.

PITTgal - did you hear anything post interview about acceptance or anything?

PS - I've totally been daydreaming lately about meeting all of you and finding a great apartment in Center City and getting started with classes... I need to STOP or I'm going to psych myself out for my interview!!!

Do any of you know what they received for applications and how many they accept? Not that I should even look at stats... gah... getting nervous!

jocy_anne · Mar 6, 2012

gglove, I've been doing research about the application-to-acceptance ratio because I'm curious too, but I haven't been able to find anything so far. It's probably for the best, lol. I think they would look past grades and test scores, especially if you have unique work experience, etc. It's a very good sign that you got the interview invite! I think the most important thing you'll need to remember is to relax and breathe as you pick up that phone.

I've been daydreaming about the same thing! I just want this so badly and can't wait to walk to class on the city streets and meet you all. I really hope our daydreams become reality soon! But you're right, we should probably try to burst that little daydream bubble until we get past the interview process (can you tell I'm trying to will my interview into existence?).

Good luck, remember to breathe on Friday, and let us know if you need some more words of encouragement beforehand!

gglove317 · Mar 6, 2012

Thanks jocy! You're the best! I'm definitely rooting for you, too :)

jocy_anne · Mar 6, 2012

Thanks!!!!!! :) I'll keep you posted!

jocy_anne · Mar 7, 2012

Ok, so I'm tempted to call the admissions office again, and need someone to talk me out of it, lol. I've never actually spoken to Niki over the phone, but I've sent her a couple e-mails recently and have never gotten a reply. I don't know how much longer I can go without having my answer. I'm going crazy! :banghead:

gglove317 · Mar 7, 2012

NOOOO! Don't smack your head against the wall! Let me tell you that when I talked to her on the phone briefly to set up a phone interview time, she sounded SUPER busy and strapped for time. I will inquire about rough estimates on when we should be hearing about things on Friday when I speak with her. I'm keeping every part of my body crossed for you!!!

PS - what are your stats/experience?

jocy_anne · Mar 7, 2012

Haha, I love that little smacking-head-against-wall emoticon. It so represents how I feel right now. I did end up calling the admissions office because I got an e-mail from NursingCAS saying that the most recent transcript I sent wasn't complete. I called NursingCAS to explain to them that I took Nutrition during my school's "Winter Intercession" period, and that the reason my grade for Chem II wasn't there yet was because the class doesn't end till May. My school just lumps the Winter Intercession period in with the Spring semester, so both classes were put on the updated transcript, even though I'm not finished with Chem II yet. But the lady on the phone had no idea what I was telling her and said that she needed me to send a complete transcript before she could send it to the school. Talk about wanting to bang my head against a wall!!!

So I left a message with the admissions office and just heard back from them a few minutes ago (not Niki, someone else I've talked to a few times). I explained the situation to her and she said that she could still see that NursingCAS verified my A in Nutrition, even though they told me they couldn't. She did say that Niki is completely swamped and is still trying to finalize things for the FACT program that starts in May. Ours starts in September, so I totally understand that she needs to focus more on FACT. I asked if she knew whether or not the class was full and she told me it is not full yet (wooohooo there's hope!!!).

As for my stats/experience - I graduated in 2006 with a B.A. in Law & Justice Studies. I figured out during my last semester there that I didn't want to be a lawyer after all, so I've been working in various administrative jobs over the last 5+ years while I tried to figure out what I wanted to do. I've worked for the same company since July 2006 - started out as the Receptionist, moved up into Customer Service after a while, and then moved up into the Executive Administrative Assistant role, which is what I do now. I work for the CEO of our company. Unfortunately, I've never worked in a medical-related field, but hopefully they won't hold that against me.

I have a 3.4 cumulative undergrad GPA and have a 4.0 GPA in my prereqs. I took the TEAS V test last year because I had considered going into a local diploma program at Our Lady of Lourdes hospital, and scored somewhere in the 80s (87, I think?). Jefferson doesn't take those scores, though, so they won't ever know that, lol. I feel like I have what they're looking for to get in, but I know it's a really competitive program, so maybe my stats aren't good enough?

Thanks for your support, gglove! I'm keeping everything crossed for you too! If you think of it while you're on the phone, it would be great if you could ask her that. But don't sweat it if you don't get to ask her. How are you feeling about Friday so far?