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I'm so sorry! Please keep your head up and try again next cycle! A number of people I know have applied 2-3 times; some were waitlisted in previous years, some were not. There are even folks that have gotten into other nursing programs, then they ended up transferring in the next year. There's always hope, and it just makes each of our journeys that much more unique!

First semester was fun! Everyone really makes you feel special and welcome. Yup, there was only one nursing class. It felt like an extended intro to nursing, ethics, research, basic care, etc. If you have CNA experience, the hands-on part (lab/clinical) is pretty much review. I took a required religion class and language class since 12-17 credits is a financial aid requirement.

Those skills will definitely help you. :) And very cool! One of my classmates came from TCC. Best of luck, and keep your head up! The wait feels like forever, but you'll know soon enough. I thought about minoring in chem or bio, but I changed my mind as soon as I realized how much time I need to dedicate to nursing classes. This semester, there's somewhere around 14 or so exams between my 3 classes.

No problem! Sorry for not replying sooner--it didn't give me a notification! Honestly, I'm enjoying it, and it's so worth it, but time management is so important. Lots of projects, exams and stuff to work on. But the time flies by so fast, which is great! Last year, I got my letter in late April (I took A&P 2 during winter quarter) and I think they might wait on us in-progress folks for a reason. Pathophysiology is genuinely tough, even for students who came in with 3.9-4.0 grades. I've been told it's more medical-style than other programs. They expect you to know your A&P, and you'll spend a majority of your time on it. (If everything works out, please do a lot of reviewing before semester 2!! You'll thank yourself later!)

LUTE2021, I tried to respond to your message, but it said your message storage box is full! Let me know when it's clear and I'll send you my phone number!

Also huge CONGRATS to everyone accepted! For those waiting, keep your head up high! This wait feels like forever, but it'll go by before you know it

Hi all! I have a friend from pre-reqs who applied for this round, so I thought I'd pop in. I wrote last year's thread and am going into my 2nd year of PLU's nursing program after next month (time flies!) Just to let you guys know, me and at least one other student I know for sure did not get an acceptance e-mail. We just got the letter in the mail. Some people get either one or both--it's pretty random. If you have any questions about what things are like, you're more than welcome to reply.

No problem LUTE2021! In terms of stress...If you have to take 12 credits, and if you have room for electives, I'd suggest one in something you're already familiar with or know you'll enjoy. I've heard of people taking yoga, aerobics, art, vikings, European history, etc. I imagine 100 levels tend to be less advanced, though it depends on what's available. In retrospect, I jumped into a foreign language I've never heard a single word of, which was good for stepping out of my comfort zone but bad for stress. I don't regret taking it and am getting a good grade, but it felt like A&P all over again with grammar/vocab memorization. And just a note on religion, since we all have to take one whether or not we have a DTA. I thought it was very tough if you enter with little knowledge of the bible. Some folks have gone to church every week since infancy but still work really hard for a B+/A-, while there's a few who have a knack for it and do exceptionally well. Some take it in J-term - one month long w/ full credit; may not be easier, but done sooner. Additionally, there's pass/fail for one gen-ed and one elective, up to 8 credits total. (Not for nursing classes.) You get credit for C- or higher, and it doesn't affect your GPA, but the decision is based on if you think it'll hurt or help you. One girl found out she's getting an A and can't reverse it. Now that I've written another essay, I hope that helps

Hi LUTE2021, Wow, it feels like it's been forever! Semester 1 has been everything we thought it would be and a lot more. Chilli (Adrian) and I have been trekking along, doing the best we can. That initial "YAY, I'm in nursing school!!" feeling was pretty consistent for a while. The instructors, staff, nursing club and other cohorts are all wonderful. I believe most of us have exceeded previous averages on exams and passed dosage calculations so far. We just completed a lab skills assessment and are starting clinicals this week. The exams have a lot of NCLEX style questions. Everyone supports each other, so we're all studying like crazy and meeting up; it feels like a 7 day/week thing. A lesson we're learning is that it's easy to jump in and take on commitments right away, but time management is really important. If you start with Nurs220 (semester 1), folks usually have to take at least one other class. Religion and electives are more time consuming than we thought...some actually more so than the nursing class. e.g. languages, computer science, certain religion classes, etc. Definitely talk to an advisor before registration! (Rate My Professors is pretty helpful too.) Otherwise, definitely still grateful and excited every day, just a liiittle more tired than week 1. :) We're about to register for spring. I keep hearing about how difficult patho is, but I loved A&P and am pretty excited.

No problem!! I guess I just described how to get there, lol. Here is the url: Documents | School of Nursing | PLU I'm glad they have a lot of the info available on the website. Might be good to go ahead and look at the bsn handbook there too. :)

Not a problem! I'm happy to help. I don't think we need to have a special laptop. I don't have a link to the info, but it looks like the minimum requirements are pretty basic, like 512mb ram or higher, dual band wifi, able to run Adobe programs, antivirus software, etc. The info should be included in a big SoN email with the rest of their requirements, and they emphasized that it's okay to wait until the semester starts to look into buying one. :)

luccabell29, No problem! I don't have kids yet but I can imagine that having time to plan things and get a head start can be really helpful! Best of luck to you with everything. :) LUTE2021, Absolutely! I'll just make a list that includes the university requirements, because I think they go hand in hand. Another thing I'll note is that I'm an off-campus transfer student with a DTA. What I've done so far: - Communicated w/ fin aid about loans, remaining costs and payment plans. - Made a registration appt involving an advisor walking me through class registration. - Picked up student ID (same day as reg appt) - Ordered 8 books for 3 classes (weren't as expensive as I thought they'd be) - Ordered a parking permit (opted for a reserved space; more pricey but worth it) - Got my Tdap vaccine at a local pharmacy - Had titers done for Varicella (VZV) and Hep B to confirm immunity - Did my 2-step TB test at the PLU Health Center (included in wellness plan for BSN students) - RSVP to both university (new student) and nursing orientations - Completed AHA BLS CPR class for healthcare providers, included Bloodborne Pathogens and First Aid. What I still need to do: - Repeat Hep B series, probably at a pharmacy (w/ insurance) or PLU Health Center (reasonable fees). - Get the influenza vaccine whenever it becomes available, probably same places as above - Complete HIV/AIDs training this month - Sign up for CastleBranch website (drug test, background check, upload health docs; more info later) - Sign up for another website for pre-employment type quizzes (more info later) - Buy a laptop per SoN specs (at semester start, for Kaplan exams) - Order uniforms and shoes (at semester start, more info during orientation) It looks like a lot, but if you're starting in the spring, no need to worry about everything right this second. You should get emails about registration appointments and orientations in the fall from PLU. You can ask about your ID, parking, classes, books and general university stuff at that point. You can also email the advising office about all of this stuff too. The SoN emails us separately about their own requirements, including the health/clearance stuff (and who to contact for questions), laptop, uniforms, website sign-ups, etc. Fall folks are still waiting for more info on most of the things on my "still need to do" list. If you want to start taking care of things early, the vaccines, titers and CPR and HIV/AIDs classes are pretty much doable any time. I started looking into these a couple months ago. The form on the SoN website I talked about in a previous post explains this stuff (everything down to HIV training on pg 2), and it's pretty specific about what type of cert classes to take and which vaccines and titers you need. You'll need to keep all of your documentation so it can be uploaded into one of the websites later. If I forgot anything, I'll share it later. This is just from my experience so far, so if you have any questions or need clarification on something, the people who work in all of PLU's offices are all really nice people who usually respond to emails pretty quickly. Hope this helps!

Yup! On the schedule, it shows 4 credits next to "Nursing Competencies I" and 0 credits next to the associated lab and clinical lines. I ended up squeezing Norwegian into it to make up for the credits. And I thought about minoring before, like in psychology or biology, but I feel like the program is going to be pretty rigorous by itself. Are you planning on minoring in anything? :) Also, just a heads up, there's a PDF called "Health and Clearance Requirements" under Documents & Forms on the SoN website that you might want to look at. Everything down to HIV training on page 2 are things you can take care of now, but everything after that requires info we haven't received yet. You'll get details in a big email some time in the fall. I mention it now because repeating certain vaccine series can take months if your titers show you aren't immune. I was told it won't interfere with starting the program, but I'm one of those people that likes to have everything done asap, lol. :)

luccabell29, that's great! I'm glad you were able to talk to a senior and get some info. And yes, I'm a direct transfer too! I'm happy to get the extra gen ed out of the way first semester, though I had to throw in the elective to stay full time. It looks like Nursing Competencies I is actually a 4 credit class. :)

Hi luccabell29! Sorry for the delay! I'd be happy to share some details about my fall schedule. If I understand correctly, many forms of financial aid like scholarships require you to be full time, 12-17 credits, so I'm taking 3 classes. Nursing lecture is one day/week, and I think everyone in the cohort is in the same class. We're split up for lab/clinicals. I registered for early AM: lab at 7am-noon the first half of fall (2 days/week), clinical at 6am-noon the second half (3 days/week including Sat). A classmate registered for the afternoon lab/clinical, which I think starts at 11am or noon? The other two classes are religion and language elective in the afternoon. The days for each class alternate. I believe second semester has 4 nursing classes including pathophysiology, but I don't know a lot about those yet. Once you're able to register, I'd jump on making the appointment as early as possible due to availability. Early AM lab/clinical was the only one available when I was moved to fall. And as I've probably said before, be sure to stay on top of financial aid (like in banner and communication with the office) as much as possible, because things seem to keep changing. I hope this helps!