imhorsemackerel

I wish it was. Nope. I applied to 900 positions. Some were easier than others. H+H and Maimo made it easy. Others were a pain to get through. Because you have a BSN, did you do a capstone? If so and if you haven't yet, highlight it. That should be your competitive edge over people like me with their associate's who are new grads. Even if that capstone isn't in the specialty you are applying to, make it resonate as if it is part of that specialty. I hate relying on chatgpt, but it can be helpful during this time. My brain is mush, so it helped me figure out the word for the bullet points for jobs. I would just paraphrase what it says because often it will just ignore scope of practice or some other criteria you may provide it. Plus it also puts a bit of your personality into that bullet by paraphrasing it.

LOL I said it took me 400 applications for a hospital to get back to me. H+H Kings Hospital was the only one in the city to get back to me. On Long Island I got interviews from Stony Brook as well as St. Joseph's. I think the difficulty I had was because I graduated with an ADN. BSN would still be as hard, but hospitals prefer it over the ADN as everyone is Magnet or trying to achieve Magnet. Also, my timeline was mid-Dec graduation, early Feb NCLEX, mid April first interview 400 applications, early June received offer from hospital 600 applications in surgical-trauma step-down. Keep on applying to the abyss. A fellowship would be great, but don't just rely on the fellowships. I applied to everything that didn't state charge/manager, BSN required, and 1 year experience required. Still with that criteria, I applied to 900 positions mainly in hospitals from the eastern end of Long Island to Westchester. I was considering Rochester, but the burn from the recruiter stung, so I decided to focus on local. Don't forget to apply to state and county jobs. Pay might not be good, but at least after a year you will have that one year of experience. Also check allergy and dialysis clinics, New York Blood and Cancer, the VA. In Queens there's also St. Mary's Kids. By the time I accepted an offer the beginning of June, I had already scheduled 5 interviews the following week. Go figure. The hospital position was per diem, there were two clinic positions, one county job in corrections, and a state job in addiction rehab. I applied to a couple of nursing/rehab/SNF as a last resort, but then I honed in on the hospitals.

I wish I had been more active months ago, but had some difficulties signing into my account. I hope you were able to find a job. I'm from NY, so I've also applied to NYC, LI, and expanded my search to Westchester. I applied to a couple other places that led nowhere, but I wanted to first give my all within my immediate area and the area I'm willing to commute. I graduated in mid-December, got my ATT mid-Jan, and passed NCLEX first week of Feb. By this point I only applied to 100 places. By end of April I applied to 400 positions and finally got a call back from a hospital. The job I ultimately ended up accepting the offer was in my 600th application. During the time of my interview and waiting I applied to an additional 300. I did broaden my criteria. Initially I was applying to just hospitals. Then I started applying to clinics like allergy and mental health. I was also considering renting to camp out until my shifts were over. Then I would drive back home. Keep on editing that resume. Always add a cover letter if given the opportunity. I've seen some people only include healthcare experience even though they had multiple non-healthcare jobs. Add every job so you don't create gaps in the resume. With each bullet for the job description, make the bullet relate to whatever specialty you are applying to. I made a few resumes. One was a general, one was mental health with volunteering experience, one was mental health without volunteering, and one was for ED/ICU. All I have to say is keep on at it. If you are still having trouble, start that routine by bringing your laptop and paperwork to the library. Work on applications and your resume there. Some hospital systems take more time than others, but you will get into a groove.

ATI isn't perfect, but it's definitely better than it was in the past. I remember looking at rationales stating, "This is the right answer because this is the right answer," and, "This is not the right answer because this is not the right answer." Useless when I tried using it for LPN in 2017. For RN, I only used ATI. I wasn't buying U World again. I did for LPN because like I said, ATI was terrible before. I mainly used Dynamic Quizzing with CAT testing and would get 80s in the moderates. They also have Board Vitals questions, which I feel are harder. The highest I would get was like 60s moderates. My last test I took was 30s Moderates. I reviewed the rationales, and I just spent the next day relaxing. I quickly reviewed the Rule of 9s and the Parkland formula, but that was it. The next day was my test, and I passed with 85 questions. With all of that being said, find what works for you. ATI was great because it had CAT testing. You get to practice taking an adaptive test. I heard Bootcamp is good, but they give readiness exams, I think with 100 questions each, rather than the CAT testing. U world and Archer also offer CAT testing. My classmate liked Archer because of the amount of case studies. I already spent a fortune on ATI and wasn't going to spend money on anything else.

I created this thread for anyone who applied to Stony Brook's RNBP (RN to Bachelors of Science in Nursing Program) for the Fall 2026 cohort. I submitted everything last week, so I'm not sure how long I should expect to wait for a response. I believe someone posted they received a response in a month for one of the other programs. The deadline is March 21, so there's still time. Most threads I see are about the accelerated and basic programs. I figure it would be nice to have our own thread as well. I also had to email them if they could add a selection for humanities and another class in their drop down menu for pre-req classes because the options were missing. I wouldn't have been able to submit my classes until I designated a class. Knowing that there's a month left makes me wonder if anyone else had that issue? Am I the only one applying to the program? Anyone else out there?

I got hired in outpatient dialysis. The pay was less, but it's was fulltime. All of my other offers were part time. It tool about a month before I was hired, but I didn't start work until A couple of weeks after

It will take time for you to be confident in yourself and your abilities. Even after nursing school, as a new graduate, you may feel overwhelmed, but give yourself time. As Triddin said, be kind to yourself. If your heart is racing when you're at clinical and performing a skill, take a second to take a deep breath. Verbally walk through the steps and take your time. By verbalizing the procedures, at least your instructor will know what you are planning to do and can intervene if necessary. I also get nervous at times. Last semester we had lab, and whenever I practiced, my heart would race, and I would always fumble through my gloves. I eventually got better before I had to perform those skills in front of my instructor. Then it came time to set up a secondary IV at clinical. I've set up pumps before at my job as an LPN, but having my instructor stare at my every move made me nervous. This will always happen to me, but I try to focus on breathing to help calm my nerves.

ATI is such a pain. Often times it contradicts itself in the book. Also, some of the rationales for the ATI quizzes are, "A is the answer because it is the answer." WHAT. The only reason I bought ATI for LPN school and now the LPN-RN program is because both programs require us to get it. I keep telling myself that the payoff will be worth it in the end.

Oh the memories. I was temporrarily distracted because I started a new job. But every morning I would head to the post office to check my mail. After about 2 months I got fed up and changed my address from the p.o. box to my home address. But then I would still check my P.o. box in case I changed my address too late. They sent the envelope to my home address, and i was excited. I've gotten the rejection letternin the past, but this was a big envelope. I knew I had gotten in. Hold on!

Congrats! Learn from my mistake. When you confirm the location where you plan to take the NCLEX, make sure you get that confirmation email. I thought I did, but nope! I went to the location and was denied entry. I did not get the confirmation, and ended up picking a date 3 weeks later

There are so many ways, but you need to find the method that works for you. Group study can be good and bad. Make sure the group is small (maybe 3-5) and the people involved can focus without too much side chatting. Each time you meet, you need a goal. Perhaps everyone will "teach" a topic to the group? There's a saying that you truly know something if you can teach it to someone else. I tend to be very visual and like repetition. I tend to write and rewrite my notes. First I'll look at the chapter and take notes. After lecture I'll compile the additional notes, powerpoints, whatever else may help. If I have the time, I'll then put everything into two-column notes. I don't always find flashcards helpful. They're not the most practical if you have stacks and stacks of them. But I find they're helpful for remembering labs or quick facts about diseases or meds. There are many videos on youtube that go into detail. There's also Khan Academy that's also free, and they have plenty of videos that can help with anatomy and med-surge. I have a friend who would record herself explaining concepts in ways she understood. While she was driving to school, work and clinical, that's all she played in the car. There are just so many ways to study. It's hard for anyone to tell you how to do it.

In my program, you can fail if your unweighted test average is below a 74.5. One of my classmates got ( I believe) a 73.5. She was dropped from the program. She knew the material, she never missed class, she always had the answers and clearly did all of the work. She just wasn't a good test taker. She could file an appeal for the test questions, but they require "evidence-based reasoning as to why another answer is correct. She really wants to become an RN. So she signed up for the TEAS and is planning to reapply for the program. If becoming an RN is really what you desire, then I think you should reapply to the program. You can file an appeal if you want to, but look at your options and don't just focus all of your attention on the appeal. I'm in an LPN-RN program. Many of my classmates were in the same boat as I was. The last time we performed a bed bath on a patient was in LPN school. The whole time this past semester we were told, "You're LPNs. You should know this." Or, "Don't you do this at work?" So many of us were rusty with the "information gathering" and various topics learned in fundamentals. And I agree that instructors aren't always the most helpful when guiding you. But like I said before, if you want to become an RN, don't let this defeat you.

I know my local community college's LPN program is strict. I went to a vocational school first. Unlike the CC, they don't look at past grades. We had to pass the TEAS test and schedule an interview, though. Your options may be different from what I experienced.

I have a few classmates who have to take some non-nursing classes, so they piled them up during the summer. I'm just sticking to working though

For LPN school the entrance exam we took was the TEAS test. I didn't have an interview afterwards though. Business casual is fine. For all they know, you're going out afterwards? No one will mind.