run_happy

Ugh tbh the whole financial aid thing was a bit of a nightmare for many of us, myself included. The problem is that ASU's COA (cost of attendance) is directly reflective of what the government or powers that be decided the COA is for students at this school. Unfortunately, the post-bacc program is NOT included in this amount. Meaning, our COA is the exact same as a first time undergrad student majoring in business or film, even though their tuition is less than half of ours. So the extra post-bacc fees included in our tuition can not be certified by the school, even if we request a loan to cover that amount. They will only certify up to what the typical COA is for any undergrad. You kind of have to get creative and it's different for everyone. For me, I was able to take out the full allotted amount of fed loans for the entire 2017-2018 school year for our spring semester, which ended up being $12,500 and was enough to cover my tuition. Many others were not able to get this full amount for one reason or another. For the summer, I went to a private bank with a co-signer. And then for fall I was only able to take out the normal fed loan amount for a single semester, so $7,250, and then had to go to a private bank for the rest. My allotted fed loan amounts were different from others, though. I got the absolute maximum. But if you have a family or significant other in the picture, the amount of fed loans you can take out will be lower. ASU, thankfully, also certified my private loans. But they didn't for everyone. Or at least not the full amounts they requested. I'm honestly unsure how it all works out on their end. But I do know that many had to go to parents or other family members because we weren't able to get the loan amounts we needed. I am completely independent with no support or income so that's why it was slightly easier for me to get the maximum. I wish I had better advice. :/

Over the summer you'll have lecture for about 6 hours Tues/Thurs and clinical or lab M/W/F. Some groups have 1-2 clinicals on Saturdays as well. Pretty much everything is mandatory and I definitely would recommend not missing a single day of pediatrics if at all possible. You'll also have an online evidence-based practice research class and an online geriatrics course. For us, we had an assignment due pretty much every day and at least 1 exam every week. So definitely make sure you have a calendar and write everything down!

Before nursing school: GPA 4.0 (both science and cumulative) During nursing school: GPA 3.9... finished Peds with a 91.8 and needed a 92.5 for an A. Not that I'm bitter. lol I'm done in 22 days!!!!! But I only have 1 semester off to take the NCLEX and find a job before I go back to school in May. lol

I took Chem, Micro, and A&P together while working full-time and finished with an A+ in all 3 classes. I personally didn't find it hard at all! You know yourself best, though. Everyone handles coursework differently. If you think you can do it, I say go for it! :)

I'm still a student for another 6 months, but I've known for a very long time that I wanted to work in pediatric oncology due to experiences from my childhood. Still hasn't changed. Eventually I want to go for my DNP and specialize in this area. :) I also really enjoyed NICU during rotations! Also wanted to note that I worked on an oncology/med-surg floor for 2 years prior to starting school and my home base was at the nurse's station. So thankfully I knew what nursing truly was prior to starting school!

Unfortunately, we were not able to request sites by location and we didn't know where the clinical sites would be prior to registering for classes. It was more of a blind/random sign up and then you get whatcha get. I don't think anyone was able to switch after we found out our placement location either, but I could be wrong. In the spring I had one clinical site that was 35 miles away but the rest of them haven't been as far. :) In the spring our clinicals were during the weekday. This summer I think 2 PB groups have evening clinicals (2:30-10:30) for psych and 2 groups have 1-2 Saturday shifts at PCH. I believe in the fall the only clinical that could potentially be night shift or weekends is our immersion. But that depends on a lot of factors. If you are accepted into a TTP or land an immersion with a preceptor, you work her schedule. But if you're in a clinical/immersion group with an FOR, your shifts are during the weekdays. We won't find out about where we're going until August though and not gonna lie, already SO nervous! haha

So we honestly didn't even know where the clinical sites were going to be when we signed up. Like for instance, one morning in March we woke up to an email telling us which courses to register for for both summer and fall and we kinda all just randomly picked a PB group without even knowing who else was signing up for which group and where we would be going. I think we all found out at the end of April where our summer clinical placements would be and we just found out on Thursday about our critical care rotations. Clinical sites change with every cohort as well. But to answer your second question, clinical sites are all over the valley with rotations out in Chandler/Gilbert, North Phoenix, Central Phoenix, North Scottsdale, etc. But I will say that we have to be there so early that no matter where you're at, you'll beat traffic so the driving time really isn't that bad. :)

Hi guys! I'm a current post-bacc student as well. :) For those asking about private loans, I also went with Citizens Bank. They had the best interest rate and deferment options by far. I also would recommend a cosigner, especially if you won't be working. Citizens requires a minimum $12,000 annual income to apply without a cosigner. Plus, the interest rates are SIGNIFICANTLY lower. Also, ASU developed a higher cost of attendance for us post-bacc students this semester so it made things a lot easier with loans for this upcoming summer! Spring was a bit of a challenge as our extra program fees weren't included in COAs. So our tuition was listed as being the same as a normal undergrad per the government. But everything has gone much smoother with getting loans to cover summer and fall. At least for me. Literally had no problems and ASU certified my full private loan amount within a week of applying. So that should be good news for you guys! :)