Cpowers129

The loans do seem daunting. I saved a good chunk prior to the program. A few of my colleagues in the program were fortunate to ask for help from family as well to keep the loan cost down. I don’t like to count my chickens before they hatch, but looking on the web at some salary statistics made me feel much better about ability to repay the loan. Do some looking around and hopefully you’ll start feeling more comfortable with the price. Also, even despite everything changing a bit due to COVID, I feel as if the money I spend on this program is worth it. -current student (ABSN Sacramento)

We contract with almost all major hospitals in Sacramento county. Our group attends facilities in Roseville, Citrus Heights, downtown and South Sacramento. but that only holds for “regular” times. I don’t know how social distancing practices will further affect clinical sites.

@jazzies hey, no problem for the info. As far as weekend schedules go, think of it this way: the school operates on “normal business hours” so no requirements to be on campus or at school on weekends. BUT hospitals are 24/7. At the Sacramento campus, our cohort is split up between 4-5 hospitals. Some people’s clinical days are on mon/tues, some are sat/sun, some fri/sat etc. But we all go to class on the same two days on campus. Make sense? It’s sort of like school is “lecture” and clinicals are “lab” and the labs are smaller groups on a variety of days. All this to say - yes you might be doing clinical on weekends, but you also might not it just depends on where you are placed. And no, you don’t have much say in where or which you get placed, the school places you.

@jazzies sure. You generally have two full days (9-5) of class, two 12 hour days in the hospital. And one half day doing simulation lab every week. There are semesters, but think of each 15 week semester as being broken up into 5 week “blocks”. Each block, you have a new set of classes and the days/ times will change. That said, the days/ times of your schedule will change each 5 weeks. So my reason for not working is both that I do not have the time as I spend most of my off time studying or doing class/homework and that my schedule days and times changes pretty dramatically every 5 weeks...hard for an employer to Work me into a schedule. Also, I was a student who rolled my eyes at the recommendation not to work. I had 2 jobs and was involved in clubs/sports while in my first undergrad program so I figured I’d be fine working just part time or even per diem. The amount of work outside of class will not allow that. At least not in the beginning of the program. The class that is in their second semester reports having some more time and many of them serve as TA’s, tutors, or work part time. I find that the time spent at school or clinical closely resembles a full time job. Then there is the the time at home you spend studying. Any time that I have left over is spent sleeping, showering, and squeezing in some time with loved ones. Expect the program to be pretty all encompassing for the duration of it. Making plans for more than a day/ night is difficult - so I wouldn’t plan any vacations outside of the Spring and fall breaks (2 weeks each). feel free to ask any follow up questions. I remember so vividly being in your shoes and all I wanted was more info. I’ll share whatever I can.

aheld, don’t be too concerned - I’m just trying to give you guys helpful study spots to focus on during the wait time. When you get in the program, if you’re rusty on a prerequisite topic, you’ll be able to use some of the resources in your books - it’s just helpful time-wise to not have to do that as often. Go back and get a basic refresher of that stuff. Like..know the 3 basic layers of skin, but if you forgot about the stratum lucidum - you’ll be alright. You picking up what I’m putting down? Also, I’d look into practicing and finding some enjoyable hobbies or stress relief activities. The students doing the best seem to be those who can focus when it’s time, but also know when it’s time to say enough and get into some recreation or leisure. Just my 2 cents.

That is a bummer for you folks, sorry to hear it. BUT, now you have a little more time to prepare! Some advice from a current student: If you happen to still be working, start to stack your savings if possible. Very few people in my class are working during the program, so having a little more savings helps take your mind off finances so you can focus on school. If you took pharm and pathology online, I would go back and review those topics. For Pharm - don't try to memorize every drug but it'd help if you were decent at the classes of drugs. It's not necessary, but it would be helpful. For Patho - GO BACK AND REVIEW. If its been a while since you took anatomy and physiology, go review that too. Khan academy and Crash Course on Youtube provides some great instruction. Getting through the amount of material in the accelerated program will be much easier if you don't have to go back and review as much while in the program. Like I said, none of this is necessary - but if I could speak to myself from a few months ago that is the advice I'd give myself.

Unfortunately, I don't have anyone or anywhere specific to send you, I am sorry. I am not as familiar with the Oakland personnel as I am attending the Sacramento campus. Additionally, current students are not being updated on admissions for your class so I just don't have that info. If I were you, I would look to connect with another person who has been accepted to the Oakland Cohort and see what information they have - maybe they have a name/number you could continue to try. Or, look up some other folks on the website and send them some inquiry emails. With the offices closed, certain jobs may be reassigned (thats a guess, again I don't have access to how those departments are operating). I would also try looking at the admitted student portal - those credentials are not issued by the school and should be ones you set up. That portal is where your acceptance "check list" is and should have a bit more information for you. Best of luck.

Current student so I have some insight - not all. First thing first, get into your SMU email. It is literally your lifeline to the university, especially at this point. Literally make that the very next thing you do. 1. There are updates on the town halls. There will be more with answers to the questions via email. 2. Yes, there are lots of portals. Don’t worry - faculty/staff will help you with questions. Notifications for anything incomplete will come via SMU email. I would be willing to bet most of your concerns get resolved by getting into your email. If, once you’ve done that, you still have questions or feel like you’re missing something and don’t know where to go - personal message me and I’ll send you my SMU email and do my best to get you connected with the people you need!! CONGRATS on admission ?

Don't be embarrassed - there are like 7 log ins throughout the program. This is not the same "admitted student portal" login, no. It should be your issued student login that you'll use for everything SMU moving forward. As part of the official admissions email, it says the following: "As an admitted student, you now have an active login for SMU online resources. If you are a first-time SMU student, you will receive access instructions via email shortly after receipt of this admission letter." Wait for that email and you'll be good to go. Mine took just a couple days I think. If more than a week goes by, send an email and they will help you out. CONGRATS!

Don’t fret, yet. They send out acceptances in “waves”. I am not sure why. Also, keep in mind they have an ELMSN class (applications include interviews) to select as well and some people may not get into ELMSN but also applied for ABSN. When both classes start at the same time, I’ve noticed the acceptance letters take a bit longer to go out. If you get in, awesome. If not, go on the website and find one of the ABSN seminars to go to - they are super helpful with application prep. Also send an email to admissions and ask to speak with an admissions counselor. This organization has been EXCELLENT with emails. When you’re in the program it’s pretty much the primary communication medium. (Not because they don’t want to see you, but because it’s so much more efficient. You’ll be happy about it as a student.) If you get waitlisted, you can restart your application right away and get those letters of rec participants on board now so you can have it all done for April 1 deadline. It’s possible, I promise, I did it last year. Y’all got this. Good luck. Try to minimize the stress. Enjoy this. -CP

The big print means nothing - that is a generic statement. Typically students don’t receive instructions about the admitted portal until the have actually been admitted - so don’t let it fool you. What you are looking for is the Checklist tab in the drop down menu. That will organize all of your applications (if you’ve applied to multiple SMU programs or multiple cohorts, you will essentially see your application “history” here). This is where it will say “You’ve been admitted”. You’ll be able to click on the link and a whole checklist of preliminary items will come up. look at the small text under the application for the cohort you applied. It’ll say one of the following: “congratulations you’ve been admitted“ “you are on the waitlist” “your application is under review” “Your application has been denied” But those giant letters about being accepted - nope. Not What you’re looking for. Look for the smaller text. also, it was only about 1 day after my portal was updated that I got the email notification. I applied to this program several times before getting in and can assure you it is FAR too early for decisions to have been made. But they will get the to you before the next application is due (April 1). Everyone, breathe. Relax. Try to enjoy the process. And GOOD LUCK!

Thank you=) My experience has been excellent. Yes, the program is fast paced. If you want a concrete example: we finished a class and textbook in 5 weeks. That said - the university does an excellent job of using multiple modalities of teaching so students really LEARN the concepts. It's not just lecture and take notes. Most difficult for me so far has been learning a new role in healthcare as I come from a healthcare background. My background has been helpful in many ways - but putting on my new "nurse hat" has been challenging. Different scope of practice, different focus on how to care for patients are a few examples. My advice for future ABSN students...thats a tough one as I've only done this for 5 weeks so far. I'd say prepare yourself for an accelerated program to sort of take over your time. Best of luck!

Thanks! The program has been great. The schedule is definitely time consuming. In the short time I've been in school, the in-class and out-of-class time is between 40-50 hours a week. Time put into things tends to taper off as you figure out how to time manage well ?. Still, most people aren't working - very few are working per diem or part time. The academic rigor is...really going to be a person-to-person experience. If you paid attention in pre-reqs and have some healthcare or hospital experience, it might seem more straightforward. If not, you'll likely have to spend a little extra time reviewing pre-req info and might feel a bit out of place at first. BUT that'll be short lived as the faculty and staff are great and help you to feel part of the team quickly. How to prepare before starting: Sounds ridiculous but really..don't worry about all that until you get accepted. Once you do get accepted, start enjoying your free time. If you're rusty on anatomy/physiology and pathology..it might help to do some quick Khan academy or youtube Crash Course review. It'll help you to get back in the groove of things. If I went back, I'd maybe review medical term. Best of luck!

Hey, y'all. I'm in the spring 2020 cohort that just began early this year. Sacramento campus. If you have questions - ask 'em and I'll do my best to answer =). I know this is a stressful time for you all right now, but just try to enjoy the process!

Even as a trained EMT, I'm not too helpful without my ambulance full of toys. Regardless of knowledge, without my tools, all I can really do for someone is stop bleeding, heimlich, start compressions and operate an AED (if one is close by). And the first thing I do is call 911. This is precisely the reason that orders for a first responder include "call for assistance" as one of the first things you consider when you get to a call. Tell your family they can talk crap when they have their RN.