boaf

Hey! yea so the pre-licensure is the first half of the program where you are working toward attaining your RN licensure or passing the NCLEX. So in that portion, I'm sure clinicians are matched by them for sure. The problem lies in the clinical placements for the second half of the program (or the MSN portion). Here is where a lot of the discrepancy comes. When I spoke to admissions I was told that "these online reviews are false" and I "shouldn't be looking at those as a gauge for the placements". They even suggested that I might have read a review "for another program that wasn't Simmons" by accident. (I'm sure it was Simmons). but I was told these clinical placement issues are "not true" by admissions. The discrepancy comes from the students both former and current who have expressed that this in fact is not true. Finding clinicals is a stressful process and that simmons doesn't help with (to be fair the student said that they only help at the very last minute when you've exhausted all options yourself).

that exactly why I'm so confused! when I called I was told the same thing, but I'm more inclined to believe the actual students at the program who say otherwise. Because the current student I spoke to also said the same thing about the clinicals (though she did say that it wasn't a problem unique to ONLY Simmons, and that her other friends in other NP programs struggled with placements as well).

With all that being said, I like to make decisions that are weighted from both good and bad reviews. At the moment I feel like everyone who is currently in the program only has "positive leaning" things to say (perhaps for fear of retaliation from the program..who knows), but I'm old enough to know that everything that glitters is not gold. And so I value the "bad" reviews as much as the good, while taking EVERYTHING with a grain of salt at the same time LOL. and the reason in which I am so confused on this choice is because the program is so bloody expensive, even to those with a scholarship. It's 130K for tuition alone (for three years). and the program is three years, so I do understand that working as a PCA or CNA is possible but that is nowhere near enough to support rent and utilities food etc without help. SO that in mind, factoring an additional 65-90K of loans on top of tuition to support yourself in those three years (obvi im low balling that), and lets not forget to mention our former Bachelors degrees, for those of us carrying undergrad debt. IT is really is a steep asking price if the bad reviews outweighs the good. It's not a choice to make lightly or uninformed (or to have a one-sided perspective of it) it is approx a 100-200 thousand dollar descion we're talking about here, it goes beyond making the best out of a situation I feel, (of course you can take the chance and run the risk that the bad reviews were in fact true, but by that point you simply have to take your licks. and im not so sure I can blindly wager that much money on a "possiblity". I want to lean toward sureness as much as possible). And of course everything is not about the money, but I'd be doing myself a disservice if I didn't consider the return to my investment and if its within reason. anyway those are my thoughts and why I'm a bit apprehensive about the program. I don't want to go into that kind of debt on a whim and be just another number.

Can you please clarify the last part, im alittle confused ?

This is the very question I had, I called and emailed an admissions officer. I'll attach the response below: ME: I had a question concerning the MSN portion fo the program. Say if I wanted to complete my clinical for the MSN portion of the program in a neighboring state (in a state I would want to live in after completion of the program and begin networking prior to graduation), could I be permitted to switch to the online format for the MSN portion, for the remaining 1.5 years smoothly, without any issue or special consideration? Admissions: I have two answers for you regarding this as I want to be as transparent as possible. Obviously, we want you to be a student at Simmons and if that meant that we would work with you to figure out how you could switch to the online MSN program after finishing the pre-licensure portion, we would work it out with the program as it has happened on occasion in the past. However, I would ask that you and I talk about this in more depth if that is the direction you are leaning. We created the Direct Entry program specifically to allow students who already have a bachelors degree the chance to do a combined program to get to the FNP goal as quickly as possible. The courses and the clinicals for this group is built specifically to ensure a fully immersive experience that is important to have for any students who have no previous nursing experience. In contrast, the online BSN to MSN program at Simmons is designed for Registered Nurses usually with at least some nursing experience and the focus is different than the Direct Entry program focus because of that. Since we get over 270 applications for the Direct Entry program from students and most are looking to do our full Direct Entry program experience rather than switch to online halfway through, I would suggest looking at our Accelerated BSN program which will allow you to get to the RN licensure spot and then you can look at applying to the BSN to MSN online program and be able to do your FNP curriculum and clinicals from a different state and allow us to offer the Direct Entry spot to another applicant. I hope you see where I am coming from with this. Since we have multiple degree options for nursing, we try and make sure the students enrolling in a program pick the best one based on their goals and often students can get to the same place using different options. We would rather have them pick the best choice at the beginning rather than have to change halfway through and take a spot that someone else would prefer. So to when we had the phone call conversation I was told, that because it is a Grad program, you are not given a BSN. you sit for the NCLEX( after 1.5 years) and you become an RN without a BSN. I asked the current student how this affects pay and jobs. I will attach her reposonse below: Me: Would you say theres any drawback to Simmons not awarding the actaul BSN ? does that affect pay or job outlooks as you collect hours as an RN (after the RN portion of the program)? Simmons Student: Most hospitals in Boston do a pay scale based on experience so not having a BSN will not affect the salary you would get compared to someone who has their BSN. It wasn’t difficult for me to get a job or interview at places but sometimes getting your application through HR without having a BSN can be tough. Most places want to see your experience too and I worked as a........(.....edited for anonymity....) ... (aid) so I think that helped me. You also can get a letter from the school of nursing explaining that you’ve completed the curriculum for a BSN but it can’t be awarded bc you’re in an MSN program. I got my letter for that and made sure to give it to employers as I was interviewing Me: So following that point, is it fair to assume it may be a bit harder for a graduate of the program, )who couldn't work as an RN during the program for whatever reason) , to find a job? does everyone half way through the program have a job as an RN, is that like an unspoken rule of thumb Simmons Student: I haven’t finished the program yet. But I would say that it definitely would be a lot more difficult to get a job as an NP without experience as an RN. From what I’ve heard, some people slip through the cracks and don’t work but I couldn’t tell you of anyone that I know of who has done that. It’s also a requirement by the school of nursing that everyone getting their MSN work as an RN while finishing the program and the school will ask you to provide proof of employment

PART 2 Conversation with current Simmons Student ME: It's my understanding that the cost of the program tuition-wise is 128K roughly. So after that first 1.5 year (the RN portion), do most people in your cohort begin to work full-time or part time as RN to cash flow the cost of the FNP portion of the program, or do most still need to take out loans? So I think that each cohort has 40-50 students, but now that you are nearing the end of the program, what would you say the retention rate of the students who started from the very beginning and moved on to complete the program, is very high? For the RN portion how many days a week are you in class, and how many days a week are you in clinical, and the same for the NP portion ? and is it true that clinicals can be completed in other neighboring states ? RESPONSES Simmons Student: Tuition is steep. A little fun fact that I wish I knew is that a very small amount of my classmates were offered a scholarship from Simmons. I’m not sure how much but I do know that there is a GPA requirement that goes along with keeping it each semester. Definitely something I would look into ! Otherwise majority of people take out loans depending on their situation. If taking out loans is something in the works do not wait until the last minute to get the paperwork done, the earlier they’re all done the better off you are ! Work-wise it really just depends on the type of student you are. I’m full time in the program, am currently working at ........(.....edited for anonymity....) .... Hospital and I work about 24-36 hours/wk. I’m hired per diem which gives me the flexibility I need to balance everything but city living isn’t cheap LOL. I would say that just about everyone who is part time in the program is working full time hours and they’re doing totally fine. One thing that Simmons has started to work on this past year is that they are adjusting the on campus format, nothing different about the curriculum just the timing and structure of pharm I believe, so that if students choose to practice as an FNP in another state and want to begin networking in that state, they can easily switch to the online program to finish their MSN and compete their clinicals as long as they get their RN license in that state. So one of my friends did that and was able to move back to ........(.....edited for anonymity....) .... early and complete all of ........(.....edited for anonymity....) .... clinicals at home which she was super happy about. I’d say cutting out the cost of housing is definitely a nice perk of making the switch! As for student retention, there were a handful that took a gap year after completing their RN to work as an inpatient nurse and be sure that being and FNP is something they definitely wanted to do. Otherwise, my cohort was about 60 students in the RN portion and from what I remember ****** students had definitely dropped out of the program. One of them just realized from (insert gender pronoun) experiences that bedside nursing was not it for (insert gender pronoun). ........(.....edited for anonymity....) .... This classmate struggled a bit academically and Simmons has a policy that if you “fail” a class (RN portion: 75 is passing; MSN portion: 83 is passing) you cannot move forward with your class and you need to retake the class when it’s offered next, which is usually the following year. Otherwise I mentioned briefly last night that many of the students who took the gap year to be sure in their decision are now coming back and finishing their MSN. So although I don’t know the exact retention rate, I would say there’s about ........(.....edited for anonymity....) .... of us actively working towards our MSN. Schedules in the RN portion: Simmons keeps this very structured. My classmates and I were on campus on ***days and ***day’s. ***day’s were the loooong days where we went from I thiiiink 9am-7pm with a 1-2hr break for lunch. During the first semester there’s also a skills workshop that takes place on weekends for 3 consecutive weekends. This is mandatory and you are tested on the skills you learned before you start clinical. During each semester of the RN program you’ll also have Sim Labs which are used to reinforce skills and topics in classes. Those are offered throughout the month and you’ll get a link to sign up for a session that fits your schedule best. Once clinicals start, you’ll do 1-2 days of clinical per/wk in addition to your class schedule. Schedules in the MSN portion: Simmons purposefully schedules all MSN classes on one day/wk so that students can better plan their work and clinical schedules. For your first rotation (501), the expectation is that you’re in clinical 1 day/wk but if your preceptor is willing you can definitely go as many days as you like. Then as you move through the remaining two clinical classes and the rotations needed, the expectation is that you do 2 days/wk in 502 and 3 days/wk in the final class 503. But like I mentioned before, if you have a preceptor that’s willing, go as much as you can and get the hours !

I spoke to a current in her last semester (via online) and I thought I'd share some of the questions and responses I got back ! Me: (recently accepted student): for starters, would you mind giving me your overall thoughts of the program, in your opinion. provided both the good and the bad attributes ! Simmons Student: okay so, I'm the type of person that once I completely stop school and start to work I know that it'll be extremely difficult for me to get back into the school routine or even return to get a Masters at all, so for that reason I love the structure of the DE program. Some of my classmates did feel a bit overwhelmed and decided to take a gap year to decide if an MSN is something they truly wanted to pursue. 3 of them have started back up and 2 of them stopped at their RN, not too sure what their plans are though. No program is perfect by any means and it's been a journey completing my MSN online because of COVID, but I will say that Simmons does prepare you well for the NCLEX and from what I've heard the FNP boards. Everyone in my cohort passed the NCLEX on the first try if that says anything. This might be a lengthy reply so I'll try and break it up into different topics to keep it organized for you LOL (continuation of simmons student response) Transition from current lifestyle to DE program: If you talk to my other classmates there's probably going to be mixed reviews on this but be prepared to sacrifice a lot of your free time for school. For granted, my friends in the program and I were able to go out and celebrate finishing exam weeks in the city, but otherwise many of us split our time between classes, clinicals, and work (some students like myself worked as PCAs/CNAs after we completed our second Med surg clinical). You're really making the biggest sacrifice the first semester of the RN program and then it gets better, I promise. As for the MSN portion, I still put in the same amount of studying and find that I have more flexibility with my schedule but Simmons transitioned us to the online platform once COVID hit so I can't speak too much on the actual on campus MSN portion of the program. ........(.....edited for anonymity....) .....time management wasn't an issue at all and the nursing department for the graduate students is really good at scheduling all of our classes on one day per week so we can better balance work and clincials when those start. I also should mention that Simmons offers a full time and part time tracks for the MSN. I decided to go full-time and it's rigorous but manageable. If you do decide to go to Simmons, just make sure that from the beginning of the program to block of time every week for self care, it's so important! Faculty: Again, this will be a mixed review depending on who you talk to, but from my experiences, majority of the faculty is super supportive and genuinely wants to see everyone succeed. There's definitely a few professors that don't make it easy and aren't the most helpful, but you'll run into that anywhere you go. The administrative office may also seem a bit disorganized, but I think that's just at every single nursing school from what I've heard from friends who went to different schools. It's super important to develop a relationship with your advisor, she will be your biggest supporter and make sure that your file stays organized throughout the program especially when clinicals start! NCLEX: I touched on this before, but Simmons prepares their students well for the RN boards(no BSN degree awarded). Everyone that I've talked to in my program passed on the first attempt and in 75 questions, which is the minimum amount of questions you can get to pass. During the process of completing the curriculum you may want to pull your hair out, but there's a theory to their madness and it works out in your favor! Simmons also pays a company to host an NCLEX review course for a week before everyone goes home for Winter break which I thought was super helpful in getting me motivated to study.

Keep your Hopes up! We're rooting for you !

I feel you on this! I too was accepted and I'm struggling to decide if this is something I should do. From the cost of tuition being so high, to them not awarding a BSN degree, to the very concerning reviews, I feel like this is a hard decision for me. What are your thought ?

Okayy this is really helpful! What are some names of towns / neighborhoods in south philly, so that I know what to type in on zillow LOL.

Hey, They didn't say how many seats were left, but they did host an admitted students day a few days ago (they run then multiple times until the cohort is full), and one of the faculty members did mention that they plan on bring about 20~ more students into this cohort than usual. Good luck with everything !

Hey, So I actually retook a boat load of courses in the entirety of my undergrad. (we all make mistakes when we're young and dumb). Out of my 8 total retakes in undergrad, I believe 3 were prereqs for this nursing program. AP 1 was a C the first time, which I retook, but was admitted before I completed the course a second time. So technically I was admitted in with a C in AP 1. Stats I earned a C+ the first time, and an A- the second time (I retook that before I sent in my application). and AP 2 I earned a B- the first time, retook it at a cc, and earned an A. My acceptance is contingent on the conferral of my degree in May 2021, thats it. Take my mistakes for what you will, but for anyone thinking they have a mistake too big to correct, trust me when I say you don't. Whats mean't to be yours will be yours, I retook those courses all in undergrad and I'm graduating on time (in 4 years) in May. Work on other aspects of your application, ask the right questions, and don't let anyone tell you this is out of your grasp. Take the gamble.

I too have been accepted, but I will be turning down my seat (as soon as I figure out to do that). But hopefully someone more deserving will get a chance to attend. Good luck to everyone! Im sure you'll make kick *** nurses!

I would definitely get an off campus apartment. I'm not from Philly. But safety is super important to me. I've heard areas like fairmount, old city, northern liberties, rittenhouse (a bit expensive), chinatown, and good options to rent off campus. I am trying to bring a car being that im a few hours out. But if anyone could make suggestions on the parking situation or the best parts to get an off campus that would be much appreciated ! I also believe there is a facebook group for called "Philadelphia Roommates", where alot of young healthcare professionals also look for responsible roommates for off campus housing. Always watch out for possible weridos but still, nice to see whats out there.

The email with the details is sent to you 24 hours to the time of your interview. (FYI: In case you don't see it appear in the "Inbox" tab of your email, check the "promotions/ spam" folder. That's where mine was sent to ;) GoodLuck !!