SarahNylander

My biggest piece of advice is to have a 4.0 in your prerequisites. I know a lot of great candidates weren't considered because they didn't have a 4.0. It's a competitive program, so GPA is the first round knock out. I'm not a current student. I was first on the waitlist for the PMHNP track. I turned it down because my husband is in the military and we ended up not being able to move to Fort Hood like originally planned. The stats change depending on the track. You can check out some of the statistics (number of applicants, admitted, selectivity) here: https://gradschool.utexas.edu/admissions/where-to-begin/admissions-and-enrollment-statistics Just narrow the search to nursing and you can see the relevant info. Your essay is important too. It helps them get to know who you are and what you're bringing to the table. It shouldn't be treated as a second resume. Be personal. Tell them a story that makes them believe you'd be a great candidate. I talked about the death of my infant nephew and how the nurses in the NICU made me want to pursue nursing as a career, and I used a past, present, future mindset. If you have the GPA, decent LoR's, and a good essay, you should at least be selected for an interview (I say should because you never know). Then do some research on popular nursing school interview questions and formulate responses. You don't want to sound reheorificed, but you want to sound intelligent and like you prepped. Good luck next cycle!

PMHNP accepted 6

Hi everyone! I just turned down the waitlist since my husband received military orders to Georgia. I'm conflicted because I really want this, but ultimately I have to put my child first. As much as I want to be part of this amazing program, it wouldn't be fair to him to keep my daughter that far away from her dad for the next three years. So if you're waitlist #2 for the PMHNP program, you just moved up a spot! Congrats to everyone who got in! And to those who are trying again next year, good luck! I'll probably reapply in the future.

I knew that was you! We interviewed together. I'm the one who had no voice. LOL Congrats on getting in! I went home from the interview and told my husband they'd be crazy to not admit you.

Just got the email that I'm first on the waitlist for PMHNP. Congrats to those who got in!

Cacaophony_2 said: I GOT INTO AG-CNS!! whoops sorry wrong profile but I am cacaophony hahah CONGRATS! That's amazing. ?

I'm a lot less nervous now that I know we're moving to Georgia, but I still want to know! A definitive answer would definitely help me sleep at night. I'll be keeping one eye on my email and the other on this forum.

I'm currently dying at your 8 million dollar comment. LOL To be 100% honest, I'll probably turn down a spot if I am lucky enough to be offered one. My husband is in the military and we were fairly certain we were going to go to Fort Hood next (we're from the area) but the Army changed their minds last minute and now we're going to Georgia. I don't want to keep my daughter away from her dad for 3 years, and I don't particularly want to be away that long either. I'm technically enrolled in a MA in Clinical Mental Health program already, so I'll likely finish that while I'm in Georgia. I may apply to this program again in the future, but I have to follow Uncle Sam's rules for now. I'm still anxiously waiting to see who gets in though! I have my fingers crossed for all of you.

Update: they scheduled me for today 01/17 at 1 pm. The interview was done in three phases. First was a group interview. They treated that mostly as an information session. Have a few questions in your back pocket to ask them. They appreciate the engagement. You'll need to introduce yourself in front of everyone. Have a good answer to "tell me about yourself." The second phase is the individual interview. Just be honest in this phase. Why mental health instead of another specialty? Why this school? How do you handle stress? What are the social/ ethical implications of master's level nursing? Last is a writing prompt. It changes, so I can't really tell you what yours is going to be. Again, just be honest. Read through the whole assignment before you start writing. It's not timed.

They said someone would contact me by the end of next week to schedule something. I'll let you know when they schedule it.

We probably got the exact same email. Mine even had a typo at the end that said PNP PC instead of PMHNP. I took yesterday off of work to do a little soul searching, and I decided to go ahead and interview for LeaDS as well. It isn't the track I wanted, but it gets my foot in the door. And who knows, maybe the teaching route is where I'm supposed to be. Although the email specifically says that I'd be considered for both, it felt like an email nudging me to take the second option. I don't think we're completely out of the running, but we may be sitting closer to the "waitlisted" arena for our chosen programs. This is all speculation, because I can't be sure if everyone who interviewed for the NP tracks got the email or not. Let me know what you decide to do!

Hey everyone! I interviewed for the PMHNP track in December. I just got an email from you know who saying that the school is allowing me to put my name in the ring for LeaDS as well as the PMHNP track. Anyone else get the email? If so, what are you going to do?

@hannahgm20 Not really! But it's a good idea to make your application as competitive as possible. They turned down quite a few applicants with some seriously impressive resumes.

@cacaophony I think it's perfectly normal to feel a little anxious about how you did. I don't know many people who walk away from interviews feeling incredibly confident. Don't sweat it! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. @hannahgm20 I don't necessarily think that being straight out of college is going to hurt your application. Their admissions process is holistic so they look at more than just your college experience; but, it wouldn't hurt to have some sort of volunteer or work experience in healthcare. Or some sort of experience that's relevant to your chosen track. Start looking now so you have something to put on your resume next application cycle!

If nothing else, have something to say when they say “tell me about yourself.” You’ll want to know about the specialty you applied to and how your strengths set you up for success in that field. I read over the last few years of forums and people mentioned being asked things like: Why a MSN instead of a BSN? Why UT Austin? Tell me about a time when you challenged the rules. What are the ethical implications of being a MSN level nurse? If you could be anything other than a nurse, what would you be? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What will you contribute to the field of nursing? It can’t hurt to look up common questions and make a few talking points. I’d also have a few questions to ask at the end of your interview.