diddle

Hello! So my boyfriend/fiancee might need to relocate for his job (and leave CA) and we can choose among many different states (New Mexico, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, etc., etc.) I will be graduating from my FNP program after he relocates and thus looking for a job wherever he ends up going, but I want to make sure that wherever we decide to move to, is a good place to try and find a job for a new grad FNP. I know that some cities/states are more saturated with NPs than others, and other places are in high demand! Could you please give me advice about where to avoid? We were thinking that we would love Colorado...but from reading other posts, it sounds like its tough to get a job in Colorado because there are so many NPs! Is this true? Or any advice on any other states on either the West Coast or South West would be very helpful!! Thanks so much!

Okay, so my story sounds very similar to a lot of your stories. By the 6th question I was getting harder questions and feeling pretty good about it remembering that this is computer adaptive, so it is SUPPOSED to get hard when you are doing well! But then I was getting one hard SATA after another, and I starting thinking that there is no way I am getting any of these right....so how on earth could I be getting 50% right 50% wrong? I was being asked to click all of the symptoms of a disease I had never even heard of! I ended up getting 25 SATAs!!! No math, lots of priorities, one delegation, and the kicker was towards the end..the questions started getting easier! By the end they were asking me basic nursing assessment skill questions and I was FREAKING OUT. And to top it off, after completing one of those easy ones, I realized I had missed it! And then I realized I had missed the last question! I left the place almost in tears and cried for hours, totally disappointed and in utter shock. The test was nothing like I had been trained for. I had done a bizillion practice question, but this real test was totally different! I continued to check the CA Board's website about every hours for two days (minus the 4-5 hours of sleep I got). I seriously have never been so neurotic about anything like this before. I even managed to remember 59 of the 75 questions to try and figure out if I got them right and what level question they were...I was going nuts. Anyways, I just found out this morning that I passed!!!!! I had 75 questions...

Vicky--COOL! I was hoping that you got in! Hopefully we will see each other then at the happy hour function we might do in May, or whatever function we end up planning. CONGRATS AGAIN!

Congrats again to all of you! Vicky- Yep! That's me! I am trying to figure out which one you are...because I remember speaking with several different people before and during the tour. Are you by chance the one that is getting an MPH at SF State? Or maybe the one that was flying to Phily that very same night for an interview at UPENN the next morning? I could be way off though! ~Diddle (Diana)

Hey everyone! CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU! I got accepted too! YEAH!!! What specialty tracks have you all been admitted for? I interviewed on Jan 19th for the FNP track. I can't wait to move to the city and start school. I have been living in Berkeley for a while now and I am so ready for a change! And to those of you that are alternates...GOOD LUCK! Im sure that some people will be turning down UCSF for another school, like Yale or Columbia, especially if they are already on the east coast. You just never know. Please keep us posted ok?? And remember what Dr. Ziehm said...let's try and all send in our decision as soon as possible to help out those alternates! I know for some people that may be hard though, but for those of us that already know, let's send them in soon! And I would love to meet up for happy hour! And for those who don't drink alcohol, a soda or virgin daquiri could always work right? Does that work for everyone? I say instead of right at 5:00pm let's give everyone a chance to get off work and get in to the city and stuff..so maybe between 5:30 and 6:00 or something? It will be great to meet all of you! ~diddle (diana)

Hey everyone! ChickenLLBird--Was it UCSF that you got accepted to? I got accepted too!! YIPEE!! That means we will meet in June! I will be on the lookout for you. Congrats! Were you admitted to the FNP specialty track or another one? I have been admitted to the FNP track. And to all you SMC FNPers- I want to wish the best of luck to all of you! We are all going in to an amazing career! Take care and keep me posted! And RockyPooh, please feel free to still send me a private message if you want. I would like to help in any way that I can. Take care and good luck! ~diddle

Hey Rockypooh- I am crossing my fingers for you! And feel free to PM me as well, I feel the same as BerkMom! And BerkMom- CONGRATS!! That is wonderful news. Maybe we will meet through this process. And as far as UCSF, it is really hard to say. They are both great programs...but UCSF is cheaper! And Star19- I haven't heard back from the lady either! So I dont know when my interview is. Good luck to you all! ~diddle

Hey all you Samuel Merritt College FNP folks! So I got contacted this morning to schedule an interview for smc's fnp program! They gave me a few dates to choose from in March so I am setting that up. Has anyone else been contacted? Good luck to all of you! ~diddle

Have any of you Samuel Merritt College FNP track applicants figured out exactly how much the program costs?

Let's definately post as soon as we get the letter. It would be great to organize something in the city for all accepted MEPN students....I applied to the FNP track. Good luck to all of you! This waiting period is KILLING me!

Hello! This is my first time on this thread. I wish that I had found it before!! Anyways, I got accepted to the FNP track and I am also scared to death about moving to NYC. I have been living in Chiapas, Mexico for the last two years and just came back to Berkeley, CA (where I went to undergrad and have lived for several years). I just don't know how long it will take for me to adjust to the fast-paced life and harsh weather AND the high standard of living! Of course I know that there are several perks to NYC and everyone needs to experience it at some point in their life, but I just don't know how long I can commit for. I am currently waiting to hear from UCSF (only one more week) which is my first choice...but if I don't get in, I will be considering Columbia. Unfortunately I cannot make it to the info session. Could you all please tell me the gist of it afterwards? THANKS!!! Also, I didn't realize that the program only lasts 2.5 years! Is that really true? Congrats to all of you for getting accepted! Yeah! ~diddle

It is definately worth calling UCSF and explaining to them your situation. Who knows if they will just tell you over the phone whether you have been admitted or not but it is worth at least a call. I really don't think that they will hold it against you that you applied to other programs, I think that they expect that. Good luck! Hoppefully the letters will still come by March 1st, despite what that woman said.

I am hoping that she just doesn't really know or isn't really sure or something...but that chances of that seem slim

OMG...I couldnt stop myself from calling UCSF, and unfortunately the lady told me that the letters aren't going to be sent out until AFTER March 1st! WHAT!?! She said they will probably get sent out at the end of next week! Brutal..if she is right, that means we have an entire week still to wait until they even get sent out. I don't know what I am going to do with myself until then! This waiting period is serious torture.

I interviewed for the FNP track. And just like you guys, I can't really imagine a rejection at this point! I feel like I have worked so hard for this and come such a long way.... And yes, it would be great to try and get a group of us admitted students (cause we are all going to get admitted) to meet somewhere in SF! That would be fun! And of course, as soon as I get the letter, I will let you guys know. The letter will only be traveling to Mountain View, so it won't take to long once they send them out! ~diddle

Hey everyone! So which day did you guys interview? I interviewed the first round, the 19th...I wonder if any of us met? And yes, I certainly agree that all those accepted are going to make an an amazing class. And there were lots in primary care that I met that didnt speak Spanish, so some of them I am sure will get admitted! Also, I agree about the thin envelope thing because Columbia sent me my acceptance letter a few weeks ago and the envelope was a TINY little business size envelope. As soon as I saw it my heart dropped because I thought it was a definate rejection. But when I opened it, I had been accepted! But of course I would rather go to UCSF :) This waiting period sucks. It drove me crazy right before Christmas too when the interview letters came out. I start running to my mailbox everyday for weeks until if finally came. Oh well, just 9 more days now! Good luck to all of you! I hope that we all get admitted!

Thanks Rockypooh! I guess that means that we have a while to wait Oh well, I might as well try not to think about it for a while, because "next week or a month" is very vague and confusing and just makes me more anxious. Well, as soon as one of the FNP applicants does hear, let us know! ~diddle

Congratulations Bertaloozi! And good luck! Has anyone that applied to the FNP track gotten an e-mail like this? I imagine that there are more applicants for the FNP specialty, so maybe it might take a little longer. I don't know though.

Hmmm...I didn't get that DVD either! Whats on it? And RockyPooh: When you call SMC this week about the status of our applications and letters, do you mind letting us all know what they say? I am curious to know when they start interviewing. From previous threads/posts it sounds like it varies year to year. THANKS!

Nope, haven't heard anything from SMC yet about interviews. I actually never even got an e-mail from them telling me that they have received my application, which every other school did immediately after they received mine. Did anyone else get an e-mail saying that they recieved your application? Its weird that they don't send those out just to keep us posted!

So a few weeks have passed since my interview and I am DYING. I just don't know if I can make it until March 1st. It still sounds so far away from now! Anyone else waiting?

hey everyone- yeah, it is weird about the first choice and second choice thing at UCSF. At the interview day I went to a couple of weeks ago, the dean of the school said that they will probably change that part of the application starting next year, because it is just silly. I put FNP as my first choice (and that is what I interviewed for) and PNP for my second, only because I had a lot of experience in pediatrics, not because I really wanted to do it. rockypooh- So we are supposed to find out about SMC at the beginning of March then? Does that mean they wont be doing interviews like all of the other years? I spoke with someone who got in last year and she said her interview was mid-march and then she didn't find out until the beginning of April...but that is so far away from now I am hoping that they've changed things. Did a counselor tell you that? BerkeleyMom- My first choice is definately UCSF and my second choice is SMC. I just got accepted to Columbia's program, but I just don't know if I want to move to New York. I mean I am young and it would be fun BUT I think I would like to stay around here. Where else are you applying to? Also, if any of you are thinking of applying to UCSF, my one peice of advice after doing all this is that you choose a specialty that you already have a lot of experience in. That is what makes you a competitive applicant. It is hard to convince them that you want to be an Acute Care NP if you have only worked in a primary care setting, you know? And they want to be convinced that you know exactly what you are getting yourself into, and also, that you wont want to change your specialty in the middle of the program. That was a peice of advice that someone gave me that really helped me decide which specialty to choose, and I think it really helped me get an interview. Anyways, best of luck and lets keep each other posted! diddle

hey everyone! good luck to all of you! This waiting period has been really tough for me...but I have also been accepted to USF's Clinical Nurse Leader track, so it comforts me to know that I have a back-up option. Chairol--I think both of our tracks our relatively the same at USF. The difference is that a CNA certificate is required for the CNL track upon program entry, therefore making the program 18 months rather than 22-24 months. But I think in both cases we will be Masters prepared level RNs, and probably most of the work that we would do would be in a hospital setting. Since we would be masters prepared, I think we would have slightly higher salaries, and maybe even qualified to do more "management"-type posititions?? I don't know though. Does anyone else out there know? My plan actually is to be an FNP, so if I go to USF I guess I would work a few years as an RN and then do a post-masters FNP certificate program...we'll see! And I interviewed at UCSF for the FNP track and I won't hear back until March 1st! And I also applied to Samuel Merritt's ELMSN program. I applied to other schools that aren't in the area, but I would REALLY like to stay in the bay area. BerkeleyMom--thanks for telling me about this thread! Where do you live in Berkeley? I live here too! Right off of Gilman. Anyways, take care and good luck! ~diddle

actually, there are several "direct-entry" programs, where you can apply with only a bachelor's degree (in anything), and after about three years (depending on the program) you can be an NP! I know for UCSF's case for example, during the first year you are learning and taking all the necessary steps to be able to take the NCLEX RN exam after the first year. Then during the next two years you complete the Masters portion. When you graduate you are an NP (assuming that you pass that exam!) There are several schools with these accelerated, direct-entry-type programs. Just to name a few, there is Samuel Merritt (in Oakland, CA) UCSF, Columbia, John Hopkins, Yale, University of WA, University of PENN, Boston College, Simmons College, Northeastern University, Seattle University, PACE University, etc., etc. The list goes on an on. You should take a look at a website called www.allnursingschools.com. They actually don't even have the complete list of accelerated programs, but they do list a good amount. Here is the direct link to the direct-entry MSN programs: http://www.allnursingschools.com/featured/accelerated-msn/ Hope that helps!

Hey guys I got an interview for the FNP specialty track.....is there anybody else out there who got an interview for this specialty? Also, to some of you who didn't get interviews, I heard that it is easier to get in the second time round...many people I know got in the second time, but not the first time, actually ALL of the people who I know who are in the program got in their second time applying. So don't give up! This is a grueling process, with a lot of hoops to jump through...and it is very very discouraging, but they do say that UCSF does give a slight advantage to applicants who have applied more than once! Also, if you didn't get an interview and you applied to the FNP specialty, Samuel Merritt in Oakland is still accepting applications (applications are due January 15th)! Although they do require more pre-reqs...but just as long as you take the pre-reqs before program entry, it is fine! Anyways, good luck to all of you and happy holidays!