chickenlake

Hey BluDevil! Sounds like it has been an interesting "adventure." I suspect a lot of us are in a somewhat similar boat. Even if we like our current jobs, it is very exciting to have made the decision to change careers and know there's a good chance we will be able to start school soon!! I don't know about the rest of you but I've been looking forward to this since 2006... Worth the wait!

BluDevil - Not exactly in your shoes but definitely counting the weeks till I'm officially on my way into the new career! What career did you come from and why are you working part time jobs for the time being...?

Just thought I would check in again and see if anyone out there in the forums is waiting for Spring 2011 admissions decisions! Good luck, everyone.

I envy your electricity bill, twois! lol

Hey y'all! So, I've lived in Raleigh for 11 years, and commuted to jobs at Duke for about 4 of those. I wanted to throw out some humble ideas for housing options for those of you who are out of town. I've never lived in Durham, so definitely take all this with a grain of salt, and look into the rent and the property management companies and everything that you'd normally do. Also, any other locals who want to add comments or corrections, go for it :-) Some general thoughts about the area: You will find good and bad spots in Durham, it just takes some research. It will be very hard to do anything without a car, especially considering clinicals. The bus system will get you places but it might take 2 hours one way to get from A to B. I would recommend avoiding a commute that involves the I-40 corridor if possible. Another problem area during rush hour is the 15-501 stretch between Chapel Hill and Durham. I think some good ideas about apartments in Durham have been suggested, and I wanted to add some areas that aren't necessarily close to Duke but are good locations in terms of stuff to do and highway access - since it sounds like we'll have a lot of traveling to do for clinicals. One would be the Brier Creek area. If you google map it, it's at Brier Creek Pkwy and NC Hwy 70. This is convenient to Hwy 70, which is a more consistent commute into Durham during rush hours in terms of the risk of an accident shutting everything down (70 to I-85). It's also convenient to the "outer beltline" I-540, which will take you either southwest to Durham or northeast to Raleigh. Brier Creek has a lot of shopping and restaurants in one place. Another idea is the Southpoint area. This is in south Durham off of I-40 (google maps: Fayetteville Rd and I-40, Streets at Southpoint). This area is convenient to a couple of roads that run north into Durham, 751 and 147, and being next to I-40 you would also have highway access to Chapel Hill and Raleigh. Southpoint is also an area with a lot of shopping/restaurants. The rush hour traffic up/down 147 can get kind of heavy, but I don't know about 751. Hope this helps a bit, and good luck!

Sandy - you read my mind - I'm in Raleigh too! Send me a message on my google mail, chickenlake...

No info session email here... Interesting!

I'd like to add to NCEMT's comments about traffic - play it safe, because per Murphy's Law it'll be the morning you need to be somewhere important that there's a snarl in traffic on one of the loops. It did seem like they intended the 8:30-9am slot for check-in and eating breakfast, so it's a nice buffer. Good luck to everyone!!!

Glassprn - At least in the fin aid session I attended, they definitely said to go ahead and apply before they send out notifications. So I'd say go for it...! Good luck on Friday :-D

Hey FSU, I have no idea about any of your questions... Best I can guess is that the admissions committee will look at the big picture for each applicant. I'd bet your club lacrosse and crew would be just as valuable as volunteer work if you have leadership experience, and the tutoring would count in my opinion. Good luck! I'm applying too. Any others out there applying for Spring 2011??

A little more re: the financial aid. From the Financial Aid info session it sounded like the order of things to apply for was FAFSA, DUSON financial aid, ABSN scholarship form, and then whatever scholarships and grants you can find through third party sites. I wrote down from the financial aid session that the DUSON ABSN scholarship application deadline is August 6. If you are concerned about this you may want to confirm via the website or M, but just wanted to give y'all a heads up. The form (link) says the deadline is July 15, but we were told it is actually due 8/6. Also, more forms are linked via the DUSON website under Financial Aid (here).

LawnMowerBear - you had me rolling! Definitely something I'd do. Glad your strategy worked out well. :-D I interviewed on the 23rd and had a lot of fun meeting all of you. I used to work at Duke and had to walk through the hospital to get places, so seeing the campus was no surprise, but I was blown away by the program and the instructors (and the new nursing building). I concur with all the other posts that say don't sweat the interviews, just have an idea of the main points you want to convey, 15 minutes go by waaaay too quick. Learn from my mistake, too, I did not pay attention to my watch on the 2nd interview and feel horrible for getting all the subsequent candidates off schedule. :-( Another thing, especially for those of you interviewing in August, they said we should go ahead and start getting our financial aid applications in. The FAFSA and the DUSON fin aid applications are good to start. After admissions decisions are made, the financial aid dept will need those applications to put together a financial aid "packet" for each accepted candidate to use in considering whether to enroll. BTW anyone who has questions about NC or Durham or Duke let me know. I'm a native to the area and can try to answer any questions you might have. I like the idea of posting what got you interested in nursing to try and pass the time till 8/16, so here goes. I worked in biology research labs after I graduated college, but knew I didn't want to be a career research tech. I was inspired to enter nursing by the nurse practitioner at the Planned Parenthood where I volunteered. What about the rest of you? Good luck to all!!

I am also very nervous about what to wear... I hardly ever dress up and suits don't look very flattering on me, but I don't want to be under dressed even in a pair of nice black pants. Please others post what you plan to wear! I am interviewing on the 23rd and am so excited to meet all of you! Good luck to those of you interviewing earlier!

Thank you - this was helpful!

This is for anyone who is or has been in Duke's ABSN program. Bottom line - is it possible and/or feasable to do well in this ABSN program and work part time? I have been working in biomedical research for ~6 years (3 at Duke) and recently decided to go into nursing. Hubby won't be done with his BS degrees until sometime in 2009. I don't want to wait that long to go back to school . . . On the other hand, I don't want to lose our house and live off of Ramen noodles for the 16 months of the ABSN program because neither of us has an income. I spoke with one current Duke ABSN student who said some of her classmates have part time jobs. I can probably stay on the payroll with my lab and just come in afternoons and weekends. In others' experience - is it feasable to hold a part time job while going through Duke's ABSN program? Alternatively, is there anyone out there for whom it has worked OK to put living and tuition expenses on grants and/or loans? Does either of these scenarios cause a huge decline in standard of living while in school? We are not extravagant spenders, but like I said, I want to eat healthy and keep our house. We are not planning on having children. Any advice or anecdotes would be greatly appreciated!