ChickenLLBird

I am not doing the ACNP track, but rather the Critical Care/Trauma CNS - so you might not find my input valuable, but I volunteered for a year on an ICU. That seemed to be helpful for my application. I knew a lot about CC/T. THere weren't any CNS' or NP's working on my ICU, but the pace of an ICU, the roles, etc. were helpful. - Chicken LL

Congratulations Nat! I'm looking forward to a get together - Lisa (Chicken LL)

Congratulations Blair! That's fantastic. Prospective Z, hang in there I'm rooting for you - Chicken LL (Lisa)

Congratulations jaxnaud (Karen)! See you in June. I am disappointed by how many people got waitlisted twice in a row. It just seems like a mystery formula to me if people have that experience. I'm really feeling for you guys and hope that this, somehow, turns out to be a positive turn in your path to becoming a nurse and, of course, that you end up in June. Maybe a lot of people will want to go to Yale or Columbia. - Lisa

Wow, bluedreamofsky, that's really brutal. I am so sorry. We have to let UCSF know by March 14th. I am sure that some people will prefer Yale or other schools, 1st on the wait list is good! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you - Chicken LL

Thank you Berkeley Mom, I'm pretty excited. I'm off to dinner with a friend! We can all do this, everyone hang in there! - lisa

jaxnaud, Nat, all of you - I'm pulling for you. Let us know tomorrow. Fingers crossed! - Lisa (Chicken LL)

I got my letter today and I'm in! What a relief, I will be emailing Solon! - lisa

I got my letter today, I'm in! I'm so excited! The envelope was post-dated 02/28/07 and the letter was March 1st. I live in Sacramento, so that gives you an idea of travel time. Hooray! I'm hoping that you are all the same. If not, I'm very sorry and think they need to expand their class. - Chicken LL

Sorry, I should be sending this to Kris directly but I'm not exactly sure how to do that. Please forgive! Kris -my name is Lisa, I am a white woman with light brown hair. I was wearing a black suit and turquoise sweater at the MEPN lunch. I asked a question about finances. It's a legacy of my years of sexual assault counseling that I remember almost all names and faces I meet. Sorry if it seemed creepy, Kris. So, I didn't apply to UCSF last year because I didn't have A&P yet. So I am a first-time applicant to UCSF, had to turn down Yale and take a chance. I didn't reapply to Yale because I decided that I did not want to be on the East Coast. Plus, I'd love to live in SF. Good luck everyone, keep breating - Lisa (ChickenLL)

Thanks for sharing the information on the mail out. That helps. Kris, I remember you from the Interview Day, I am sure you will get in! You have a unique specialty and definitely distinguished yourself in a good way. (We were at the same MEPN lunch). One of the differences with Yale is that they do not have a CNS track. They also have slightly fewer specialty choices. When I interviewed at Yale last year, they asked me why I wasn't applying to UCSF. My interviewer was involved in a lot of collaborative research and just thought the world of UCSF. This is just my impression, but I felt that Yale was much further behind on the recruitment of a diverse student body. The vast majority of interviewees were young white women. They also had a relatively new initiative on health disparities - I felt that UCSF had a much more diverse group of applicants (although there's still a lot of room of improvement) and a stronger emphasis on health care to underserved communities. There are a ton of student groups at UCSF that I didn't see at Yale. Plus, I felt that Yale (and I heard this from GEPN students) SON was a little bit of a stepchild of Yale Graduate Schools. Whereas, UCSF is all health sciences and the SON seems relatively on par with other schools. Ok, that's why UCSF is better. Yale is great because people have a genuine confidence in the Yale name. I think people in healthcare know that UCSF is amazing, but your average patient is definitely impressed by Yale. I can't tell you the number of people that thought I needed a psych evaluation for turning Yale down. (I still might need a psych evaluation, but I thought there were a ton of reasons to hold out for UCSF). Also, Yale only requires statistics. A&P is not required. You can also take one course per semester (or something like that) at other schools at Yale. So that's pretty awesome. New Haven is pretty inexpensive to live in, versus SF. It is a beautiful and amazing campus. The Yale New Haven Medical Center is a great hospital, too.

Sorry for any repetition, operator errors galore today. Thanks to NurseinTraining76 for the Micro advice. As far as calling and pleading your case, at our interview session (Januart 26th) Dr. Ziehm specifically said not to call in the case that you've been accepted somewhere else and need to know sooner. He said that they wouldn't be getting the notices out until March 1st so to go ahead and do what you need to do for yourself, but don't call the school. I'm just hoping that the other schools will have a day or two grace period on their letters and things. They must go through this every year, so they've got to expect some late responses at Yale and other schools. I'm still hoping that March 1st will be the day. Everybody take care and let's all keep taking those deep breaths - ChickenLL

Congratulations on your interviews! - ChickenLL

I'm still taking prerequisites for my back-up school. Microbiology and a Biology with Genetics. I've found it challenging to find motivation to study with the decision hanging over my head. I'll drop those classes so fast my head's gonna spin if I get one of the UCSF spots! Fingers crossed!

I interviewed on the 31st and the 26th (this was the 2nd interview day), so we didn't meet. I heard then, too, that they might get the letters out early. I am really trying to visualize a positive response, like jaxnaud - can't really imagine the rejection but I am trying to, so I will have my plan B ready. Their decisions will be hard. Yes, let's all get in and meet! By the way, congratulations on Columbia! That is a nice back-up to have!

Yes, 13 days until March 5th, which I figure is a drop-dead mail delivery date... but I like 10 days much better! That's a great idea to take the day off. When I applied to Yale, they called us on the phone, no idea if UCSF will do that. But that was nice to know definitively on that day. I'm sorry, I think I've blown the Spanish thing out of proportion! This was all third-hand speculation from one interviewee who had a weird conversation (obviously not following the rules laid out). So, I wouldn't worry that not being bilingual guarantees a rejection. I doubt it is a deciding factor at this point, sorry if I emphasized it too much. - Chick (this is my family nickname)

I was totally exhausted after the interview day - it's hard to be "on" that long and definitely a bit unnerving to hang with your competition for so long. If I get in, I will have amazing classmates. I just wanted to share one more tidbit, when we asked current MEPN students about the size of their envelope, they said that their acceptance letters were thin! So don't throw anything away without opening it! It may not be a fat package. 13 days and counting - ChickenLLBird

After interview day at UCSF, I think one of the really weird and unknowable factors is which specialties will be heavily impacted in a given year. Midwifery candidates I met were all doulas. Every single one! That's an accomplishment in itself. It's a very tough specialty. They gave out the number of spaces for each specialty at interview day (hopefully this isn't a trade secret or something) and it was clear that some specialties are just tight. Midwifery, FNP - tons of applicants (there were 12 or 14 spots for those, too, I can't remember exactly), at least 2 for every spot. I'm applied for CNS Critical Care/ Trauma and they said there was no limit on how many candidates they could take in that category. However, they were also clear to say that they didn't necessarily have to take the maximum number of spots that the departments said they could fill. If they felt that only 8 of the Midwifery candidates were acceptable, for example, they'd only accept those 8. Also, the majority of primary care specialty candidates were bilingual or proficient in Spanish. One person I talked to said that since 70% of patients at SFGH speak Spanish, her interviewer told her that they might not accept any candidates without Spanish. There were a high number of bilingual candidates. Without blathering on for too long, I will echo that the MEPN candidates I met on interview day were all truly extraordinary people (I wondered how I got there! haha!). Not that those who weren't accepted aren't as well, frankly, I think that they pull a pool together that is unique from year to year based on a multitude of factors. If one of you had applied last year, you might have been invited to interview. Who knows. That being said, it was kind of crappy to interview knowing you had a 50/50 chance. I know someone said 90 spots, but they aren't sure they are going to do that. The minimum is 75 MEPN positions. They went through every crazy detail including immunizations, financial aid, TB mask fitting, for those who would be accepted and only half of the candidates would get in. Kind of tough. The good news is that many of those interviewing (and MEPNs I talked to) were reapplicants. If you apply again, you will have a leg up in admissions it seems. Also, they told us that the most critical factor, at that point, was the interview. No pressure. So anyway, if you didn't get in this year, don't lose heart. In another year we will have better resumes, better transcripts, more life experience, hopefully more money, and generally be better prepared than this year. Did I convince you? I'm still working on it believing it myself. Good luck to all of you, we will make it - ChickenLL

Yeah, I am trying hard to stay busy until the 1st. But I can't help checking the mail every day with way too much emotional attachment. For many of us it will be rejection, so I am trying not to rush it. I have a back-up school, but UCSF was just incredible. 2 more weeks...

Interviewed at UCSF in January. I'd like to say I am patiently waiting until March 1st, but I'm struggling at that. :stone I want to know their decision, but don't need to hurry a rejection letter either. I've been accepted to the University of Portland's AEM-UP Program which is a Clinical Nurse Leader role. At UCSF I've applied to the Critical Care/Trauma CNS spot. Not sure what I'll do if I don't get into UCSF, I really liked that program. So even though I have a back-up, I might decide to wait another year. Then again, I turned down Yale's GEPN program last year to apply to UCSF. Hoping i don't seriously regret that in 2 weeks. Fingers and toes crossed - ChickenLL