gnomik79

Congrats to all of you who just had your orientation! I can't believe that exactly one year ago today (Feb 13), I had my orientation! Seems as if it was just yesterday; how fast the time goes! So, best of luck to you guys! I remember how excited I was! :yelclap:

Hahaha, yes, sorry guys, it WAS a typo! I should have said 0630 AM - 0430 PM instead. Sorry if I confused anyone. Well, just now we actually got an email that our days/times may change, so now I don't even know what my clinicals schedule will be like.

To 9fingers: So, I guess I need to correct myself and say that THERE ARE in fact "PM" shift clinicals since I am about to be in one next month! :) Mine run from 1230-2230 one day a week, and 0630-0430 second day a week. To dachlewis: We started with 7 men in our cohort and are now down to 6. I am a UCSD alumni (Math & Econ major), and if I had to compare the workload then with the one now, I would say that it's much higher in this program. So, I think it depends on a few factors: 1. What your area of study was at UCSD, 2. The instructors you will have in the nursing program, 3. The amount of time you are able to devote to the program (since kids and jobs can take away time from studying). To dalsor: To find out more about the quality of the program, teaching, etc, I recommend reading this entire post. There are a few of us, current nursing students, who shared a ton of great information about the program, offered tips and answered some questions from prospective students. I think you will find this very informative. Good luck!

Switching is allowed: as long as you find someone to switch with. Our cohort did have a Sat/Sun clinical rotation for one class so far, so those weekend clinicals are not offered often. And I don't think they have "evening" clinicals. All clinical rotations are generally anytime from 7 AM to 7 PM, depending on whether it is 8 hours or 12 hours long. So, there are no "night" or "PM" shifts per se. The "evening" cohort only has a Theory Lecture in the evenings but not clinicals, I don't think... And if I'm wrong, someone from the evening cohort please correct me.

It's all about time management and your study habits. You have to find the right balance. Some people need to study for hours, others need to do a quick overview and they're fine. The program is overwhelming at times but you get used to the fast pace. Every class is different in its intensity. Many students have families, children and jobs. I can tell you that in my cohort there are quite a few people who find time to go out and socialize on a regular basis *wine: some of them still manage to do very well in the class, and others pay for it with bad grades and constant complains of "I didn't have time to study" or "I was picking up extra shifts at works", and still they don't learn from their own mistakes. :smackingf At the orientation, they straight up tell you "Put your life on hold for the duration of the program: don't plan weddings, babies or vacations. Limit your work schedule and be flexible." So that's what you need to keep in mind, and just find out what works for you individually.:thnkg:

I personally buy all my textbooks mostly from www.half.com or ebay and sometimes amazon or Barnes and Noble, depending on where I could find it the cheapest. I mostly buy used book that are in good condition and usually sell them back on half.com for almost the same price that I pay for them initially. I have never used an older edition but I know many people do, and they do just fine. I have never rented books and never bought them from NU bookstore, or sold books back to them either. I also know that the library has a limited number of some of these textbooks that you can check out, but if you like highlighting / underlining in your book, that may pose a problem. Congrats and good luck!

As far as the laptops go, although they are helpful in class, many people do just fine without them. You will need one to take your exams on but you can always borrow it from the school for the duration of the exam. It's super easy to do (you just sign in and give them your DL in exchange for the laptop, and get it all back when you return everything on that day). I did it many times when I would forget my own laptop on the day of the exam. So, for those of you that can't afford or don't want to invest in a laptop, don't stress cause you'll do fine without it.

Not really. You will have plenty of time to get that done when you start school. And yes, 32G should be plenty. I personally ordered a scrub top with buttons in the back and then the "zip up" one. I'm pretty small and the extra small size of the zip top still looks big on me, so I hardly wear it. The button one is ok but somewhat hard to put on. If I had to do it over again, I would just go with ordering 2 "unisex" tops that look like just regular scrub top, plus they seem more comfy. So, that's what I would recommend.

I got my ipod for like $320 or something but I think it was 18G, it was the "medium-priced" one, so I'd go for the $299 probably too. I don't know when exactly they apply the late fees but as soon as your financial aid kicks in, they usually reverse them. I would talk to the financial aid rep for the specific deadlines regarding late fees. I don't worry too much about them - I borrow so much money to attend this school that the $25 fees are nothing! :uhoh21:

They don't really require immediate payments but they may assess $25 late fees. Some people wait till they owe for like 2 classes and they pay it at once - they won't drop you for non-payment. Not sure if you will be using Fin Aid or paying your own way... And NO- no lump sum down payments are required. They used to give students PDAs but they no longer do that because too many students complained of their poor quality. Many of us bought and constantly carry an ipod touch, to which we have downloaded our Nursing Central software. It is very convenient to have on hand at clinicals because you can instantly look up drugs, labs, diseases, etc. You will be given access to Nursing Central at your orientation. The ipod touch was a little more than $300 but worth every penny. I do have a laptop and they are useful, not in every class however. But you will need a laptop to take your tests on because all quizes/exams are computerized. The cost of 2 pairs of scrubs + 1 jacket/cardigan will be included in your orientation fee. If you want to buy extra ones, it will cost extra (they are pretty pricey). But we all do fine with just 2 pairs. They will take your measurements at the orientation and give you a limited choice of style. You should get more detail about all this in your orientation packet. Also, they will take a picture of you for your ID at the orientation, so be sure to come looking pretty.

Typically, each clinical group consists of 7-10 people. However, in your very first class (Health Assessment) you may have a bit more people. And you will not be with the same group of people for each class - although you can always try to switch into the clinical group of your choice but only if you find someone to switch with.

Hi Aaron, I am also in Cohort 18. Although you are expected to do a lot of learning on your own, the instructors are generally available for questions/concerns, either after class or by phone or email. In fact, many of them will give you their cell phone numbers to use. They do want you to succeed but expect you to do a lot of work on your own. There are not that many papers to write, maybe one per class on average. However, you will be expected to do a weekly care plan on a patient of your choice and turn those into your clinical instructors. Lectures are usually composed of quizes, group presentation, paper, midterm and final. In clinicals, you are expected to do weekly care plans and journals. The number of clinical hours depends on the class: in some you will have two 8-hr shift, or one 12 and one 8, or two 12-hr shift (which is what we had this time). Either way, you are expected to meet a specific number of hours for each class, and if you have two 12-hr shifts, you may meet that requirement sooner that your classmates who may do two 8-hr shifts per week. So, basically either way everyone will typically do the same number of hours. Anatomy/physio: usually before they cover each system, they do a quick anatomy review but very brief because you are expected to know it. So, you'll just have to go home and review it on your own. I recommend you start reviewing those since you have another month before you start, if you have time of course. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any questions.

You mean, you don't qualify for grants? Or for Stafford loans either? Well, you can try private student loans through lenders like Wells Fargo or Chase. And then there are always a ton of scholarships available, if you have time for those of course... Good luck to you!

I personally did take some extra loans for living expenses because I had to quit my full time job. I have a toddler at home and he is a handful, so it's like having a part time job. His daycare alone costs me $700/month. So, yes, by the time I graduate, my total debt would definitely be more than $40K, but school is an investment and that's the way I look at it. I am also very much interested in getting good grades because I plan on pursuing my education further someday to become a CRNA and they need at least 3.0 GPA to get into their program. So, if you are just interested in passing classes, then holding a job while in school is definitely doable. :pumpiron: Word of advice: - don't delay, start filling out your FAFSA now. Fin/aid reps at National suck, they take forever to get things done.

Well, actually some people in my cohort have Saturday & Sunday clinical rotations. So, you are not even safe on weekends either...