Hi Guys/Gals,
I was you sometime back... and it was a horrible experience if you ask me... I completely feel for you all. I Kept checking the website for updates....every hour of the day :-( For SFSU, you should be able to check you acceptance status on the mysfsu to see what your major is...long before i received my official acceptance letter, my major indicated "Nursing" and there was a note on the main page that i had been accepted to the main college also... can't remember exactly what it said..
I urge you folks, if you have heard of people have received their letters and you haven't, make your way to the office and put a face to your name. I heard of a couple stories where some classmates did not received their acceptance letter and the deadline to "accept" officially was coming to an end and so they went to the office and asked them.When their letters came back in the mail, the school called them to pick up! Check website, if you have been accepted and your major reflects nursing and you have no letter by this week, do yourself a favor and visit the office 3rd floor burk hall. I think by the end of this week last year, people had received their letters. The deadline was maybe end of April? to respond and make your intention known. You really should have a letter by next week...otherwise i would be very concerned, it doesn't hurt to ask personally... better to know than kill yourself waiting for the mailman.
If you are accepted to start in the spring 2010 as opposed to start in fall 09-Aug, don't panic, make sure you take your Seg III classes and any other classes you need for GE major. These classes are time consuming and if you ask me, not necessary. (that note is for students who did not go to SFSU for their prereqs). Also, if you can find out about taking the Jepet test to determine if you need to take an English class (414), do it and if you pass no need for the class if you don't lucky you! another class that is stressful. And if you are accepted to the school for the first time, attend orientation to learn more about these extra classes(jepet and Seg III).
Guys, nursing school is fun, especially when you are at clinical. It is an amazing experience! If this is your calling (outside of a rewarding financial future) it will be a personal rewarding fulfilling experience. There is tremendous pressure, from tests, exams, assignments, checkoffs for skills, group presentation(so get ready to work with people) learn to work with everyone, keep ahead studying and focus on your goals. It can be challenging, but if you make it in, it should be very doable, i have found people who say nursing isn't as hard as it is cut out to be. And it shouldn't be if you are well organized.
As for instructors, my opinion is there are excellent instructors and then there are those who will challenge your nerves. I think at the start of the semester, look at your syllabus, assess the requirements and make a schedule to do the reading and stay ahead. There is a lot of reading, some may seem common sense, but when you take those multiple choice questions and they ask for the "best" answer and you know 2 answers will be as close to the best ans. as possible , reading the book can be the best thing you did. So don't place your hopes on instructors. Sometimes i think they are there because its a requirement for a class that is not online. Instructors will guide you on key concepts, but you need to do the work to keep those A's;well for those who are chasing A's. Learn your skills because you will need them as you go clinicals and throughout your careers. Practice is your best friend, make friends and practice the steps for the skills checkoffs. I find that it helps to understand why you are following steps as opposed to just memorizing the steps. If you can make friends with those ahead of you, find some mentors for some people, mentors really help calm you, especially when you are just starting and are nervous intimidated by the experience. Before starting, get your medicals checkups done ASAP, get yourself CPR class, you can ask the school for reference, get your vaccinations together. (there have been people who were released from the program for not getting their vaccines to the office on time). So do this over the summer, don't be a procastinator... you work so hard to get in, don't make it harder on yourself. You can't go into clinical without your shots done. And practice your dosage calculations, pretty standard exam, this you can do over the summer, really basic stuff, however, i know how you might feel. I think the tests covers everything before IV calculations, it doesn't hurt to practice. You will be tested i believe in the skills lab (Another thing you can do in the summer). Get your books early, if you can and study them...At least practice the calculations- which i feel are very simple.
I don't have much time, but i promised myself that i would come back to the website and share with those who are waiting, or who got in. I hope some of the information i shared with you all is helpful. Remember if you got in, you can do this. Stay calm, learn to access your workload and be proactive! Remember to come back next year or the year after and share with those who are coming in! Congratulations! and Welcome :-)
all the very best to you new nursing students!
Sincerely!
Enigma!
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