wireless-101

Welcome to nursing school everyone! Over a period of 5 months (nov. to apr.) I had the flu 3 x's and caught a cold twice. I missed the maximum 2 clinical days during both semesters. I slept well, ate well, and washed my hands like a germ freak, but my immune system absolutely failed me. I even had both flu shots (annual + H1N1). Prior to nursing school I had the flu twice in my entire 30 years of life. Best of luck to everyone and hope that you get sick on a friday, so you have the weekend to recover!

If your grades are good, try Pasadena City College, it's based on merit not lottery. Go with the private school if scholarships are available, most have fair financial aid packages. Good luck in whatever you decide!

k&k'z mom: I know this is an older post, but did you get the financial aid problem resolved? I'm currently in the same situation. I was accepted to a community college in calif. and I was denied all financial aid because I have a B.A and too many units. I've appealed twice and I'm waiting to hear back from the asst. dean of financial aid. I expected to get federal loans since I'm an independent student and I'm not from the area (400 miles away). I borrowed less than $7K for my first degree and have been paying it back since I graduated, so I know I haven't met the lifetime cap. I have enough saved to make it through the semester, but I'll be broke by December. I'm trying to avoid private loans since I don't have a co-signer and I haven't generated enough income in the last couple of years. Any advice would be helpful...

So I have a non-nursing B.A and the CC I was accepted to has denied me any financial aid because I have "too many units". Now I'm stuck, since I was counting on loans to get me through 2 years worth of living expenses in CA. I'm moving to a new city and will have to pay rent. I've appealed once and now I'm told I can appeal a second time. Has anyone else experienced this problem? I borrowed less than $7K for my first degree and have not applied for aid until now. I paid out of pocket for all my prereqs at various colleges. If I can't get any loans then I'll have to withdraw from the nursing program, which is frustrating. I have only been working part time the last 3 years, so it's likely I won't qualify for private loans and my parents can't help out. Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks for the info. Eversoclear7! See you in a few weeks!

Quick question: What type of shoes are we supposed to wear? Are white athletic shoes ok? Also, we only wear the white scrubs for clinicals right? So regular clothes for classes? I couldn't attend orientation, so I guess I missed some stuff. Thanks,

Congrats on everyone getting in for Fall '09! I just got my acceptance letter yesterday as well. Does anyone know when orientation is? I currently reside in Nor Cal and will be moving down around the beginning of August, does anyone have any suggestions as to what area to live in? I want to keep costs down and I know Pasadena is an expensive place to live. Any suggestions would be helpful!

Cubeo, I'm a current applicant at ccsf for Fall '09/Spring '10. I was wondering how many times you applied before getting accepted (or chosen by the lottery)? Also, would you say the clinical are all within the san francisco area? I'm just curious as to how far students have to drive to clinicals. Thanks for all your helpful info!

jens619 I was only in the program for 3 weeks, but I found there was little organization considering we were the 4th cohort. I wasn't impressed with how the class time was used to schedule clinicals and listen to guest speakers for an entire day. I felt the instructors weren't all on the same page with the rest of the OU staff in terms of class scheduling (there was a lot of confusion with the assigned groups and the printed schedule). Overall I found the program to be fast-paced (expected), but the online learning wasn't really working for me, I prefer human interaction and note-taking. I think the program is doable, but it depends on your learning style and how much work you put in it. I'd also heard only 13 students were on track to graduate (1st cohort) and take the nclex this past october (out of 50+ initial students). I know OU accepts a lot of students and many come in unprepared for either the courseload or nursing in general, but a 25% retention rate isn't good enough for my $37K. The website could also be more user-friendly, it was annoying to navigate between courses. When I filled out my withdrawl papers and had to state a reason, the woman said,"just put personal reasons" (not true, but I went with it). I wonder how many students have failed and been told to state otherwise so there numbers look inflated. I also got a call a couple of weeks ago from the new educational director, so the previous one didn't stay too long. I'm re-applying to post-bacc programs, but I'm not trying the online accelerated again. I hope this helps!

I withdrew from the program last fall and I am looking to unload the books I purchased as part of the package, so if you know anyone interested in buying the electronic book package separately (I've sold a few books on e-bay), then I'd appreciate it greatly.

I'd be interested in splitting the other download since I don't think I'll need to have the books on 2 laptops.

Does anyone know the total cost of the program? My financial aid letter says $19,000 for the fall '08 & spring '09, but is it going to be the same for summer and fall '09? Also, what lenders did people go with?

mrscarina: Any info. on neighborhoods and apts. in the area would help. From what I can find online, 1bd/1ba cost between 1k - 1500k. I don't have any idea as to where to begin searching.

I am moving from norcal and I wanted to know if anyone knew of good areas to live in San Diego. Where should I be looking? Near Sharp on Kenyon St.? I am looking for apts. mostly. 1bd/ba.

I finally got an e-mail today! I am looking forward to meeting everyone on the 23rd. Short notice huh? Does anyone know the exact day classes begin? I feel like I still need a lot more info. about the program.