txakolina

The Far West area is great. Only about a 15-20 minute commute to the hospital, a nice mix of apartments and homes. I lived in several parts of the city during college, and that neighborhood was always my favorite. Good luck! I think you'll love Austin. :)

Hi Carrie, I had no trouble getting a job at the hospital where I did my clinicals because they knew me and felt invested in my training. They had hand picked my preceptors and had an opportunity to see my work for months at a time. I had three job offers by mid April. Some of my classmates lived in areas that were more saturated with new grads and it took them a little longer to find work, but I think that had more to do with hospitals cutting back on new grad hiring and training rather than graduating from an accelerated/online program and I believe that everyone in my class has a job now. I found that this program was very easy to "sell" to potential employers by stressing the dedication that it took, the 1:1 precepting, and the increased clinical hours over traditional programs.

Hi, I graduated from the program in May '09 and feel that the CNA experience is extremely vital to success in the program. More traditional programs have time to cover CNA skills, but this program does not and expects you to be proficient in those skills already (your preceptors will expect you to know all these skills later on when you start clinical too). You mentioned that you volunteered in a hospital, but I'm wondering if you have spent any time shadowing or working with nurses, and I believe that even just a couple of hours shadowing would answer your question about why CNA experience is critical to success in this program. Along those lines, I'm also not sure what you mean by some CNA skills are not used by nurses; as a floor nurse on a busy telemetry unit, I use CNA skills over and over every single day. I am expected to answer call lights, change beds, change briefs, wash patients as needed, take them to the bathroom, empty bedpans, turn patients, take vital signs, draw labs, etc as needed because we all work as a team to ensure the welfare of our patients.

Ah good point about trying to raise the grade. I don't know how it was calculated into the admission process - that'd be a good question for Sue. I looked on my transcript and it was just calculated with the credit hours but no grade was listed, so I really don't know.

I would recommend buying a development book (I got a used one for about $15 on Amazon) and then taking the CLEP test for the Growth, Development across the Lifespan course. I was also working while taking my pre-reqs and working per diem as a nurse's aide too, so I know how busy it is trying to get everything all in and still have some kind of life. CLEP was awesome though because its so cheap and doesn't take much time and it transfers as long as it is not a science with a lab piece (so no chem or A&P, etc). Good luck whatever you decide to do :)

Oh, and we also do ATI testing throughout the program and take a NCLEX prep course. So if we aren't meeting the standards it will be clearly evident, just the same as any NS.

I'm not sure where you got your stats, but they simply aren't true. I'm just finishing up the program, and I have found it to be fantastic. The NCLEX pass rates are about average for any NS, and you are NOT setting up your clinicals on your own. They have two people who work to find your clinical sites and preceptors. All you have to do is give them a list of hospitals near your house, and they do the rest. As for being on your own for learning, it is true that you need to be motivated - but this is true with any type of distance learning and is not specific to this program. However, there are discussions and content questions that focus on developing critical thinking. Do your research before you talk about things you don't know about.

Congratulations! You'll do great :)

Congrats! You will love it and be amazed at how much you learn in such a short period of time!

I know that having CNA work experience strengthens your application, but I imagine that how much weight they put on it depends on the pool of applications. If a lot of other highly qualified applicants have more experience I think they would have the advantage, but I would by no means say that you wouldn't have any chance as long as you do have your certification. From my own experience, I worked for part time as a CNA for about 10 weeks during the summer before I applied (my previous career was a teacher so I had the summer to do that) and then I just worked PRN after that, but the experience I gained in that short amount of time has really helped me in the program. If you could even work occasionally (like a couple days a month) I think it would really help your application. They really want the experience because of the quick pace of this program and there ins't a lot of time to work on the basics (what you learn as a CNA) like there is in a traditional program. Good luck!

I was required to buy one for NS with Pepid Student RN, but I've found that I only use the drug guide on it - but most of the time that isn't even necessary because the clinical sites always have drug books laying around. In my opinion, they are definitely not necessary to do well in NS or in clinical.

It is competitive, but I think you have a really good chance. Your GPA is good and experience as a CNA defiantly helps. As for boot camp, it is split into two groups; half of the cohort starts and ends two days before the other one. I was in the second group, so half the cohort was finished two days before me (on the 22nd) and the rest of us finished on the 24th. You might be able to ask to be part of the first group. We all had the 25th and 26th off. Have you already applied for the May '09 cohort?

From what I understand, what they offer really depends on how much you already carry from your previous degree. I don't remember the exact amount, but the total for stafford loans that you can have as an undergrad is something like $46k. They offered me enough in stafford and nursing loans to cover tuition (I already had quite a bit of student loan debt from my previous degree, so I imagine that limited the amount they could offer me), and then if you needed more you could get alternative (private) student loans. I know a lot of people in my cohort ended up accepting some of those loans to help cover living expenses. The financial aid department was really great about helping out and they really understand the unique challenges that this program presents financially and are very available to help out. After you are accepted they contact you and help get everything ready financially. I hope this wasn't too confusing and helps a little!

Hi Marci, I was there from Aug 11th to the 25th. A few people stayed in the dorms on campus, but the vast majority of us stayed at the holiday inn, which was great because we could share rides (which was especially nice for us out of staters who had to fly in), relax in the hot tub after a long day at lab or clinical, and they had free happy hour from 5-7 :) It felt like a community there after two weeks, which was really great. We also arranged to share rooms to cut down on the cost. They had free wireless too which was very helpful because we did have some homework to complete during the two weeks. I know the people who stayed in the dorms did fine, but they are the bare min so if you want to be more comfortable during the two weeks I'd recommend the hotel. Hope this helps and good luck!

Hi Scout, Just think about why you want to be a nurse, think about your support system, and make sure you read the information they sent you about the program. Good luck!