serasarah18

serasarah18's Latest Activity

1. 

   Things to do before the real stuff begins

   serasarah18 replied to ams24's topic in Pre-Nursing

   I will be done with nursing school in May and looking back, I wish I looked over pharmacology in advance. I think you would have a huge advantage if you become familiar with these drugs before school starts. It is a big part of nursing as well.
2. 

   Go for CNA or Volunteer?

   serasarah18 replied to SwampCat's topic in Pre-Nursing

   I would say CNA. I volunteered before and it's not the same hands on experience. However, I got my license with my first semester of nursing school. I didn't have to pay for extra, because my classes counted towards getting my license. With that said, I still think it's better to become a CNA. I work in the NICU and the volunteers just hold babies, whereas I do almost everything a nurse does. I also have a stronger relationship with the staff because I have to work closer with them to coordinate activities.
3. 

   Getting CPR Certified

   serasarah18 replied to AS519's topic in Pre-Nursing

   BLS for Healthcare Providers
4. 

   Johns Hopkins BSN/MSN Fall 2010 Anyone?

   serasarah18 replied to Protongirl's topic in Post Graduate

   Hey I also graduated from UCSD in 08! There's more people at Hopkins from UCSD than I expected. The change from San Diego to Baltimore is going to be significant. I'm still adjusting. I remember being in your shoes not to long ago. Let me know if you have any questions.
5. 

   Hopkins Accelerated/Traditional Applicant

   serasarah18 replied to irvster87's topic in Pre-Nursing

   I think I found out less than a month after I sent my application. I turned my application after the due date for ED. I was going to do regular decision, but changed it to ED a week later so I didn't have to wait long in between. I think I got by decision Dec. 12-13ish.
6. 

   Hopkins Accelerated/Traditional Applicant

   serasarah18 replied to irvster87's topic in Pre-Nursing

   Sera1987, it's only the people that applied for the bs/msn option that are interviewed. You can request an interview, but it's not necessary. All I did was send an application, spoke once to the admission office to change the status of my application to ED, and then they called me with my decision in December. Pinkheart, I never interviewed, but I heard it's laid back and they want to answer your questions as much they want you to answer theirs.
7. 

   Hopkins Accelerated/Traditional Applicant

   serasarah18 replied to irvster87's topic in Pre-Nursing

   I'm currently in my first semester at Hopkins and I remember going through this not too long ago. I personally chose the traditional program, because the summer in between the two years gives you time to gain experience. I've talked to some alumni that currently works at the hospital and the ones that were in the traditional program were able to get a job after graduation from the same place they interned the previous summer. One person commented that only the people that interned at the ER over the summer were hired, because it was essential that the nurses already had experience and could work at a fast pace. I do wish that I was in the accelerated program sometimes. It would be so nice to be a nurse in just one year. Currently my class has 119 people with only 11 men. So they are they minority, but they don't seem to mind. The staff is nice and a lot of them have a good sense of humor so I'm sure they will find it in your essay. Feel free to ask me any questions!
8. 

   questions for nursing/pre-nursing students!

   serasarah18 replied to lovelylady42's topic in Pre-Nursing

   Yeah that's about the same for mine. I still couldn't afford all of tuition with financial aid. I had to get out my own loan just to cover tuition and luckily my parents are helping with everything else. My school is in Maryland, but I'm from California. Good thing rent is cheap in Baltimore unlike California (at least in San Diego). Like I said before, the amount of prereqs was the decision maker for me and California schools had a lot and they all varied too much. It is very competitive here. (Who wouldn't want to go to school in sunny California?! I sure will miss my last non-humid summers and snowless winters.) I agree that I would have loved to stay in California even with a big price tag.
9. 

   Preparing to apply to UCSF MEPN program... Any Advice?

   serasarah18 replied to Piggles10's topic in Pre-Nursing

   I was lucky enough to be involved with a medical brigade in Honduras. It was only a week and it made me realize how much I really wanted to become a nurse. I gained a lot of good contacts (Two of the doctors and one of the nurses wrote me a letter of recommendation) and I was able to write 2/3 essays regarding my experience there (and I got into the nursing school of my choice). If you live near a university, you can become involved with their existing club. The official name is "Global Medical Brigades" which you can also look up online. You do not have to attend the school to become involved. The website will also have a list of universities associated with it. Since you live in the bay area, I am pretty sure that UC Berkeley has a club. My sister goes there and I think she mentioned that they did. Good luck!
10. 

    questions for nursing/pre-nursing students!

    serasarah18 replied to lovelylady42's topic in Pre-Nursing

    It's a private school and an expensive one at that. I remember looking at data last week regarding areas/schools that has students with the most debt and this was rated one of the top ten most expensive schools. Luckily this is only a two year program. I can't imagine people that go for all four years.
11. 

    questions for nursing/pre-nursing students!

    serasarah18 replied to lovelylady42's topic in Pre-Nursing

    I chose the nursing school I will be attending in the fall mostly because of prereqs. There are just so many and this school had the least. When I applied, I was just so sick of taking classes that I just wanted to get into any school as soon as possible. This school is also one of the top 5 in the U.S and a lot of their students seem pretty happy. I didn't pay much attention to the cost which I kinda regret, but it'll be great experience nevertheless. I know I'll gain the experience I need to be a great nurse. Things that I think really helped me get in was my experience volunteering abroad, my prereq grades, and involvement and various activities (teaching assistant, college sport, coaching). I know this school looked at the whole package so GPA is not everything. I think the greatest challenge will be time management and trying to study all the material thrown at us in a small period of time. For me, I know I have the ability to learn, but I'm just afraid I won't be able to do it all in a short allotted time. Especially since this material will be so dense. But everyone is faced with this challenge and we all learn to manage somehow. Good luck! Don't let anyone scare you out of anything without trying it yourself.
12. 

    Can anyone explain quarter vs. semester credits

    serasarah18 replied to nnicolee's topic in Pre-Nursing

    I went to a school on the quarter system. Instead of 2 semesters within a year, it's divided up into three 10 week quarters (fall, winter and spring). So one quarter is a little bit less than one semester. I actually had trouble converting this into semester units since most schools go by this system. I took classes at a community college that had semester units to avoid this potential mess. I didn't want to do any repeats even though we covered the same amount of material in a quarter. I'm actually surprised you found a school with quarter units. I would have been so happy if I saw that.
13. 

    What should I do? UC Davis student here...

    serasarah18 replied to lovenurses87's topic in Pre-Nursing

    I was in the same situation when I first considered nursing my sophomore year at UCSD. I was a psychology major and took most of the prereqs at a community college. It's a lot cheaper (it was only $80 total for a 5 unit micro class opposed to a couple hundred dollars/unit at a UC) and the description of the classes had a better match with what nursing schools required. UCSD also had quarter units, (I think it's the same with UCD) and most school required a certain amount of semester units so that would have caused some confusion and trouble. I'm sure you can take Psychology over again. I got an A in that class at ucsd, but I had to retake it again at community college because of the quarter/semester unit problem. Taking these classes at a community college will not make you a worse candidate. I did almost all my prereqs somewhere else and was recently accepted into Johns Hopkins second bs program. Also you might not have to take some of the classes you mentioned like organic chemistry. It depends which school you're looking at. They all have different prereqs and you might have to do less (or even more). I didn't need to take ochem, but all schools I've looked at do require anatomy, physiology, microbiology, and nutrition.
14. 

    Anyone applying to the Duke ABSN program for Fall 2009 (c/o 2011)?

    serasarah18 replied to ybq2008's topic in Pre-Nursing

    Congrates SFChef! I'm glad everything worked out for you. You truly deserve it!
15. 

    Johns Hopkins BSN/MSN 2009 Applicants!

    serasarah18 replied to karrie8o3's topic in First Year

    I was afraid of this too, but so far I feel like the people in the program want you to succeed. They have a high retention rate and I only hear positive things from the students. I've been reading the blogs and it gave me an idea of what kind of experience the students have. Also the staff have been so helpful during the whole application process and I was only a prospective student! I can't imagine what kind of service they will provide once I an actual student. Here is the link to the blog if you're interested: http://www.son.jhmi.edu/blogs/blogs/default.aspx
16. 

    Been accepted for Fall 2009? Shout your good news here!

    serasarah18 replied to cpkRN's topic in Pre-Nursing

    I didn't even know I could apply until two weeks before the due date. I literally sent out my application the day it was supposed to be postmarked. I wanted to apply for Early Decision, but the due date had passed by the time I realized I could apply. But someone suggested that I tried calling the staff and ask if it was possible and they said yes! So I was able to find out about my acceptance less than a month. In other words, there is no set time on applying, just as long as you get in by the deadline. Some schools will allow you to apply before you finish your prereqs, but you do have to finish them before you start their nursing programs. Keep in mind that schools might have rolling admissions so it would be advantageous to send your application early on.