perseveRaNce23

I'm not going to tell you don't worry because that's not therapeutic. I will tell you that it's not you...unfortunately it's the market. You seem like you have a lot to offer, the issue is there are a lot of new grads who 1. already have their BSN and 2. there are a lot of new grads who not only have their BSN's, but also have BA's in another field and can come to the nursing field with more than just a nursing education to offer. It's a tough market and everyone is cramming to try and get into a new grad program, which unfortunately seems to be the only beacon of hope for new grads. Keep at it. Apply everywhere you can. It's really important to keep in mind that with these new grad programs you have to keep a look-out for their requirements because there are a lot of programs that specify how long you could be out of school before you're considered ineligible for their new grad program. I've seen a lot of places where your deadline is a year...after that, you can no longer apply. If there is ANY way you could relocate...do it. Make sure that your ties to NY are worth a potential job because a lot of new grads are moving wherever they can find a job. I have friends that relocated across the country because it was the only place they could find work. As a recent new grad all I can say is there are jobs out there, so don't let the fear of being unemployed forever defeat you. It's not easy to get them, but they are there. Of the 35 friends that graduated with me Fall 2011...31 have jobs in hospitals and some even had offers before they graduated. Just wanted to throw that in there to give you all some hope. Don't give up~~ Best of luck to you all!

I would apply everywhere,however just keep in mind that places like UCLA, USC, CHLA, etc, all the programs that are getting the best applicants are looking at GPA. The rep from USC told me they don't consider people who have a GPA of less than 3.5. It's just an extremely rough job market now but don't be discouraged and if all else fails hit the pavement with your resume and best interview suit.

I suggest just taking your time especially with the first 75 questions. After doing a zillion question trainers I knew that I would become fatigued and wind up becoming more careless the more questions I got. I took my time and made sure to try and read each question over until I understood what it was asking and then i evaluated all of my answer choices over and over. It literally took me about 2.5 hours to do the 75 questions, but my computer shut off and I passed at 75. It was a risky choice because with half my time gone there was no way I could have ever completed the entire exam, but luckily I guess I did well enough on those first 75 that I didn't even have to worry about that. :bowingpur Best of luck. If you get overwhelmed take a moment to breath. I actually wrote a positive affirmation on my white board that I would look at and tell myself when I felt my anxiety creeping up. All you can do is your best

I just took the exam yesterday and my best advice to you is breath. If you're sitting to take the NCLEX you made it through nursing school which means you've already cleared the biggest hurdle. Go in there with confidence and remember that you may not know everything, but you know A LOT. What you don't know, do your best to figure it out. Take your time and just take it one question at a time. You can do this! Best of luck

Congratulations biscuitmama!

Good news about financial aid and a word of caution. Another student informed me that there is financial aid available for summer, and when I called financial aid and had my 5th or 6th conversation with them I suddenly received the same info. That said, just be very aware that not everyone in financial aid is on the same page so be sure to keep making phone calls and personal visits to their office because you will get multiple wrong answers. The way summer aid works is they you will not receive any federal money for summer semester, however if you would like to take out additional money from your private loan, they will approve the additional loan money. But, the caveat is they say you have to register summer session first, and then they'll approve your request for additional loan funds at which point you'll be reimbursed. Myself and other students have run into this problem on multiple occasions where the financial aid department offers misinformation. So again be sure to keep asking different people because apparently there is at least one person in that department that seems to know what they're talking about. I still say proceed with caution because I do find it odd that with the various FA department workers that I've spoken with, only one has given me this information.

I apologize for the information regarding subsidized/unsubsidized loans. Of the 12,500 for the year that I received from financial aid 5,500 is subsidized and the other 7K unsubsidized. All of my private loans are unsubsidized. Like Floknight said, the main issue with money is paying for summer semester.

Just and FYI about financial aid and the program. As a student going for a 2nd bachelors, even if you've never received financial aid before you are not eligible for anything except federal loans, which total 12,500/year and that's it. 2nd bachelors are not eligible for grants or subsidized loans. The rest of your cost will have to be either out of pocket or financed with private loans. The 12,500 is an even tougher blow now because the cost of tution is going up, but that number doesn't increase. SO... what you end up with is the same amount of money which doesn't take into account the increasing costs. Also, know that as a 2nd bachelors you don't get any federal loan money for your summer tuition, and it's not guaranteed that if you have a private student loan that they will allow you to take out more on that loan. It would have been nice if financial aid made that clear before i started the program, but at least now you know. Also, know that if you take out student loans that have to be verified through the school then you are limited in the amount of money you can take. For example if you have a private student loan thru bank of america for about 12,000 to cover your living expenses, that's basically all you can get for the year, unless you went through another private loan that does not it any way check with CSUN about any loans that you are already currently taking. Why? Because the cost of school according to financial aid for spring/fall which is the school year is about 25K give or take a few hundred. Which means you have to pay all your tuition, living expenses, books, etc on that 25k a year, which would be fine, but then there's that pesky summer semester which is not included in that 25k. If you try to take out more than the cost of living thru your private loan then it will reduce the federal loan money you get thru financial aid. The only way around it is to take out another private loan that does not require school verification. I'm sure there are a few, but the only one i know of is the Wells Fargo connection loan. So although you're a bright, responsible, capable adult, the government fears that you're going to take your financial aid and buy a BMW and vacation in St. Tropez, so they cap the amount you can take out to what the school calculates as the cost of attendance for 1 school year. Bottom line, just be aware that financial aid options for people going for a 2nd bachelors degree is not the same for those going for their first undergrad. And though you're considered a graduate student to the school, to FASFA you are a 2nd bachelors, 5th year undergrad, which puts you in a different category. Hope this helps some

I'm not sure if this will clarify anything further for those of you with questions about the changes, but here goes: The program did lose some amazing professors and it's really sad for all of us, including the new students who have yet to start. You made it this far, and there's no reason to turn back now, but honestly we don't really know what the road ahead will be for you guys. The program we talk of was truly an amazing program. It's a beast no matter which way you slice it, but the professors we're everything you could have hoped for. When people spoke about their dissatisfaction with their nursing programs, I felt fortunate because I couldn't relate. The program at CSUN was organized, had amazing professors, and a wonderful group of students. Unfortunately, take out one element and everything has changed. The program did not start out perfect, nor was it perfect before those teachers were forced out, BUT it was pretty close to it. There have been many changes over the years by students who advocated for themselves, and for the future cohorts for things like changes to syllabi, schedules, and so on. What we're left with now are replacements, some of whom are temporary and don't even know much if anything about the A-BSN program. Teaching an ABSN is not like teaching an ADN course or an RN-BSN course. The content is generally the same, but the students and their workloads are not. When you have teachers that come in with their new syllabi, not realizing that you have 5 other days of classes all with their own syllabi and clinicals, you can quickly go from bad to I didn't even know it can get worse. Until now, almost all of those kinks had previously been worked out. The load is still seemingly unbearable at times, but the teachers knew the students and understood what type of load we're responsible for and cared enough to make the changes. That's no longer the case. Aside from the workload, we had lecturers that you truly felt were experts in the area they were teaching. Not only were they knowledgeable, but they loved teaching and loved the students. I won't say any cliches like hang in there, and I don't really have any words of wisdom to share and because I have no idea what your experience will be. What I can say as someone who has been and is currentlly there, is that by time you start I hope they've found some better replacements. Best of luck in the program...we'll all need it!

I think that either way you would get a great education. I know that CSUN grads have not had a problem getting jobs and having them lined up before they graduate. From what i know, contacts aren't really a concern because you make your contacts at the hospital where you do your rotations. From my experience, the hospitals we go to have a lot of respect for the CSUN students and I have been told on many occasions by the nurses how well trained CSUN students are. I'm sure MSMC students have the same reception at their clinical sites. That said, considering you're not allowed to work throughout either program, I would chose CSUN over MSMC any day. When you figure in the cost of living, we graduate with a total of about 35k in loans and MSMC would be about 70k, which is double the price. You would walk away from either school with a BSN and a good reputation. I couldn't justify having double the loans for the same end result. At the end of the day, 5 months doesn't make that big of a difference, if it makes a difference at all, but an extra 35k in student loans is huge. And...you have to keep in mind that it is all student loans. 2nd bachelors don't qualify for anything but loans, so every last bit you get you have to pay back. There are a few scholarships for MSMC, but only a couple of people get it, and it's very competitive. Good luck with whichever decision you make.

Best of luck to you all! I remember being in this same position last year and I know the stress and binge eating it can cause. Seems they're doing things a bit different this year, and the interviewers are different so I don't have much advice to offer, but I wish you all the best. Don't get discouraged...yes, 36 students is a small number, but keep the faith because someone has to make it in right? So remember, as long as you applied there is a chance you could be one of the 36 "someone's" :-)

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I'm no expert here, but what I've found has helped me the most is to get a good grasp on understanding the NCELX style questions. They require you to critically think because they ask questions in the most roundabout way. They'll include random statements, and a lot of information that has nothing to do with the answer. The trick seems to be decoding all the excess nonsense and figuring out the one or two words in the question that will direct you towards the answer. The Kapplan NCLEX book has a whole section on how to interpret the questions. I've also found that it's equally important to understand how to apply the knowledge you've learned. Memorizing is no longer the goal, you have to be able to apply the information to the patient(s) in the question. Oh, and never assume. Only go off of what the question tells you, don't associate it with a patient you may have had in clinicals or your own scenario. The only information you have about the patient is what was given to you in the question. Best of luck!

If you're passionate about nursing and can't see yourself in another career, then this really is a no brainer. Yeah sure, the economy is bad...what else is new right? Honestly, what career do you know of right now where people are graduating college and finding work with no problem? I can't think of one. Most people are worried right now, but if nursing is what you want to do, then do it! I just started my ABSN program and I'm not worried about finding a job when I graduate in 15 months. I know that 6 of the students who just graduated from my program had jobs, and at least 7 other students had interviews. Not to mention that the 6 students who had jobs were hired at magnet hospitals! I live in SoCal, and I'm not sure where you live, but you may need to be flexible and consider relocating. Also, don't get caught up in everyone else's hype about the bad economy. Yes, it's true that a lot of new grads aren't finding jobs BUT, it's also true that a lot are. I think you should be conscientious about the cost of school. A lot of for profit tutions are just ridiculous. My ABSN program which is 15 months, including the cost of living loans will total about 35K. Living is SoCal, paying that off when I get a job won't kill me. However, if you live in a smaller city and are about to pay 75k for your program, you may want to consider a different route to getting your RN, or a different school. Also, apply for scholarships! Good luck!

There's always a way around getting into classes. One you can try and email the professor ahead of time and let him know your situation. OR you can do what a lot of people do if you're lucky enough to know someone who's been at the school for a while. If you do, have them register in the class that you want to take. Then, one day very early in the A.M. you both go online. They drop the class, and the minute they do, you add the class. Works like a charm. But, you have to make sure you do it early in the morning when no one else is trying to add. Oh, and it has to be a class that they have not taken yet. That's how I got my pre-reqs done. Another method is to keep trying to add the week before classes start, up until the the night before. A lot of people drop at the last minute, and a spot or two opens up. Good luck!