erikab987

I am in my first semester at CCBC Essex Day RN program. The # of applicants is growing rapidly every semester, probably due to the economic downturn. A's are important, especially in the sciences, when applying for this program. The TEAS test also seemed to be weighted pretty heavily. I noticed a posting from some time ago that said that students applying with a 3.5 GPA are automatically accepted (I think it was referring to CCBC), which is not true. A friend of mine who applied in my cycle had a 3.5+ and was not accepted.

No problem on answering the ?s. I completely understand...plus doing some research on the site anyway, lol :) Yes, all students have to be CPR certified (it must be BLS CPR, not a novice program or an online program). These programs run from $25-$100. I got lucky and found mine at BC Volunteer Fire Department (at Sparrows Point) for $25. You could certainly do this ahead of time; there were a lot of people in my class that already had CPR certification from their clinical jobs. Not sure which campus you are applying to, but Catonsville's acceptance packet was different than Essex's. I had a friend that got into Catonsville and her post-acceptance process was a little different than ours. Anyway, if you applied to Essex, your acceptance letter will come in a big manilla envelope. If accepted, it will say something like, "Congrats on your acceptance to the program...yada yada..." If you are still in your last pre-req(s), like me, it will say "Your acceptance into the program is contigent upon receiving the following grade in BIOL230..." or whichever class(es) it is. I do know that some people received acceptances based on receiving an A or B in their last class. I was still in A&PII and it said I only needed a C (which is strange because I always heard you can't get in w/a C in your sciences, but my other grades and TEAS test were higher than some). Most of the people that are in my class (that I have talked extensively with) were finished all of their pre-reqs at application, but it IS possible to get accepted while still finishing up. I have seen posts on other threads saying that you won't get in if you aren't done everything; this is untrue. Myself and a few friends did. Also in your packet, you will receive a bunch of papers: a form for physical exam/vaccinations, instructions on how to complete/submit a background check (takes about 3 days to get back) and a consent form for a drug screening at LabCorp. It's important to get the physical done ASAP because you will have to have vaccinations, some of which take a few return visits. Even if you had these vaccines (MMR, Varicella, Tetorifice) before, you have to prove immunity via a titre (blooddraw). As far as clinicals go, we start those on week 4. During the first 4 weeks, you will be in a lab/simulation situation where you will practice (and be tested on!) skills you will use in clinical. The staff says they typically try to place you at a clinical site according to your zip code...you do not get to pick and they stressed at orientation to not request specific sites as the scheduling is difficult enough already. The problem with this is, since I am at Essex, most people are closest to Franklin Square, so many people have to head somewhere else. I was assigned John's Hopkins Bayview, which is great since I live in Dundalk. Something to remember about clinical assignments: everyone wants to avoid driving to sites that are far away, but throughout the program you will rotate to different sites, so at some point you will probably be hiking quite a bit. One more thing I just thought of that caught me off guard: Fundamentals (the first semester) is only 8 credits so many people assume the schedule will be part-time...IT IS NOT! I am going to school (including lab) more than when I had a 13 cr. semester and will be going even more when clinicals start. Also, you do not have a set schedule at the beginning of the semester, it changes throughout to accomodate lab/simulation times and clinical assignments. It will still be in the day (if you do the day program), but scheduling work was difficult for me because there are days I am done at 12:30pm and at least 1 day I am not done until 4:30...and days in between. For a few weeks of the semester I will be IN SCHOOL/CLINICAL for 21+ hours/week. I just thought this was important to mention because finding time for work can be difficult, especially if your job is not flexible with schedules (luckily, mine is). Sorry about the short novel. I hope this answers all your questions, please feel free to ask if you have any more. I completely understand how it feels to not quite know what's going to happen, so I hope this helps! If I had to make any suggestions to the applicants for this semester: do the very best you can in your last classes (especially make sure you understand A&PII; I tutor BIOL220, 221 and 230 and feel that I may have an advantage because I am super-familiar and comfortable with info that a lot of people forget after finishing the classes), save up some $$ (there are ALOT of costs before school starts that aren't covered by financial aid...physical exam, uniforms, books, books, books, medical supplies, testing fees....etc...) and get your life organized now. A lot of us thought we had time to get our personal/work lives in order before school started, but after acceptance it will be a mad dash to get sooo many things done...and when those things are done, you start dosage. And when dosage is done, you start class...you get the idea. :)

Classes have been a positive experience so far. I have not yet taken my first test, so we will see! :) I'm in the day program at the Essex campus. I have to say, the post-acceptance period and orientation process was trying. After acceptance, you will have about 5 minutes to celebrate before having to get a lot of things done by the school's deadline. After making it through that, the class/lab schedule seems pretty easy, lol. Anyway, there is a great feeling of closeness already within the program. We have all met someone in the building in their second year who has said "you can make it through", so we have been trying to stick together as best we can! Anyway, good luck. The program is getting more and more competitive every semester so just know that acceptance will be a huge accomplishment within itself! Congrats!

Hey everyone, just a suggestion that I mentioned on the thread for last semester's applicants too: I got a tip from a friend who started Fall 2010; after handing in her application (about 6 weeks after) she checked her SIMON account and noticed a $200 seat fee. She got her acceptance letter a week later. The seat fee serves as an accounting function to give you a way to pay your deposit. I can attest that this is an accurate way to confirm your acceptance into the program. I shared this tip with a few others last semester as well, but we weren't sure if it was actually going to work that way. When I found my seat fee, I called the office and asked why it was on there and they told me it meant that I was being offered a seat in the program (there were lots of others who confirmed it as well). It's only going to give you about a week's jump on knowing, but I've been through the wait before and a week can make a big difference. If you notice a seat fee, please tell everyone on here. I'm not a Fall 2011 applicant and I don't want to butt-in here, but there were times during my application process that I wish I had someone to let me in on what was going to happen. If anyone has any questions about the application/waiting/orientation process, please feel free to PM me. Thanks and good luck to everyone!!

@Lucky, It's been ok so far (only 1 week in, lol). I've been spending some time getting ahead on the concepts and objectives for both lecture and the lab so I don't fall behind. The first week is actually much more calm than the last 8 weeks have been. After acceptance there are so many things to do and ALOT to pay for. Then, dosage and 4 orientations. I actually didn't work at all in January and struggled to get everything done in time. Dosage was not bad. I took it online, I didn't buy the book and did just fine. There were so many orientations and meetings, though, it was difficult to keep up with all the dates/times and everything we had to get done. Anyway, please feel free to PM me if you have any questions about everything. I'm sure I will be getting my butt kicked soon enough by the program, lol. Take care!

Hey! I would love to hear from anyone who has scored "exemplary" on the TEAS. I just started CCBC's RN Day program, but am planning on applying to U of M's bridge program right after graduation and may retake my TEAS. I took the TEAS twice; first try: 85.3% (advanced) and 2nd try: 89.4% (advanced). Both times I was in the 99th percentile for both program and national, but I would love to know the cutoff for exemplary (90% or does it have to do with your percentile ranking?) Thanks!! Good luck to you all!!

Also, Kaiser Permanente has some plans that are pretty affordable. My husband and I used them before we got health insurance through work.

Our packet didn't say too much about insurance but last time I was at the Office of Selective Admissions at Essex they had pamphlets on reasonably price health insurance that will meet the minimum requirements for clinicals, so I would check there.

You're wrong. My sister, new grad RN at U of M, makes more than her best friend who works at Sinai and 100% tuition reimbursement towards her graduate. Sinai's reimbursement caps out at $5000/yr.

I hate to sound mean when you are looking for support, but you sound a little like the people who didn't make it into my highly competitive nursing school this semester. I am a second-degree seeker in nursing, not because I "can't find a job", but I decided soon after finishing my first degree that I would love to do nursing. Yes, I already have a degree, but I worked just as hard to get my GPA and entrance exams where they needed to be to get it (the only courses that transferred from my first degree were ENGL101 and PSYC101). I applied to 3 nursing schools in my area with a 4.0 and in the 99th percentile on my entrance exams and have a lot of people in my last prereq that are suddenly upset and a little snobby because I got it and "this is their 2nd or 3rd time applying". Sorry, but tenure in your prereqs and thinking you want/deserve it more than someone else doesn't get you where you want to be in life...working harder than everyone else does.

Oh yea, Catonsville's packet is different. They are supposed to get all the info for background check, physical and drug test at orientation. @Jess & Christy: CONGRATS!!!

I used this website: About the Baltimore County Fire-Rescue Academy. The classes have been filled up for weeks but my husband works at the steelmill so they fit me in. They might have openings in Jan.

I will be at the Baltimore County Volunteer Fire Department on 12/11...anyone else? I haven't heard anyone else mention it, but I chose it cuz it was only $25. My husband brought home the brochure and I figured there was no way the class was what I needed, but I called the office and they said "as long as it says BLS for Healthcare Providers and has the American Red Cross symbol on it..." Anyway, it'd be nice to know someone. I can't wait to meet everyone at orientation...I bet a bunch of us already know each other. Happy Turkey Day!!

I noticed that a few people argued that a new BSN nurse wouldn't be making $70k/year or even close, and that Master's nurses start at that salary...just wanted to interject that we should consider the standard of living in the state of the OP before offering salary advice. I live in Maryland, not California, New York or any other super-high-dollar state/city and our new grads start at about $70k/year in a hospital. This has obviously slightly dropped as of late, along with the chance of actually finding a job, but NP's here make much closer to 6 figures. Just a suggestion. Not sure where the OP is from, but considering MD doesn't have a super-inflated standard of living, it is possible for a new grad to bank $70k or close.

I am the same way Laurie...I can't stand leaving stuff like this to chance so I just want to get it all behind me. Especially the vaccinations...ewww, I hate getting needles (no, giving them doesn't bother me, lol). I am registered for a CPR class at Baltimore County Fire Department. See u all at the dosage testing!!