CAli2384

MB L&D is taking 10 candidates and everyone selected should know by Monday. Good luck everyone!!

Hi Medbro- so I briefly skimmed the posts after yours, so I think people have addressed the undergrad stuff. I concur that taking them at a CC is MUCH better financially. I do have a Bachelors, but still had to do most of the pre-reqs because I didn't take them in college. You'll have a couple additional courses to take if you don't have a bachelors, but you can still get into a cohort if you have the grades in the pre-reqs. The thing that stood out in your post to me that I don't believe anyone commented on is your DUI. Have you talked to anyone at National about this? If not, I'd suggest doing that. Definitely don't want to scare you, and you may have already looked into this, but I'd definitely throw out there that you should address this up front. There are at least 2 people in my cohort with DUIs and they have had to do some extra stuff to deal with that. This is actually something I think is really relevant to anyone thinking about applying to nursing school (or in nursing school, or even a nurse). I learned in Fundamentals that the BRN is really cracking down on this type of thing. If you are in school and get a DUI, they could stop you from even taking the NCLEX. If you're a nurse and you get one, you can lose your license permanently. I never knew that before January. Not that I used to drink and drive, but there are times I used to go to happy hour, have a beer or two, then head home feeling sober. BUT- if I'd been pulled over, maybe I would have been above the legal limit. Since learning this, I've refused to have one drop of alcohol if I'm going to be driving. For me- it's not a risk I'm willing to take. Just thought I'd throw that out to you all so you are aware of how serious the BRN takes this. Again- I had no idea. :)

Just to clarify on this, National accepts the top 50 of each application period (not top 20). If you haven't been to the nursing forum yet, they give most of this info there. :)

Nuhopeful47- I agree with the others who have commented on this. I can't remember the exact question either, but if you want to prepare ahead of time, you know that the question is going to be something along the lines of "why do you want to be a nurse" or "what skills to you have that will make you a good nurse". I kept those things in mind before hand and wrote out some simple outlines so that I had the info in my head going into the essay (and so I didn't get writer's block). It definitely helped! Good luck!

Hi Swede_girl726- Congrats on your acceptance! For the classes, you will all be together for the whole 23 months in theory classes. The labs and clinicals are broken up into 4+ groups, which gives you a good chance to get to know classmates a bit better.

ddvo87- If you check out page 151 of this thread, you'll see the first entry on that page (courtesy of DaleenMarine) gives a good explanation of the ranking system that NU in SD uses. Each applicant is assigned a score out of 100 based on this system and the top 50 are accepted. Typically the cut off is between 80 and 85. Your chances of getting in very depending on the scores of the other applicants. There are people in my cohort (24) who were denied but applied again without retaking classes or the TEAS and were accepted the 2nd time around. As for the actual program, I'm 6 months in and am really enjoying it. As I've said in some of my previous posts, they aren't lying when they say it's fast paced, so be ready to work hard. Don't expect to cruise through without putting in a lot of effort, a lot of studying, and meeting a lot of high expectations. For someone like me (previous bachelor's and not a ton of money), this program is perfect because it's quick and reputable. It is definitely a lot of money, but 23 months of no work is better than 4 years of no work, so I'd recommend it to anyone who is willing to buckle down and do the work. I'm not sure how different it is up in LA, but I'd imagine it's somewhat similar. Good luck to you!

djxpress- I don't know anything about them trying to move to an online model... Our Theory class was half online and half in class, and the only other class I know of thats online in Nursing Research. Maybe there are others I'm not aware of, and maybe they are trying to make a couple others online, but I don't think that's the goal for the whole program. As for the pricing, the cost is the same as any other classes at National (lab classes are more $$), and that info is readily available online. Anyone who is seriously considering this program should be looking into the costs ahead of time, there's no doubt it's a LOT of money! Apologies for not responding sooner on tips for Pharm. The publisher Mosby makes a little pocket flip guide for pharmacology. I got it about a month ago and would definitely recommend it. It's no substitute for reading the book, but it summarizes the drug classes nicely and makes it a little easier to understand. How is Pharm going so far cohort 25ers?? Hope you're all hanging in there! :)

Actually- Fundamentals is actually an 8 week course, so we (cohort 24) have been in there since the beginning of the year. We have 3 weeks left, then get into med/surg. I'd love to meet the person who said Pharm was easy! It's 6 months of information crammed into 4 quick weeks and I don't think there was anything easy about it. I know who will be teaching it for you guys, too, and I don't expect it'll be a walk in the park for anyone. My advice is to just try your best to stay sane and not get burnt out. Do the best you can, and understand that it is 100% impossible to learn all of that material by the end of the class. I know that's not very encouraging, but it really is what I wish someone told me before I started it. It's stressful and a LOT of info, but you WILL get through it :) Make sure you have some outlet to destress, too (gym, friends, kids, etc). I let myself get burnt out during that class from all the studying, and it's much healthier to just get done what you can, and try to not let yourself go into freakout mode too much. As for the people in your class, give them some time. There were definitely people in my cohort that rubbed me the wrong way at first, but who I love now. Hopefully anyone who is being nasty will recognize that having a bad attitude will only hurt them, and will start to embrace the rest of you. It's just a lot more fun when you have the support of your fellow students! Tutubalu- Some students spend a lot of time complaining about the profs. Many would tell you that they are not very consistent (and I'd agree with that), and that can cause some frustration sometimes. My advice for dealing with them is to keep an open mind and not let yourself get caught up in the drama of complaining about them too much because 1) they are all nice and fair people, just have different teaching styles, and 2) there's nothing you can do to change the things about them that you don't agree with, so it's kind of pointless to spend too much time dwelling on it. I know- that's also not very encouraging. But really- I think they're all good people and want to see people to well, and that's all I can really ask! Hope this has helped some of you! :)

leixlani- I'm in cohort 24. We applied in Feb 2010 and TEAS tests were all scheduled by late March. I don't envy being in your place- for me that was the most frustrating time! Time seems to pass slowly, BUT- a good thing to do in the meantime is study for the TEAS. ATI puts out a study book for the exam that I'd highly recommend. This really helped me do well on the TEAS, and it's a big plus because all of the modules that we do online for the nursing classes are thru ATI, so it's a good way to get familiar with their system. I haven't been on here in a while, just wanted to give an update. Cohort 25ers- if memory serves, you are already starting Health Assessment, right? I hope you're enjoying it. I had your theory prof for my lab and she's amazing! Health Assessment is a lot of work, but a lot of fun. Take advantage of the lab time to really hone the assessment skills, and read the text. It's been the most helpful of all the ones I've encountered so far, and you will be expected to know that material in future classes. Hopefully you all will have a chance to bond a bit more in this class, too. Lab is a good forum for that, and gives you a chance to get to know each other. Try not to get too competitive, you're all going to be together for 2 years, so it's best to make friends now! :) Our cohort is starting to really get cohesive, and it's we have blast together. I'm sure with a little more time you'll notice the same thing happening. Good luck to all of you, and to those of you waiting to hear about cohort 26!

Question for anyone in Cohort 23 or under: I'm scheduled to be in Fundamentals Jan and Feb 2011 (cohort 24). A very good friend of mine is getting married in Denver on Feb 20th (which is the Sunday before President's Day- not sure if the school observes that holiday or not). She's asked me to be in the wedding, but I'm not sure if anything is going to be planned for that weekend. I would probably fly out later on Saturday and return on Monday, so wouldn't be gone a long time. I'm trying to get ahold of whoever will be teaching us, but thought I'd throw this out here, too, to see if anyone felt it was unrealistic to think I might be able to go. It's the Sunday of the weekend right before the last week of class (6 days before the final exam). Any help/thoughts would be so appreciated! Congrats all you cohort 25ers! Theories and Models is a little slow, but we're in Health Assessment now and I'm loving it. Learning lots of nursy things finally :)

The cut-off for Cohort 24 was 82.53. I think the Cohort 23 was in the 84 range. I'm assuming that the cut-offs for the cohorts that apply in August will be higher tho since I think more people apply to those (anyone who finished pre-reqs in the spring would apply with this group).

Hi all, I haven't written in a while and just thought I'd say congrats to those of you who were accepted to cohort 25, and good luck to those who are still applying and doing prereqs. I'm in cohort 24, which just started the first class on September 27th. It's going by quickly, and isn't too crazy, but I think this is the calm before the storm! Health Assessment is right around the corner and I know that's a tough one. I've seen a lot of conversation on the grades needed to get into this program. As has been said previously in this thread, it all depends on the cohort that you apply to, how many people are applying at the same time, and how well they all did. Before I applied, I thought it made a difference if I took classes at National vs. another school, or how much money I had, but I can tell you that those rumors are false. You getting in is based solely on your grades, your teas and your essay. Everyone is assigned an application score, and the top 50 people get in. Remember that a lot of the people who apply know each other from prereqs and talk during and after the application process. You can find out your exact application score and the cut off score for who got accepted, so it's a fair system. Congrats and good luck again to all of you!

Swede_girl726- I also had all A's, and I was given the same info as you when I started taking pre-reqs. I'd say it's an accurate statement based on my knowledge. If you have any low B's or C's- definitely don't waste your time. ExPharmagirl has a good point that it depends on the cohort. If you apply in an August cohort, you're competing with a lot of people who finished classes in May, so I think those have more applicants and are therefore likely to have a higher cut-off. I applied for the Feb deadline (Cohort 24) and it was still very competitive, but I'm guessing the "off-season" deadlines might be a better bet if you have anything lower than an A. Just a thought. PrettyinPink57- Thank you so much for the info you provided, and best of luck on the NCLEX in March!!

ps- did any of you at orientation happen to catch the title of the Health Assessment textbook? I wrote down the info she gave my, but don't have my note with me and was going to try and look it up to get it ordered. Can you provide the info if you have it?

The test that they gave at orientation was a critical thinking test through ATI. So it is the same website and format as the TEAS, but the questions are really just random critical thinking questions to see your reasoning in various situations. Not really medical related. It's 40 questions and took about 30 minutes. As happymommy3 said, it's not something to stress about, and not really something you can (or should try to) prep for. Orientation was really great and allowed us to meet the people who we'll be seeing for the next 2 years. I can't wait for classes to start next month!