aggie2005

Awesome. I look forward to meeting everyone!

Is dinner still on for Sunday evening...7pm at the Original Mexican Cafe as was mentioned on facebook?

Like the person above said, definitely look around your area to see what the hiring trends are. I know where I am BSN's are practically required for most of the big hospitals (at least as a new grad), especially for specialty units. ADN's can find jobs as new grads, but it is a bit more difficult. I'd also look at your long term career goals. If your goal is to pursue a graduate level degree as an advanced practice nurse or in education, I'd recommend the BSN, even if it takes a little longer. After you get the relevant experience needed, you'll be able to apply for whatever graduate program you want. Why not just go ahead and get the BSN if you are going to have to do it in the future either way? The same goes for if you want to pursue management in the future.

I can't believe we start in just two weeks. I'm getting a bit nervous, but I'm also really excited to finally start the program! I wanted to mention something that might help some of you who just finished up some prereqs and are trying to get transcripts sent. The school I took my final prereqs at didn't sent my transcript before they closed for the holidays, so I called UTMB and they said to bring an unofficial transcript or something similar you can print off so they know you at least completed whatever classes you still needed. Just in case any of you were worried about that, they will definitely work with you so you can get registered. Is everyone still planning to meet before orientation? If so, where and when is everyone meeting? I'd love to go. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Year's and I can't wait to meet all of you in January.

I'm not sure if that is correct or not. I know the immunization form we have to fill out says Hep B full series, so I'd guess they'd want all three. Maybe you could call the School of Nursing and ask? Worse case, the accelerated series should get everything done in time since the 3rd shot would probably be in late January, before clinicals start. It is expensive but if you have insurance, I'd call and ask about it getting covered in some way. I've heard some insurances will cover immunizations and/or titers if you say it's for nursing school/med school etc. Your last option might be to call some places that offer cheap immunizations like the Harris County Hospital District if you are in the Houston area already (or the local county hospital/health district wherever you live). They may not offer the accelerated hep b series, but it doesn't hurt to try. I know most counties have really cheap immunization options, so there is always a chance they might be able to help.

It's been a few weeks since I've been on this thread so congrats to everyone that got accepted over the past couple weeks! How is everyone doing regarding getting all the requirements done? It's taken me some time, but assuming my titers come back ok, I'll be done at the end of the week. After that, I just have to finish up A&P II and finally move to Houston full time. I can't wait until January when we finally get started. I saw some people mentioning financial aid. Has anyone been able to get online and accept your financial aid award? I look forward to meeting everyone when classes start!

Hey, about textbooks, be sure you keep your receipts for anything you buy from the UTMB bookstore. Every April, if you give them your receipts, you'll get around 20% back for anything you buy (books, scrubs, t-shirts etc..). You might be able to get some books cheaper on Amazon or Half.com, but keep in mind you'll eventually get around 20% back if you buy them at the bookstore.

All the programs I looked at allow second degree students to apply for traditional programs, so it's not just UT. Also, nursing is a career that people in all phases of life want to pursue. You'll find people who got all of their prereqs at their local junior college, some who went to a major university for 2-3 years, people who just obtained bachelors degrees, and others who have tons of years of work experience. Not only that, you are going find people from their late teens all the way to their 50s or 60s in a nursing program. There is no reason why any of those people shouldn't have a shot at a spot. Why would you want to limit someone's ability to become a nurse just because they made a decision to pursue this career a little later than you? Either way, getting into a program is competitive for everyone, no matter your background.

Does anyone know of an affordable way to get titers pulled for some of the Immunizations needed for nursing school like MMR or Hep B? I've called various clinics (included community/public health clinics) and either they don't offer that service or they quote me at $400+ for the tests and the doctor's visit to get the order for tests. I'm sure many people on here have gone thru this. Does anybody have any suggestions on a cheaper way to get this done (specifically in Houston or San Antonio if possible)?

Well, I've been out of town the last few days and haven't been able to check the mail to see if I got accepted. I just logged onto Econnect and got a message telling me I was accepted!! If anyone hasn't gotten a letter yet and you interviewed on the 4th, definitely check Econnect. I can't wait to meet everyone in January!

Good luck on interviews!

I'm sure everything has to be triple checked and approved too so I'm sure it isn't that quick to get those emails out. It's just that the person go interviewed me made it seem like emails would be sent before we get letters. Either way, I just want to know if I was accepted or not! This wait is pretty tough.

I thought they were sending an email. If letters were mailed Friday and yesterday, you would figure an email would've been sent by now.

Oh by the way, for all of you that got accepted into the Bacc2, has anything changed for you on Econnect yet?

I'm not in the Bacc2 program, but I wanted to mention something about apartments. If you don't want to live on the island and are looking at the Clear Lake area, there is always Friendswood. There are some good apartments west of I45 starting at FM 2351 and going south. I wouldn't recommend living north of 2351 (Dixie Farm Rd etc..). Friendswood is a nice area, so you may want to check it out.