Jaed

Hi everyone, I thought about you all today as I went to class, as they had not yet removed the orientation signage from our classroom. I am sure that orientation was exciting and hope it went well for you all. I see that you all have questions about purchasing books. Last semester, my first semester, I ordered all my books through Amazon EXCEPT Foundations. We were told by the instructors that we could get all other books in other places except the one for Foundations. The reason being is that the book comes with CD's that you will have to utilize throught the semester and the only Foundations book that comes with the CD's that ACC has chosen for us is at ACC Bookstore. ACC custmonized the Foundations book with a CD set of their choice. Some people who had already bought their book online had to still get the one at ACC in order to have the required CD's. So unless something has changed this semester and they have okayed purchasing this particular book online, I would not because you will have the wrong CD's and a lot of sites won't take books back after CD's packet is open. Also by ordering my books via Amazon I saved a little over $100 than ordering at ACC. Savings came in handy as I found out later that those supplemental books that I had not planned on buying, well they were really needed. So I later purchased some of those too which was very useful. Hope this info helps.

There are a lot more clinical days in subsequent classes, just not the 1st class!

@tx.nic , Clinicals are once a week and our time was 6:30 a.m. To 12:30 p.m., 6 hours. We did not actually begin working in the hospital until I believe March. So There is about a 6 to 8 week period of having clinical days in the lab at school before going into the hospital. This time allows you to learn skills and to validate that you know the skill (also called "check-off") with the instructor prior to using them in the hospital. There was a total of about 8 ( no more than 10) clinical (hospital) days for the entire semester Make sure that the CPR class is of the American Heart Association AND for healthcare providers.

You both are welcome! You can use a 'basic' calculator on the dosage exams. They even provided them if we needed to borrow one for the exam.

Sunshyn_42 ....I could not reply to the email that you sent me because the site did not give me the option to reply. But here is a lil info...Our clinicals was in Clear Lake but we only had 20 people. I know that your class will be about 70 students so like we were told your clinicals could be anywhere from SW Houston to Clear Lake. Just hard to predict. And yes the SIP is a lot and trust me it is as intense as it appears...The catch to this whole thing is to find a study method that works for you and manage your time very wisely. You will be offered an opportunity to sign up for a mentor which consist of nursing students that just finished their first semester of nursing. Sign up to get a mentor. I know most all in my class would agree that the mentors were very valuable in providing tips and info on saving time, best guides and methods for studying and staying on top of things etc...

Hi Sunshyn. Congrats! Well I do enjoy the classes a lot. Very very very time consuming. I have known a couple of people to working during school but I think that most people will agree it is possible to work if you have to work. I also believe that the students that do work would not if they had other options. It is nothing like A & P I and II that I am familiar with. Its not that its hard but it is a lot and I do mean a lot of material for one to consume at one time. So you can focus on really having fun this summer and be prepared to have almost no other life but nursing school when it begins. A strong family/friends support system is imperative. Especially when you have a child or kids as I do. I thought that they were just talking when they told us that we would miss birthday parties, and family gathering etc...They were not. This is so true. I also think that those that have some experience in health care in a hands on capacity will feel just a little relief in the very beginning of the semester because some of the skills learned they will have already had experience in. It was constant, non stop hard work, but I thoroughly enjoyed my first semester.

Hi Marcopolo, Just wanted to answer your questions real quick, Clinicals were during the week for us. Once a week. There were about 8 or 10 clinical days. Now there were only 20 of us for the entire spring class so things could be different as for which day clinicals will be since the fall has a lot more students. Clinical locations can vary. Ones that I have heard them using is Triumph and Cornerstone long-term facilities, Clear lake hospital, and Memorial Hermann SW. But the facility could always vary depending on availability, these are just the ones i've heard them using. I think it is a very good thing to take dosage in the summer. Textbooks can be purchased at the bookstore or wherever you can find them with the exception of the Foundations of Nursing book that should only be purchased at the campus bookstore. Amazon seems to be the most cost effective for all other books. I do not have any that I can sell as most all the books you will use in subsequent classes. Selling your books back will probably not be an option for you anymore. I use to sell mine back also, but realistically these books you are going to need to keep. Hope this helps! Jaed

Just wanted to say Congrats to all that was accepted to ACC!!!!!! I am a current ADN student at ACC and I just finished my first semester. Whew.... I started a posting here last Oct to find more info about those applying for Spring 2011 and received no responses...however I see that a few of you in this posting responded to my first posting in reference to Fall 2012. When I applied I could not find out any information on this site for those applying or already in the ACC program....Knowing how I felt lost and just wish I had some info on ACC, I do not mind answering any questions I can share from my experiences. For those of you that were waitlisted...keep hope alive...It is very very likely that a lot of people applied at more than one college and may get accepted at more than one. So I would guess that a lot of people will not decline their acceptance until they see what other colleges made them and offer and then accept based on the choices they have. Then the waitlist will move up. We were told that they can pull from the waitlist even till the first day of school. Those that were not accepted...my advice would be to keep taking prerequisites because in my opinion the more classes you have taken (to include those toward the BSN) the better the chances. I think they like the fact that when you are in the program you can really put your focus on the nursing couses because most prerequisties are completed. Other factors include ACT score, and GPA. Those do count in the ranking of things. I do not remember my GPA that I submitted but I can say that I had A's in all my sciences and ACT was somewhere in the 40's I believe. I believe that most people that got accepted were also in that range. But the average range varies from class to class...so its hard to pinpoint a range that would be the 'most' ideal. My opinion about the program so far...very structured and professional; experienced and well informed instructors; and more than adequate quality resources to facilitate the learning process. Wish you all the very best... Jaed

Anyone applied to Alvin Community College Spring 2011? I haven't seen much information regarding the application process for Alvin Community College. Please share your experience if you have applied.