dfinch

I did not take it, but I was admitted for 2011. They may have higher expectations for future classes though with the additional time to accommodate the change. It is also one more thing to help your gpa and application overall if you are worried you are on the border of getting in. I unfortunately will be applying again for next year even though I was accepted this year due to an unfortunate set of circumstances. My goal may be deferred but it is not forgotten.

I guess it is fitting that since I was the one to start this blog, that I should be the first to deliver this bit of good news. I, David Finch, have officially been accepted to the University of Florida College of Nursing Accelerated BSN program. I look forward to seeing you all this Fall. Congratulations to all of you who shall join me, and don't give up to those of you who have not been accepted this time. It's great to be a Florida Gator!

God only knows when I will get my letter. I just moved, and the change of address form does not go into affect until 5/08/2011. C'est la vie. I'm going to email Ken, and ask him to send me an email, if possible, letting me know the decision and any actions I must take based on that decision. I picked the wrong time to move...It really was not a choice, unfortunately, however. Landlords and their silly contracts... ;-)

I have virtually completely shut off any thoughts or concerns about acceptance to UF. I mean, at this point, there is absolutely nothing that will change the outcome. Why worry? We will all get our letters when we get them. To be honest, I probably won't know for a few days after mine arrives unless they send an accompanying email. I really don't check my mail very frequently. Hopefully my roommates don't lose it, stick it in a random drawer, or throw it out not realizing what it is.

I got that same email, but the official answer and the correct answer are often not the same. You don't want students saying "But you told me..." if you're best guess turns out wrong so you give the least binding answer possible. Oh well, it doesn't really matter I guess. I'm considering a job offer in Hollywood, but they don't need an answer until June.

How certain is the April deadline? Is that from Ken?

God, I know what you mean...One month from now I will be either the happiest person alive or kicking myself for not applying to other programs. I actually got my MBA from FGCU, and now I really wish I had applied there as well. I just don't want to go there. I'm a Gator through and through. Everywhere I went after getting my bachelors from UF it seemed like Gator grads would flock together. Even in Miami I can't tell you how many parties I went to where by the end of the night there would be a crowd of Gator grads in the corner talking about business partnerships and what not. It got me a lot of great contacts, and even helped me fund a startup company I was working on. I really want to work on a masters and eventually a doctorate in health care administration. I've got a masters in finance right now, and I figure it would be a good fit. I really enjoy both finance and medicine. I don't know...hopefully the ones on here freaking out the most are the ones that don't need to...I've made my mistakes in the past, but that was a long time ago. Hopefully the years I've spent since then will make up for that. If not, then I will hold my head up high knowing that I did everything I could. If I don't make it this year, then I guess I will try again next year. I am determined to do this. I just can't stand the idea of having to work for the same company I currently work with for another year and a half. Not to put any of those people down, but I was meant for something more then that. I'm too smart to waste away making $12.50 an hour when I was once in charge of multi-million dollar bond and currency portfolios. I used to make as much in a quarter as I do in a year now. It's more then the money though. I just don't feel like anything I do there matters. I feel like a well trained monkey could do my job. Maybe a not so well trained monkey...Anyways, we will find out soon enough. Good luck to you all. Maybe we can get together after the letters go out. We can meet the people we will be spending the next 4 semesters with.

Hey buddy, I'm waiting to hear for 2011. I'm in a similar boat. I had all kinds of problems in my undergrad, but I really pulled it together for my MBA. Ken told me that they do look at everything, which made me a little nervous. It gave me a little different impression then their website did. I was hoping they would just ignore that and look at my grad gpa, GRE, and prereq gpa which are all above 3.5. I got a 14 something on the GRE. I'll let you know if I get in. If I do then their should be hope for you. After decisions come out, I would go in and talk to Ken. Get a relationship going with him, and see what you can do to help between now and then. Good luck to you.

I had been told that decisions would be around the end of March. That, however, was before Ken was flooded with last minute applications. I had been in his office to see him before and after the last week for applications, and I can tell you that his little cabinet has gotten much bigger. Also, I don't know how UF works, but our college works straight through spring break. There is no rest for the wicked. My complete guess of when we will here back from them is the second or third week of April, but we shall see. I can tell you that I do not envy Ken for having to go through all those files. I work as a professor and financial aid officer at a local college, and it is not fun...Gee, I wonder why I want to switch careers. No offense Ken ;-)

The deadline is almost here. I will be turning in my application tomorrow before work. Does anyone know if it will be a problem waiting until now to turn in my post-bac application? I just finished chemotherapy a few weeks ago, and I've had trouble finding time between work and doctor visits to get everything together. I can tell you this much...going through cancer treatment makes you take a close look at our nation's healthcare system. I've had the great fortune to be treated by some of this country's finest physicians at Johns Hopkins University, and I've also been witness to the limitations and shortcomings of our medical system. I would never wish cancer on anyone, but it will teach you to appreciate the work of medical professionals. Everyone from the doctors and nurses to the nursing assistants, radiologists, and technicians.

Thank you for your response. I recently spoke with a naval recruiter as well, and I am considering participating in one of their programs designed for nursing students. The program will allow me to be a full time student, and offers incentives such as signing bonuses, loan repayment, and monthly stipends while in school. One way or another I am confident I will find a career path I will enjoy as a nurse. I will contact you soon to submit and discuss my application. David Finch

The main reason I am going back to school to be a nurse is so I can basically instantly get a decent paying job. I've heard some people talking about having trouble finding employment though. I guess I am worried that the struggling economy has resulted in too many people going to nursing school all at once, and that the industry can't handle the new supply of candidates. Can anyone offer an informed response?

I just retook the GRE, and I was able to get my score up to a 1300. 740 Math 560 Verbal I'm still nervous about my verbal score, but I can't really afford to take it again between the test fee and having to take a day off from work.

Yay!!! Someone has finally replied to my post. Thank You. I am easily excited as you can probably tell. I will try to answer your question as best I can. To begin with, don't forget that they count your last 60 credit hours as opposed to your cumulative GPA. Assuming that you have taken this into account, I think that a 3.0 is still competitive depending on the rest of your application. I know that I have seen posts from people that were accepted with a 3.0. It obviously helps if you end up with a 1600 GRE, have been working for the last ten years as a respiratory therapist, and have all A's in your prerequisites, but this is certainly an exageration. As far as I can tell the average applicant has around a 3.2 GPA, 1150 GRE, and a 3.5 prerequisite GPA. So no, I don't think a 3.0 is going to keep you out as long as you do well in other areas. Wait...why am I helping you guys...aren't you the competition ;-) Anyways, it is past my bedtime...sad as that may be.

If you're applying to the University of Florida's Fall 2011 accelerated BSN program in Gainesville, this thread's for you! Applicants, current students, and alumni are all welcome to the discussion! For starters, here is the program's website: http://www.nursing.ufl.edu/prospective/prospective_accelerated_bsn_home.shtml or http://con.ufl.edu/prospective/prosp...bsn_home.shtml (I am not sure what the difference is, but in case they are on different servers I will post them both. This way you potentially have two servers to use in case one of them is temporarily down.) Looking forward to meeting more of you on here! I actually "appropriated" almost everything above from the previous years discussion board. I would at least like to give credit to the original author. The thread last year has been very helpful for me. It contained a lot of quality content and postings. It even included posts from members of the UF College of Nursing administration as well current, former, and prospective students. I hope that this thread will be just as helpful. I look forward to discussing various topics with all of you, such as the inevitable "what is your G.P.A and GRE score." I also hope that one day soon I will be able to meet with all of you face to face as newly admitted students for the Fall 2011 term. Good Luck!!! In good faith I will say that my undergraduate GPA was very low, around a 2.0, but I earned a 3.5 GPA at FGCU for my MBA in Finance. It was a 4.0 until my final two semesters when I experienced an unfortunate series of losses of friends and loved ones. I have taken a few other courses at the undergraduate level since my bachelors degree and earned either an A or a rare B+. I am currently retaking all of my prerequisites because I took them, originally, over seven years ago. I earned a B+ in Nutrition last semester, and I expect close to straight A's this semester even though I am taking BSC 2085, BSC 2086, MCB 2010, DEP 2004, and STA 2023 all in the same semester. I am also working forty hours per week as a Financial Aid Officer at City College and teaching in the College of Business part time at the same institution. No, I would not recommend this to anyone else or to myself if I could do it over again. I took the GRE at the beginning of this month, but I was not pleased with my results. I scored a 1250, and I plan on retaking it in the beginning of December. I scored a 1380 on the SAT and a 690 on the GMAT. I was very tired, and I think I will do significantly better the next time. As I said before, I look forward to hearing from all of you regarding your backgrounds and any questions you might have.