Libra1018

Hi everyone. I am currently a J1 student (1st semester). This board was a huge source of support for me during my application period, so I thought I would comment. Firstly, re: the selection process for AP, it can be very confusing if you do not understand it, even a bit so if you do! I will try to explain it as briefly as possible. Forgive me if this gets lengthy. This is how it was explained to me by the advising staff. Let's say you are partnered, for example, at THR. Typically, each partner hospital (typically, not ALWAYS) will have 10 slots per semester available. Employees are given an opportunity to apply. They have first dibs on those 10 slots. So, say 8 employees apply. As long as they meet the minimum requirements, they will be accepted. The remaining 2 slots are then opened to the unpartnered pool of applicants. Now, say that 12 people apply and all meet the minimum. They will then be ranked against each other and the 10 slots pulled from there. The remaining 2 will go on waitlist, so no slots will be available for the unpartnered pool. Being partnered really is crucially important to acceptance, although not an absolute guarantee. Last couple of times, many partnered applicants were accepted with GPA's in the low to mid 3pt areas. This left many with higher GPAs feeling angry and upset. Understandable since we all know how much we go through to get all those A's. From the hospital point of view, you can get why they want their employees to have first dibs though. They are offering their facility for learning, so of course, they want their own employees in place so they can "grow their own nurses". 120 students are accepted to both the AP and On-Campus program, so you can see how quickly those spots fill up. Being partnered is not as big of an issue for the On-Campus program, in my opinion, because most of these folks are working full time in the hospitals and being On-Campus full time is not feasible, so not as many apply for that and opt for the AP. Congratulations to those who were accepted. If you are waitlisted, it is so hard to be in limbo, but know that there is still a possibility. Keep your options open and make sure you have a Plan B and C working. If you were not accepted, do NOT despair. Look over your grades and your considerations and see where you might be able to make some improvements. I agree, too, about going the community college route, if needs be. You can always finish the BSN online afterwards and getting accepted to that is exponentially easier. This was my second time applying. The first time, for the Fall 2011 start, I was like many of you. I did almost all of my classes at another school because I have a prior degree. I honestly thought that my prior BA and my high HESI score would be enough to offset my GPA. At that time, I had a 3.25 Science and a 3.6 overall with a 97% overall on my HESI. That was my first mistake. My second was in only applying for the AP program. The APBSN flyer, at that time, had nothing to notate that employees are given preference (it is there now though). In truth, I really think the prior degree means nothing in their ranking and all that matters with the HESI is that you make the minimum score. They don't look at how high the score is. So I think it is really are you partnered,what's your GPA and how many hours have you taken at UTA. My opinion on that last part, but I think it is a pretty good estimation. So, I regrouped, and retook Micro and A & P II. That upped my Science GPA to a 3.75 and my overall to a 3.79. I have been told by some that Patho & Pharm are not calculated into the overall GPA, but I have never verified that. I killed myself (practically--ha!) to make A's on on those 2 retakes as well as Patho, Pharm, Intro to Nursing and Tech Writing while also working 50+ hours a week at my prior career. I reapplied for Spring 2012 and decided I wasn't putting all my hopes on AP anymore. I applied to that and On-Campus as well. I had missed the deadlines to apply to TCC and other community colleges due to the end dates on my science retakes, but it was my plan to apply to those as well for the Fall 2012 Term. I was denied for AP again (no surprise), but did get waitlisted for On-Campus. I was so disheartened and really beginning to question my wisdom in quitting my teaching career and moving to FW to pursue my dream of nursing (I mean, who quits their job and moves to a city where they don't know anyone and don't have a job in place--especially in this economy?? Boy, did I tear myself a new one over that all during the holidays). They won't tell you where you are on the list, so don't bother asking. And yes, they will call you up until the last minute. I was called off of waitlist 3 days before Orientation. I was, in fact, the last person to enter the group. I was so happy though. I would have preferred the AP program so I could finish 7 months earlier, but after going through this semester, without prior medical experience, I am so, so happy I am doing it on-campus. Another thing I have noticed, and that some of you have as well, is the retention of UTA students. There is indeed quite a bit of consideration given to them. There are a ton of students in my class who have been at UTA since they started college and their GPA's are very good, but not excellent (this is even by their own admission, from the ones I have talked to). UTA is a popular program because it is the only public university offering a BSN. There are several other BSN programs, as you all know, but most of us cannot afford a private university as well as living expenses. I hope I was able to clear up some confusion. Sorry for any typos or if I rambled here and there, I typed this rather quickly.

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I ended with a 3.75 science GPA and 3.76 prereq GPA. Frankly, though, when ranking occurred, they may have had 3.5 for my science GPA as my micro didn't finish until mid October.

UTA is starting to clarify things a bit more. I noticed on the current AP-BSN prerequisite sheet, it now states that current hospital-employed applicants will have priority (it's small, but it's there now). Perhaps had they left the AP-BSN as a secondary degree program along with partnered applicants it would have made chances of getting in better for those of us who have a prior degree. I do see why a first-degree person would benefit though. I think perhaps another reason why they are so overwhelmed is because they are the only public university in the metroplex offering a BSN. Many will opt to just get their BSN right off especially as hospitals begin moving to desiring BSN nurses. I would tell anyone to apply EVERYWHERE. I, and several others, put a lot of faith into getting into UTA and didn't apply to other places. Big mistake. I was very lucky to get called off of waitlist for traditional. From what I understand, I was the last person to enter the program. I wanted the AP program, yes, but I am happy to be in no matter where I am. I had planned on applying to every community college this fall and even the private universities (with hopes of a GOOD FA package) just to increase my chances of getting accepted somewhere. I was totally prepared to do the ADN route and from there do the RN-BSN. Also, as an FYI, we had orientation Thurs/Fri and I heard that one person didn't even show and another decided to drop the program. So that means, hopefully, two more will get the opportunity to come in. Don't give up. I know, so easy for me to say this now, but truly. It will happen. This was my second time applying and I came REALLY close to having to apply a third time. If there is anything you feel you can do to increase your chances, do it. Retake classes that you did not do as well in. Retake the HESI if possible. You will get in eventually.

Just got the official call! I am IN for the Traditional program. Quite excited about it as I think I will do better with an in-class learning process. They cut it way close! Hope to hear from more of you who might have been accepted well at this late juncture. I have an appt at the school tomorrow to get my packet. See you guys on Thursday!

You should be able to turn it into the College of Nursing office on campus. Are you in the area? I might suggest just getting the needed docs together and bringing it by without waiting for USPS just to be on the safe side.

I took Patho & Pharm thru El Centro. It will transfer to UTA. It can be done online as well. It's a lot to read, but our professor was very helpful and really wanted the students to do well. I have already sent in my application for AP and for traditional to UTA for Fall 2012. I will be applying to other schools as well this time now that my sciences are up to date again.

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Studentjen07: Are you not able to access your scores from the Elsevier site? If so, I would simply print it out and send it. If not, you can try calling Elsevier to ask them about how to get them sent. I was able to find this on the site: I am a student who needs to receive a transcript of my HESI Assessment results HTH.

You know the sad thing is that these are good grades, but we all twist ourselves into pretzels if we don't do better. I don't want to be down, Papple, but I would really consider retaking your sciences if finances and timing make it possible. I cannot stress enough how important it is to make A's in your sciences and as many A's as possible in the other prerequ's. Even those who have really high GPA's still have difficulty being accepted. I'm sorry, I am not trying to be discouraging, just honest. I hope you are not offended. Your chances also increase if you are working for a hospital that partners with the program. This will help a lot. Threads for prior semesters have shown that some with lower GPA's get accepted and they are employed by a partner hospital, so that provided the help when their grades may have it impossible to get in otherwise. Alternatively, what you might also consider is going to LVN school and then doing an LVN to RN bridge program. From there, you can then later do an RN to BSN bridge.

You do get some extra consideration if you have taken a certain # of credits with UTA and if you have a prior Bachelor. In honesty, though, the most important thing is to be employed by a partnering hospital. It doesn't guarantee you a slot, but you will have a significantly higher chance of getting in over those of us who may all the "bumps" in the world, but are not employed by a partner hospital.

Getting pretty close. I'm sure at this point no more calls will be made

I am glad to hear they are still making calls. I am hoping maybe they have not started yet on the waitlist for the trad program. I am on pins and needles too.

Hi! Your grades seem fine to me and you have a perfect Science GPA, so that is very helpful. I still have not been able to get anything at any of the hospitals, but I would say to just keep applying for every entry level job. Also, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Don't just apply to the AP program, consider others as well. I applied to both the AP and the on-campus traditional program at UTA. This is my 2nd time applying. I have been in the middle of redoing my sciences because they are old and UTA is the only school that was willing to accept them despite their age. Now that my sciences are current again (though I didn't redo Chem), I have all options open to me. I would much rather get the BSN taken care of, but at this point, I just want to become an RN. I can worry about the BSN later, if necessary. I will be applying EVERYWHERE this next time around. The only bummer is that if I am not called for a waitlist spot for the Trad program, I will have to wait 9 more months for the fall semester to start, assuming some school finally took pity and accepted me .

Mochachild!!! So, so happy to hear from you, girl! I am surprised that you would be waitlisted for AP, but denied for traditional. I really am just flummoxed as to how they rank these applications...still makes no sense to me. I keep hoping everyone accepted elect to go to another school so those of us waitlisted can get in! I was hoping for AP, but at this point, I would be thrilled to get called in for the traditional. I just want to START already! I know you and everyone else here understand that sentiment! :) Thank you for such a positive and encouraging post to everyone here. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!