comeara

Thank you so much! :) I've been so anxious about nursing lately, you really cleared a lot of it up. Now I just hope I don't fail out of the program I do have a few more questions about admissions if anyone wouldn't mind helping me out. I've contacted the school and scoured their websites but I'm still a bit confused. I understand that the Clinical Nursing program has specific admission requirements - do I have to satisfy CSUS' general requirements as well? For example, do I have to complete all the CSU GEs? Also, is the Transfer Associate Degree required? My school doesn't offer one in Nursing; the most similar degree we have is in Psychology. And lastly, is it okay to have one or two pre-requisites in progress the Fall term before the program starts? I think I read somewhere that fall coursework wouldn't count but I can't find it again - just wanted to double check.

Hi all, I'm planning to apply to CSUS' nursing program for fall 2014 (currently doing my pre-reqs and co-reqs at a community college). I have some questions about the program and I'm planning to ask them directly, but I thought I might get less sugar-coated answers on here. Has anyone who's gone through the program had trouble graduating on time? I won't be able to afford it if it takes longer than the scheduled 4 semesters. Also, for graduates of the program - did you have a hard time finding a job after? Ideally I'd like to stay in California, I really want to go to LA but have considered living at home after school (in the SF bay area) so I can pay off my loans a bit faster. I understand both of these job markets are extremely competitive, though...just wondering what luck other people have had. My last question might be a stupid one - do they not do preceptorships? I might just be missing something but I didn't see anything about them on the website or in the curriculum.

Thanks for the advice, but I've been doing my research for months. At most of the programs near me, students are admitted through a lottery and most people have to wait 2-3 years to get accepted after completing their prereqs - I know because my mom did one of them, and barely anyone got in off the wait list. My school accepts I think 40 people out of 300+ applicants. And that's just the nursing program, completing the prereqs alone is difficult enough because of all the budget cuts. The classes are barely offered and fill up almost immediately. Even with a very early registration date, I haven't been able to get into the bio/chem classes at all because they fill up so fast (same with the other schools in the area, which I have looked at as well). Getting an ADN could take me another 5 years, so I would rather transfer to a 4 year school. Also, after looking through dozens of websites and contacted loads of admissions and financial aid offices, the general consensus is that financial aid for transfer students is harder to come by. Lots of schools are need-aware and do not guarantee meeting need. I don't qualify for grants, so I'm depending on scholarships which are difficult to get as a transfer. Actually I am! The Ivies and a few other schools have limits on how high loans can get, so I'm praying I'll get into one of those.

I haven't heard the term before but I would assume it's a student who is currently taking the prereq classes for a nursing program.

I'm planning on transferring to a 4-year university to become a nurse. Community college isn't a viable option for me anymore since all the schools around me are having huge budget cuts, can't supply all of the classes, and the nursing programs can take years to get into. Since financial aid is so bad for transfer students, there's a possibility that I'll end up taking out huge loans, though I'm hoping it won't be more than $60,000. Has anyone done this, and is it worth it? Do you find you're struggling to get by with the huge payments? Luckily I will have the opportunity after graduating to live with my mom in the Bay Area if I need to, so I could get a good salary and cut down on expenses, but still - should I bother taking out the loans in the first place?