RNof2014

SD_RN13, Was it an externship that you participated in at Kaiser? I am applying right now and would love to know more about the opportunity, floors available, etc. I also heard that they are paid, is that true?

Definitely, I got a 91.7. I took the test during my last semester before nursing school, so the only science pre-req I had was Microbiology, although I was still taking 15 units and working. I studied about a week before and went through the entire ATI test book (in detail, not just skimming it). I applied what I had learned in previous classes on the Science section, which helped a lot and saved study time. I also took the practice tests in the book and one online, and thought the online was harder than the real test. On the online test I got an 86%, which made me a little nervous, especially because it was the night before the real test, so I didn't really have any more time to study! I really recommend just sticking with the ATI book and making sure you REALLY understand what is in it. You don't want to be able to answer a question just because you read the study prompt a few minutes ago, know the steps you took to get to the answer. If you do that, you will do great!

stephkay-I will be going to the San Marcos campus, I think you might be in the accelerated program?

Lots of schools in the SD area offer nursing degrees: MiraCosta, Palomar, CSUSM, SDSU, National (to name a few). From what I know, they all have fairly similar pre-reqs which will include Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology and possibly Chem. If you want to transfer to SDSU or CSUSM it will probably take about 2 years to do the transfer requirements at a CC (or two years at the university, but for more $$) before you can enter the nursing program. I know the ADN program at MiraCosta is 2 years long, while the BSN at CSUSM is 3 years and SDSU is 2.5 years (after the initial first 2 years of pre-reqs). I would recommend checking out the websites of the schools that you are interested in and seeing what their point systems are like and then work towards getting as many points as possible. Good luck and let me know if you have more questions!

I am a transfer. I know, I want to get all of my stuff already....although I am sure we will all be saying something else once we are in the middle of next semster! I'll be at the July 19th orientation. Will any of you be traveling from Oceanside....I would be interested in carpooling throughout the semester. Snwbrdr-Does the student nurse association do volunteer work? I've seen a few fundraisers, but wasn't sure what else they did. Also, do you feel that the program prepared you well for the job market?

Well, they didn't tell me how many I had, but when I figured it out myself I had 67 :)

I got in too! Can't wait to meet all of you :)

I have applied to the generic/basic at CSUSM for fall 2011. I won't find out if I got in until July 1st, but I can share with you some information I have found helpful along the way. As far as getting into the CSUSM program, I have heard it is harder to get into than SDSU, largely because they only accept about 40 students a year. I highly recommend looking at the point system on their website! If you have all of your pre-reqs done, I would suggest enrolling in a CNA class at Palomar or MiraCosta College. It will get you extra points and (from what I have heard) will be super helpful in the program. I didn't have time to take it, as I just finished all of my pre-reqs in the spring, but wish I could have. Also, there is an internship at Palomar Pomerado Hospital which can give you volunteer points for the program. Everyone that I have talked to really loved the internship, you can find more info at their website. I know they only recruit every three months, so you'll have to check when the next interview dates are. It is pretty lengthy, about 250 hours total, but like I said, everyone I know loves it! If you still need your pre-reqs, I can recommend some teachers at MiraCosta. I did all of mine there and really loved all of the teachers that I had. I know this was a pretty long post, but hopefully it helped! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Hi, Just wanted to see if anyone on here was trying to get into the generic/basic fall 2011 cohort for CSUSM? We are supposed to find out July 1st....I'm getting really anxious!