Emer1234

Wow, extra early acceptances this year!! Congrats to those of you that made it in so far.

80 is correct, confirmed by the director. The program keeps growing, they must be doing something right!!

lb88, what your professor told you is absolutelly untrue. One thing is the intensity of the program and the hard work you're going to have to put in order to succedd, and another thing is that they purposely want you to fail. It is beyond my understanding why your professor thinks any program would try to purposely set a student up for failure, when that would just ruin the reputation of the program, and possibly cause them to lose funding (don't forget it is a State University). Last year SBU ranked 2nd in NCLEX passing rates in NY, only behind Columbia University. It is a lot of work, but they definitely know what they're doing. That being said, 63 other people started with me in 2012, and so far only 2 people will not finish with us. The year before I am not sure the exact numbers, but from what I can remember 1 person had to decelerate due to military responsibilities, another person had to put the program on hold due to health issues, both were guaranteed a spot back this year. There was another girl from last year that was with us in the Fall, but I stopped seing her so I don't know what her status really is. That is really it as far as I know. Again, it is hard work, but you applied to the program knowing that's exactly what it would be so it should be expected. Do not be scared, just be prepared.

Does Sound a little crazy o_O lol I don't see why someone would do both unless they are just unsure of what they really want to do at the time they start. If this happens to be you (not saying it is) then I suggest you simply do a little more research and decide which you think is your best fit. Keep in mind that as a Nurse Practitioner your scope of practice is pretty similar to that of a PA, so you can go down the Nursing route and subsequently pursue a degree as an NP and practice in a similar fashion as a PA would.

I commute from Queens Village (Springfield blvd & Hillside Ave). It takes me around 50 mins each way without traffic. I have a family, so to me moving to the Stony Brook area was not an option. I would recommend to try to find a place closer to campus where you don't need to spend so much time commuting and actually utilize the time on school work and other more important things. I have managed to do well thus far (although not as good as I would've liked), but there are many times that I've wished I lived closer ie to use the library, for 7am clinicals, traffic, etc.

Stony Brook tends to be top 3 in the area (NYU and Columbia being the other 2). The director of the program just told us last week that last year's class (Paco's class) beat NYU in NCLEX rates so I believe that puts us in top 2 :-p... cost wise, it is a SUNY so your in-state tuition will not exceed $15,000 for the entire year, whereas NYU will run you around $80,000 and Columbia probably somewhere around $60,000-$70,000 or so. SUNY Downstate is probably the same rate as Stony Brook, and Hunter will probably be around half of them (because it's a CUNY). Hunter also has a great passing rate.

Don't give up hope.. Several of my current classmates came from the alternate list and they didn't hear until a week before the program started..

It is both extremely challenging, but it can also be managable. Just know that you're going to be spending a considerable amount of your day (which you could be utilizing to study) on the road and often times in trafic. Is living on campus or getting a 1 year lease around the area a possibility for you? I honestly don't recommend commuting from the city unless you absolutely have to.

Depends where in the city you live. I commute from Hollis Queens which is about 5 minutes from Nassau County in LI, and it takes me on average about 50 mins door to door. Clinicals are for the most part either at Stony Brook, or in towns that are close to Stony Brook (10-15 mins from the campus). Keep in mind that clinicals start at 7am, so those days you have to leave extra early.

Ah Yes lol, One can always count on Paco for thorough and helpful responses

You cannot defer admission for the following year. Once you decline your acceptance you have to reapply and start all over, and the fact that you got accepted once does not mean you will be accepted in the future. In my humble opinion, don't turn it down unless you will be attending another program.

Greeneggs, as far as the GPA goes I think it has more to do with your load outside of the program than about the program itself. Some people just cannot stop working, some people have other things to juggle outside of the program and can't commit 100% of their "free time" to studying and it may reflect on their grades a little. When it comes to the courses themselves I think it's safe to say they get progressively harder as you get deeper into the program. Everyone is afraid of pharmacology (which I should be studying for right now for my exam next week Friday lol), and rumor has it Med Surg is no picnic and it's actually worth 9 credits so it really REALLY bares a heavy load on your GPA. As far as preparing before the program, i don't think there's much you can do honestly. Perhaps buy the med math book and work out some of those problems. Med Math is a 1 credit course given during the summer and it's fairly simple, but you need an 85 to pass. Most importantly at this point for you guys is I think saving up as much money as possible. work overtime, do side jobs, do whatever you can now so you don't have to concern yourselves about cash during the next 12 months, as you will have so many other things stressing you out this is the last thing that should be causing you to not focus on the task at hand.

Owade, you seem to be freaking out. Lol the first thing you need to do is try to calm down and take the process one step at a time. I myself did not have any hospital experience other than working as an office assistant at a hospital. DO NOT take any medical terminology courses as you will plainly be wasting your time and money. Anything you need to know you will be taught in the program. As far as clinicals, there are options to do them outside of Stony Brook, but they are all relatively nearby aside from LIJ which is not offered until the Spring semester (which is the last semester). There may be a way for you to do your Capstone in NYC, but you need to do the legwork yourself from what I understand, and that doesn't take place until the very last month of the program. Best of luck!

Hey Yankees, I had a similar situation to you graduating from stony brook in 2005 with a not so good GPA (below a 3.0 also). Focus on those last 2 pre reqs, start thinking from now who would write you the best letters and possibly let you read them before submitting them lol, and definitely as others have said pour your heart out on your essay.. Don't just say you like to help people because they probably get 700 essays saying that. I spoke about what made me think abt a change in career, and why nursing was the career path that won that race for me. Do address how you believe you are in a different mental state now than you were 5 yrs ago, so low grades will not be the norm, and also say where you want nursing to take you career wise. (They like to know you're thinking of continuing your education, not just stopping at a bachelors).It can be done with less than perfect grades, I'm living proof lol.. Good luck!

Couldn't have said it any better Paco.. As far as housing, I don't live on or near the campus, so I am not much help in that department.... sorry