starem21

Actually, you do not necesarily need ANY patient care experience for the MEPN program. UCSF wants to recruit and accept a diverse class of people from all different backgrounds. The most important thing is to tell them why you want to be an advanced practice nurse, what you plan to do with the degree, and show them what steps you have taken to be sure you know it's the right career for you. For instance, have you volunteered in a hospital/clinic? Have you been involved with advanced practice nurses in any way? How have you learned about field of nursing? It does vary by specialty as well. Most of the midwifery students came in with some direct experience with childbearing families such as working as a doula, in a reproductive clinic, etc. However, many of the other specialties have students with little or no direct healthcare experience. When I applied, I had volunteered both at UCSF hospital and CPMC but was working in business. GRE scores and GPA are definitely important, but probably less so than life experience, employment history, leadership experience, volunteer work, and foerign language proficiency. Also, some masters specialties are significantly more competitive than others. Best of luck to you all! Emily

Hi! I'm currently in the first year of the MEPN program. If they aren't going to grant you an interview, you will receive a yukky rejection letter. Otherwize, you will interview either the third or fourth Friday in January. The letters usually get to applicants right around this time, definitely before Xmas. I remember VERY clearly how horribly stressful this waiting period was. Hang in there! If you have any specific questions, Emily

WOW!!! CONGRATSSSSSSSSS!!!! Good for you, Jess!!! To those still waiting....my fingers are crossed. The torture is almost over!! Hang in there :)

Yup- UCSF starts in mid-June. I've heard the first year is pretty insane with work and clinicals. I'm excited to be back in school again. Especially in such a challanging dynamic learning environment. It's tough that these schools are so competitive, but at the same time it guarantees great fellow students to learn with. I know the feeling of relief, let me tell you!! I've never been so tense in my life than waiting to hear back. -Emily :)

Yea yea yea yea Jess!! :balloons: :balloons: Congrats!!

UCSF didn't specifically say *don't* include extra recommendations. But I don't think too many people include extras mostly because 4 is already a lot! The UCSF application does have a section to include any "creative" work you've done. I interpreted that as pretty much anything you wanted to include that wasn't already asked for.

I only had to add one letter of rec. They kept the other 4 from my previous application. In total I had 2 letters from my current job, 2 letters from different hospital volunteer jobs, and one letter from a nurse practitioner. Thanks, everyone for all your well wishes and support. I wish you all the best of luck!

Thanks!! I'm very excited and relieved :) There were 4 major changes/additions to my application the second time around: 1. I changed choice of specialties. Last year I applied for nurse-midwifery (most popular!). This year I changed my focus within the childbearing population to Perinatal Clinical Nurse Specialist. 2. I did another year of volunteer work at a different hospital. I got as involved as I could there. 3. The supervisor at my volunteer position wrote me a kick-butt letter of rec (which totaled 5 in my file. whew!) 4. I wrote a new essay that detailed all the new changes over the last year and how I'm even more prepared to matriculate this year. Hope this helps! What programs are you intersted in? What specialties are you applying to? -emily

Hi Chris. I'm sorry to hear the disappointing news. I applied to UCSF last year and didn't even get an interview. This year I'm in. So don't give up hope, the second time can be a charm :) Take care and enjoy San Francisco if you come here. It's awesome!!

YEA YEA YEA!!! CONGRATULATIONS SEAHORSE :balloons: Hopefully you will also get into to UCSF. But either way....You're going to nursing school!! What a relief, eh?

BIG FAT LOANS!! The first year is *only* $25K not $35. Ahhh, it's all so relative. You'll hear from UCSF tomorrow for sure. -E

Hi again, I'm so sorry to hear that you weren't accepted off the bat. They're crazy . But seriously, I think that you still have a very good chance of getting off the wait list. Only ONE person has to choose another school and you're in! I met a lot people on the interview day who had also applied to Columbia, Yale, Penn, and other schools that closely rival UCSF. So I think you should stay hopeful. It's going to be a tough month coming up, waiting and hoping is the WORST :rotfl: . I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Did the letter say when you might get off the list? -Emily

Hi Anya, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! I'll bet you'll hear on Monday. I also analyzed my interviews like crazy and played them back in my head many times over the last month. I agree that all the finalists I met were impressive people, all smart motivated, and interesting. It will definitely be a fantastic learning environment. Hope to see you in June :cheers:

Hi Chris, GOOD LUCK!! Thanks again for the info you shared RE the interview day. Hopefully you'll get your ACCEPTANCE letter on Monday!

The acceptance letter was a single page and didn't say anything more than congrats, you're in, we'll give you more info in March. I would imagine that they will require a deposit by the end of March. I remember on the interview day, they said that if you haven't gotten off the wait list by early May than there isn't much hope. Olijam, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. At least you're first on the waiting list. I'm sure there'll be at least ONE person who chooses a different program.

Hi Jess, I'm happy to share. I graduated in 2001 from Penn in Philadelphia with just under a 3.4 GPA. I took the GREs back when the analytical section was still there. I got a 650 Verbal, 710 Math, 750 Analytical. Since graduation I've been working in business at a Security company. I manage a number of accounts where we provide Security Officers, and have a pretty large team of employees reporting to me. I think the management experience was definitely a plus, especially going into advanced practice nursing. Last year I volunteered at UCSF in the Birth Center and Well Baby nursery. This year I volunteer at another hospital in a perinatal department. The supervisor is amazing and she has helped me get pretty involved. I've been participating with the hospital's breastfeeding committee which has been a great learning experience. It determines BF policy and recommendations for the hospital. I did apply to UCSF last year and didn't even get an interview. They highly recommended applying again. So don't lose hope, the second time can be a charm. My other recommendation would be to reexamine your choice of specialties. Keep in mind that midwifery and NP specialties are the most cut throat. Best of luck! Emily

Thank you SO much, I hope you're there with me in June! Don't panic yet, the mail can definitely take an extra day. Bummer that it's Saturday and you have to wait until Monday though. I live in San Francisco, so I get mail the very next day. I'm sure they mailed ALL notifications on Friday. I'm going to be a Perinatal Clinical Nurse Specialist. Did you meet anyone in my specialty on the interview day? I didn't. I interviewed on Jan 21st, you? What speciality did you apply for? I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! -Emily

Hi future nurses! I've been reading this thread for the last few weeks, but haven't written yet. I figured sharing some happy news would be a great way to start.... i just received an acceptance letter to UCSF!! :rotfl: It's the only school I applied to so my whole career was weighing on this. What a relief! To those of you who are also waiting to hear from UCSF...the acceptance envelope is SUPER thin, so don't freak out prematurely like I did!! I wish you all the best of luck!