asthecrowflies

current accelerated student chiming to add a few things to what other current students and previous applicants have already shared. i applied for the january 2013 cohort, interviewed, and was not accepted. i then applied for the june 2013 cohort, interviewed, was accepted to traditional, and later (~3 months) got a call offering me a spot in accelerated. for those asking about acceptance rates, i know that for the january 2013 cohort, there were ~450 applicants, ~100 interviewed, and they only accepted 24. so that's closer to a 5% acceptance rate. i don't know the statistics on the june 2013 cohort, but there are 34 of us, and i heard that there were over 1000 applicants for traditional and accelerated combined. @colorado hopeful, i am a white female colorado resident with previous degrees in social sciences, as are a lot of my classmates. i had paid healthcare experience (long term care, home care, community health research) but wasn't licensed as a CNA or EMT and did not work in a hospital. i'd say only 25-50% of our cohort have any healthcare experience. those things shouldn't knock you out of the running. @elliot237, the questions in the interview are not specific to your application at all. i'm not sure if they even have any applicant-specific materials in front of them while they're interviewing. both of my interviews were held with one faculty, one current student, and four total applicants. i did get the feeling during the second interview that the faculty member was more interested in my particular experience than in my first interview, which helped my confidence and also allowed me to speak more to my strengths. the questions were very similar in nature to those posted by colorado hopeful, but the faculty and student also asked follow-up questions to probe for more information in some cases. for example, after i described my anthropology and community health experience, the faculty member asked why i was choosing to pursue a BSN instead of an MPH -- this question didn't come from my application though, just from things i had said in response to previous questions. my response to this question allowed me to show that i had clear career aspirations and fully understood where nursing fell on the healthcare continuum, as well as the role i would be playing as a nurse. so, be sure to answer follow-up questions well; they may indicate that the faculty member or student has a concern about something you've said, and it will give you a chance to head off those concerns. with your strong background in research, you may need to emphasize why you've chosen a different direction than benchwork, and how you've prepared to make that change. as far as how they rank applicants, i honestly have no idea. i really don't think our cohort is homogenous at all, in terms of grades or past employment or experiences. we have students who were army medics, students with engineering and chemistry degrees, students who have been working on the floors of a hospital as a CNA for years, and students who have literature or history or art degrees and no health experience whatsoever. there is a lot of diversity and i really can't say whether UCD honors one parameter over others. that said, i am confident that a great GPA alone will not get you in. UCD is certainly looking at personality, social skills, ability to relate to others, capacity to communicate well, evidence of compassion and patience -- "soft" qualifications matter in this field. i think the greatest strength of my application was my essays, primarily because i had the most control over them and had plenty of time to thoughtfully compose them. i also think that a weak interview is the reason i didn't make the cut the first time. i was more prepared the second time around, and also more relaxed. i think the most important aspect of the interview isn't necessarily to show how much more you've done than another applicant or even necessarily set yourself apart per se, but highlight experiences that will make YOU a great, well-rounded nurse -- how you will apply your previous knowledge and experiences to succeed at UCD and in your future career. you can be sure of yourself without having to compare yourself to other applicants. i certainly understand the stress of the process; it can be very frustrating but well worth it in the end. i wish you all the best of luck, and feel free to post any additional questions!

I got into the accelerated program with a 3.63 in prereqs -- I had B's in chem and statistics that I had taken 4-5 years ago, and A's in the classes I'd taken more recently. It did take me two tries though!

To those asking about financial aid, I'm not sure if you're looking for info pertaining to federal loans or private loans -- I called the main financial aid number a few weeks ago spoke and with someone in the office who recommended that I begin applying for private loans for summer term beginning April 1st. He then emailed me a cost of attendance breakdown for summer term, which I used to apply for a Wells Fargo loan. My loans were approved and certified by the school this week. So if you are already at your Stafford loan limit and expect to have to take out private loans for all or part of summer semester, I'd suggest looking into it again -- the May financial aid package date may only apply to those eligible for federal loans.

luce8888, don't know if you have this info already, but i just spoke with someone in the office of student affairs, who said that classes would start the week of june 3rd.

lolads85, i thought they were doing away with the january start in 2014? the website makes it look like both traditional and accelerated will only be starting in june from here out...

Hi all, I had posted before about being accepted to the traditional pathway, although I had applied for accelerated. I received a phone call yesterday that an accelerated spot had opened up. They offered me the spot and I accepted it (meaning I also freed up my traditional spot as of today). Congrats to those accepted and best of luck to those waiting for a call!

i typed the link in as written and it worked for me. here, try the direct link: BS Newly Admitted Summer | CU College of Nursing | University of Colorado Denver

i just got my letter of acceptance yesterday (in aurora), postmarked 11/21. i was previously turned down for spring 2013, and received a letter for that as well, not long at all after the interview. i never got emails in either case, and my admission application status in my CU portal never changed, either. hope this helps.

i just got my letter today (in aurora), postmarked 11/21. i was accepted for the traditional pathway. best of luck to everyone!

i just got my letter today (in aurora), postmarked 11/21. i also applied to accelerated and was offered traditional, which i am very happy with. best of luck to everyone!

I was turned down for the Spring 2013 start, and my online status never changed. It still says, to this day, "a decision will soon be made." So you can only rely on the letter as far as I know.

I also interviewed previously for the accelerated January 2013 start, and I believe we got our letters 10-12 days after the interview. As for the June 2013 start, a nursing faculty in one of my sessions said they hoped to have decisions to us before Thanksgiving.

The original email about the interviews (before the invites were sent) said "Only applicants invited to the interview day will be considered further for admission." :/

Got my email this morning... excited to be moving to the next step. :) To answer everyone's questions to the best of my abilities: You really must attend the interview in person... they made a big deal about giving a few Skype interviews last time, but I heard that none of those were accepted. The application guidelines also said that the interview was mandatory. For the Spring 2013 start date that I first applied (accelerated only), it is my understanding that there were around 450 applicants, about 100 of us at the interview, and we were told that 35-45 would be accepted from that group. Not sure how many were actually accepted. The interview is NOT six hours... it is more like an info day with a 30-to-45-minute interview. We came in, signed in and picked up some info packets, and were corralled to the interviews in groups with a current student leading us. The interview was around 9 a.m., and included 4 prospective students, 1 current student, and 1 faculty member. The faculty member or current student would propose a question and the prospective students would go around in a circle, taking turns answering. The topics were all your standard school/job interview type questions. The rest of the day included a mock lecture, talks about financial aid, etc. Hope this helps! Feel free to throw out any more questions, I will try to answer.

Hi all, I applied to UCD last cycle, so i can give you an idea about timelines. i applied for the accelerated option, Spring 2013 start. The application closed on June 15th and I received an email for an interview on June 22nd. The email stated that it was a final step in the admissions process (none of us knew about the interview when we applied). I interviewed with around 100 people on July 16th, and received a rejection letter that I believe was dated July 26th. I heard rumors about a call list, but there was no mention of one in my letter, so if there is one, I'm assuming I'm not on it. Anyway, as far as a timeline goes, last cycle there were 7 days from end of application to interview email, then 10 days from interview to rejection. I have reapplied for the Summer 2013 start date (accelerated, but all applicants are also considered for traditional), so I am playing the waiting game with you all! Best of luck to everyone. Annie