Hashi

Hi all, I am starting this summer too. We should start up a FB group, I've found them incredibly useful for a cohort. We will all have a lot of the same questions around the same time. Who wants an invite? Or you can find it on FB search "UTRGV PMHNP." Greg

Ha, I guess 2015 are a talkative cohort. Someone asked about Leads. This is the first year of the program, my cohort are the guinea pigs. So, about two years ago there were MANY specialties you could select when applying; public health, pediatrics, maternity?, etc. I believe there were still only two AP programs, the CNS and psych NP track. This past year they took all of the specialty programs (with the exception of CNS and FMHNP) and rolled them into one, this is the LeADs program. Now that does not mean you must study public health if you are not interested in public health. The way leads works is you create your "portfolio" which is a set of classes that are complimentary of each other and of interest to you (ie. if you like public health you can take a bunch of public health classes, like maternity? Acute care? mental health? take those classes). To me the portfolio is comparable to a masters thesis. The leads curriculum is identical to the AP programs up until, I think the second semester after foundation? Leads is NOT an advanced practice degree, you will only get your regular old RN license. Hope all of that makes sense. I know when we were all applying we had no clue what Leads was, there was very little info online. Good luck with the rest of the app process........I certainly don't miss that. Let me know if y'all have any other questions, I'll try to help out.

So far so good. You may hear allot of people say it's tough but doable...... That still rings true. Ive noticed as time goes on I've adjusted to the speed. In a nutshell, lots of work, great cohort (I was lucky), great professors who really want you to get through, clinicals are good and its one of the best schools for nursing in the country. So no complaints.

Hi guys. I'm a second semester ae student. Wasn't long ago I scoured this site for info. Some of you have probably seen our 2015 thread. If not take a look lots of good info on there. Good luck on your applications!!!!

Hi Carla, I wasn't sure if they would but I just called and asked. Not sure if anyone else found out that easily.

Austintex, I was looking for the group but can't find it on FB. I was looking into the student housing for UT. It does look like a good deal.

Utvault, I am still wait listed for the NP program. From what I understand had I not taken the leads offer I would be removed from the wait list for NP. So I guess there are three ways I can move up the wait list for NP; applicants decline the offer, the three people ahead of me on the wait list refuse the leads offer and are dropped from the NP wait list or seats open up after the foundation year. I still need to figure out my living situation. Right now I guess I am going to commute the summer semester from round rock. Might take advantage of the metro rail for that. After summer I need to figure out a way to live on the extreme cheap. I was looking for some kind of grad school student roommate finder. My folks also suggested house sitting for some professors on sabbatical, guess they knew students who had done that.

@ Utvault - Sorry, I can't send PMs, guess I'm not active enough. I have decided to pursue the leads program. I was very close to making the cut for NP. I'm not holding my breath for admission but crazier things have happened. Does anyone have an idea what the dropout rates are for this program. I heard it was really low. It sounds like we make one application and we will be considered for several different scholarships? I have been looking for some good scholarships. I would think I would be able to find one given my specialty.....its usually not a popular one. Anyone have any recommendations on where to look? Simply searching Google tends to give me thousands of bogus sites. Thanks! terrified/excited/intimidated to start this program!

Congrats! To everyone who got accepted. I got my LeaDs acceptance letter and was wait listed for NP. My email said my ranking would not be available to me, which makes it difficult for me to decide if I want to enroll in LeaDs. I am still on the fence. For me completing my ADN at ACC then applying to the traditional psych NP program makes more financial sense. Now just may not be the right time for me to enroll . I hope everyone gets what they want, I may meet some of you at student orientation.

hakhama, Do you know what the competition is like on the traditional psych NP track? If this alternate entry doesn't work out for me I may do my ADN then apply to the MSN program. I was competitive for the psych NP AE-MSN, just wondering what the competition on the traditional MSN side would be. Thanks!

@roseannafulton Sure, I have a 55 right now not including the nursing skills course. I got my petition on the 9th as well.

Think I bombed the interview How did y'all approach it? We are all set on NP and this is a broader degree but still necessary to get the NP. I don't know, I just feel it went horribly.

That is my understanding.

The applicants for the 10 available spots have more or less been accepted. So of the other 12-13 of us interviewed we are highly ranked. Mid January they will finalize the accepted and wait listed candidates and then notify us. As others have mentioned LeaDs is similar to the undeclared of past years. I have decided to go ahead and apply to LeaDs and see where I stand once candidates are finalized. At that point decide from the options available to me whether it is LeaDs or NP wait list.

Austintex: I see that statement in the second email and that sounds like she is referring to the leads program. In the first email I read this " You also be on a wait list for the FPMHNP program" obviously a typo. Unfortunately a typo clouding some crucial information. My decision on accepting leads hinges on the wait list and where I stand on it. If it's worth it to wait a year. The second email also seems to imply no decisions on the NP wait list or admittance have been made.