walke274

irun_rdg, I submitted a Cover Letter. I know it said that it was not necessary, but I decided to do one anyway.

milkpearl, The Mayo website states that decisions could be sent out by mid-late February, however, a few years ago decisions were made in early February. From what others have stated, they will send out an email to everyone regardless of being selected or not. It sounds like if you are selected then your job "HR status" on the Mayo website changes from "Application in Review" to "Interview". ~ Since last year's program only accepted 50 of the 800 applicants, decisions were made in mid-February. In years past they have admitted ~100 applicants i believe. ~ I hope it's earlier than later...good luck!! :)

nrsgstudent015, I also wondered about that. It seems like they have made a few changes to the applications process since last year(i.e. not needing a cover letter for your resume or recommendations letters, etc.) so I'm assuming this is also one of their changes. Perhaps they are wanting to only sort out the requests from the students that are selected, so they're waiting to release the availabilities. That's my guess :)

Same here nurstudent3! Now only a few more weeks til we find out :-)

carpeperdiem, The Summer III Nursing externship is offered to undergraduate nursing students who are currently enrolled in an accredited nursing program (I believe BSN program, but I'm not sure). I tried to find the actual externship/job post, but I think they took it down on Jan. 15th when the applications were due. Here is a a link to their website that briefly goes over the opportunity: Summer III Nursing Externship at Mayo Clinic Summer III Nursing Minnesota - Summer III Nursing Minnesota - Mayo Clinic

I recently applied as well! I feel good that I am at least giving it a shot. All of the posts I have read about this opportunity seem positive and emphasize that it is an extraordinary experience! Good luck to everyone :-)

Congratulations Nurse2b7337!!!

kstrac13, Your drive and determination to help serve others when they are most vulnerable will help you become a great nurse! I wish you the best of luck on your journey I myself am 27yo and will be starting my BSN program this Fall. This will be my second Bachelors -- career change. I am not married and I have no children. I will be finished with my program when I'm 29! I'm excited and nervous like you to get started, but we can do it!!

classy923, I myself have never been employed in a human hospital setting, however, before I took the plunge to go back to school for my BSN I decided that I would volunteer at several different hospitals (...and rotate units, oncology, general surgery, orthopedic replacement, and NICU). While I started my prerequisite courses I volunteered a few days a week -- this allowed me to see various different areas of nursing health care and solidified my decision to go forward in applying to NS. ~ I think that those who have had jobs in a hospital, etc. may definitely be able to ease into clinicals a bit easier, but I think that as a volunteer I was at least able to expose myself to the "flow" of a hospital setting. I was able to absorb what nurses do and was able to talk with different patients about their various experiences.

This is how I would take these classes: Semester 1: A&PII, Developmental Psychology Semester 2: Microbiology, Chemistry for health sciences For semester 1, there is so much memorization and time needed for A&PII -- I think it would couple nicely with Developmental Psychology which tends to be more reading oriented. For semester 2, chemistry will be the harder of the two courses and will require a lot of your time. Microbiology, for me, tended to have some biochemistry features and will meld nicely with your chemistry.

You think that's heavy? Try being pregnant.

pkkunchan, I myself had to take the "ATI - critical thinking test". There are no direct questions regarding math, science, grammar, etc. It is a test that assesses how well you can read and understand a specific given scenario within a very short/specific amount of time. As previous posters mentioned before, ATI is a company and it does in fact create the TEAS test, but my school has decided to use the "ATI - critical thinking" entrance test in place of the TEAS. I found another poster's information that was posted in regards to the different types of questions on the test and what components of your competency they are scoring based off your answers: Interpretation: to understand, comprehend, decipher, and explain the meaning of written materials, verbal and nonverbal communications, empirical data, and graphics. Analysis: to examine, organize, categorize, or prioritize variables such as signs and symptoms, evidence, facts, research findings, concepts, ideas, beliefs, and points of view. Inference: to draw conclusions based on evidence, to differentiate between conclusions/hypotheses that are logically or evidentially necessary and those that are merely possible or probable and to identify knowledge gaps or needs. Explanation: to explain, in writing or orally, the assumptions and reasoning processes followed in reaching conclusions, and to justifying one’s reasoning/conclusions in terms of evidence, concepts, methodologies, or contextual considerations. Evaluation: to assess the credibility of sources of information, to assess the strength of evidence, to assess the relevance, significance, value or applicability of information in relation to a specific situation, and to assess information for biases, stereotypes, and clichés. Self-Regulation: to continuously monitor, reflect on, and to question one’s own thinking, to reconsider interpretations or judgments as appropriate based on further analysis of facts or added information and to examine one’s own views with sensitivity to the possible influence of personal biases or self-interest. Hope this helps a little ;-)

My BSN program is 5 semesters long after being accepted.

I start my BSN program this Fall '13 and this summer I'll be taking: -Communication and Culture ("Caring for Patients from Different Cultures") -Life-Span Development Psychology Only 7 credits...not bad at all! And I'll have most of August off from school before the Fall '13 semester starts. So I'll be able to relax and focus on just working and volunteering before the chaos starts

CONGRATS!!!! I got my letter the beginning of March (start this Fall '13), but it's starting to feel like a really long time ago. Lots of people are saying, "enjoy the time while you have it...". I'm beginning to feel like this is the "calm before the storm" -- for lack of a better explanation. But I'm still really excited....just think, only 5 more months to go!