khausig

Thanks for your suggestions. Like you, I dislike the purple "core curriculum" and all the select all that apple questions the the study guide. My colleagues that have taken the exam said they used a CD with lots of practice questions, but none of them can produce this CD. Do you know if there is such a thing? I've googled everything I can think of and can't find ANY electronic resources like this. Good of luck to everyone studying! I'm so intimidated by this test.

I'm curious wroblow, what did you find out about McKenzie-Willamette?

I am bummed I missed this application window. I'll keep an eye out for the application period to open again in March or April of next year. Can anyone share what they ask for in the personal statement? Thanks and good luck to all of you on your interviews!

sdk90, I sent you a PM about the Facebook group... Just some recommendations and things to keep in mind :)

Mine still says "application received" on October 30...

Nicole1735, congrats on your acceptances! There are pluses and minuses to both the post-bacc and traditional programs. Both give you a good education. I think the post-bacc is more expensive and it is very fast paced. The summer start traditional program is slightly less accelerated. The traditional program is longer, but may afford you more time to work. They are all good choices. Good luck deciding!

I applied too!

The program is very accelerated and difficult , but you could work part-time. Several students in our class work, but it does make things tougher. Keeping your foot in the door at Banner would be worth it though. You never know what the market will be like when you graduate and any 'in' you have will be great. Especially if your work is offering to keep you part time, I wouldn't quit unless things got too out of hand! There really isn't a typical schedule. Classes usually aren't back to back, but we normally didn't have more than a couple of hours between. Plan on making this program a full-time job plus studying pretty much every night. That isn't to say you won't have time for fun, but there is a lot expected of you outside of class. Between classes, assignments, online class/modules, lab, and clinical you will be busy. In the spring and summer you'll be on campus more than in the fall, if they keep the schedule the same as ours. Waiting is the worst part! I hope you all find out soon!

While they don't technically take AmeriCorps into consideration for clinical placement, many of your sites will be eligible. One of my placements for the mental health part wasn't eligible, but otherwise all of my time in clinical has counted. You could potentially ask to switch to a different group if you were placed somewhere that wasn't eligible. Several students in our cohort switched for one reason or another, but you have to do it immediately upon learning of your placements. Otherwise the facilities won't allow changes in the students who will be spending time there. You all are in the worst if it right now. The waiting for acceptance is by far the worst thing about the whole program. Hang in there!

As far as Americorps goes, it is an easy way to get $$ for things you are already doing. There is a lot of paperwork, but nothing that is difficult. You do write essays every month (sometimes more often depending on how often your faculty changes) but they are a few sentences at most. You have to get faculty signatures on everything so it definitely pays to plan ahead. In the summer, it may be difficult to track down your faculty after the rotation ends! There are 3 types of hours: development (classroom), fundraising (we don't do), and service (clinical/work with real patients). Your classroom hours are easy. They account for 60 of the 300 you need for each award. So, that means you need 240 clinical hours (including time spent working on care plans or preparing for you paring on clinical day). These obviously take longer to finish, but be sure to count all the hours that are eligible. My adult health clinical site required us to pick a patient the day before clinical and my faculty had us look up their pathophysiology, meds, labs, test results, etc. each week. That whole process would take me the better part of 4 hours and I was sure to count all that time. Some of my classmates were not asked to pick their patient before clinical so they didn't have these hours to include. So, your clinical placement for adult health can have a big impact on whether you can complete 1 or 2 awards. I finished my first award in July and the payment was sent to ASU to help with fall tuition. The money must be used for education - tuition, loans, etc. I will finish a second award before graduation. You our can enroll in Americorps whenever. You do have to attend an orientation first, but those are every semester. It is best to go to one at the start though, sine that gives you the best chance for completing multiple awards. The Americorps director is super nice and helpful. You can find her info by searching on the ASU website or send me a message and I'll pass it along. Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions about this or the post-bacc program in general.

Thanks for the info. Do you know if I could apply if I haven't taken the NCLEX yet? I would love to try for the February 2015 start date, but I don't graduate until December and won't take the NCLEX until January. I don't see much info on their website about it. Thanks again for your input and congrats on your placement!

Thanks! I found that site after posting my question, but I definitely appreciate you taking the time and adding it here for me! Best of luck to you.

Hello everyone, I am currently a BSN student at ASU graduating in December. This opportunity sounds super competitive, but fantastic! Are you aware if there will be a similar program offered in 2015? If anyone has pointers on where to find out about the application timeframe and process for 2015, I would love some direction. Thanks, and congrats to those of you who received offers this year!

I agree with ziggy787. The program is intense and the other students are impressive - not only in their academic achievements, but as people in general. We do have a private FB group as did the 2013 cohort. It helps to pull everyone together and provides a place where we can ask questions and share information or experiences. We all have rough times meeting the demands of the program, but we also have a lot of fun together in the process. There is something great and supportive about have a whole cohort of others students who are doing the exact same thing as you are. I know it is frustrating for me to say this, but you probably won't be able to get a real sense of the program until you are in it. This is unlike any other schooling or job I've ever had. We are coached, mentored, supported, challenged, and held to a very high standard. It is fast and we have to keep up or there is a very real danger of falling too far behind to be able to catch up. We definitely can't coast along and expect to accomplish the objectives set out for us. Good luck to you in your endeavors. Feel free to message me if you have specific questions and I'll try to answer. :)

I'm only on step 1! LOL!