lavender19

Best U.S. Colleges for a Nursing Major | USA TODAY College Simmons is now ranked one of the best nursing schools in the country!

Hi Ashley, I am currently a direct entry student at Simmons. It looks like everything you wrote seems good, just make sure you have a strong personal statement. Simmons does not look at the GRE. I'll tell you my experience from the program so far. Personally, I'm glad I chose Simmons. But, every school has its pros/cons. Clinical placements are good (but make sure you turn in your clinical preferences early, as it's first come first serve regarding location). I feel that the labs at Simmons and professors really try to prepare you in the clinical setting. I had no patient contact experience and now I feel a lot more competent. If you choose Simmons, I advise you to get Pearson study guides and an NCLEX books from Saunders (you will find these books very helpful because they teach you how to take NCLEX style exams). The text books did not help me much, but I would use them occasionally. The tests are all NCLEX style. Simmons is known for a high NCLEX pass rate and at the end of your first year you get a two week prep course to prepare for the NCLEX. While the professors did a good job for the most part, I did have to teach myself a lot as well. Simmons does not spoon feed you the material. You have to work hard to do well. Lectures are mostly powerpoints. It's also very expensive, but I think well worth it in the long run. Also, I would shadow a Nurse Practitioner (an FNP if you can, since that's the only specialty at Simmons). I also shadowed a PA, but never mentioned that in my application. The NP role is different and shadowing one clearly indicates that you are interested in nursing, not PA school. I also advise you not to work, unless you're very good with time management. If you have to work, try to find a job where you can work and study at the same time. The program is very demanding. Anyhow, best of luck and I hope that you find this information helpful :)

enw10: Yeah I definitely think that living by the train is probably the best option for me since I refuse to drive in Boston. BostonFNP: Did you go to Simmons?

I'm in western mass. I think I may try to live in a suburb in Boston where there's a train station near by. It may be a little cheaper, but I'm not entirely sure. Where are you living (if you don't mind me asking)?

I just received my package and it's very expensive! Did you figure out where you would like to live? Boston is one of the priciest cities to live in.

Congrats for getting accepted :) I've decided to attend Simmons as well. I guess we'll be seeing each other around! Did you get your fin aid package yet?

Is anyone planning to attend Simmons this fall?

Thanks for your response HCE2014. Did your letter say you had a provisional acceptance? That's what my letter said today. It's probably because I didn't take Organic Chemistry, but I took two semesters of General Chemistry and I thought that would've sufficed. I went to the information session and I'm pretty sure that the director of admissions said that two semesters of general chem was okay, unless the prereqs suddenly changed and Orgo is now required.

Did you receive that form before you were accepted? When your decision was sent, how long did it take to receive your acceptance letter? My decision was sent on Monday, but I haven't received anything yet.

Hello everyone, I applied to Simmons and was wondering if anyone received a letter from financial aid that said a student information form is to be filled out before they receive any sort of financial aid. It also asks for a Simmons ID which I did see on top of my financial aid letter. I have not been denied or accepted yet and was just curious to see if anyone received this form before they were accepted?

Well congratulations on graduating! How difficult was the MEPN program for you? The school I'm interested in forces you to work as an RN for 1,000 hours before completing the master's portion of the program. I'm actually interested in becoming a FNP so I think the MEPN program is the best option for me right now. Do you know if the students in your class had medical experience? I recently just got hired as a pharmacy technician so I'm hoping that will be helpful in nursing. And yes, occupational medicine with a specialty in animal therapy sounds amazing, but I really want to be an NP!

Where do you go to school sfwhitney? I think I have a chance, I just need to do well on the GRE and interview. Do you know how your friends are doing in regards to getting jobs? The program I'm interested in makes you work as an RN for 1000 hours before completing the master's portion. From what I've been researching it's very difficult to obtain an RN job as a new grad without experience. That's what I'm mostly concerned about. I know that there is a shortage of NPs, but was curious on how the job market looks at MEPN graduates. My assumption is they would prefer a student with a BSN with experience before becoming an NP. However, if I do the ABSN first and work before there's no guarantee that I will get a job right away because right now the health care field is oversaturated with RNs. I've heard that new grad BSNs haven't been able to find jobs for 1-2 years. So even though NP seems like something I would enjoy, I'm just afraid of not being employed.

That's great news, congrats! Did you say that you were bilingual? In my case, I'm half caucasian and half hispanic. Not sure if that gives me some sort of an edge being only 50% hispanic.

I just recently graduated with a BS in Animal Science from Cornell. I am interested in becoming a family nurse practitioner. How competitive are Direct Entry MSN programs? I decided that getting into a direct entry program would be more beneficial versus a ABSN program. Any thoughts? I am particularly interested in UMASS Worcester GEP program if anyone knows how competitive that school is to get into.

http://www.bestnursingdegree.com/programs/direct-entry-msn/ I gave you a link that shows all these programs for the direct entry master's program. Some are just a little bit more expensive than the ABSN programs, but you may save more money because it would cost more to get your BSN first, then your Master's. Pursue whatever is most convenient for you!