Maxg1983

How hard? It is challenging in the 2nd semester. First was pretty easy and fun. 2nd is like, woah, what happened here? It goes from 0-100 fast and hard. Like the other poster said, read the chapters assigned before each class for all classes. Stay on top of everything as it will get overwhelming with the constant quizes (they do chem and bio once a week each - sometimes they are on the same day or separated by 1 day). And, don't let the word quiz fool you. They are very indepth and difficult. Bio is more A&P at this point so know all of the processes instead of straight memorization and the chemistry is difficult (organic itself & biochcem is taught this semester and is easier than 1st semester to me but a lot of people struggled). It is all very fast paced as well. They teach like you are in a nursing BScN program so expect to go fast. Be prepared to be slammed and work your butt off. It is fun but can be overwhelming. If you work, my recommendation is to work as little as you can or don't. If BScN is your goal, work super hard - really read before each class, go over the notes after each class, start papers right away, do your research, and study daily (very important), stay on top of assignments, make sure you write down all due dates in a planner, stick to it and actually use it. Be prepared to run until the last day. I remember during mid 2nd semester, pretty much everyone just wanted to sleep for the break. I had to work and resented it because I was so exhausted. Seneca is a good school, I like it. I recommend the program Only if you plan on going there your for nursing school as well. I didn't apply for the BScN program but I will be bridging.

Hi, I just finished this program about a year and a half ago. You can only apply for the BScN program at Seneca/York with this program. It is not applicable to get you into any other school. It is a challenging but good program BUT limiting. From what I know, all pre health programs are like this. Seriously though, ask Cathy (program coordinator and teacher of sciences) to confirm this because maybe things have changed since I graduate.

Hi Gosia29 I sent you a PM - hoping you can reply - Thnx

"Is Yorkgate in the Jane and Finch area? ....you have never heard of any crime in the area?" yes, you are very right. Jane & Finch is NOT ideal but I don't think the school would be at that location if it were not relatively safe. It is not located directly there...I think. I just have never heard anything happening at the campus. I doubt Seneca would keep the campus there if that mall were really unsafe. IDK, it has been going for yrs and yrs and I look at it like that. For me, it is all about saving time and getting a good education. I mean, all schools will give that but going to king campus, although I love farm ville & seneca, literally, was too much. I remember days in my car stuck in traffic and having minor panic attacks thinking of the time I was wasting when I had a mountain of work to do. I know it will be 20x harder in ns so that is why I chose that campus. Also, from google maps, it will take me 1.5hrs to go by bus if I chose to. I might do that to save on insurance per year. All that aside, I really look forward to starting. I am regretting, in a way, putting it off until Jan bc now all I think about is starting and work is driving me nuts (although I am very grateful).

I will be going to this school in Jan 2017 also. After long deliberation and thinking about how I will pay for this, I held off entering nursing school in 2016. Running through the numbers over and over I knew I needed to gather more money in the bank so that I didn't have to work so many hours a week while in ns. I applied for 2017 and was lucky enough to get in all schools I applied for. This time before I made a decision (when I accepted Seneca at King city pre health I didn't even know where that city was too well), I did a lot of research. Although I liked Sheridan college in the past, I do not like the Davis campus any longer. I also took a drive to Orangeville to check out Georgian college and was put off with how small things were. I am an Orangeville lover but the school was just too tiny for me. I was disappointed as I wanted to go there. Also, from my house, there is a huge hill that makes me super nervous. I kept picturing the torture I would have to go thru for 2 winters driving up and down that snow & traffic packed hill. I was physically ill thinking how stressed I would be. The next day I ventured to Yorkdale campus for Seneca. I was shocked that it was in a mall and the city is not too great BUT I never hear of any crime or anything really unsavory there. Its off the beaten path for sure. I went in and immediately, the campus reminded me of King Campus and I was pleased. I walked around took it all in. Although very small (and yes, looks like it can be suffocating I guess), it still had more breathing room than say Georgian Orangeville. In any case, I thought about it for a few days and accepted Yorkgate. It is also about 30 mins away from where I live. King Campus (I was also accepted here) is my ideal but the 2 hour commute a day in good traffic was too much sometimes. Like you JaguarX, I can barely find anything online about student experience. But, I am going in with a positive attitude and will enjoy my journey. I hope others who went there can give us a snippet of life there. Another positive is that parking is free! $500 a year saved is great to me.

Thanks so much for that recap SEPF. That was a great snap shot of what is to come. Question, was the material difficult? I am asking about the course material period. Seems like the workload gets harder in the 2nd semester and so on. What was the hardest course for you? Is the pathology of disease as difficutl as people say it is?

Hi ILoveSmurfs - were you able to send an email at the above address? I also sent you a PM with it just in case also. I know you are super busy but just wondering if something was sent and I may have missed it. Thnx

Nayomif, you should be writing the HOAE test very soon. Did you set up an appointment date yet?

Ok, yes you can email me at rhonag123 at gmail dot com

ILoveSmurfs - Thank you sooooo much for your reply. This is all wonderful news to hear. I have sent you a PM so hopefully we can chat more there.

I only knew for a school as I had to submit a midterm mark for an outstanding course - conditional only. It is accumulative I think. I believe I will be able to provide the mark they want at the end of the course (knock on wood). I am unsure about the uni marks. As long as your prereq marks are what they want (and above esp for GBC), things might be positive. You can email the program contact on the website and go from there. From my experience, they do answer

Canadaboy, yes I have a degree but it played very little with this program as it is not even remotely related to health. My hs marks were just average. It was my pre health marks that helped. I took pre health as I have been out of hs for a while and also, I did not the chemistry and grade 12 math. I did the HOAE test also. It was not that difficult but that was me.

I went to Seneca for pre health and it was great. I enjoyed the program (although very busy and stressful at times esp 2nd semester) but it was just too far for me as it is in King City. I did apply but decided to make my life easier as there were other options available closer to home schools. This was a big concern for a few other of people I knew and they had applied to Humber and other schools and was accepted. It is just easier for my life.

I was wondering if there are any recent grads from either Sheridan college or George Brown College's PRN program? I have been accepted by both schools for January 2016 intake (applied for then to save $ as pre health has shown me that living on a PT income is very hard) and would like to make an informed decision. I know that both schools have to be good as approved by CNO, govt etc. I was going over the syllabuses for both school programs and notice that Sheridan did not have pathology?? I thought that was strange as other schools seem to have this course. I inquired with the coordinator there and she said they do not have this course! I also read on this board that in the past Sheridan had a lot of LTC placements and very few hospital ones. I tried looking on FB for both schools and did not see any nursing pages so cannot inquire with current students. I have also contacted a few posters here on the subject but no reply (most have not been back for a long time). Any advise/help/suggestions on the schools would be great. Also, looks like GBC has a new location for medical students which is on the lakeshore instead of direct downtown which makes my commute a bit better for me (this was mentioned as some people in past posts complained about the location and lack of room at the dt local).

xokw, yes sorry registered. It wa a slip of the keyboard I guess. Wow, that was intense!

Hi Luzantillaise No, being a psw won't save you. Everyone has to take the test no matter what; if the school requires it. I met a girl at Sheridan who was in the BScN program at Humber and it was too much for her so she was going for the rpn instead and Sheridan still required her to take the hoae test. I just did 2 tests for 2 schools in the last two weeks. Humber was harder than Sheridan college I must admit but only because it was more math and science heavy base. I can only say to make sure you are up on your knowledge of both subjects. I would also say it is a bit more advanced than grade 8 bio (as someone posted) as you need to know a bit more. Don't kill yourself (at least what I think but take this with a grain of salt) but try to review material on bio, chem and math. The essay is easy. Just opinion but make sure you leave enough time for corrections etc. Time goes by really quickly. Math, at least on my test, was some basic stuff but make sure you know how to do it. Just try to review your notes. As for schools that do not have the test, just check then out on their websites. They all say so you know if yes or no. I am assuming you are in the GTA and I know that george brown does not have a test but you basically have to have very high 80's + in the prereq classes to even be looked at. Do not go by the min they advise on the website, they are looking for a heck of a lot more. I am not sure of what other schools do not have the test (maybe centennial...idk) but just populate your search on google and you will see. Are you applying for Sept 2015?

In my area, there is no way, unless you are hired by a family, employers will hire anyone without a PSW certificate. Maybe in the past (idk) a certificate was not needed but in the GTA no one gets hired by a reputable company without it. It is a matter of safety and now PSW's have to be registered just like most other sectors of health care. There is also a union that came into effect a few years ago for PSW's because the pay and treatment from other staff and the publicis terrible. I work as a PSW on a very pt basis and have for a few years. Back to the original question, I dont think there is anything wrong with working as a PSW while in school (but you have to get certified so that will take time that you might not have especially if you are going after a degree) but it won't get you the skills you need as a nurse. Maybe basic skills but that's about it. I have taken the PSW cert. (obv) and just completed pre health and waiting to hear back from nursing schools at this point but I know some BscN students and nurses and the knowledge is not comparable.

Hi (was going to reply on pre health but noticed you replied on upgrading :) )

Hi Toaster May I ask what your pre req average grades were?

I think we are all waiting at this point. I believe schools don't make decisions until all of the end of term marks have been submitted so there a bit of await. At least I assume until mid April or so.

As another update for those considering Sheridan, they are now only referring to themselves as Sheridan. College is no longer in the title (although the website has college in the url but I can see that changing possibly over the summer months). I was driving to school last Friday and they were advertising some degree programs at the school and it was interesting the announcer said come check out Sheridan (not sheridan college). I also heard the nursing course is really good at that school. All I know is that the expectations have increased dramatically since last year for entry into the RPN program but I can see BScN in the furture also.

I can suggest getting Caroline Porter-Thomas' system on how to master anatomy and patho. She has helped thousands of people with this program. Also, she knows how expensive it is to be a student so the program is technically $17 but she has a pay what you can way also. Very helpful. From the reviews I have read, people rave about her system. I highly recommend you take a look into this. How to Study for Anatomy & Physiology

As I know, Sheridan is working its way to becoming a university so that is why no partnership with any universities. They have proposed this to the city and outbound cities and it is a go. I guess at this time, it is all about setting things in place. I assume it will become a university in a few more years. The same thing happed to Ryerson. It used to a college and then changed to a university. I assume that was about 15yrs or so ago. Sheridan has already started to increase their degree programs. I also noticed that they changed the inrollment for rpn. I think even as little as last year people needed only grade 11 math to apply now grade 12 is needed for entry. Very intestering but shows the direction in which the school is headed. I am sure as a result, the reputation they have for the nursing program will be adjusted. I only hope that if I go there, the program changes so I can enter the BScN program. It would be great as I live pretty close and would be a benefit for my travel and study times.

Yes, it is possible but you will have to work hard. My neighbor completed his PRN at Humber and is now in 2nd entry (his goal is NP) and all he does is work and work on school. It takes up a lot of his time but this is what he wants. He is at 90% so you can do it - he is no smarter but just dedicates his time and sweat to getting the marks he needed. He does hold a PT job at a seniors home near our house but he works only weekends (lives at home with parents). He is no genious or anything but I can say, he works super hard and is beyond dedicated and his marks reflect this. He has no social life but that is nursing school for you...apparently.

Thanks for the responce Lilac11 What was the workload like during the semesters? How many hours of homework did you average per day? as there a lot of work per class or mainly studying? Also, how difficult was the math and chemistry from 1 to 10? Any tips or advise you can give a new student entering the program? I am thinking of buying a digital recorder so I can relisten to lectures. From your experience, do you think this is wise? Thanks in advance.