meib92

They send out acceptance emails in mid-April. :)

Don't lose hope yet! Last year there was around 150 applicants

Yes everyone in my class got the 15 local points. And I'm not sure what I got on my essays, I never asked. I know they're pretty important though. Two people in my class made it into the program who were on the alternate list.

Staygoldkat, Every person in my class received the 15 points for being a local student. As stated before it can vary year to year though. Good luck

Good luck to you! I'm currently in my second semester in SSU's BSN program. Here are some words of encouragement - there are quite a few of my classmates who scored lower on the TEAS as well as have lower GPAs with some Bs in the prereqs. This year our class compiled data for students wanting to apply to the program. The range of TEAS scores for my class was 84 to 98 (90% average) Our range of GPA was 3.4 to 4.0 (3.7 average). The average amount of Bs in the prereqs was 0.75 (lol). Hope this helps give you a better idea. Feel free to ask any questions about the program that you're curious about!

I know you asked graduates from SSU and I'm just starting... But I figured I would invest and buy my textbooks for nursing school, in case I need them throughout the entire program and beyond. I purchased three of the textbooks used from half.com (maternity for $60, med-surg for $90, nursing diagnosis $25 [part of fundamentals package]) and you would never guess the books were used! No highlighting, and very very minimal wear on the covers. It definitely saved me a ton of money buying them used. For the fundamentals of nursing, I bought that textbook, along with lippincott's drug guide, from the publisher's website (we received an email with a link and a 20% off coupon code) because it was cheaper than all the other websites I usually buy textbooks from. Also, since the fundamentals textbook was purchased new, it came with a CD-rom (we'll see if it's helpful...) I'm usually a book-renter, but for nursing books, I would say buy them. You never know when you might need them in the future for reference. And if you end up not using them, sell them back for $$$!

My overall GPA: 3.94; nursing prerequisite GPA: 4.0

Congratulations! One, for becoming a mother, and two, for getting accepted to nursing school! Those are both very exciting milestones. I can't make a ton of recommendations, as I am also in your shoes (beginning a nursing program this August). However, I would recommend that you get everything done around your house that will get neglected while in nursing school, i.e. cleaning, organizing, car maintenance, doctor/dentist appointments. Because there won't be as much time once you begin! Also, I'm sure you already know this - spend lots of time with your child and your family. They will miss you for the next two years ?Figure out meal plans that you can either cook and freeze to eat for dinner or that you can take to class or clinicals when you're in a rush. Make a budget plan for all the expected expenses that nursing school brings. Maybe refresh on your anatomy and physio. Oh and don't forget to relax. Good luck to you!

I have a friend who's graduating from the program this fall. From what I've heard from her, their clinicals are always in the morning (beginning at ~6am), and can range from any day of the week for each rotation. (i.e. Tuesday/Wednesday for a rotation, then Thursday/Friday, then Saturday/Sunday.) They rotate the days your clinicals are on to make it fair for everyone. First semester textbooks costed her around $600 (used); however, the cost may be different now. The Race Building, where the Nursing department and health sciences classes are located, is a newer building. So I assume they have nice and new equipment. Don't know much else about the program, other than it having a reputation around this area for graduating highly respected and well-prepared nurses. Oh. Also, their scrubs are all white. Hope that helps!

Congrats to everyone who got in! SRJC has a has a great and highly reputable nursing program. You are all very lucky for making the lottery:)

I'm glad that I can help! :) I picked those bridge students from COM's brains about the bridge program because my boyfriend wants to go that route. Basically, your first summer in between your first year and second year, you take an online class through SSU. Then after your second year + graduation you take another summer class, then you enroll in the bridge classes the following fall & spring semesters at SSU. All the classes are online, minus the clinicals which are only one day per week. Every single bridge student I spoke to said they were planning on working as an RN while doing their bridge coursework. One of the bridge students didn't get in to the bridge program the first time applying, but the nursing department saved her application and accepted her for the post-licensure program (which is the same exact thing as the bridge program, minus the one summer of classes in between your first and second year). The cost of the bridge program plus COM is significantly less than the two years at SSU, so that is a great option. Here is a link for the bridge program's academic plan: https://www.sonoma.edu/nursing/pdf/bsn/cpost__cnecm__full-time_academic_program_plan_2013-2014.pdf Interesting about the wages between BSN vs ADN. I checked on indeed.com for salary difference between ADN and BSN in San Francisco, CA, and it says on average ADNs make $90,000 and BSNs make $83,000. That's hard to believe, so I'm just going to go with what I've heard firsthand from nurses that BSNs and ADNs make the same wage starting out. However, there's more room for raises and upward mobility with a BSN. The reason I'm choosing SSU's nursing program over COM is because SSU is 10 minutes from my house (COM is 35 minutes away), it's a BSN in the same amount of time, plus my tuition, fees, and books are completely free for SSU between grants and scholarships. Had I not received all that financial help, SSU wouldn't be an option for me (non-working single parent) as I would never be able to cover all my living expenses with student loans after paying for tuition. Hope this helps some!

Thank goodness you got into your #1! I know two others who applied to SRJC and they both got the same exact e-mail I did, saying that they're "high up" on the alternate list. Which leads me to wonder if they've only notified the rejects/"alternate" list. We have yet to hear from anyone who got accepted, which is uncommon. Maybe they do this to get students to accept seats at other schools before sending out acceptances, so they end up with less students who accept at SRJC, less alternates, and in turn, less re-applicants for the subsequent years. Why else would they wait until June 30th to notify? I wish they would send out an alternate list, or give students an alternate number, so they at least have an idea of whether they should plan on attending SRJC or not. They sure like to string people on until the very end...

Did you check your spam folder? If you didn't hear anything, that must be good news

It was through my personal e-mail

I got an e-mail yesterday evening saying I got rejected/am an alternate. It makes me sad, because I did all my prereqs there and have grown attached to the school. It was my #2 choice nursing program. Thankfully I've already been accepted to SSU's nursing program! I applied to 4 programs, got accepted to 3. So I have no room to complain. Good luck to everyone else!

Obviously the main difference is that SSU is a CSU, offering a BSN, and COM is a community college, offering an ADN. College of Marin will cost significantly less, as SSU's tuition is roughly $7200/year. They're both two year programs - so it depends on where you want to go in your nursing career. Do you mind working as an ADN? Or do you want that more "prestigious" BSN? The pay is the same between ADNs and BSNs, new grad opportunities are about the same, there just might be more job possibilities/specialization with a BSN down the road. I don't know how SSU's nursing facility is, but I imagine it's nice because the entire campus is. As you probably know, College of Marin has their BRAND new nursing building, so I assume they have brand new and high tech skills equipment. College of Marin has more skills lab time, and SSU only gives their students one day for skills lab for each rotation. Aka two days a semester. College of Marin's program consists of 46 students, and SSU's program consists of 24 students. I'm not sure if cohort matters to you, but I do know that a lot of younger people/traditional college aged students (~twenties) are at CSU's, with only a few people from all other age groups. Whereas community college nursing programs are populated with a slightly older cohort, and again, with a few students from every age group. My friend goes to SRJC's nursing program and she says she's one of the only people in their twenties. Both nursing programs have preceptorships the last semester of the program. SSU's clinicals are two days a week, from what I understand, on Thursdays and Fridays for majority of the program. I was talking to a few bridge students from College of Marin at SSU's orientation, and they said some of their clinical rotations were 12 hour shifts, and they liked it because they would only have one clinical day per week and more free time (to study). Both schools are beautiful and both are great programs. One's way cheaper than the other, but the other has a higher degree in the same amount of time. I know that fear of the unknown though, you want to make the best possible decision, because this school will be your life for the next two years! I hope I weighed some pros and cons that help your decision out. And if you end up deciding on COM, and you still really want that BSN, SSU has their bridge program, which is mostly an online program, which allows ADN students to get their BSN. And once you get your RN at the two year mark, you can work full-time as a nurse while taking the mostly-online bridge program. Just an idea if cost is a factor for you. (Because student loans are hideous) I hope you decide soon. Some student on the alternate list is dying to get in! Good luck deciding!

Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!

Hi there! I got accepted to SSU's Nursing program for Fall 2014, and I don't have my CNA certification yet. The certification doesn't boost your application or give you any extra points (because ALL students have to have it done before starting). But, like RunBabyRun said, if you get actual CNA work experience, it will definitely make a good impression if you write about it in the required essay portion. However, you don't have to have any medical work experience to get accepted. I don't have any... but I did volunteer work at a hospital. It was only once a week, so I was able to fit it in with my busy schedule while taking prereqs. Maybe that's something you could look into? If taking the CNA class gets into the way of focusing on your classes/maintaining that high GPA that you need for SSU, then I would recommend holding off until you have all your hard classes out of the way. Focus on getting good grades, studying your butt off for the teas, and writing stellar essays. The essays don't have to be about medical experience. If you don't get your CNA before applying, shine some light on what a genuine/caring person you are in your essays. Hope that helps some!

That's very awesome! Well done. When are you planning on taking your NCLEX now that you've graduated?

I got accepted! I am already registered for classes for my first choice nursing program, but I'm glad to know that CSUEB would have been a backup had I not been accepted to the other school. So those of you on the wait list - my spot will be opening up!! I'm sorry for those of you who didn't get in, my heart goes out to you, and I cross my fingers that you get into another program. Good luck to everyone wait listed, and congratulations to everyone who got accepted!

Hey everyone! I was on this forum a while ago, and I just wanted to give you all an update. I got accepted to my #1 choice BSN program, which means I'll be declining my spot for CSUEB if I get accepted. So one more seat may possibly be open! I wish you all the best of luck and I look forward to seeing who gets accepted!! ?

RunBabyRun - do you know what will happen with clinicals at sutter when they switch buildings this year? I'm not sure how well I'd do with an intimidating instructor, but I do know I work 100x better under pressure so maybe I'll switch sections to be in --------------'s group. Also love the idea of being in Sutter because I already have a foot in there/connections from my volunteer work. So I think I'll switch to the second section. Thank you for your help!

By the way, RunBabyRun, I love your new avatar! That's one stunning graduation cap, and once again, congrats :)

Georgettes, that's interesting and I didn't notice that there's different instructors. I just signed up for the first section for both 301 and 303. I assume we get split into different groups for clinicals but I imagine we'll all be together for skills labs? I'm not planning on taking any upper division GE this first semester. I don't know how hard nursing school is, but I assume the first semester is absolutely chaotic adjusting to an entire new life as a nursing student, so that will be my focus. I put off poly sci so I'll be taking that online next summer through SRJC (way cheaper!) and then also doing a GE class in the summer at SSU. Then I think I'd do my last GE class my third semester, cause it's the only semester that's only 12 units as opposed to 15. RunBabyRun, do you get to go to all those hospitals for clinicals or are you stuck at one all semester?

Yes I did! Now I'm even more excited/nervous. How about you?