lte16

Hey annondara! I haven't moved yet, but I have accepted an offer at St. Peter's contingent on my passing the NCLEX next month. Have you started yet? Would love to hear more about your experience !

You're exactly right! I know several students in the program that were below the GPA reccommendation, and to be honest, some of them currently are at the top of our class.

1. Good mix of both!! People are definitely interested in getting together to study, you just have to find your people. 2. Last fall cohort is my cohort, so yeah, Mid July we found out. Like right after the holidays I think 3. Difficult things: dealing with the university and its disorganization. Really hoping its better for you, but they have been using "the merger" as an excuse for everything (it happened YEARS ago now) and its not cool at all. We are the last ones to hear any news pertaining to us, and SAVE ALL of your records (immunizations, passwords etc) because it can and will be lost by the university. Difficult classes: Patho for sure will knock you on your ass at first, but if you really work hard in that class it is truly the foundation for all the others. Other than that, I would say all of the other classes are equally challenging but managable, more than anything they are just annoying. Some classes require a lot more time than they are worth, some classes the tests are kind of a pain, but you will definitely be hitting the books for every class. Last diffcult thing is keeping that gas tank full. I'm from northern NJ and many of our clincal sites so far have been much closer to the NB campus, you spend alot of time in the car.

Hi! Good questions. For Kellymartin8, so it is definitely a balancing act and it definitely takes time to find your balance. It's not easy. I don't know anyone really in Level 1 that would say they had a good balance that first semester. But, as time goes on you figure out how to handle it all. And you become okay with not getting straight As if it means you get to have a life as well. The pressure is definitely on to do well, but there is plenty of help for you at the school and all of you classmates are there to support you! Basically, don't panic because it gets better. For klouis001, they tell us that it is unadvisable to work during this program, and its certainly for good reason. You will learn (if you haven't already) that Rutgers is very last minute and the students are often the last ones to get word about anything. This can make it difficult to have a job that requires a lot of you (definitely no room for a full time job) as your schedule is often in flux. That being said, I know plenty of people who work part time during the program, myself included!! I work as a substitute teacher so my hours are extremely flexible, and its worked out great for me. Many of my classmates have jobs as nursing assistants or PCTs or whatever you want to call them, which is awesome. And again, it's a balancing act. You may not figure it out as a Level 1, but you will! There is plenty of time to have friends and play with your kids (if you are a parent-- I am not, and I can't imagine being a parent through this, but many of my classmates are mommies and daddies) and go to work and go to the gym and do whatever it is you love. In fact, I URGE you to continue doing those things. This program has a way of taking a toll on you. I've done my best when I've allowed myself that time to myself. It's so important.

Hey all! Congrats on getting those applications in, you're on your way :) I am currently a Level 3 ABSN student on the Newark campus. If you have any questions I would love to help clear the air.

Does anyone happen to know the starting salary for an RN in Saratoga? Thanks!

Destin293, I also would like to know about opportunities for overtime at Bassett.

Thank you so much!! This is so helpful. I would love to work for ORMC if I could. I live close enough to the NY border that I could live at home for a few months until I was settled. Do you know anything about overtime at the hospital?

Dobieb2009 I would love to learn more about your experience at ORMC! And Destin293, thank you so much for all of this information! Bassett seems to be a great place for a nurse to get her start. I would have to weigh the logisitics, because it is a little bit further west than I had in mind, but it sounds like it would be worth it!

lnori, Is that base salary or with differential? Do you know about any specific hospitals and what kinds of benefits they may offer? Thanks so much!!

Hi! I'm looking to relocate to Albany area of NY within the next year or so, and I'm wondering what the starting salaries of hospitals in upstate NY are like. I am a BSN new grad. I know the cost of living is significantly lower than where I'm from (Northern NJ) but I have some student loans that I'm trying to nip in the butt, and I'm hoping I can find a hospital that's salary and benefits meet my needs :) I'm also willing to consider Hudson Valley/Poughkeepsie area as well. Thanks!

Hi all! I'm a BSN nursing student expecting to graduate within this year! I'm from NJ originally and going to school here, but I am thinking about relocating to NY after graduation/boards etc. I'm trying to learn a little bit more about job prospects in the area. I'm thinking more Eastern NY, this is considering NYC, but I am more than willing to explore anywhere from Southeastern NY through Albany and even up to Plattsburgh if thats where the best opportunities are. I'm willing to venture out towards Oneonta and Cooperstown, but not much further West than that. For those of you working in that area, did you get your job right out of nursing school? What was your starting salary? How long did it take you after passing your boards to find the position? Which hospital are/were you at? What do you like/dislike about that hospital? Anything helps! :)

Hi TimeForFun! Long post here but I hope it helps!! I'm in the Fall 2015 cohort and we recently finished our level 1. Though I'm not a parent, I hope I can give you some insight into the general layout of the 4 levels! However this comes with a warning: things change fast in this program, you have to plan to be very flexible, and understand that how it was for us may not necessarily be how it is for you. So level 1 you can anticipate to be in lecture for one and a half days. Each class is 2-3 hours long, and we typically are slotted for an hour lunch break somewhere in there, though sometimes classes may run over into lunch break or we may have a meeting or presentation during lunch (in this case in the past, they've fed us :) ). For our level, we were scheduled Tuesdays from 8-5, but our last class of the day was frequently online. Then Wednesday's we had class from 8-1. About half the class then had a lab shortly after for 2 hours. The rest of the class had the 2 hour lab on Thursdays. Then you can expect to dedicate one full day to clinical: Thursday, Friday, or maybe Saturday from about 8-2, though my group actually began clinicals at 6:30am. I would then say that I spent at least 20 hours a week studying and completing other assignments, though some weeks it may have been over 30. We had an exam almost every week in this level. For level two, which we are starting soon, we are scheduled for class on Thursdays from 9-8 (ouch) and Friday's from 9-12. Then we have two days dedicated to clinical. For this level, we actually have some of our clinicals in the evening (actual time for "evening" hasn't exactly been clarified for us yet, but I think it's either 3-9:30 or 1:30-7 or 2-8:30. Something like that) and some have it during the day again in that 8ish to 2ish time frame. You can have clinicals on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday at any time of day, but you are blocked for about 6-7 hours. I don't know how much time I will spend on work this semester, but I would estimate it to be another 20ish hours a week since we have 4 classes in level 2 instead of the 5 we had in level 1. From what we hear, level 3 is supposed to be the most time consuming. It's a shorter semester (12 weeks instead of 15 weeks) and you have 4 classes and three clinicals. The cohorts before us reported having clinicals 3 days a week for about 10 hours each, in the past, these were any three days from Wednesday through Saturday. Then, your four classes are jammed into 1 day, Tuesday in the past, which considering each class can be 2-3 hours long, makes for a pretty long day. Then Monday's are "off", however, some professors may opt to have their exams on Mondays to optimize the amount of time spent in lecture, so you aren't always free. From what I hear, the material in level 3 is manageably difficult, but the amount of time spent in class and clinical takes away from a lot of study time, which makes it the most difficult according to prior students. Then level 4 is smooth sailing. I don't know much about the schedule but it's only 3 classes and 2 clinicals and I hear it's not so bad. Keep in mind that you WILL be driving to and from Newark often in rush hour traffic, and depending on where you live, you may be driving an hour or more to some of your clinical sites (for me, hospitals like St. Peter's and Raritan Bay can be a good hike). They may consider where you live when they place you, but they can only accommodate so many students, and many of us live in the northern parts of NJ. So I have just gone on a lot about the amount of time you will be dedicating to this program, and though it is certainly a huge commitment, I assure you that we have several mommies and daddies in our cohort with children of all ages. It's important that you discuss with your partner or your loved ones/caregivers about absorbing some of your responsibilities as a parent. You'll hear this a lot throughout your time here: it's all about the balance. Being a student and a parent is no easy feat, but with good time management and a strong support system, you will survive and thrive :)

I think we were there from 8 until 3 or 4 I don't remember

I am not a parent myself so I can't speak to how particularly challenging it is to be a parent and a nursing student, I'm only going off what I have observed. Don't get me wrong, the moms and dads in our program definitely have extra challenges and it will call for compromises and sacrifices. But as of now, they're all pressing on! Things come up and you will face obsticles, but like you said, if you want it bad enough it will happen. Fourteen months of struggle for a lifetime of fulfillment. Keep your dreams in sight! For this level it varies according to when you are assigned clinical. Level ones have class one full day, one half day. Then you have lab and clinical. You can have your lab scheduled during your half day which means you have 3 days dedicated to school in person. Others have their lab scheduled on a different day and are technically at the school or at the hospital 4 days a week. Everyone in my level for this semester has Monday off. I would plan to dedicate 4 days a week to being physically in class or at clinical. The amount of time you spend at each or the days of the week you spend at each varies between semester (sometimes Saturday's too, but for this level we have Saturday-Monday off).