kim00mik

hi russian girl, remember that the GPA in BA is calculated based on the last 60 sem/90 qtr units. also, since you have a very high GPA for pre-reqs, it shows that you have the potential and are committed to achieving academic excellence. i sincerely hope you do not let that 2.85 discourage you from trying! few things in life are for sure. if nursing is what you want to do, then, to me, the $60 appl fee and few days of your time to complete the application are reasonable risks to take for a chance at a new life, don't you think? good luck. i wish you the best! -kim

russiangirl, the application evaluation criteria given to us at an open house earlier this year include the following two related to grades: 1. minimum GPA of 3.0 or better in academic courses (last 60 sem/90 qtr units of BA/BS) 2. minumum grade of C (B preferred) for prerequisites other criteria are life/volunteer experience, statement of purpose (economical, educational, social disadvantage), letters of rec. (this doc was posted on the website before. for some reason, the application evaluation criteria link no longer works.) http://www.nursing.ucla.edu/admissions/MECN/MECN_requirements.html i am sure if you have exceptional experience in other areas, perhaps lower grades can be considered. but you should schedule an appt with the counselors or go to an open house. good luck!

i thought about taking it at long beach but decided the extra $100 would be worth it for a better prof (hopefully) and online option. it starts end of june. are you planning to take the nursing fund class in torrance too? good luck!

prior to receiving kathy's email, i was under the impression that a faculty member in the school of nursing will teach the class. but i guess not. i've been calling other facilities for the CNA cert class (torrance is a long commute for me) but they are either full or takes too long (16 wks). i called the SCROC to inquire about the format of the class but the registration person has no idea that they are having a class for UCLA students... hmm. i guess they need to work on interdepartmental communication. i suppose it'd be fun to meet fellow MECN students before school starts. i heard there are 50 admits to the MECN program...

i feel for you out of town ppl... maybe you can work out housing to start in aug -- since you'll be here for the epi final and nursing fundamental class... just curious, anyone know any stats about the 2006 starting class? e.g. how many ppl, etc? i talked a girl from Western U -- she was in their starting class for the master's entry program and she said they had to go through a lot of growing pain since it was the first yr for the program... they had to endure and screen a couple of bad instructors and stuff like that... i hope our experience will not be too bad -- but is that wishful thinking?

hi guys, i have some info on the epi class at UCLA... http://www.ph.ucla.edu/EPI/10006s/10006s.html the online option (2) requires only a 3hr in-class final (100% of grade) on aug 3rd. i think the easiest thing to do is email [email protected]. i got a response the next day telling me that i am enrolled and i'll be getting my ID with PIN within a few days. so this means only $41 for registration... plus regular graduate student course fee, of course, at $192 per unit. i still paid a $100 processing fee (but that was before i emailed the summer school ppl)... not sure if that is required or not... hope this helps! kim

i got a call as well. and i will be taking summer school. that online option for epidemiology is looking really good right now... esp since i don't wanna brave LA traffic 3 days a wk. UCLA students do not need to pay the $300 reg fee but we need to be accepted first before we can save that money. any one have any suggestions? i am looking into financial aid. but i doubt i will get any since i've been working my butt off and saving money. some times life is just not fair. :) did you guys fill out the needaccess.com form?

anyone else hear from UCLA MECN yet?

Yes. It's as weirdowack says -- it's just another MSN. The only difference from the existing MSNs is that this is NOT an advance degree, whereas the traditional MSN degrees have specialties of CNS or NP. Supposedly, this type of program is great for people who are doing a career change into nursing and already have BA/BS in something else. A word of caution though -- I believe that you cannot have two MSN degrees. So, if you complete one for generalist, you will have to find a certificate program for NP or CNS, if that's your ultimate goal. I believe calstate fullerton and uc irvine are all joining the trend to produce master's prepared entry-level nurses.

pattchez, thx for your reply. you make a lot of sense! i agree that CNS or NP programs is probably the best return on investment, but for someone who is doing a career change, it seems that CNL track can help that transition. I already have a BA and want to do nursing now -- in my research, it turns out i can get a MSN after than an AA due to the long wait lists. I've considered a BSN but then figured if i can get a MSN in the same time, why not? I hope that decision will not work against me later on. (I know you cannot get 2 MSN's so if i want to specialize or do NP, i'll have to do post-master's certificates options.) Also, there are two other reasons why I think CNL might be better -- 2. since I am new to the field, I don't know what specialization I want to do. 3. even if I go the NP track, I'll have to compete with other new NPs who have been nurses for 10-20 yrs. They are way more qualified to be a NP than I am, hands down. The only thing I am afraid of is that if and when I want to become a NP, the requirement will be a doctorate degree! (that'll confuse the patients even more -- dr.nurse. hehe.) Since my last post, I've gathered that the CNL will practice as a staff nurse while CNS is a consultant to the staff nurse. Is this correct? I sense that there is animosity toward the CNL title, since it's new and have "title-conflict" with the established CNS credential. I really hope this works out. kim

well, i've put down my deposit since this is the only school i applied, even though i am still deciding. i wonder how many ppl just do their 1st year pre-licensure and get their RN but do not continue w/ their master's portion. I am a little worried about Western's CNL program -- it's so new that there isn't a certification process in place yet... what if CNL initiative fails? i wonder what would happen to the students in these pilot programs...

pattchez or anyone one else, i've been looking a lot into the CNS vs NP issue. but also came across a more recent CNS vs CNL (clinical nurse leader) issue. seems like CNL is so new that there is no certification for it yet. does anyone have any insights on what really is the difference between CNS vs CNL? from my research, i read that the main difference is that the CNS (specialist) practice on a system wide leve and CNL (generalist) practice at a cohort situation. for a pre-nurse, i don't know what that really means. can someone explain this in layman terms for me please? also, what if i go to a graduate program in CNL and later they decide CNL does not really work (since it's still in the evaluation period), then what will i do? spend two more yrs in CNS program??

Thanks, Louise... I am leaning toward going there but then again I am going back and forth a lot lately. Plus I am not sure what my chances are for UCSF so waiting another year just to be rejected in order to say that I tried does not sound appealing to me. Western U does have its own "secluded" campus in Pomona. I think it's actually a minor con for me -- the campus is kinda ugly -- it is a converted shopping mall/department store... so they are all 2 story square building. But I did get a good feel from the students there. My bro goes there for PharmD and he likes it enough. I didn't apply anywhere else. I just decided to switch career last aug and didn't have time to prepare for other applications. Did you talk to Western about your one unit discrepancy? It would seem to me if you have a solid application then they'd over look the one unit. I talked to one of the admin and she said they are trying really hard to recruit good applications (hence the start of the "direct admin" process this year.) Is it possible to submit an application late? I know they are just going through interviews right now.

jeepgirl, my heart goes out to you when i read your post. please take care of yourself... you're busy taking care of other people but YOU deserve to be happy too. i hope everything works out! kim

CONGRATULATIONS, janony! I am sure it will all work out now. It's exciting to see that you have arrived (even if it's just getting started...) esp when I started following your posts going through some of the same emotions you were. I have a question for you all -- does it matter what school you receive your MSN, as long as they are accredited? I also may start a MSN-Entry program in Fall 2006. This is no JH but I got an acceptance letter last week from Western U as one of the direct-admits (bypassing interview.) I wonder if I should defer (lay down $500 deposit of course) and apply to other schools for Fall 2007? Last year, I was not ready to apply to UCSF, U of SF, U of SD. Some eval pts I went through: * the prestige and the establishment of the program. Western U's MSN program is only two yrs old, without a graduated class, though their FNP program that's been around for 10 yrs, I think. * environment and feel of the school. I just attended the student acceptance day and got a very good feel from the current students. Everyone had great things to say about the program, even through its growing pains. * my specialty. hmm, I feel terrible because I really don't know. *sigh* I thought I could decide along the way but it seems like every decision I make requires some foresight on what specialty I will work in later. Anyway, I am tending toward a specialization in critical care/trauma. But that's just based on my personality, talking to some RNs and what I've observed volunteering at the ICU at the local hospital. I'd like to get involved in informatics later (might as well make use of my comp sci BA degree somehow). I think I will go into leadership positions; I can work the politics but I do not like to and want to avoid it. All the RNs I've talked to, including one director of Critical Care, said that it does not matter where you receive your degree (accredited school, of course) since there is such a shortage for MSN prepared nurses. What do you guys think? I had my heart set on UCSF (even though I am not sure if I can get in, I'd like to try.) Even if not UCSF, I woud like to have at least one of the ranked school. It's not so much the ego thing but I am more concerned about my experience at the school, the repect I may receive from a reputable school. Let's face it, I am certain that I got bonus pt though out my career as a software consultant just for the fact that I graduated from Berkeley. I wonder if the nursing world is the same way? Anyway, but I wonder if all that is worth one more year of waiting? Last month, I used to think what's one more year in the grand scheme of things... I want to have a good experience going through nursing program. But since I am being told that school does not matter, now I am leaning toward "getting my hands dirty as soon as possible"... What do you all think?