TashaLPN2006RN2012 ASN, RN

My friend had to take it as she was in the same predicament as you. She really enjoyed the class and said it helped her tremendously with advanced patho during term one. I wish I would have had to take it as I struggled in patho event though I had taken bio 2.5yrs prior. She is now in pharm 1 and understanding the application of medication in ways I struggled with was well. (I'm one term ahead of her). She pulled A's in those classes while I pulled B's. And she would tell you it was because of that bio bridge class.

I'm finishing my third term at Simmons this week! Incredible program! I originally applied to GU but the applicant pool had such high GPA;s that My 3.8 wasn't high enough, they referred me to Simmons. I called Simmons, they pulled my app & references, I had to email unofficial transcripts so they could make a determination while waiting on my certified transcripts to arrive...I am in the 3rd cohort and attending part-time. It took less than 30 days from applying to get an acceptance letter. =) Good luck to you all! =)

No this program will NOT work for you if you can not either have specific days of work assigned or a flexible schedule. It just is not possible. There are MANY other NP programs around. Do some research and see what they offer, board pass rates, tuition costs, preceptor placements etc. Make a list of your requirements and how you can fit school into your life. Right now I work M-F 830am-5pm from home as a Nurse Case Manager...I can use my 1hr lunch break to watch the pre-recorded videos and/or write papers/do assignments etc. I take my live classes in the evenings...I'm in term 3 and so far have been able to keep my classes on M, Tue and Thurs late evenings 9pm-11pm or 8p-10p and one I had to take 630p-830p because it wasn't offered any later. There are some Sat/Sun classes but those dont work for me because of my 3 kids and husband and work schedule. Once I start clinicals this summer I will no longer be able to work M-F and will need a set schedule of 3 12's per week. I am already talking to the local hospice about a PRN or FT position where I can work those types of hours. For me these sacrifices are worth it due to my pay increasing significantly after graduation. Each person must decide on their own what will or will not work for them. Good luck! Tasha

The statement is a reflection of your nursing career, why you would be a good canidate for Simmons FNP, and how you will make a good FNP...there are specific areas to cover in the personal statement (I think it's listed with the application what you are supposed to write about)...personally i do not think having insurance/cpt codes is what is going to make you a great FNP! You should focus on your accomplishments in nursing, skills, and why you desire to become an FNP. Also talk with the admission rep if you are having difficulty they are there to help you. I think you will do fine and all will be well. Just take the time to contemplate why this degree and career change is so important to you, your family and your future patients.... Example: Mine focused on my 8 yrs of nursing experience moving from state to state with my husband when he was in the Army...after he was injured during a deployment it was an NP that finally diagnosed him with PTSD/TBI after physicians brushed off his symptoms/complaints. This gave me a deep desire to work with wounded vets and/or their families upon graduation due to the severe lack of continuity of care in that patient population. I commented on the different settings throughout the years as an LPN, then RN, then BSN RN and how my desire for more knowledge has been evident over the past 8 yrs. I chose simmons because I wanted to be a proud graduate knowing i obtained a degree and skill set taught by such a prestigious college. My paper was a little over 3 pages, but they accepted it. I found out I was accepted within 30 days of applying. Good luck!

PS..not saying I don't write papers for Simmons ( I DO ) but my knowledge of the material is not just based off of paper writing, instead Simmons uses paper writing (typically short essays in APA for assignments, and large APA for "final" papers) but what is nice is that I got the live class time with an instructor to clarify the material instead of just getting an email or discussion board post response to my questions. I can also CALL my instructors on the phone, student support and/or other classmates as we all have formed a bond due to the live session each week. =) One girl is now a really close friend and we do live study sessions online using our school platform video/phone conferencing line, take all of our classes each term together now, and are planning to share a room in boston for our immersion clinical weekend next year! =) That's def. not something I had in a traditional discussion board/online classes!

ACOPE- Simmons is a Brick and Mortor School in Boston, most of my friends had not heard of it either as they did not offer an online FNP until Oct 2013 (1st cohort started), I was referred to Simmons by Georgetown (in my opinion if GU is referring students there I'd say that's pretty good sign of their reputation!)...anyway, people choose their schools based on personal reasons. I applied to several, I chose Simmons....my reasoning was I didn't want an online school that was only assignment/paper writing/discussion board type setting. I did it for my BSN, and I did great, learned alot but I wanted some audio/visual and face to face time with instructors for my MSN. I also did not want to have to search for preceptors myself as I've seen on Allnurses the sheer panic of people looking for preceptors and Simmons places you, but I also wanted the flexibility that if some place came up (Which for me the Veterans Affairs down here did) that I could find my own preceptor....Now the North FL/S. GA VA is working together to sign an affiliation agreement for the school and vA to work together down here to place students (I wanted to do clinicals there, i called around found the person in charge and put them in touch with my clinical placement specialist, they are doing all the work now)....Money is a big issue for people as well. Simmons is a Private school like Georgetown and has a price tag to reflect. For me the benefits of what I wanted outweighed the cost of the school. I made a list of pros' and cons for me that helped me make a decision. PROS 1. 100% board pass rate on-campus program 2. same material/instruction as on-campus program 3. pre-recorded lectures to watch each week 4. live weekly classes w/instructor & classmates 5. Reputable school/name 6. Preceptor placement 7. Admission and Student support was always quick to respond to questions Cons 1. Price tag 2. making sure I could schedule live classes around my life/work Everyone's Pro/Con list will be different, these were important to me personally. I then took the Simmons list and placed it against the other schools...many of my cons for other schools were lengthier (would not release a pass rate (BIG red flag to me!), discussion board/paper writing to "learn the material", no clinical placement help, varying reputation comments/reviews online, and the kicker was most of the schools I talked to the admission reps were either "pushy" like sales people or very closed mouth when asking questions or would not return calls/emails promptly.

yes the bridge class is out of pocket but I believe they have a payment plan for it

You can Google "nursing@simmons academic calendar" and it should pull up the link of class sequence. Click March 2014 part time (That's my cohort) but you should follow roughly the same plan of classes. :) congrats on your acceptance! Any specific questions on term 1 or 2 I can answer as that's all I've taken so far.

Tammie, what would you like to know? I started full time for the first term, but due to finances with my family and my family situation i had to drop down to part time (honestly glad i did, FT course work took up soooooo much time and energy for me I don't think I could have continued at that pace with 3 kids and a disabled hubby)...I'm almost finished with term 2 (4 more weeks..yeah!) and still doing well. It's quite a bit of work, but I have enjoyed the program thus far. Let me know if you have any specific questions. Tasha

I just finished my first term as a full time student (2 A's and 1 B+), however, I will say that I had NO free time whatsoever working full time and going to school full time and I cried SEVERAL times throughout the term because of the stress. It is an intense program but I really feel like I learned A LOT! I would have stayed full time but for personal and family reasons I had to drop to part time for term two (which starts next week YEAH!) I was working 3 twelves one week and 4 twelves the next, but recently took a full time case management job working from home so I'll be working M-F until next summer when clinicals start, at which point I'll decide if i need to work part time to do clinicals or if the clinical placement team can find me weekend placement (which i'm hoping they can!). I also have three kids at home and a disabled hubby so if you can get a set schedule at work and are highly organized you will be fine with full time. On another note, when clinical start it's 16hrs a week (2- 8hr days per week)so you will need to factor that time in as well to you schedule. I do have a friend who started in the full time cohort 1 and she has been able to manage being a single mom and going full time. she just started clinicals this month as well and has no days off between work and school. You will still have classes to take while doing clinical hours as well. So far there have been plenty of class times to choose from...term one i took classes on wed evening from 5p-7p and thurs 9a-11a and the third class from 1p-3p, term two I will be taking classes on tues 630pm-830pm and thur 9pm-11pm. hope that helps

Call the financial aid department or the registrars office and see when the due date it. I know they hired quite a few new enrollment advisors so perhaps they were misinformed?

I know the $650 enrollment fee is applied to your first term, so that should apply to the bio course balance and i believe they have a payment program. Is there anyone who could help you pay the enrollment fee? =( I know you were looking forward to attending. I sold some jewelry and purses on ebay to come up with my cash and called and made payment arrangements on my car and used my car payment money that month to make it.

Unfortunately you can't bump up to full time due to how the classes are given and cohorts are 8 was apart. You can fall back to part time though. I decided I just wanted to get it over with so I am full time lol

UPDATE: Well classes are winding down to these last 5 weeks...wow has it been busy, tough at times and yes a few tears shed LOL. I really feel like I've not only learned alot but am retaining the info as well! I love my Health Promotion class, it's the most fun for me! Patho is REALLY intense and the renal and respiratory weeks really kicked my butt! I'll be starting to register for term 2 classes the beginning of June, and I recently applied to a home based case management job that's done mostly telephonically. It is full time but at least a bit more flexible with school. Still not sure how to work it around clinicals but im not going to stress myself out over it until term 3 when clinicals actually start. I have been working 3 days on, 3 days off, 4 days on, 4 days off and it is just a bit much for me with 3 little kids and hubby to take care of. I will say my house looks like a tornado runs through it every week when I work, and one of my off days is spent toting my Ipad around with me to listen to videos while I'm scrubbing toilets, doing laundry, and loading the dishwasher LOL...hey I get in study time as often and as much as I can! =) My grades are Patho 85=B, Research 93= A, and Health Promotion 100=A+ thus far so I must be doing something right! 83 = passing and so my patho I've really had to spend some extra time on to be sure I don't fall any lower. I'm a little disappointed with myself for not pulling all A's but with my work/family/school schedule I think I'm doing pretty good. the last two weeks of patho really hurt me as I had been sitting at a 90 but I still have time to pull the grade up so we will see! Wishing all you new applicants lots of luck. I do not regret my decision one bit!

Kolby, You are welcome. When I was referred to Simmons by Georgetown University, there was NO info on Allnurses. I just wanted to share my experiences to help others as I always hit this board up for info when searching out nursing school information! =)