aftonheistand

Good luck everyone! All I have to say is enjoy this time right now to relax before you start! I am in week 3 of my MSN program and its crazy! I wish you all the best! Try not to stress too much about the application process (easier said than done I know!)

The interview is one on one and you'll want to focus on 3 things and practicing how you can articulate them into an answer when they ask you. 1- why nursing? 2- why samuel merritt? 3- why case management? This did not happen to me, but others told me they drilled them pretty hard on past grades and questions about what happened. These people still got accepted, so it's nothing to worry about. Just go in there with passion, be yourself, show them you did your research and cannot imagine going to school anywhere else! Also dress very professional. I wore a black pant suit and my hair in a classy updo type bun. You got this!

No problem! Give me a day or two and I'll email it back with comments! :)

You can email me your personal statement at [email protected] and I will revise it for you :)

@macyymac being that I got accepted and I can tell you what I focused on for my personal statement. I made sure to answer those questions to the best of my ability, while giving them a very good idea of my past experiences and future goals and how those align perfectly with this program and the role of a CNL. Highlight your unique qualities. What will YOU bring to their program? How will YOU effectively impact the community around you upon graduation and entering the nursing field? Tell them what an honor it would be to attend their program. You have to stand out in order to get in because they will be reading hundreds of personal statements. I would be happy to help you revise your statement if you would like to email it to me. I have a week and a half before I start my program. Good luck!

Hi everyone! I am starting my ELMSN program at Samuel Merritt in 2 weeks but I wanted to help answer some questions since I did go through this process twice (once waitlisted and once accepted.) @helloimkate no you can only apply to one campus at a time. OC campus is a lot less competitve right now because it's newer. I can tell you now that this school is hard (especially in SF) to get into. I had straight A's in my pre reques and a good overall GPA along with 7 years of various healthcare experience and waitlisted the first time. When I reapplied for the next semester, I got new letters of rec and completely redid my personal statement (and got accepted). @mango I highly recommend staying within the 2 page limit. My first one was well over 2 pages because Ingrid from admissions said it could be, and I got waitlisted. Then when I redid it I stayed within 2 pages and got in. Not saying that was the deciding factor but it could have helped. Ultimately I decided on SMU because it's closer to me and fits my goals better (has clinicals in my area at hospitals I want to work at, new experience cause I went to USF for undergrad, etc). I wish you all good luck! Try to stay calm and busy during the waiting period!

There are 24 spots in the program and I heard that over 100 students applied (possibly more because they extended our deadline months after the initial one). I hope that helps! Good luck!

No problem! I think for any program health care volunteer work is highly recommended. With that being said, there are some circumstances where people get in without it. For SMU, I believe they are taking about health care volunteer experience, and for most programs that holds true. They want to make sure you know exactly what you're getting yourself into, and that you've explored health care and experienced it and know it is for you. Nursing school is crazy hard so if the true passion isn't there, its hard to get through. Thats why they want you to get that experience first and then you'll be more comfortable interacting with patients. For tuition, I applied for FASFA and I am just waiting to hear back from SMU on my award letter. From talking with other students, pretty much the way students afford school is they get the GRAD PLUS loans through the government and the unsubsidized loan. Thats pretty much the only way to do it. I have been told too that once you're in school and making good grades, there are scholarships you can apply for, but those are towards the end of the schooling.

I was waitlisted for spring 2017 and then reapplied and was accepted to the program at USF for summer 2017, but I had already been accepted to Samuel Merritt's ELMSN and had committed there, so I will be starting there in Fall. I went to USF for undergrad so if you have any questions about the school OR their application process, I am happy to help. Good luck everyone!

@5AAB There is truly no one way they look at volunteer experience. They take a holistic approach and look at each applicant as a whole. There isn't one determining factor, but rather each part of the individuals application is reviewed. It's a very subjective process, but they have a certain way they like to put cohorts together based on past experiences and academic success. It is so hard to figure out even why or how they pick people, but internally I am sure they have a system for it. The personal statement is very important as well as the LOR's because these serve in place as your "interview". Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions!

CONGRATS! To all you who got into the program this week! So glad that my spot went to one of you. I wish you all nothing but the best! @aposs yay!! Now you don't have to move out of state if you don't want! Did you ever hear from SMU ABSN?

That's a great program! Makes total sense why you chose that one! I almost applied there for the Women's Health CNS specialty but changed my mind last minute because I hadn't taken the GRE. Best of luck to you!

Thanks so much @gabe! Glad to be of help. Best of luck to you in this program at USF! I'm sure you're going to do great/love it! The campus is beautiful, the classrooms are small, professors are great, etc!

@ahhshha which program are you going to if you don't mind sharing? Congrats!

Congrats! I guess this is a good time to say that I also have decided to attend Samuel Merritt's MSN program. I hope my spot goes to one of you lovely future nurses who wants this as bad as I do! Best of luck to all of you and I'm still here for anything you guys need!