Kristinetx

I'm not even going to say if I think it's fair or not, because frankly, it doesn't matter. However, sabotage? No. It sucks to miss by such a small percentage, but one thing that I've learned in nursing school is that professors really do not want to fail any student. First and foremost is the safety of your future patients, though, and they also have to stick to grading rules set by the college/university. In my college, they've made it clear that if you are under the pass rate the cannot round like they would for a higher letter grade, no matter what. A 74.99% is failing, 75% is a pass. I think going to the dean over this will leave a bad impression by making it look like you can't take responsibility for your grades and your work as a whole, no matter how legitimate you feel your complaint is. Talk to the professor about any tips they have for next time, or to discuss where you seem to be weak on the material. I'm sure the prof wants you to succeed. They are not your enemy or your opponent; they're on your side- even if it doesn't always feel like it.

I'm planning on apply this upcoming cycle to the DNP programs. I highly recommend you talk to a grad advisor at the CON. I talked to Ruth V. and she was amazing, I received so much more info than I expected. I'm currently in the UCF BSN program, and the grad faculty came and talked to my class and said there is no reason to not apply straight out of nursing school, don't wait because you think they want clinical experience. Those people and the advisor I talked to said they don't care much about clinical because they have found similar pass rates between new grad nurses and those with 20 years. As far as scholarships specific to the CON grad program, there are fellowship and one other kind (sorry, can't remember the name!) that is only given to full time students and the way it was explained to me, you need to have a UCF CON faculty member essentially vouch for you and say you deserve the money.

Congrats! That's so exciting! Just 6 more weeks :)

I'm going to be 100% honest with you, it is near impossible to have a job and they recommend you don't for a reason. Obviously that isn't reasonable for a lot of students. I've had an event for my very first clinical on a Saturday with a one week warning- you technically didn't have to go but it was by far the easiest way to finish our hours and it was expected that you'd attend. For my second clinical, I arrived that morning without being sure if I was coming the next day or even how long I'd be there that day. All I got from the instructor I had never met was 'be at XXX at 6:15 am' the day before. And that wasn't a one off. My next clinical I didn't know if/when we were meeting the next day until 6 pm. UCF is a good nursing school, but you can't schedule anything in advance because you're never sure of your clinical schedule. If you can guarantee that you won't be required to work during the week- some weeks you will have time and others not so much- and can keep your days to Sunday and Saturday, then that'd probably work. Just know you will likely not have a day off from school or work for the entire semester. Even weeks on the schedule that show you don't have clinical are probably full because you have around a half dozen orientations (sadly I am not joking) in the first semester. The plus side is that you can work as a tech or nurse intern after the first semester, and most clinical instructors are willing to be your reference if you ask them before your clinical is over. I also highly recommend the VALOR program, though that does not start until summer, but you get $18 an hour if you get in (8 spots were offered for my class) and work at the VA. You will have less time commitment in the second semester, and you don't have the million small tasks you have to keep track of in the first. The first semester can be really rough, though, and if you have to work, if at all possible reduce your working hours to the bare minimum.

Congrats Fate108! If you have any questions/concerns, feel free to message me. I'm currently in UCF's basic BSN program, in the 3rd semester (just for another 5 days, then I'm free for a month!).

It's best to search the facebook pages for each of the classes, or I would wait until the Accelerated class finished their first semester a few weeks before fall, since you'll probably have quite a few people wanting to sell their textbooks then. I'll be selling my first semester textbooks then myself, since I'm loaning them out to a friend going into the accelerated program this summer. Whatever you do, don't buy that $900 package they push at meet and greets and orientation. I bought it, and it's a huge waste of money in my opinion. Rent or buy used, you only need one book's online access and two books that you'll need for multiple semesters.

ufshi17: you'll have to submit your order for a background check *there's a gray 'place order' button at the top right hand corner of the website* and you'll have to have the code ready that's specific for the UCF CON so you get the right background check. I believe it costs $80 or so. Get this done as soon as possible, because if I remember correctly it can take a few days.

I don't remember exactly since it's been a year and a half, but I think I studied lightly (

No problem! I had a 4.0 GPA and I think a 91 or 92 on the TEAS.

Yes, UCF allows one unfinished prereq, though you are apparently more competitive if you had all your prereqs done. I was doing microbio when I applied and it wasn't a problem. I think most people are still finishing up one last course. I do think it has to be in progress when you apply, but I'm not sure. Good luck on your TEAS!

I just wanted to say hi to everyone! I was in your exact shoes a year ago, so I know how it feels. The best advice I have for everyone right now is if you have questions or a hold up, go ahead and contact the admissions office. You want everything straightened out before application opens, since there is only a two week window to send them in.

Anyone know if we can have a short lab coat instead of a clinical jacket? I know a lot of people are buying the used uniforms and lab coats from graduating students on the facebook page, and I haven't noticed any mention of the clinical jackets.

Thanks!

I know there was one for SNA or one for our year, so something does or soon will exist. I didn't catch what it was called, though, since they didn't hand over the microphone to the SNA members when they spoke I have been trying to look it up but I haven't found it. Hopefully someone else was sitting closer than I was.

Actually, check you email if you haven't already. It looks like they already sent out the info and the invite for the online class.

Okay, this is all I can think of right now: I really think the most valuable thing for me was getting to try on the uniforms. I'm not sure if there is another time you can try them on. As far as info goes, you should be able to get the powerpoint on webcourses soon. Unfortunately I was sitting almost as far away as you could get from the speaker so I wasn't able to catch every detail. Something about being invited to join an online course and then you'd get to see the powerpoint from today. FIT test: don't worry about it. Flu vaccine on the physical: leave it blank. Clinical and lab schedules will not be out for a little while, so don't worry about them. There is a VA clinical that you can choose to do, but must decide well in advance because it is a lot more paperwork than the others. We'll all be getting an email (one that will probably have clearer info than I am providing here) and you need to respond with yes or no, and if not, then why. They have to fill 20 spots or something like that, so I think they want a reason like 'I need to be home to take care of my kids in the evening' (they run on th/fri evenings, potentially as late as 10 pm) and not 'I want to be able to go out with friends on Fridays'. I will say that even though I am a serious morning person (I wake up without alarms 4 or 5 am and generally go to bed when the sun goes down) I am considering doing the VA clinical. I've good things about it, and the talked it up a bit today as well. Also, the person leading my tour (a senior nursing student) said not to get the $900+ nursing textbook package from the bookstore. He either got one or two editions back of most of the textbooks or got them off graduating seniors for next to nothing. Also mentioned he never used some of the books that were required and in the package.

Does anyone have more info about the meet and greet? All I could find in my old emails was that it was on June 30th and more information was forthcoming, but that was a few months ago.

I see someone else got their MOA in quick ;-) I am a bit confused on one thing regarding the recent email. For the IMDT, what do we upload for all our vaccines? Do we need to upload records from the doctors for each one, and what is the Fit Test?

Whoops, the class schedule was for CPR, not our actual class schedule

I got the same email. Anyone know if we have to sign up for classes for the fall like we'd normally do, or will we be doing that later? There was a class schedule mentioned, so maybe we sign up after we get that.

The cost really depends on your exact situation. I am an out of state student, but I have a scholarship that reduces my tuition to the same as in state. If you qualify as an in-state student then there are a number of other scholarships you can apply for. I'm going to second etorr's suggestion of making an appointment with a nursing advisor, an advisor would be able to help you with all of your questions and will have better and more accurate answers than most of us on this thread can provide.

Hopefully you settle down soon, we've got around 5 months until we start I'm sure we'll figure out some way to find each other before orientation (and yep, Kristine). FYI I got an email this morning with a bit more info and confirming my RSVP to the program.

We'll probably be wearing name tags the first time we meet, so I chose a username with my actual name. I guess you could write 'etorr' below your actual name All nursing students do have their own orientation shortly before classes start, so I wouldn't be surprised if you can go to any old orientation session. You might want to send the College of Nursing or the admissions office a quick email, though.

Glad I wasn't the only one unsure what to put in the reply! Now it's back to waiting for another email with more information