MursePanda

Hi @afton! Sorry for such a late reply, but I have been swamped! Yes I ended up actually getting into both SMU Sac ELMSN And the USF ELMSN but they start a month later and I already just went through the entire process @ USF. Things have worked out well for me so far because I ended up know some people at my campus/program and got loads of special help that isn't available to others. So far the program is LOTS of work, i wouldn't say that it is extremely hard per se as in mentally hard, but just a ton of work and takes up all your time. With that being said I can tell you that OAKLAND is the main campus and gets EVERYTHING over the other 2 satellite campuses. The sim lab, school amenities/equipment/resources are by far the best (makes sense since its the main campus w/ all the schools there). The program is a bit disorganized in SAC however, there were lots of faculty changes and made it difficult. There lots of just self teaching there...be prepared to take things into your own hands! However I can't speak for the level of education @ Oakland. I can tell you that other people i know who have done nursing programs will says its kind of like that everywhere. The professor's make all the difference. Be sure to get help early if you need it. PATHOPHYS is 5 units and will set the precedent for your GPA. Clinical is good so far, Mental health is 1st, them MEdsurg, Medsurg 2, Peds, and so on. Then licensure after 1 full year. I ended up doing well up at my campus in regards to getting some work and getting on student body board. Its ALWAYS a good idea to network! We have a mentorship program @ SAC, i would think perhaps they have it at OAK. BE SURE TO USE THIS AND GET ALL THE RESOURCES YOU CAN! Books, equipment, advice, study guides, etc. AMAZON is your FRIEND! Be sure to USE THE EVOLVE WEBSITE AND ALL THOSE RESOURCES! THEY ARE GREAT! Anyhow, DM me if you have other questions! Good luck, I'm sure you'll do great!

Spoke with them I believe last wednesday? or thursday, it was basically after i got my acceptance from SMU. I wanted to know because of the deadline I have for SMU. Sept 1 was the deadline, so 10 weeks is mid november unfortunately. I guess not getting a denial is good as well, but man not having any info is pretty bad too! lol

@aftonheistand thanks!! They sent me an acceptance letter the day after the interview so it was nice to not be in the dark. I have already accepted SMU and made my deposit on tuition, but am waiting to hear back from USF still. Didn't want to lose my spot and hold out for a program I may not get into. (USF) Figure in the long run that deposit is minute in comparison to the total tuition for the programs. If i could I think i would take USF but not going to complain cause i am just super happy i made it into a program. This whole waiting thing is nerve racking for sure, the admission office said most decision won't be until mid/end of november and really couldn't say anything else. Cutting it pretty close if you ask me since Jan is right around the corner.

So anyone have any updates from USF? This is getting to be quite a drawn out cycle lol. In other news I was accepted into SMU! They only gave 10 days to accept or deny entry and make a deposit, but Im still waiting to hear from USF. Hope we find out soon!

Sorry for the late reply but i've been really caught up with other things. Also looks like the system hasn't been sending me emails :/ . I was referring to the USF ELMSN CNL program that doesn't do a preceptorship any longer. I was got my acceptance letter yesterday, official stuff coming in the mail. I am quite interested in all available resources, especially the mentorship program you mentioned. Still waiting to hear back from USF before I make my final decision, but i've been in the process of making plans for my move to Sac. Looks like from the most recent posts, some other have been accepted. Hope to get to meet you all!

I just checked my email/junk but nothing, went to the USF website to check application. Mine is saying to be reviewed still after deadline....nerve racking....so the wait continues! Hope everyone gets in somewhere no matter what! I've got my Sam Merritt interview tomorrow so I am going to just focus only on that in the meantime and block out everything else in life. LOL Best of lucky on everyone again!

Same here! Don't want to get my hopes up too soon though, but hoping this is a good sign! Looks like the interviews are all day, in person meeting then a written portion. Hope everyone else on here got the emails!

hmmm... What happened to that post from a current student warning of issues with the USF program? wonder why it got deleted... Although it seemed very similar to what another person I spoke in great depth with about the program as well. (when they completed it back in 2008) The CNL program doesn't focus as hard on the core BSN knowledge which is vital to pass NCLEX, the CNL masters theory info has no play in the licensure portion and apparently detracts from the fundamentals of nursing. The other thing that was quite alarming actually from the info session that matched that "missing" post was that USF no longer does preceptorship; something that almost all programs usually have and make a big difference in working live/networking for jobs once we approach the end of the program. I don't know if anyone else attended the info session recently in person, but it was quite alarming for me to hear that and they didn't have a clear answer to why other than "our partners have scheduling issues". This seemed a bit odd considering their partners also partner with other majors schools like SMU and that program still does preceptorships.. They did mention they were in talks again to restart, but it would not be for this upcoming term but perhaps a few cycles later from now. Anyone else hear otherwise?

@aftonheistand Hats off to you for the hard work being a mother, student, employee, and volunteer! I have got to say you have a great list of things that would definitely make you stand out of the crowd! I wished that I could have done an overseas trip to help others; sounds like a really awesome and eye opening experience. I had a good friend who was a nurse @ Good Sam who did her trip to Peru, unfortunately the scheduling and timing didn't work out so well on my end. Best of luck!

Yea I was concerned they would think... "man this guy can't even fill out an online form properly" lol Hopefully I make it in, but who knows...there are some really talented people out there! My Stats: Hometown: San Jose, CA Undegrad: SJSU - Business Administration - Focus in Finance GPA 3.297 Prerequisites: Foothill College - GPA 4.0 (for the last 60 units which were all the sciences since I was a business major in undergrad) TEAS: Adjusted Individual Score 88.7% Previous Immediate Work: Insurance Adjuster Volunteer: 1 year @ Good Sam (126+ hours) in ER/Patient Services/3CV Cardio I left my job to change careers and also to care for my grandmother who is 93 with progressive dementia so it became a full time job. I know from speaking with a few others who have been accepted to the BSN and CNL that GPA IS NOT the only deciding factor for sure. They have less than stellar GPA's but either wrote a great statement or clearly displayed the university's jesuit spirit (one was active in Christian Young Life and has traveled overseas to build homes/help those in need, the other came from a family of nurses and had lower GPA because of unfortunate life circumstances) Hope I stand up well to the competition! Good luck to anyone who applies!

I just submitted mine as well after talking with Ingrid from admissions about the final application review in pdf form. She was telling me that just fill out the application and they can see all the info properly. Issue was that it would put your prerequisite information into the wrong areas in the pdf form, but she mentioned it was only doing this because they changed their requirements midway through a cycle and the application system can only be updated like 1-2 times a year. Now to just wait......the worst part...

Thanks so much for the additional in depth info! I am trying to just look at all the angles regarding the whole program as I would prefer to not only pass but do well in the program. I changed careers later on in life so for obvious reasons budgeting and ability to begin working are in the forefront of my mind. The 8/1 ratio seem incredible, I just attended the USF ELMSN CNL info session yesterday and they were "guessing" at best their ratio. However they were much higher in the 20-30's per faculty member and mentioned that they no longer doing preceptorship as they were before (because of issues with their partners) and are currently "in talks" about reinitiating it. That kind of makes me feel at a loss in the program. I know that you are on the NP track (I applied for CM) but how did you feel about the preceptorship? Would losing out have made a a huge difference? I assumed it would, but I don't have the actual experience to speak on....the USF program is relying mostly on the clinical... which is kind of disheartening since the focus is CNL and expectation to rise to leadership. Maybe they just feel that the CNL program is so good that they don't need it? As for your mentoring program @ SAC campus that sounds awesome! If I get in (fingers crossed) I would love to have someone to bounce questions off who has already treaded the wary path.

Hi Lbenn! How was your experience in the program so far? I've heard some mixed review about faculty responsiveness to cohort feedback. How did you feel about the student/faculty ratio and the clinical? I haven't been able to visit or see the sacramento campus and live in the south bay; I am wondering if you knew how the traffic/commute situation was for the local area? (provided you attended that campus) How was preceptorship? (or are you currently in it now?) Did you or anyone continue part time in the program after the 4th semester? I was considering working after sitting of NCLEX after the 5th semester. Any info is greatly appreciated!

I applied for the ELMSN CM spring '17 program as well. I am basically in the same boat right now just waiting to hear back. From what I know speaking to the advisors and NursingCAS, they have until about mid august to verify/close everything up before the consider all applications. NursingCAS only updates 2 times per year and they leave some time after application due date to verify additional documents (letters of rec/transcripts/etc). I think the final date is like august 25th or something, they actually send you an email about it. From there they have the next month to review applications then decide who makes it to the next round for the interviews which occur i believe in october. After that you will receive email notice of being accepted/rejected and then you need to follow instructions for orientation in december as well as complete all the nursing pre-req's (immunization/physical/proof of financing/downpayment/CPR). If you have heard/know anything different please share!

MSN > BSN, the USF CNL programs runs the masters theory CNL info concurrent with the BSN program. That being said I have talked with some who felt that having 2 different mindsets/theory being taught at the same time is a bit difficult to manage. Both require NCLEX for obvious reasons of employment, but BSN programs focus specifically on nursing skills without any attention being diverted to the masters theory portion. Depends on the person perhaps but MSN have an advantage over a BSN when it comes upward mobility in hiring (from what I'm told by friends who work in the field). I'm applying to the program for Spring '17 & have already applied to the Sam Merrit Spring '17 ELMSN CM program as well in Sacramento.