PNPplease

Hey TangoDeux, Those sound like great goals!! Teaching is a super in-need part of nursing right now and I'm sure it will be for a long time. I also did post-bacc classes and I can say that I feel like they really did focus on the post-bacc stuff more than what your undergrad classes were. Good luck!!

Good luck! I will definitely let you know how it goes. As an applicant, I have only heard good things about it, so I am very excited. I think flexibility is the biggest thing for me, and they seem incredibly challenging but also sort of flexible in terms of where you can live and what clinical rotations you can do.

Let's be real, it will never be stress-free, but if you have a game plan 1 or 2 years in advance, you can really direct the process in a way that suits you and your goals. I applied to a heck of a lot of schools, probably more than necessary, but at my age I wasn't willing to take the risk of not getting in anywhere, as many students on this site have experienced (never give up!). As one does after a long, strenuous, tedious application cycle, I have been reconciling with the schools I didn't get in to, and obsessively analyzing which to attend from among my accepted options. Where I got in: Emory ABSN, Johns Hopkins Master's Entry, Columbia MDE/DNP, UCLA MECN, Vanderbilt Prespecialty/MSN, Where I got waitlisted: UPenn BSN/MSN (offered interview), Duke ABSN Where I got rejected: Azusa Pacific Master's Entry, UCSF, University of Florida ABSN, OHSU Master's/DNP How To Get Into An Accelerated Nursing Program: STEP 1: Make contact with the schools, admissions departments, professors, in ways you wouldn't think other students would. Reach out by email, phone call. Attend an open house the year before you apply, and then attend again the year you are applying. Go to seminars or lectures being held at the nursing school. If you attend a conference there, put that on your resume. The more they see your face, hear your voice, and know who you are, the better. STEP 2: Make sure you emphasize that your top choice school is your top choice. Put it in your essay (albeit a bit subtly), tell them over the phone, and mention it in your interview. But always be sincere. Getting accepted to schools is like getting recruited to play a college sport or getting drafted to play professional baseball. If they think there is a good chance (for whatever reason - over qualified, they think you want to go elsewhere, etc) that you will turn them down, they may not accept you even if they really like you. If they know you would say yes in a heartbeat, they're likely to at least consider you, and that's the first step. STEP 3: Pick schools that match your interests. It's your career, after all. My 3 loves in medicine are pediatrics (children's hospitals make my heart race), global health (I earned a graduate degree in this), and sports medicine (I played sports my whole life and interned in the athletic dept during undergrad). As such, I picked schools like JHU, Emory, and Columbia that really value global health. I also picked UPenn and Vandy because of their strong peds programs and and close proximity to children's hospitals (both have a children's hospital on/next to campus). Finally, I applied to Duke because they offer the only orthopedic/sports med NP specialty in the country. It's a post-grad certificate program, but knowing the competitiveness, I thought it could be a good way to get my foot in the door. Lastly, I also wanted a school that coordinates closely with a medical school because I want a research and science heavy degree in nursing, and I felt that these schools would have this focus. STEP 4: If you are years from applying, develop, tone, and really focus your resume. These schools want to see a story. Everyone's story is different, no matter who common or cliche you think your interests, and therefore your essay, might be. I have known people on application committees personally. When they say they look at you holistically, they really do. What that means is that they take everything you have offered them, and they paint a picture. They might value certain qualities or experiences over others (I.e. the points system) but they still want to have an idea in their mind about who you are. For example, my resume focused on my academic achievements, leadership, and non-profit work. Many of my jobs related to each of these - founding a philanthropic student group, international medical work, my teaching experiences, my cultural background. I then wrote my essay focusing on the experience that was most influential in my life and in my quest for this rewarding career. STEP 5: Tie in your future goals with your past experiences and how YOU will CONTRIBUTE to the school. Let's face it, schools are businesses. Like any company, they want to know how you will help them achieve their goal just as much as how you will achieve yours. In my essay, I designated a few sentences to my dreams as a nursing professional and how those roles will benefit the school long term (I would like to be a professor eventually >> potentially benefits the school). STEP 6: Be Real. Don't pretend to be something you're not. Seriously. If we are applying to accelerated, graduate level, professional nursing programs, then every single one of us has something real to offer. It's just about how you sell yourself. Give your entire application packet to a friend or family member that you know will give you honest feedback. Give it to a colleague you trust. And find someone who doesn't know you too well, because they can ask you questions similar to the questions an admissions committee would have. You don't want to leave any holes. STEP 7: Lastly, stay confident and pat yourself on the back once in a while, even if you don't feel like you deserve it. You worked so hard for these applications. And you submitted them! That in and of itself should make you feel accomplished. My first 2 rejections (and the first 2 schools I heard from) were UCSF and Azusa Pacific. You can imagine my feelings when a top school and a lesser known school both rejected me. Then I didn't hear from another school for 2 whole months. I was sure I wouldn't get in anywhere, especially since I was applying to so many extra competitive programs. But in the end it all worked out. I will be attending Vanderbilt for their Prespecialty/PNP program and it's actually the most perfect program for me that I could have imagined. And it wasn't even my first choice for a long time. If anyone is interested in hearing about why I chose Vandy over the other schools, feel free to reach out! All of these programs are amazing and will put you in a position of being very successful in your career. It doesn't have to be an Ivy League or a top ranked program. In the end, you make your career what you want with what kind of experiences you allow yourself to have. It's all about how much effort and commitment you put in and how involved you want to be. Good luck everyone in the coming months and years! Never give up!!

Thanks for the insights wannabemsf and futurenp14. I definitely am beginning to understand the job outlook a bit more and just need to be comfortable with the unknown in terms of finding employment after the program. And it definitely does differ from state to state and city to city. But I have spoken with some NPs at the hospital where I work, which is an academic hospital, and they all say that working as an RN is invaluable experience but not necessary, even in Los Angeles. They also raved about Vandy and said it's an amazing program and something I definitely shouldn't pass up, even if I have other options like ABSN programs at equally or higher ranked schools. So maybe that perspective might help anyone trying to decide! I have a feeling I'll be committing to Vandy very soon :).

Hey friends - any distance students here?!? I've been accepted to the peds NP program + prespecialty but I am having some reservations. Everything about the program seems amazing and perfect except one thing - job prospects after graduation. I live in a large city where it is tough to find an RN job without either a BSN or MSN, and where it is possibly even harder to find an NP job without previous RN work experience. I know nt all cities experience this, but many are beginning to. With that, is anyone concerned about not being able to get a nursing degree at the end of prespecialty?? I know we will have it all at the end of 2 yrs, which is still pretty efficient and streamlined, and I have no doubt that it is a great program and we will learn a lot. But is anyone thinking about working as an RN after we get our MSN? Just to get the experience? Would our NP license go "stale" if we didn't practice for a year? I know that might sound totally crazy. I know I want to be an NP, but I can't imagine giving up this opportunity where the NP is guaranteed at the start in favor of an ABSN program where I would have to do the application process all over again later. On the other hand, I've heard that we can pick a 2nd NP specialty in the DNP program (if we apply/get in) so maybe that would help refresh everything. Still need to verify this though. Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone is having the same concerns. Or if any alumni are trolling this page and would like to put in their perspective! Thanks so much!

Yeah it just seems strange that a whole chunk of people heard about acceptances and then nothing for weeks. They did say 1-2 weeks, 2 weeks ago (to the day). I can't decide how inpatient I should be ha.

Anyone heard anything?

All is good! It was yesterday haha. Good thing I didn't miss it! :) Good luck to everyone else interviewing.

Hi Everyone, For those who have a scheduled in-person interview, can you confirm that the interview is TOMORROW, Fri Dec 9th? I flew out from the West Coast for it, and I just noticed that the most recent email I received said Mon, Dec 9th. Mini panic attack when I noticed that ha. I'm assuming it's tomorrow but hoping it's not Mon, Dec 12th. I tried calling all of the admissions numbers but no luck. Thank you!

I spoke with admissions briefly. They said another 1-2 weeks. They said they had a record number of applicants for the ABSN program, so it is taking them more time than expected.

@mgates4 Ahhh I don't have that button yet.

Where is everyone looking for their decision? I know some have said it's not on the OPUS page. Is it under "recent activities"? Or is it where you first log-in and it says "submitted" under the application status? Still haven't heard anything! So antsy.

I got the interview email just a bit ago for acute care peds! Does anyone know what percent of applicants to the ABSN/MSN program are asked to interview?

YOU ARE A LIFESAVER. Thank you so much. For anyone else submitting today, I called the office and let them know what's up. I think they have been getting a few other calls about the confusion, so hopefully this will prevent them from getting too many more calls. Follow madninjaskillz directions if you want to avoid panic mode :)

HELP! Is anyone else having trouble finding the "Submit App" button on Decision Desk?!? My app is completely done, and it even says 100%, but I literally cannot find the button to submit it. It still thinks I am working on it. I tried calling the MECN office and Decision Desk, but no luck. Has anyone else had this issue? If not, can someone point me in the right direction to find the button? I feel like I'm going crazy lol.