Puerto Rico school feedback?

timmytdao · Feb 18, 2010

I have already applied and the responded by asking for my transcripts and a copy of my ss card. I think when I applied I chose option 05. My reasoning for this was that although I have already graduated from the University I have attended, it is what qualifies my for their "accelerated BSN". I am not sure about this, but at least I got a response from the University by mail.
Another thing you might want do do is contact: http://www.metro.inter.edu/englishtrimester/index.htm He is the director of the English trimester program for people like us.
I have no idea about the form you speak of, I'm guessing that'll be my next step in the process. If you are able to find out any more info please post for all. I'm dead set on attending this school in August, so I hope all goes well.
One more thing that got my worrying was on this page: http://www.metro.inter.edu/facultad/cientecnologia/esc_enfermeria.htm Where it says that it will be NLNAC accredited untill 2010. I saw on another post that "they were up for review in 2010". I just got done emailing the nursing director for clarification, so when I find out Ill post here.
Cheers.

Did you have any luck find the application web page? I do want to go to this school, but unable to find the web page so that i can print out the application. Do you know if this school require TEAS exam? Do you know what is there preq. for the nursing program? How long is the program? Please help me too... i do really want to go, but not getting any luck.

timmytdao · Feb 18, 2010

Yes, it is easier to get into a PR school. I am a nursing student at the Metro campus (for RN) and they easily accept people.
I have 2 friends in the Arecibo program and its all in Spanish with English books.

Do you know which website i need to go to apply? Most of the website that i went is mostly in spanish. How is school down there? Do you like it? Are you almost done? When did you apply and how did you apply? If you can spare some time and guide me with step by step, i would be so happy. Thank you so much.

timmytdao · Feb 18, 2010

I just graduated from Inter Metro last May 09 with a BSN in nursing, and yes the classes in english are at night from 5-10pm, except if you have clinicals on saturdays. The spanish classes are during the daytime. Once you graduate
you can take the US NCLEX for which ever state you decide, and later if you decide to move to another state all you have to do is get your license endorsed by that state and you can look up the nursing board website for that state online to find out exactly the steps you need to take. Wish you the best!

Are you back in state yet since you graduate? Can you tell about your experience going to school in PR, do you like would you recommend to other classmate? where and how did you apply? I went to there website, but they are all in spanish. I can't seem to find the web page for "application and requirement to get in".. If you have any information please help, i do want to get in. You mention class was at night btwn 5-9 pm? How was the teacher? Are they friendly ? Do they test harder since it an english class? How was your living experience? How much did you paid for rent? Any infor. would be greatly appreciate.

ChanelCinq · Feb 21, 2010

I was told that I need to submit the course descriptions for the classes I took along with my transcripts?!?! This makes no sense to me. I went to 5 Universities and I have over 260 units. The University where I received my BA from 10 years ago doesn't even offer that Bachelors program any longer.

This really sounds insane. I have NEVER, EVER heard of this before. They really want to make things complicated.

Then, there is a form they want the Dean of the last school I attended to fill out but they only have it in Spanish. When I requested a copy in English I was told by Eduardo "the letter of recommendation is provided by the institution where you studied."

I have had professors write letters of recommendation and of course there is no form but those are professors that know me and I had asked them to write a recommendation letter. But when they are asking for a Dean of a University to provide a recommendation there should be a form. The current Dean was not the Dean when I went there 10 years ago, so how can this person write a recommendation for a student that he never ever crossed paths with.

This is the most insane process of all the schools I have applied to and there have been some odd ones but this takes the cake.

I am really starting to go bald with all the hair I have ripped out of my head on this.

Did anyone else need a letter from the Dean of their last school? Did anyone else have to provide catalog info for the classes on their transcripts?

Oakley44 · Feb 21, 2010

I was told that I need to submit the course descriptions for the classes I took along with my transcripts?!?! This makes no sense to me. I went to 5 Universities and I have over 260 units. The University where I received my BA from 10 years ago doesn’t even offer that Bachelors program any longer.
This really sounds insane. I have NEVER, EVER heard of this before. They really want to make things complicated.
Then, there is a form they want the Dean of the last school I attended to fill out but they only have it in Spanish. When I requested a copy in English I was told by Eduardo “the letter of recommendation is provided by the institution where you studied.”
I have had professors write letters of recommendation and of course there is no form but those are professors that know me and I had asked them to write a recommendation letter. But when they are asking for a Dean of a University to provide a recommendation there should be a form. The current Dean was not the Dean when I went there 10 years ago, so how can this person write a recommendation for a student that he never ever crossed paths with.
This is the most insane process of all the schools I have applied to and there have been some odd ones but this takes the cake.
I am really starting to go bald with all the hair I have ripped out of my head on this.
Did anyone else need a letter from the Dean of their last school? Did anyone else have to provide catalog info for the classes on their transcripts?

I understand you pain. I have a similar academic background.

My answer to them regarding the "Dean letter" was simply, "I cannot do that."

I wrote a page long email to the director of admissions at Metro - asking why they needed ANOTHER copy of a transcript that I had already sent. I also asked for some basic information regarding exactly when and how much, and how long etc.. the program is (especially considering the pre-reqs I had already completed)

That was a month ago. 6 weeks ago I recieved a cryptic email from a contact stating:

I spoke with the Director of Admissions today and she explained

your confirmation is now pending the registration schedule as soon as it is

approved they will send you the admission letter.

Sorry I didn’t get any more details.

Professional Counselor"

I believe the concept of this program is the best of many worlds and if this was accomplished via the UPR system, it would be ALOT more productive and efficient.

All I can say is: Those of you with the answers or partial answers, please keep this thread alive! The rest of us have NO idea what's going on.

ChanelCinq · Feb 21, 2010

I have already applied and the responded by asking for my transcripts and a copy of my ss card. I think when I applied I chose option 05. My reasoning for this was that although I have already graduated from the University I have attended, it is what qualifies my for their "accelerated BSN". I am not sure about this, but at least I got a response from the University by mail.

Mike how long did it take for you to receive the letter in the mail after you applied? I applied online and thought I had not finished it so I ended up applying online again. Once was about a month ago and then again about 2 weeks ago.

Mike was there an application fee involved because I cannot locate one? Did you have to provide copies of the catalog descriptions for your previous classes? Did you need a Dean's letter?

Argh, this is so frustrating!!

I first started contacting the school last summer and one woman said to fax all my transcripts so she could evaluate them. She said to call her back in a week and she would let me know if I was missing anything. So I called her back a week later and she told me that she never told me to fax her my transcripts and I was making this up. She spoke perfect English and I did not misunderstand anything.

I had been in contact with 3 people and had email addresses for all 3. I emailed them and all 3 came back undeliverable. I tried again and again over a period of 2 weeks and each time the emails were undeliverable and one of them was Eduardo. So at that time I gave up and moved on.

I started looking again at this school, as my other options seem to continue to narrow. But I feel like I am back at square one. This is crazy.

And the past 2 weeks since I have not had return email responses I have called 4 times. All 4 times led no where. After you press 1 for English, the rest of the prompts are in Spanish.

ChanelCinq · Feb 21, 2010

I understand you pain.

Well at least we are all in this together. Glad I am not alone.

It appears that once we get past all the BS nonsense and are actually in the program, the program itself seems to be quite good. We just have to pass these ridiculous hurdles. I think they are testing us in their own way. ;-)

Oakley44 · Feb 21, 2010

Well at least we are all in this together. Glad I am not alone.
It appears that once we get past all the BS nonsense and are actually in the program, the program itself seems to be quite good. We just have to pass these ridiculous hurdles. I think they are testing us in their own way. ;-)

I wish that were true, but I really think it's simply disorganization combined with the fact that even the academic world on the island operates mostly en español. Answering relatively complex sets of questions in English to frantic gringos is probably not extremely high on the priority list. You'd think that the privatization of this system would encourage more competition and, therefore, better "service". I guess not. This is not to say that many folks don't speak English just fine, but there are certain business like formalities (ie. the application process) that still require a high degree of clarity to be truly successful. I just wrote Eduardo another email basically telling him that there a other prospective students that are having difficulty gaining simple answers from Metro campus etc..

I will let you know if I get a response. I'm beyond worrying whether I will annoy them at this point.

ChanelCinq · Feb 21, 2010

...I just wrote Eduardo another email basically telling him that there a other prospective students that are having difficulty gaining simple answers from Metro campus etc..
I will let you know if I get a response. I'm beyond worrying whether I will annoy them at this point.

It's funny. I wrote him over a week ago and didn't hear back until this morning (Sat). He stated, "I just arrived from a business trip to the Islands. I am at home." That was very nice of him to email me on his day off from home. But, here comes the but. But why wouldn't he have an auto reply that stated this. Because after 2 emails I started calling and was transferred and transferred and transferred and no one said he was out of the office. I kept calling and getting more frustrated.

Several times over the past 6 weeks I was told I need to speak to XXX in the nursing dept. Well every time I call she is with a student and I am told to call back. OK I have called back 3 times! She is always with a student. WHY even have anyone answer the phone! There is no point.

Oh and I looked up the college catalog for my University and it does not have detailed descriptions on the classes. What is in the catalog is exactly what is on my transcripts.

I am extremely bitter right now as my number one choice school was Louisiana State University Health and Science center CARE program in New Orleans. An 18 month accelerated BSN with a well rounded acceptance policy where you get points on 4 criteria including GPA, personal statement, interview, and life experience. Since Louisiana still needs people in the state the out of state tuition is about 500 USD more per semester.

So anyway the postmark deadline was Feb 1st. I mailed the application, personal statement, 2 references, all transcripts, and a 50 USD check on January 30th. I sent it certified and it requires a signature. So now it has been exactly 3 weeks and my packet is lost in the mail. The certified tracking shows I dropped it off and that is it. I filed an official report with the USPS on Tues the 16th. I was told I would be contacted within 48 hours. Ha ha, 96 hours later and no contact. The post office I dropped it off at in CA, said I need to contact the post office in New Orleans.

Do I have a black cloud following me? The USPS has never ever lost any of my mail. Why oh why this piece of mail. The school is currently looking for it as well.

Then I applied to ONE CA state school that I had a possibility of getting into. I won't bore you but I applied online and the web site said do not send anything, that they will contact me and request what they need. Oh I can't bore you any more but after sending the proof of residency certified mail twice and once with the transcripts, which they got and somehow never got the residency form. Emailed again asking if they want proof of my 99 percentile TEAS, proof I am fluent in a second language, and proof that I did a CNA course. Then I was told I never applied to the nursing dept but only the University.

I have had A LOT of bad news this week. I am so over this whole process. It has got to start getting better.

I agree with Oakley. If anyone gets any new info please post to the board.

timmytdao · Feb 21, 2010

"So anyway the postmark deadline was Feb 1st. I mailed the application, personal statement, 2 references, all transcripts, and a 50 USD check on January 30th. I sent it certified and it requires a signature. So now it has been exactly 3 weeks and my packet is lost in the mail. The certified tracking shows I dropped it off and that is it. I filed an official report with the USPS on Tues the 16th. I was told I would be contacted within 48 hours. Ha ha, 96 hours later and no contact. The post office I dropped it off at in CA, said I need to contact the post office in New Orleans"

Hi there, wow you went thru a tough week. It seem like nursing school in Puerto RIco sound too good to be true. They making you go thur all this troubles. And it seem like no one actually want to help. I have tried to get some information from previous students and previous thread, but no one seem to be willing to help. I kinda have the impression may be they don't want us to attend school in puerto rico. Anyway, i wish the best of luck, please let me know what school you end up going. I am from california myself, there are couple nursing school in california that you might want to consider. Such asl, Samuel Merrit, National university, and san joaquin vallely college. I think with your GPA, you can easily get into any School.

mike.choley · Feb 21, 2010

I think it was about a month after doing the online app that I received the letter asking for my ss card and transcripts. I shortly after sent out a copy of my ss card and requested my transcripts be sent from the university where I graduated from. Just about week ago I received another letter this one saying"In order hep us process your admission application, we need the following documents as soon as possible:"

AND the list as follows:

(X*) Official Transcrips from previous intitutions

() Immunization Certificate (green form)

() Evidence of Interview from the Trimester Program

() Authorization form to take courses in our isntitution from your college (special students only)

(X) Catalog from the university transferring from

() Copy of your Social Security CArd

(X*) Others: Mexico College, Truckee Meadows, Western Washington (These are schools I have attended)

I don't really know though what this means... Are the X's what they have and the blanks what they need still? What do the *'s mean. It could be that they are still asking for my transcrips. I sent transcripts from the university where I have my BA, but I didn't give them anything from the other Schools (I assumed they just needed to see that I have a BA).

I think that on Monday I'm going to do my best to contact thier addmission department. I have the luxury of being able to speak Spanish, so I think I'll be able to get more answers. I am also going to take a trip out there to visit the school (and surf) the 2nd week in March.

Despite all the frustations I refuse to give up on going to PR to get my BSN. It's cheaper and quicker than my other options. Plus my Spanish will get so much better and I will be able to surf!

:)

timmytdao · Feb 21, 2010

I think it was about a month after doing the online app that I received the letter asking for my ss card and transcripts. I shortly after sent out a copy of my ss card and requested my transcripts be sent from the university where I graduated from. Just about week ago I received another letter this one saying"In order hep us process your admission application, we need the following documents as soon as possible:"
AND the list as follows:
(X*) Official Transcrips from previous intitutions
() Immunization Certificate (green form)
() Evidence of Interview from the Trimester Program
() Authorization form to take courses in our isntitution from your college (special students only)
(X) Catalog from the university transferring from
() Copy of your Social Security CArd
(X*) Others: Mexico College, Truckee Meadows, Western Washington (These are schools I have attended)
I don't really know though what this means... Are the X's what they have and the blanks what they need still? What do the *'s mean. It could be that they are still asking for my transcrips. I sent transcripts from the university where I have my BA, but I didn't give them anything from the other Schools (I assumed they just needed to see that I have a BA).
I think that on Monday I'm going to do my best to contact thier addmission department. I have the luxury of being able to speak Spanish, so I think I'll be able to get more answers. I am also going to take a trip out there to visit the school (and surf) the 2nd week in March.
Despite all the frustations I refuse to give up on going to PR to get my BSN. It's cheaper and quicker than my other options. Plus my Spanish will get so much better and I will be able to surf!
:)

Dear Mike, I am so happy for you. Mike are you applying for the accelerate nursing program? Mike, i really want to apply to nursing school in Puerto Rico. But i don't know how. I have tried numerous time to follow the website what other thread have told me, but they all lead to spanish words. I was hoping if you have the time, maybe you can help step by step please. Which nursing school are you applying for?