Regis College in MA

myelin · Nov 16, 2009

If BC is your goal school why don't you retake the GRE?

luckylady5 · Nov 16, 2009

I can't take the GRE again because the application deadline was Nov 1 - I took the GRE Oct 29. They seem pretty strict with their deadlines, and even if I tried to study and take the test again, there don't seem to be any openings until mid to late December!

luckylady5 · Nov 18, 2009

Anyone?

Jennifer0512 · Nov 19, 2009

Hi I'm a current Regis direct entry (we call it General Masters) student! I am finishing up my first semester.

The admissions process is pretty easy going. They like to see you break 1000 for the GREs and have at least a 3.0 for GPA. I don't know if that's considered "competitive", but it's what they'll take. I applied really late and still got in, so I assumed it was not difficult to be accepted (haha don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing) but apparently they had a super long wait list, so I could be wrong about that and I was just a good candidate. Their rolling admission is definitely nice.

I am really happy with the program! I'm taking 3 classes right now, Profesional Nursing, Health Assessment, and Clinical Pharmacology. I'm doing well in all of them and for the most part am enjoying them as well. You start clinical right away which is awesome. I LOVE clinical. I am learning so much and it has been a great experience.

It definitely is A LOT of work. I was a biochem major for my undergrad, which was also a ton of work, but it was nothing compared to the amount of reading and constant testing we have for school-- you will find this at any direct-entry or nursing school in general though.

There are some areas of disorganization in the administration (again you will find this at any school though) that have some people giving the school as a whole a bad rep. Every school needs to work out the kinks and from what I can tell each year seems to be improving. So I'm sure you will read some bashing posts on this website and elsewhere, but if you really like Regis I would go experience it for yourself. The disorganizational aspects have not hindered my experience AT ALL. I understand it's just some things in the program they are tweaking that still need some more tweaking. As I said though I am having a GREAT experience and can't wait to continue on.

As for job prospects/salary...I'm obviously not there yet. I haven't heard anything about salary, but prospects I've heard very positive things. If you go all the way through to the Masters portion and get your NP then you should have no trouble finding a job when you graduate. The hospitals and offices around here definitely respect Regis grads and I see them everywhere including my own NP at my doctor's office! I also met some RNs who left half way through due to financial/personal reasons after they got their BSN and RN license. They all had jobs too, although with the hiring freezes in Boston I don't know if I would want to test that (although by the time you're there it may be done with).

So yeah that's all I can think of for now :) If you have any other specific questions feel free to ask!

luckylady5 · Nov 19, 2009

Thank you for the response, Jennifer! I actually spoke with an admission person at Regis, and she said the same thing you said - 1000 for the GRE. My problem is that I took the test without preparing at all and scored terribly on the math portion, so my total score is only 910. I don't know if it is even worth it for me to apply with that number. I do have a good GPA, but I wonder if I would be wasting my time - what do you think?

I assume that since Regis is a 3 year program, students can't begin to work until after the 2nd year? Can you tell me what the clinical portion is like - does the school find a placement for you, and are they local hospitals? How many days each week are you in the hospital?

Thanks again for your help!

Jennifer0512 · Nov 19, 2009

To be honest I have no idea how much they really need the 1000 for the GRE. I would retake them if I were you just to be confident. You have plenty of time since they have rolling admissions.

Regis is a 3 year program. You get your BSN/RN after your 2nd year and then can work if you want to. Then of course your last year/3rd year is when you get your MSN/NP.

The school puts you in your clinical placements and I have not heard one complaint about where people are placed, so they seem to do a good job so far of placing you with some respect to your home location. They are all local hospitals. The potential clinical placements this semester were: MGH, Newton-Wellesley, Roxbury VA, Lahey Clinic, and Winchester Hospital. It varies how many days you are in the hospital. This semester being our first semester we only have one class that has a clinical placement, so we're only in the hospital one day. Next semester we are taking Acute care and Psych. Acute care you're in the hospital 2 days per week and psych one day per week, so we'll be in there THREE DAYS! That should be exciting and intense. We don't know our clinical placements for next semester yet. It's a big process on the administrative side seeing which hospitals we can use (we have to share with all the other nursing schools, med schools, etc obviously), how many people they will accept at each hospital, and then which students it makes sense to put where. We will probably find out in a few weeks.

luckylady5 · Nov 19, 2009

Hi Jennifer,

Can you tell me if you are in classes/clinicals 5 days per week, or is there some flexibility in your schedule? Are you in the hospital for an entire day, or just a portion of the day? Are you able to attend classes both day and night?

One more question, and this may sound crazy to some, and I'm not really sure how to explain it, but I have no interest in other areas of nursing - I am only interested in becoming a psych NP and I don't even know if I could get through everything it would take to get there. I get easily "grossed out", can't deal with bodily fluids, disease, etc. I applied to BC because I felt like I could handle all that for a year, but I'm not sure I could do it for 2 years. I have read on this board that nursing students are cleaning up when people have bathroom-related accidents, and I honestly don't think I could do that - I would throw up. How involved is it, and is there a lot of gory, gross stuff to deal with? (And I don't mean to sound childish or offend anyone. Some people can handle certain things, and I respect those who can because many people need help, but I don't think I could do it.Maybe working as a psych NP is not even possible for someone like me?) Thank you for your help!

Jennifer0512 · Nov 19, 2009

Hi!

This semester I have classes Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (Monday + Wednesday I am there pretty much all day, but Tuesday I am only there from 7-10 AM) I have clinical on Thursday from 7:00-3:00 and then I have Friday off. I work Tuesday afternoons, Fridays, and Saturdays to make some money. Next semester I will be in classes/clinical 5 days a week, but still not necessarily for the whole day.

I am in the "day program" so I have mostly morning/day classes (although Pharm is from 5:30-8:30 PM and my health assessment is from 5:00-8:00 PM, so I have a little of both) and I know some people that take classes at night, but they are in the day clinical, and other people who are just day or just night. Some people take health assessment every other saturday too so they don't have that class all that often. There are A LOT of options of schedules, especially first semester, which is great.

I personally have not had to deal with too much bodily fluids. However, some of my other classmates have had more (cleaning up accidents/helping people use the bathroom). My patients at least this semester have been mostly surgical patients, so they are pretty functional. The most I've had to do is empty a bedside commode/urinal, but you're not touching anything you just pour it down the toilet. And I haven't seen anything really hardcore/gross. Granted this is just my first semester, so I'm sure it could get more involved.

And even when I have had to deal with bodily fluids and disease it really hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. You jump into the nursing mindset pretty quickly and it becomes pretty normal.

The other option for you might be to look into a direct entry program that starts you on the track right away (I think Yale is one that you pick your track when you apply so you're always taking classes that are related). Not saying that they don't have to go through the regular nursing stuff too, but it might be less geared toward that. I don't know too much about this, but it might be something to look into!