Samuel Merritt ABSN Fall 2014

HopefulNurseQuinn · Apr 1, 2014

Hello,

I also received an email this afternoon! I am really excited and hope this is a good sign that we all will be accepted into the fall co-hort. Good luck everyone!

Enursing · Apr 4, 2014

Can any of your vouch for the quality of the SMU ABSN? I have heard both good and bad things about their program which makes me nervous considering the high cost. I was accepted into schools down south that are much cheaper but with the drawback of not being able to network in the Bay Area during clinicals, etc to help land a job afterwards.

zzbxdo · Apr 4, 2014

My coworker has told me sm can have a hard time placing students in clinicals and preceptorships leading to pairing and other methods of meeting hours. With the bulk of new grad programs in Socal and mega fierce competition in the bay area, I'd probably attend schools in a local Socal setting.

Enursing · Apr 4, 2014

I also noticed SMU's NCLEX pass rates were kind of low at 85% while the other schools I've gotten into have 94% and 97%. Does anyone know how indicative this is of program quality?

Enursing · Apr 4, 2014

Thanks zzbxdo. I live in NorCal now and am planning on returning. What do you mean by the bulk of new grad programs being in SoCal? Are there a lot more opportunities for new grads down south? This is all very helpful. Thank you!

sabotech · Apr 4, 2014

I think the answer to this is pretty complex and I’m sorry if I’m opening a big bag of worms…

First off, I should state that I’m pretty biased as- like many, I have at least a little optimism for SMU by shoveling out the time and money for the application. Also, I would like to warn you about the devil inside of me that might want to dissuade some competition out there. I promise I’m not, but it’s probably best to check into a better specified forum. That said, this is my opinion….

Judging SMU based on their NCLEX pass rate is like judging you on your GPA. It gives us a good idea of things, but not the whole picture. If you look at the data from rc.ca.gov last year’s BSN cohort was at 85.23% (I think the national average from that year was 85%). This would be combining the BSN and ABSN programs together. Separating SMU’s BSN from the ABSN data is in 2007 with BSN at 89% and the ABSN at 96%, so I’m inclined to say that the ABSN cohorts do better. This is also not mentioning the different locations SMU is at and the fact that some schools will drop struggling students to keep their rates high (something hospitals also do with their patients )

Personally, I don’t put too much weight with the pass rates because it only technically opens the door for nursing- not actually. More importantly, is if you get a job, and unemployment for nursing graduates is around 43%! For comparison, our last recession was in the teens. So, we’ve got a big uphill battle especially if using loans for SMU and want to stay in the bay area.

That said, unemployment for nurses with experience is much better for nurses with experience. Many grads go out of state for a year or so, and come back to the bay for a job. A great option for young, untied grads is to become a travel nurse. Hospitals like using travelers since they cost less, so it’s a great way to get experience and travel the country while you’re at it. I work in the OR as a tech, and we’ve hired a bunch of travelers for full-time. If you’re really set on the bay area though, you just might have to get whatever job you can find which can sometimes cause you to lose some skill level for your eventual goals. Also, SMU has programs to help new grads land jobs, but I am not sure how well those work.

While I think NCLEX scores is one good indicator, I think the strongest variable is SMU’s reputation and their relationships with other hospitals and preceptorships. This is complicated by the fact that this varies based on your particular program and location for SMU. Personally, I’ve always been biased for SMU because I’ve met a lot of coworkers (nurses and PA’s) and every last one of them has loved it and strongly recommended it which has really stuck with me. However, I’ve also read a lot of negative comments about it so I’m not sure…. I know there were a lot of problems with moving out of the SF location, but I believe that’s over.

For all this writing, I didn't really answer much, but I hope it helps.

black&teal · Apr 4, 2014

And to add on to the pros/cons of SMU, I think a lot of what we hear could also be based on the different campuses. Maybe a campus has "better" professors that people feel teach well and vice versa, etc.

sunshine5300 · Apr 5, 2014

Sabotech,

I appreciate your input. We obviously all believe and trust that SMU's reputation is awesome, or otherwise we wouldn't be placing our time and (hopefully!) money on it. But it's very reassuring to hear from someone "in the field" that the reputation is, indeed, excellent. And I agree with you that NCLEX pass rates is only one indicator. But I was interested to see that, for both the BSN and ABSN programs, the rates are still high.

Only 34 more days of waiting! : )

zzbxdo · Apr 5, 2014

Thanks zzbxdo. I live in NorCal now and am planning on returning. What do you mean by the bulk of new grad programs being in SoCal? Are there a lot more opportunities for new grads down south? This is all very helpful. Thank you!

There are far more new graduate / versant programs in southern California. Not to say it's easy but it is a more likely you'll find a position down south. Everyone should consider the possibility of having to move out of state.

Enursing · Apr 9, 2014

Haha - thank you for the fair warning that you might try to dissuade to open up a spot. I agree that looking at NCLEX scores may not be the fairest way to evaluate a school - I didn't consider a difference between RN-BSN and ABSN programs. Thanks for shedding light on that. And good to hear you've met SMU grads with good things to say about the program!

Movingwolf · May 5, 2014

Hi all,

i too applied for Fall. I just saw on SM website that they will be sending out decisions on May 9th.... Do you think it will happen? Did anybody get admitted yet?

Movingwolf · May 8, 2014

I just received an email, waitlisted! Hope is still there! Congrats to those who got admitted