Samuel Merritt ABSN Fall 2019

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Hi everyone! Just wanted to get the conversation started for those who applied for the ABSN Fall 2019 cohort. I applied for the Sacramento location but would love to connect with all who applied in general! Good luck everyone!

Specializes in Community Health & School RN.
22 hours ago, Drea143 said:

I had a meeting with Ann Seed before and you can only take it twice with SMU code, but you can take it however many times with other school codes and just have it transfer to SMU office of admissions. I have 3.40 in Science courses without the Micro class, and so far I have an A in micro and it ends May 20th. And idk what my overall gpa is but I have all A’s and B’s for my last 90 units. And HESI I barely made the 80% cutoff mark. I had 2 references from college science professors. And I have work experience as a caregiver for elderly people but no volunteer work. I also took pathophysiology and pharmacology online with SMU in which I got A’s in.

That’s fantastic that they’ll let you continue to take the exam under other school’s codes. I wonder how they know if the same topics are covered? Or if there are additional sections, like physics or chemistry, do they tell you to ignore those? Take them and they won’t count them? I’d be interested to know the answer if they told you.

Also, I think that you’re going to be a very competitive candidate if you can take the HESI again. Did they tell you what score they consider to be competitive? I know that they don’t want lower than 80 is any one section, but I don’t remember the combined score that they consider competitive. But if they’re open to multiple attempts, take it as many times as you need.

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Hey there everyone!

First time applying. I applied to San Mateo. Going in with...

3.45 science

2.85 last 60/90 (I know :( so low)

94.8% HESI

3 prereqs in progress (patho, pharm, and interperson comms)

Strong work and leadership experience

2 LoRs (last LoR didn't make it in time). 1 from my micro professor, 1 from a tenured RN.

100 hours at Kaiser

Several little awards and achievements at work, dunno if those will matter.

I don't expect to get in, although waitlist would be exciting. I say that because I have about 5 As ready to post so that will greatly boost my last 60/90. I'd also be able to secure all 3 of the LoRs next round. This is really a feeler application!

Best of luck everyone!

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1 hour ago, MamaKat916 said:

That’s fantastic that they’ll let you continue to take the exam under other school’s codes. I wonder how they know if the same topics are covered? Or if there are additional sections, like physics or chemistry, do they tell you to ignore those? Take them and they won’t count them? I’d be interested to know the answer if they told you.

Also, I think that you’re going to be a very competitive candidate if you can take the HESI again. Did they tell you what score they consider to be competitive? I know that they don’t want lower than 80 is any one section, but I don’t remember the combined score that they consider competitive. But if they’re open to multiple attempts, take it as many times as you need.

Thank you. I don’t think I can retake HESI for this application. But I’ll wait until I hear something and if I don’t get in, then I’ll retake for the next cohort. I believe most schools focus on the same subjects as SMU. Some have you take Bio, Physics, etc but I think you can skip because SMU will only look at the ones they require. If you go on the SMU website about FAQ under HESI, they mentioned it.

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Specializes in Community Health & School RN.
1 hour ago, theflipside said:

Hey there everyone!

First time applying. I applied to San Mateo. Going in with...

3.45 science

2.85 last 60/90 (I know :( so low)

94.8% HESI

3 prereqs in progress (patho, pharm, and interperson comms)

Strong work and leadership experience

2 LoRs (last LoR didn't make it in time). 1 from my micro professor, 1 from a tenured RN.

100 hours at Kaiser

Several little awards and achievements at work, dunno if those will matter.

I don't expect to get in, although waitlist would be exciting. I say that because I have about 5 As ready to post so that will greatly boost my last 60/90. I'd also be able to secure all 3 of the LoRs next round. This is really a feeler application!

Best of luck everyone!

Hey Flipside! Welcome! Glad you applied to see what happens. You really never know! It sounds like if you don’t get in this round, you’re set up well to show a lot of improvement on your next application cycle. I mentioned it once earlier in the thread, but the counselor told me they love to see re-applicants who are able to improve their applications (even in small bits). So good luck to you and I can tell you that I gained SO much insight by meeting with the admissions counselor in person to review my application. I brought copies of my resume and statements and asked her to be brutally honest so I could make myself the best applicant for the next round. She was very helpful. Best of luck to you!!

Have you received a preliminary review email Fromm San Mateo? I’m still waiting, and while I’m not exactly nervous yet, I’d feel MUCH better if one of those rolled through my inbox soon!

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18 hours ago, MamaKat916 said:

Have you received a preliminary review email Fromm San Mateo? I’m still waiting, and while I’m not exactly nervous yet, I’d feel MUCH better if one of those rolled through my inbox soon!

Hello!

I applied to the San Mateo campus as well and haven't received a preliminary review either.

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Thanks for the tips MamaKat!

I will definitely get with a counselor, Im considering retaking the HESI because why not, they take the best subsection of each test and no penalty for retaking.

Yes I received my email on 4/17 at 7:45am. Im sure youve already looked but have you checked your spam?

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Specializes in Community Health & School RN.
5 hours ago, theflipside said:

Thanks for the tips MamaKat!

I will definitely get with a counselor, Im considering retaking the HESI because why not, they take the best subsection of each test and no penalty for retaking.

Yes I received my email on 4/17 at 7:45am. Im sure youve already looked but have you checked your spam?

Hi flipside, thank you for the suggestion. Alas, yes... I have checked. Nada. I guess the wait continues. *drums fingers on table*

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On 4/23/2019 at 4:44 PM, MamaKat916 said:

Just curious, is there anyone else who still hasn’t received a preliminary review email? I’m still waiting on mine.

I applied to the Sacramento cohort for fall and still haven’t received anything either! I keep obsessively checking my email! ?

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2 hours ago, Maddy Peppers-Johnson said:

I applied to the Sacramento cohort for fall and still haven’t received anything either! I keep obsessively checking my email! ?

I applied to San Mateo cohort for fall and, I haven’t received a review yet. Just an email that said they received my application. But we’re still in April and on the website it says we should hear something around May/June.

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Specializes in Community Health & School RN.
On 4/26/2019 at 1:52 PM, Maddy Peppers-Johnson said:

I applied to the Sacramento cohort for fall and still haven’t received anything either! I keep obsessively checking my email! ?

Maddy, thank you so much! I was beginning to wonder if my application had been lost somewhere! Obviously, I hate that others are in the same boat, but it makes me worry less. I appreciate the response! Good luck to you in the process. Hopefully many (or all) of us will be in the same cohort family soon!

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Specializes in Community Health & School RN.
23 hours ago, Drea143 said:

I applied to San Mateo cohort for fall and, I haven’t received a review yet. Just an email that said they received my application. But we’re still in April and on the website it says we should hear something around May/June.

Drea143, I really appreciate the response. I remember that it was nearly 4 weeks before I got the preliminary email last time, and I think my friend who was eventually accepted either never got the prelim email or got it much much later than everyone else. So I know it doesn’t have any weight on getting in. I just like confirmation that my app didn’t get “lost” somewhere in the great vast black hole of the internet!

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Specializes in Community Health & School RN.
On 4/26/2019 at 3:56 PM, Drea143 said:

But we’re still in April and on the website it says we should hear something around May/June.

I just looked back through last year’s thread and it looks like the first people heard back about acceptance on May 30th. It would make sense that they not wait too far into June for acceptance/rejection/waitlist because we have to turn around and update our applications for a July 1 deadline. So updating grades, mailing official transcripts, revised letters of recommendation, etc. all has to be done in a quick window of time. Makes me wonder if I should just start the next application mid-May just to be sure everything gets there on time? I don’t know how you guys feel, but the ups and downs from alternating application stress and waiting anxiety is horrible. I suppose there are a few months of peace between Oct/Nov and Feb/Mar! But if you’re a Bay Area candidate, you never have that down time! It’s three application cycles... year round. Praying we get in and don’t have to cycle through this misery too many times! :(

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