I'm new to this site, but have been following the allnurses posts regarding Samuel Merritt program applications religiously for a while now. I recently applied to the ABSN and ELMSN - FNP program for the July 1 deadline. Thought it would be great to have a place to provide insight, stay updated and share experiences with all of you through this terrifying journey. I mean we ONLYYY have to wait until October - November to hear anything. Let the wait begin.....
I got my preliminary review email yesterday afternoon. They should be coming in over this week so if you haven't gotten one just keep an eye out and check your spam/junk folder as they can sometimes end up there.
I wonder if they are reviewing them in the order they were finalized by each of us? I turned mine in mid-June. I don't know if that was before/after you, but it might be an explanation?
Hi everyone! I had originally planned on applying for the July 1 deadline, but then I decided to apply for December 1 deadline instead...but I don't see a program available to even apply =/ I hope it's just because the application isn't out yet.
I have 3 more prereqs to finish up: eng critical thinking + pathophysiology + pharmacology
I have yet to take the HESI A2 yet, but anyone have any recommendations on how to best study for it? I'm most worried about vocab, grammar, and A&P. I've studied all the vocab words from the elsevier review book, but is that enough? Are there a lot of vocab words on the test that we normally wouldn't see in real life? For A&P, how in depth would you have to go? Or would reviewing what's in the elsevier book be enough?
Thanks! Sorry for all the questions and hopefully someone would be able to answer me :)
When you hear about the differences in what books people find helpful, remember that there are at least two versions of the HESI A2 for SMU. Maybe more? The first one I took was definitely different from second, and I could see how the different test prep books may leave some people feeling that they were helpful, while others say they weren't. I stand by my advice of not studying TOO deep into any one system, rather, take a broad approach and review moderate amounts of everything. (I know that seems overwhelming, but I studied for 5 days, 8 hours a day before my exam and did very well. And my A&P classes were *cough* a little while ago!)
I went onto YouTube and found several people who were willing to recap some of the items they remembered from the exam. I won't give details, because we sign the agreement that we won't share, but some YouTubers must not remember that! So you might find some guidance on there as well.
I feel like the grammar and vocabulary parts were pretty straight forward and if you use the study guides, you should do just fine. On the other hand, the reading comprehension section is what got me. English is my first language and I feel that I read and write very well, but that was my lowest score! And when I took practice exams and looked through the exam prep books, I scored just OK on that section, but couldn't wrap my head around why they give the answers that they do. Maybe it's an easy section for some? But honestly, if you struggle with ADD or reading comprehension or any other potential learning disability, you may want to spend a little extra time on that section to see if your thinking and their thinking align! *wink*
Good luck, you should do fine as long as you take the time and focus on your test prep!
Hi everyone, I turned mine in June 17th and it was finalized June 22nd. I have not received any emails.... maybe if I stare harder at my email folder....
I submitted my application 6/13 and it was verified on 6/19. I received my preliminary review email on 7/24. I hope this helps those of you who are still waiting to hear.
I'm not sure how helpful this is @WebbC1 but I submitted on the deadline 7/1 and received the prelim email on 7/23. However, my application was already verified as I applied for the last cohort.
Hesi Review book was good for: Math ,Vocabulary, Grammar, and Reading. I got 100% in math and vocab strictly from reviewing the Hesi book. In my opinion, the A&P was very general in the Hesi Review book, and when I took the test, it felt much more detailed. Ended up scoring in the high 80's and I took A&P a year ago...An example of a question would be, "where is water reabsorbed in Nephron loop?" Or something similar to that. Hope that helps.
Questions tend to be pretty general. What do the endocrine glands do? Bone that doesn't articulate with any other bone? What is in the upper respiratory system? Bones are storage sites for what? Review the ear, review joints, etc. I studied off of Quizlet a lot, and used Pocket Prep. AP is pretty far off from what the book provides. I scored a 96% but received A's in both AP1 and AP2, so I felt prepared. Just review. I also joined a HESI A2 facebook group, and we really helped each other a lot. They had great studying files too. You're going to do great!
Hello all! Good luck to everyone applying this go around.
I'm applying with 3.5 GPA 3.2 science, 96% HESI.
This is my first time applying at Samuel Merrit for the Sacramento campus.
I also received the email that said the preliminary review was complete. For those who haven't, I don't think it's time to worry yet. I got my app in pretty early (Mid April) and the website says they do prelim reviews of apps to make sure you fulfill minimum requirements (grades, prerequisite, hesi scores etc.) then once all of those are done they move onto finding candidates that best fit the program and mission of the school.
Hope everyone hears back soon!! The waiting process is the toughest part.
I applied with a 3.2 (for my last 60 units), 3.0 in sciences, 90% on the HESI.
My last 60 unit GPA is up a tiny bit now, as I just finished Patho and Pharm @ Butler CC in Kansas with A's (both were awesome classes - highly recommend!)!
I did go to an admissions counseling appointment after I applied, and was told a few things:
Bump up my science GPA
Bump up my HESI A&P section (got 80% - that's a whole other story!)
Don't apply last minute (I sent mine in on the last day haha - oops!)
I did receive my preliminary review email notification on July 23rd, but honestly, I'm not holding out much hope after that counseling appointment. I'll definitely be reapplying when I have some better HESI scores and science GPA!
Studentnurseintraining, BSN
91 Posts
I got my preliminary review email yesterday afternoon. They should be coming in over this week so if you haven't gotten one just keep an eye out and check your spam/junk folder as they can sometimes end up there.