I couldn't find any threads on Summer 2015 cohorts for the ABSN program at Samuel Merritt (San Mateo campus is my #1 choice), so I thought I'd start one! I was just curious to know anyone's opinion on how heavily they weigh each category of the application process. I have strong references, a solid work history including *some* health care (working with autistic adults for 3 years, except it isn't my most recent experience), and decent stats, although they could be stronger:
Sciences: 4.0 (so far, still in progress)
Overall: 3.6
TEAS: 89.3 (first try, but plan on taking again if needed)
I was really surprised to learn that they mostly look at Reading and Math scores from the TEAS, and not science (which was my highest score). Does anyone know if they rely on the classification? I was "advanced", but obviously would like to be "exceptional".
I am currently finishing up my writing samples, which I am finding the most challenging since it is hard to fit in all I want to say in 250-300 words. (CRAZY)
I am working on my application due September 1st, but am nervous since I still have classes in progress this Fall. Does anyone know if they really frown upon this? I know they say that it is suggested they are all finalized, but its okay if they are in progress. I am so anxious to get started in the program and learn!!!
Hi all! I'll be part of the Oakland May cohort. I currently live in San Francisco but would like to move to Oakland. Is anyone else looking to move closer to school, or know of a spare room or small studio that could be available for a May timeframe? I'd hugely appreciate any of my soon-to-be-classmates, and those who may be moving to join the other cohorts, keeping an ear and eye out for me. My price range is ~$1000/month. I can be reached at [email protected]. Look forward to starting this intense year with you guys soon!
@ashley127 I'm currently in the June cohort and my classmate didn't have the Human Dev pre req completed either when she started the program. They let her stay in the program if she could "test out" of taking Human Dev. Talk the the admissions counselor (Eu****a) about it. She should be able to give you more info.
Hi AAAZ, RN. I'm currently at the San Mateo Campus and I used student loans to pay for ALL of my tuition. I had to get private loans but it is possible.
My husband is in the June San Mateo cohort but I was wondering if you have any information about loans? Is it possible to have the entire program funded by loans alone? My FNP was completely funded by loans but I hear a second bachelor's is different...
Thanks in advance!
Hi AAAZ, RN. I'm currently at the San Mateo Campus and I used student loans to pay for ALL of my tuition. I had to get private loans but it is possible.
Hi school colleagues to-be! Does anyone have advice about taking out a private loan to cover tuition (GULP)? Which lender makes things the least painful? Does a variable rate make more sense today than a fixed one, have you heard? I'm pretty anxious and inexperienced when it comes to this topic, and I don't have a lot of credit or collateral, so I'm not sure how easily I'll be approved. I'd so appreciate anyone sharing the experience they or people they know have had with private student loans. Thanks!
Thanks lyssa_3! I ended up enrolling in an online course. Tmasrstaller I'm trying to figure out the best place to get a private loan from as well, still waiting on finding out if I'm approved for fafsa loans but I don't think it will be enough to cover the whole tuition.
Did anyone attend the live financial aid webchat today for all ABSN students? I had work and couldn't sit in on it. If you did, I'd appreciate any information you got out of it! :)
Hi there! I also missed it, but got the transcript from the moderator:
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ABSN Moderator: Hello, welcome to the ABSN Financial Aid web chat, today April 7, 2015 from 10am-11am. Please let me know if you have any financial aid questions. My name is Lily Marquez and I am your moderator for today's session.
Judy: Hi Lily yes I have one
ABSN Moderator: Hi
Judy: I was wondering if you could provide some guidance on income cutoff for financial aid-is there an income at which there is no point in applying?
ABSN Moderator: Hi Krista!
ABSN Moderator: Hi Judy no I cannot give you info on that. Please contact the FA office through 510-869-1590
Krista: Hi Lily! I was wondering if there was any status on the distribution of my financial aid packet for '14-'15?
ABSN Moderator: Please know that I will be in this chat for the next hour. So please go on with questions
Trang: from my understanding, we are only applying for a loan which would cover until 8/2015. then when we receive a new financial aid package for 2015-2016, we have to submit a new loan request?
ABSN Moderator: Hi Judy, I can't give you a financial aid income cut off because there are other factors that are taken into consideration in order to receive financial aid. However, for purposes of the ABSN program students get offered offered Federal loans.
ABSN Moderator: Hi Krista, I am not Lily. I am with Admissions
ABSN Moderator: I think I am in wrong chat. I cannot answer FA questions
Judy: Ok Thanks
ABSN Moderator: ABSN Moderator, this chat session from 10am-11am is a financial aid web chat session.
Krista: Should we stay in this chat for the FA advisor?
ABSN Moderator: Krista, it is up to you if you want to stay on this web chat session. This is for financial aid questions/inquiries.
Trang: would you be able to address questions we have regarding loans?
ABSN Moderator: If any of you have any admission questions, please contact 510-869-1550 and have someone in the Campus Service Center make sure your admission's questions are addressed. Also there should be a future admission's web chat session.
Sabrina: Hello! I have a question regarding private loans that cover the difference from federal loans...Do you suggest we pull out a lump sum loan to cover the entire program (full year) or apply for private loans in increments of 3 separately during each session for summer, fall and spring?
ABSN Moderator: Trang, what questions regarding the loans do you have?
ABSN Moderator: Sabrina, if you are in the new Summer 2015 ABSN program, then you need to apply twice for the private loan since your financial aid is for Summer 2015 in the 14-15 academic year and then Fall 2015 & Spring 2016 in the 15-16 academic year.
Trang: I was wondering if it would be best to take out one loan from the same lender or if we should use 2 loan sources?
ABSN Moderator: Trang, student's find it convenient to use one lender since they just will need to deal with one servicer. But if you are getting two different loans and most likeley you will have two different interest rates, it is up to you if you are offered a good loan product with two different lenders vs. with one lender.
ABSN Moderator: Does anyone have any other financial aid questions?
Jessica: Can you tell me a little about Perkins Loans? Are these an option for us?
ABSN Moderator: Jessica, SMU does participate in the Perkin's program but it is only avaiable for our BSN program. Unfortunately, the University isn't given enough Federal money to extend that program to the ABSN or any of our graduate programs.
ABSN Moderator: Judy, I would recommend that you do the 14-15 FAFSA and the 15-16 FAFSA. Once you do it, you can report yourself as a 3rd year/junior in an undergraduate program. We should get your FAFSA results and let you know what Federal loan options are available to you.
Jessica: Do you know if we are still eligible for public service loan forgiveness in the future?
ABSN Moderator: Also, I am not sure if you all got the Institutionall Scholarship that was sent out of our office. This is an institutional scholarship application for any of the institutional scholarships that become available. It is free money! I recommend all of you to fill it out and submit it to the Financial Aid Office.
Judy: ok thanks!
Sabrina: Got it, thanks!
ABSN Moderator: Jessica, public service is a Federal program. So if you have any Direct Federal loans, then you should be eligible. The only thing with the public service loan forgiveness program is that you need to have made 120 payments and typically students have paid off their Federal loans by then. For more information you can go to: https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service#what-is-pslf
Jessica: Thank you.
Jessica: Lily, I just filed my taxes for the 2014 tax year and completed my 2015-2016 FAFSA. However I have already received my financial aid packet. Will I receive a new one? Or should I proceed with filling out all of the paperwork?
ABSN Moderator: Do know that there are also loan forgiveness programs at the State, Federal and institutional level. Hospitals/Health Care institutions with different needs may have an institional loan forgiveness program in place. You just need to look at the criteria and obligations if you are willing to commit to a loan forgiveness program. For more information you can go to our website along with this website: FinAid | Loans | Loan Forgiveness
Krista: I filled out my 2014- 2015 FAFSA and have not yet received my financial aid packet, any idea when I should receive that?
ABSN Moderator: Jessica, for the 15/16 FAFSA you will get a renewal financial aid packet for your Fall 2015 semester. Have you done the 14-15 FAFSA for Summer 2015?
ABSN Moderator: Krista, what is your last name? I recently received some updated information for students that will get a financial aid packet this week.
ABSN Moderator: Does anyone have any other financial aid questions?
Krista: My last name is Evans
ABSN Moderator: If you are applying for outside scholarship, make sure that if you are starting Summer 2015 then you can report yourself as a 3rd year/junior in an undergraduate program.
ABSN Moderator: Krista, we just got your 14-15 FAFSA yesterday so I will be mailing you a financial aid packet this week.
Jessica: Yes I have completed the 14/15 FAFSA and I received a financial aid packet in the mail. I just was not sure if now that I have completed the 15/16 FAFSA that my packet would change.
victoria: I didn't get any info about institutional scholarships, what is that?
Krista: Thank you!
victoria: and also what is the deadline to submit FAFSA for the summer 2015 program
Krista: How many students get selected for the institutional scholarships? What criteria do they look for in the selected recipients?
ABSN Moderator: Jessica, the 15-16 FAFSA is for Fall 15 and Spring 16 which is independent from the 14-15 which only affects Summer 15.
ABSN Moderator: Victoria, what is your last name? I will make sure to forward you the e-mail about the institutional scholarship announcement?
ABSN Moderator: Victoria, there is no deadline but if you want to know what you will be awarded before your Summer 15 semester starts you need to do it now. We have already packaged students starting the ABSN program in April, May and June.
Krista: How many students get selected for the institutional scholarships? What criteria do they look for in the selected recipients?
Krista: When do we receive the money that our financial aid entails or does it go directly towards paying our dues for the semester?
Krista: Do private loans go directly into our student accounts as well and then we just get what ever is left over for living expenses etc?
ABSN Moderator: Victoria, I forgot to mention that you need to have the 15-16 FAFSA on file for the institutional scholarship application.
ABSN Moderator: Krista, it depends on the applicants. Typically about 80% of the students get something. Scholarship range from $500 to $6000 The amount also is determined based off the donor funds. The decisions are based off of GPA and need.
victoria: yes, thank you, i will get that filled out as soon as i can
Krista: Is it per semester or or year?
ABSN Moderator: Krista, your financial aid gets applied to the semester you apply it for. For example, for Summer 15 if you accept and apply for the Federal and private loans, then it all gets applied to off set your Summer 2015 balance. If there is anything extra, then the University will issue you a refund check.
ABSN Moderator: Kristi, if you are starting Summer 2015 ABSN program then the 14-15 FAFSA covers for Summer 15 only. The 15-16 FAFSA will then cover you for Fall 15 & Spring 2016.
Krista: Thank you. Does the interest from the federal loans only start accruing after it is distributed? For example, if I get 1000$ dollars for summer, interest will accrue on that but not for the 1000$ I may get for the next two semesters?
ABSN Moderator: Krista, there are two types of Federal loans. One is a Subsidized Federal loan which is need based. That one starts to accrue interst after you graduate or separate from school. The Unsubsidized Federal loan is not a need based loan and this one starts to acrue interest about 30 days after the disbursement.
ABSN Moderator: Krista, did I answer your question?
Sabrina: What is the interest rate for the private loans issued from the FA office? (i.e. the ones that are coupled with the federal loans)
Krista: Yes, perfect. Thank you!
ABSN Moderator: Sabrina, The interest rates on the private loan vary. But they are determined based off of the libor/prime indexes and credit is a big factor in lenders approving the loan. To get an idea of the interest rate ranges you can go to: Welcome to ELMSelect
ABSN Moderator: Very good questions!
Sabrina: Thank you!
ABSN Moderator: Any other financial aid questions? This session will go on until 11am.
Krista: What are some other common questions?
victoria: so when i fill out the fafsa for the june start absn, i need to fill out the 14-15 and the 15-16 at the same time or do i fill out 15-16 later in the year?
ABSN Moderator: Well mostly you can get everything in your financial aid packet. The Federal loans have an interest rate of 4.66% and a fee of 1.073% which is deducted from the loan. So when you accept a loan you will see that what is applied is a little less because of the fee. Also if you are starting the progam this Summer 2015 I highly recommend that you research outside scholarship and apply. When you start the program you will see it is accelerated and your time will be very busy.
ABSN Moderator: For private loans, we do recommend the http://www.elmselect.com website but if you want to venture on your on to find a different lender that offers private/alternative education loans you can do that. Just make sure you communicate with us so we can make sure to process that loan appropriately for you.
Krista: Is it too late for most scholarships for 2015?
Jessica: What scholarship websites do you recommend visiting?
ABSN Moderator: It depends. Typically scholarships start to come up in the Summer for the 15-16 academic year.
Krista: What are the best scholarships for ABSN students?
ABSN Moderator: Krista, I don't have any specific scholarships since they are have different criterias. But some students in the past have gotten scholarships also from the following: Tylenol, Kaiser Permamente, Health Professions (www.oshpd.ca.gov) and also Hospitals that offer scholarship's to nursing studnets.
ABSN Moderator: Jessica, I would research and apply to any scholarships that I have listed below that you may fit the criteria for and are open for an application.
ABSN Moderator: Any other questions before we resume this chat session with awesome questions?
Krista: Thank you so much Lilly! I will be on the look out for my financial aid packet
ABSN Moderator: Just to remind you all, we are available via phone, fax and in person. We have scheduled other Financial Aid web chats as well to assist you. The Financial aid is located in the Oakland campus but we do schedule financail aid visits remotely as well as in person to the San Mateo and Sacramento campus. For more information you can go to: https://www.samuelmerritt.edu/financial_aid/financial-aid-site-visits
ABSN Moderator: Also feel free to reach out to me via e-mail at [email protected] for any further follow up questions/inquiries.
Sabrina: Thanks for answering our questions!
ABSN Moderator: This concludes the 4/7/15 ABSN FA Web Chat Session. Thank you for joining the ABSN Financial Aid Web Chat Session from 10am-11am today. Have a wonderful day!
ABSN Moderator: Sabrina, you are welcome. Thanks for the questions. Talk to you soon.
Hey Everyone! I started a Facebook group for the ABSN Oakland May 2015 cohort. I included the link (hope it works). If not, search Samuel Merritt University - ABSN Oakland May Class of 2016! Looking forward to meeting everyone!
I got accepted earlier today to the San Mateo June Cohort! I was initially accepted for November then was offered to be pushed up to June. The only difference is my clinicals will now be in the South Bay/San Mateo area instead of SF area. Does anyone have any pros and cons thoughts on this? I will be starting in two weeks so have a lot of questions to ask still and already missed orientation I believe.
If you did, I'd appreciate any information you got out of it! :)
tmarstaller
13 Posts
Hi all! I'll be part of the Oakland May cohort. I currently live in San Francisco but would like to move to Oakland. Is anyone else looking to move closer to school, or know of a spare room or small studio that could be available for a May timeframe? I'd hugely appreciate any of my soon-to-be-classmates, and those who may be moving to join the other cohorts, keeping an ear and eye out for me. My price range is ~$1000/month. I can be reached at [email protected]. Look forward to starting this intense year with you guys soon!
Tess