Samuel Merritt ABSN Summer 2020

Nursing Students School Programs

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Hi All,

I didn't see a thread for the Samuel Merritt ABSN summer 2020 cohort and just wanted to start one, as I know most of us are in the process of applying right now. I applied to the Sacramento campus, but am currently waitlisted. I just wanted to see if anyone has any recommendations on how to be more competitive aside from GPA (as I am going to retake some courses to up my GPAs). I love that Samuel Merritt looks at applicants holistically. Please share the wisdom , whether you are applying or you are already in the program. Thank you and have a blessed day !

Specializes in Nurse.

@Cpowers129

Would you mind sharing what the class schedule looks like? How many hours a day are we in classes and how many times a week? And generally when clinicals are and stuff like that. Any info is greatly appreciated. I’m feeling a little anxious to start such an intense program and I just want to know what to expect.

thank you in advance!!

On 4/3/2020 at 2:14 PM, NurseRojas said:

Thanks again all! I got into my SMU email (May Oakland cohort) and if you haven't yet, I would highly encourage anyone with questions to make sure that is the first thing you do. We got an email yesterday stating that they are looking into whether or not we will be able to start on time, given that no hospitals are accepting nursing students in them right now, given the pandemic and shortage of PPE. They want us to be able to start and finish within the 12 month time frame. They did offer to anyone that doesn't want to wait and see about this time frame, that we can defer to a later term (For example, San Mateo has a September and a January start term), but would need to contact them to request so.

Hello,
Have you gotten anymore information on whether the May Oakland cohort will start on time? Did they give you a specific date for when you have to decide if you want to defer to another later term? I’m high up on the waitlist so I’m trying to figure out if there will be any movement at all or if I should start working on my application for the next term.

Also, does anyone know if the Spring Application SFP January start is actually due May 1 or July 1? It says on the website that the Fall Application deadline has been extended to 5/1 but if you read further down it states that they will not enroll a new cohort of students in November (Fall) 2020. Very confused. ??‍♀️

10 hours ago, jazzies said:

@Cpowers129

Would you mind sharing what the class schedule looks like? How many hours a day are we in classes and how many times a week? And generally when clinicals are and stuff like that. Any info is greatly appreciated. I’m feeling a little anxious to start such an intense program and I just want to know what to expect.

thank you in advance!!

@jazzies sure. You generally have two full days (9-5) of class, two 12 hour days in the hospital. And one half day doing simulation lab every week. There are semesters, but think of each 15 week semester as being broken up into 5 week “blocks”. Each block, you have a new set of classes and the days/ times will change.
That said, the days/ times of your schedule will change each 5 weeks. So my reason for not working is both that I do not have the time as I spend most of my off time studying or doing class/homework and that my schedule days and times changes pretty dramatically every 5 weeks...hard for an employer to Work me into a schedule.
Also, I was a student who rolled my eyes at the recommendation not to work. I had 2 jobs and was involved in clubs/sports while in my first undergrad program so I figured I’d be fine working just part time or even per diem. The amount of work outside of class will not allow that. At least not in the beginning of the program. The class that is in their second semester reports having some more time and many of them serve as TA’s, tutors, or work part time.

I find that the time spent at school or clinical closely resembles a full time job. Then there is the the time at home you spend studying. Any time that I have left over is spent sleeping, showering, and squeezing in some time with loved ones. Expect the program to be pretty all encompassing for the duration of it. Making plans for more than a day/ night is difficult - so I wouldn’t plan any vacations outside of the Spring and fall breaks (2 weeks each).

feel free to ask any follow up questions. I remember so vividly being in your shoes and all I wanted was more info. I’ll share whatever I can.

1 Votes
Specializes in Nurse.

@Cpowers129

WOW!, thank you so much for such a detailed response!! I really appreciate it!

Yes, I am already planning on not having a life outside of school. My June cohort just got moved to November so I have a lot more time to prepare before the start of the program. Do you ever have class/hospital/labs on the weekends or are the weekends just spent studying?

Do you have any other tips for students to prepare before the start of the program besides reviewing A&P and PATHO and PHARM? I am in patho and pharm right now so hopefully it'll stay fresh when school starts. I will probably keep reviewing the content over and over again until school starts bc they are such hard classes.

Thanks again for being so helpful!! I am so grateful for this ?

40 minutes ago, jazzies said:

@Cpowers129

WOW!!, thank you so much for such a detailed response!! I really appreciate it!

Yes, I am already planning on not having a life outside of school. My June cohort just got moved to November so I have a lot more time to prepare before the start of the program. Do you ever have class/hospital/labs on the weekends or are the weekends just spent studying?

Do you have any other tips for students to prepare before the start of the program besides reviewing A&P and PATHO and PHARM? I am in patho and pharm right now so hopefully it'll stay fresh when school starts. I will probably keep reviewing the content over and over again until school starts bc they are such hard classes.

Thanks again for being so helpful!! I am so grateful for this ?

@jazzies hey, no problem for the info. As far as weekend schedules go, think of it this way: the school operates on “normal business hours” so no requirements to be on campus or at school on weekends. BUT hospitals are 24/7. At the Sacramento campus, our cohort is split up between 4-5 hospitals. Some people’s clinical days are on mon/tues, some are sat/sun, some fri/sat etc. But we all go to class on the same two days on campus. Make sense? It’s sort of like school is “lecture” and clinicals are “lab” and the labs are smaller groups on a variety of days. All this to say - yes you might be doing clinical on weekends, but you also might not it just depends on where you are placed. And no, you don’t have much say in where or which you get placed, the school places you.

1 Votes
On 4/8/2020 at 10:36 AM, Cpowers129 said:

@jazzies hey, no problem for the info. As far as weekend schedules go, think of it this way: the school operates on “normal business hours” so no requirements to be on campus or at school on weekends. BUT hospitals are 24/7. At the Sacramento campus, our cohort is split up between 4-5 hospitals. Some people’s clinical days are on mon/tues, some are sat/sun, some fri/sat etc. But we all go to class on the same two days on campus. Make sense? It’s sort of like school is “lecture” and clinicals are “lab” and the labs are smaller groups on a variety of days. All this to say - yes you might be doing clinical on weekends, but you also might not it just depends on where you are placed. And no, you don’t have much say in where or which you get placed, the school places you.

I know that we have no say in where we will be placed for clinicals, but can you give us an idea of the region where we might be placed if we attend the Sacramento campus? Thanks ?

We contract with almost all major hospitals in Sacramento county. Our group attends facilities in Roseville, Citrus Heights, downtown and South Sacramento.

but that only holds for “regular” times. I don’t know how social distancing practices will further affect clinical sites.

1 Votes

Hi All,

I am interested in applying to the ABSN at SMU.

I cannot seem to find on the school's site if the science prerequisites (Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology) has any required recency? A lot of nursing schools requires to either to complete these within 5 or 7 years.

Does anybody know?

Thank you!

24 minutes ago, HapaNess908 said:

Hi All,

I am interested in applying to the ABSN at SMU.

I cannot seem to find on the school's site if the science prerequisites (Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology) has any required recency? A lot of nursing schools requires to either to complete these within 5 or 7 years.

Does anybody know?

Thank you!

Hey so there’s no formal recency requirement, I had talked to a counselor before I applied. He told me since my grades in those two subjects were so high, I would be fine. Mine were from 10 years ago at the time I applied and I scored a 98 on the anatomy/physio section for HESI, so I think the HESI confirmed that I still retained most of the info from long ago. I did get accepted into the Summer cohort.

Thank you, laifalove! CONGRATS getting accepted into the Summer cohort!

Has anyone heard if the Oakland cohort is still starting on time (end of May)?

1 Votes

Hello everyone,

Do you think your friends, who may be interested in attending accelerated nursing programs or entry level master programs would be interested in learning how to be a competitive applicant?

Let me know. If you all have any ideas, please send them to me. I feel there is a need for students to know more about this pathway other than the generic program requirements. Students frequently ask me questions about how to standout especially if they do not get in.

For those who do not know me, I'm in the Entry Level Masters FNP Progam at Samuel Merritt University. In the coming months, I will be providing services to students where we can zoom and go over some tips and things you can do to stand out of little charge.

Email me if you have any questions.

1 Votes
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