Samuel Merritt ELMSN Fall 2012

NessOC · Mar 18, 2012

Supreme - thanks for the address :)

I'm waiting for the friend request to be accepted. Talk to you all soon!

Nat714 · Mar 19, 2012

I got the FB link. I requested to join the group so not able to post msgs until someone accepts. Looking forward to you Ness and Laguna!

NessOC · Mar 19, 2012

Nat - cool! I'll be on the lookout for your email or comment via fb :)

illsince83 · Mar 22, 2012

just went here for nostalgia purposes. good luck to you all in starting your nursing careers with samuel merritt. it wont be easy, but it will be worth it. i am a recent graduate of their ELSMN-CM program. remember to keep that same work ethic that got you in this position in the first place. that first school year will be hectic

xzalense · Mar 23, 2012

just went here for nostalgia purposes. good luck to you all in starting your nursing careers with samuel merritt. it wont be easy, but it will be worth it. i am a recent graduate of their ELSMN-CM program. remember to keep that same work ethic that got you in this position in the first place. that first school year will be hectic

Thanks for your advice. If I may ask, do you happen to know how many people got into your program off the waitlist?

illsince83 · Mar 23, 2012

It differs every year. Generally they will take around 25 students for FNP and 25 for CM. The past couple years they've had an average of about 50 students per class. If you are on the wait list don't lose hope because many people get scared away after orientation (some because of the work load, some because of tuition, and some for other reasons). I've heard on many occasions of students getting in just days before the start of the school semester.

If you don't get into this cohort, I strongly suggest you apply to Sacramento's 2013 spring class. More people apply to Oakland so your chances of getting into Sacramento is much higher.

xzalense · Mar 23, 2012

Soo... I JUST GOT MY ACCEPTANCE EMAIL. I am beyond ecstatic and can't wait to start. I can't wait to meet all of you - Supreme, live.laugh.love, sweetrose!! Can someone pm me the fb group too? Aaahhh I can't think straight right now.

Nat714 · Mar 24, 2012

Hi illsince83, do you have any regrets going to SMU? Such as cost or program itself? If you had to do it over again, would you have gone to a ABSN or MSN in Clinical Nursing at a different university to save some money?

Nat714 · Mar 24, 2012

So I got into the FNP track and trying to justify the costs of going to SMU in comparison to the other programs I got into: Mount Saint Mary's ABSN (60K, 1 yr) and USD ELMSN (98k, 21 mos) in Clinical Nursing. I am pretty set in SMU since I ultimately want to be an FNP but it costs $120k!! Scary thought if I come out of the program making the same amount of money as someone who went to an ABSN program owing half of what I do. Any thoughts and insights?

xzalense · Mar 24, 2012

Nat714,

Think about it this way... if you go to the ABSN, you'll still need to find a job and get experience (very tough in this market!) then reapply for an FNP program - which would cost you more money anyway. If you add up the costs of the ABSN and another MSN or DNP, it could very well equal 120k if not more. If clinical nursing isn't something you want, then that's okay too because you can get a post-master's certificate. I don't think that should cost much more money but I could be wrong. However, if you take the hit of 120K, at least you get it all out of the way quickly. I would do the FNP and suffer for a few years by paying debt than have to deal with the headache of reapplying or getting experience.

Nat714 · Mar 24, 2012

Very true! It def was a big headache going thru the application process. Thanks for the advice :)

Nat714 · Mar 24, 2012

Did anyone get a packet of things to do before orientation? I got my username and pass to log on to the SMU website but didn't see any pending documents etc.