Seattle U - APNI 2013

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Hello everyone - this is my second time applying. A month ago, I bombed the interview!

If this is your first time applying, there's a world of information from previous years, especially from the 2012 thread where we reached more than one thousand messages.

I know it's super early to start this thread, but this whole thing takes a long time to prepare and the more time we have before the deadline, the better.

I'm from the Seattle area, my background is Microbiology from the UW and I am again applying for the midwifery track.

I do live in Seattle and am interested in that GRE prep course if it can fit into my schedule. Is it a class at the UW or does he just teach it to independent students? Can you give me more info on it and how to sign up?

I'm getting excited:)

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I am the uw right now but will look for his info when I get home. He teaches independently. Talk to you soon!

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Tessa, I did a quick google search a found many uw prep courses thatMight interest you, just google "uw gre prep course" ;). The one I took was Mark Wahl, I think (I'll confirm at home and try to guide you through this). I would suggest that you pick a few and compare, maybe look for reviews online. Sometimes the instructors teach at colleges and you might find more info if you google their name or look at rate my professors.com. I liked the one I took and also took an algebra refresher with him. It's fast paced but I think what it was worth was the info about how to tackle each question. However I think that the books like Gre Baron's have a lot of tip about that too, so you might be able to only take the cheap refresher course or none. Mark does not go through everything at all, just goes through common problems and hang ups and stuff that's going to be at the test. He also explains how it is critical to get the earlier questions right, etc.

My suggestion: go to Barnes and noble and get one book that you like and start practicing at home. It's easy, I promise. Start memorizing the words because the English test is totally crazy in my opinion hahah. But the essay is easy, I did really well, the crucial thing about my essay was to think out of the box and cover every possibility.Then you take the course if you feel you need the extra info. These short courses are for people who already have studied, I think. It might seem redundant but at least it validated my strategies and taught me some ways of doing the questions fast, which is what I needed. It is timed, and time is always my worst enemy. ;)

Ugh, I'm sorry I made so made mistakes, I'm on my iPhone inside a moving vehicle hahah

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Thanks Calinca! I got a book and will be looking it over soon! I'll look up this Mark guy and see what else is out there. Thanks for the suggestions!

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Specializes in Emergency Dept, ICU.

Hello,

When you say earlier that you bombed the interview, what was it like? I haven't interviewed yet for any of my 2013 applications and I am nervous about what to expect for the interviews.

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Truth is: most people are super nervous!

You are interviewing with one or two people and it's a very simple, 8-question format. Same questions for everyone, so take that into consideration when you write your personal statement. Many people felt they had stuff to say but they didn't either have the opportunity (nobody asked them) or no time (everybody agreed that 30 min felt almost rushed). There's nothing tricky. They don't ask "tell me about yourself" or anything crazy like "if you're an animal, what would you be?", the questions are the same for everybody in your specialty, so there's nothing very personal that you have to say, like explain grades or nothing really out of the box. Questions are more like how to solve conflict, why you will be an ideal candidate and why SU is a good school for you.

There are tons of posts about that in the 2011 and 2012 threads, hope that helps!

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Calinca,

Would you be willing to share your GPA stats? I want to get into Seattle U so badly!! Do you believe they look more at scores or do they take a holistic view and care more about the personal statement?

Thanks! And good luck!

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Hi lindsay,

My gpa was 3.6 when I applied - I've been taking a bunch of courses this year, so I'm sure that has changed. BUT, yes, I don't think they look at scores so much, I believe the scores are a way to just make sure you can deal with the coursework. If someone has a bad gpa they should still apply!

I believe the personal statement is key to get the interview though.

Hope this helps!

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Hi everyone! I'm so glad these message boards exist! I happened upon the 2012 thread and have spent the last two nights reading through them all with great suspense! :) When I got toward the end, I was happy to see the 2013 thread!

I'm retaking prerequisites this year. I applied to the graduate entry programs in 2006 when UW used to offer their program and was waitlisted at OHSU, but didn't get in to either. After that I worked in another (totally different) field and had my two children. Now that my boys are 2 & 4 I'm ready to pursue my dream of becoming a dual FNP/midwife!

I'm struggling with a couple of things:

1) Which program to apply to first. I know FNP is the most competitive, but I've always thought I'd do a post master's certificate in midwifery when my kids were older so I wouldn't have to take call in the middle of the night when they are young. But after seeing how competitive the program is, I'm considering apply to CNM and doing the certificate in FNP later.

2) Feeling totally un-competitive! I've been at home with my kids for the last 4 years and just before having them, I worked in public relations (very corporate). I'm immersing myself in prerequisites now and am hopefully going to take on a bit of volunteering, but I'm wondering if my more recent past is not in alignment with what they are looking for. I do have a degree in Health Psychology, experience working for Planned Parenthood for 3 years after graduation and I was an Americorps volunteer for two years before finishing my undergrad. BUT I feel like the last 6 years or so has been more focused on me.

Anyhow, I'm excited to take part in this process with you all and look forward to meeting my potential future cohorts!

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Hello everyone,

I'm also applying for a second time. I applied to the FNP track last year but I wasn't selected for an interview. I'm considering applying to the AGNP track this year since it seems to be less competitive than FNP. I'm also from Seattle, finished at UW in '09(BA in psych). What other schools are you guys applying to? I applied to PLU, University of Hawaii Manoa and University of Southern Maine last year. I got rejected from all of them but USM for which I was waitlisted.

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Cureac - I am planning on applying to Oregon Health and Sciences U (OHSU) in addition to SU and UH Monoa. OHSU only allows direct entry students to do the psych or nurse midwifery specialties and you must complete their accelerated BSN program before working on the advance practice graduate degrees.

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed as I just decided a week ago to pursue graduate NP programs in addition to continuing to apply to community college programs in my local area. My biggest question is which specialty to apply to. I am feeling drawn to the PMHNP specialty as I have had an interest in psychology for along time and I feel like I would have the opportunity to get to know whats really going on for patients better. I am also interested in pediatrics which is not an available specialty at SU. The FNP is very attractive because it seems to allow the most flexibility and the demand for primary care practitioners is going to be huge in the next few years.

I want to determine which specialty I am most passionate about but I also wonder about practical concerns. The PMHNP program at SU is less competitive but also takes a year longer. Pediatrics would require relocating. I may be applying to different specialties at different schools.

These ramblings bring me to some questions. How did other folks decide on the specialty they did? Are you going with what you feel most drawn to or are you bringing in practical concerns like location and time? Are some people applying to different specialties depend ing on what the school offers? How are you factoring in the relative competitiveness of different specialties? Also, is 3 months enough time to figure these questions out and put together a decent application?

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I just remembered the reason I started the above rant. I think one great ways to answer some of these questions would be to talk with an SU grad working as an NP. Does anyone know a good way to get ahold of SU alumni? I just emailed the school to see if they can get me in contact with someone.

Thanks!

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