Seminole State/UCF BSN Concurrent Program- Fall 2011

VAORRN · Mar 30, 2011

How is it going so far, jacksonleo?

jacksonleo · Mar 30, 2011

How is it going so far, jacksonleo?

It is going very well for me, many previously A students are having a hard time though. Here are two things I can say, make sure that you are super (and I mean SUPER) organized and on top of the schedule at all times because there are a lot of surprises with the schedule and at times things seem very disorganized. Secondly, know your material well but more importantly than that begin to really think like a nurse from the beginning, meaning what would you do if you were already a nurse? This will help you with everything, especially the tests. Some get stuck on the "what ifs" as opposed to what is really being asked.

I will be on my third semester when you guys get started so look us up and don't be shy to come and talk to us. My group is very friendly and would love to help you out. I have made it a point to talk to the seniors every chance I get and that is really helping me get prepared for what is coming. It is hard but it is doable but the trick is to have a positive attitude through it all.

VAORRN · Mar 30, 2011

Is there a lot of required reading? Are u using your textbooks?

pina2303 · Mar 30, 2011

Jacksonleo,

Hello! I remember seeing your name in a previous forum on allnurses. Nice to see you reaching out to us noobs. :clown: What was your GPA and TEAS? I remember seeing someone by the username of "whitewolf" or something and they had a 3.4 gpa and 78.8% TEAS and got accepted!! It gives me great hope because I have the same!

jacksonleo · Mar 30, 2011

Jacksonleo,
Hello! I remember seeing your name in a previous forum on allnurses. Nice to see you reaching out to us noobs. What was your GPA and TEAS? I remember seeing someone by the username of "whitewolf" or something and they had a 3.4 gpa and 78.8% TEAS and got accepted!! It gives me great hope because I have the same!

I am replying to both you and iluvlaxx3 at the same time. Yes, there is a lot of reading and we are using the textbooks although I am using an earlier edition (and doing fine). Only get the required books though, no need to get the recommended ones... the ATI book is very helpful to prep for tests (they give you the book so don't have to buy it).

My gpa 3.67, TEAS 87.1 but they also look at other things as well so don't worry about the gpa so much and be optimistic (the overall gpa is what they look at, I was told, so you are good). Whitewlf is in my class. I am reaching out because I was in your shoes not long ago and I had a million questions. BTW, several of us from the Spring forum became very good friends and we help each other out a lot so keep up with each other as well after you get accepted. Definitely come talk to us after you get started. I will be happy to help...

coffeecrazy4, BSN, RN · Mar 31, 2011

Hi everyone, I'm a UCF nursing student I just joined the site but I've been reading the threads for a while. I just got rejected from the UCF program on Monday and I'm extremely upset, wasn't even waitlisted. I went to talk to the advisor and he said any other year I would have gotten in. There were girls with 3.8's that didn't get in. I have a 3.625 nursing gpa, 3.51 overall, and 84.7 TEAS, and also applied to the SSC/UCF concurrent program. He said I would be very competitive in the selection process and sounded hopeful, but based on the applicant pool for the UCF program, I've just been feeling really down about all of it. Still hoping for this one though :/

Nestadren · Apr 1, 2011

hi everyone. hi jacksonleo!

i also applied last fall to the concurrent program, and was accepted with the spring 2011 class with jacksonleo. these threads are a great idea, and you can all be of so much help to eachother through the process before classes start. then, once you start you may find you are good friends throughout the program!

i had actually begun the thread for our class last year, although today i am no longer a nursing student (long list of reasons but to sum it up nursing was not my ideal path, want to go more into research). i wanted to visit this site and maybe offer a few words of reassurance to the current applicants.

i was accepted and began the ssc-ucf concurrent nursing program, so my points may not hold valid for the generic bsn program through ucf, although it is likely the criteria is pretty similar.

here is something i want to emphasize and say up front:

i feel that the program is made out to be far more competitive to get into, as well as difficult, than it is in reality. i have found that one thing has been said by those in a position to speak on behalf the program, and another conflicting point would be made against it. for example: at the two information sessions i had attended, we were told that getting less than a b in a science course would disqualify you in ucf's eyes from the program, and yet i know others who got in (concurrent with ucf) with a grade of c in these same courses. this may have been due to these students already applying to the program before and this being their second chance. as i'm sure you all know, date of finished prereqs is a biggie.

another topic that often remains ambiguous at info or advising sessions is whether or not someone actually has a chance to get in if one or more prereqs is in progress at the time of application. i don't even remember how many times i tried to get an answer to this question. all of the information provided on program acceptance seems to say it is unlikely; however here is what i have witnessed/experienced:

1. i got accepted into the program during my final term of prereqs, and in fact i was taking chemistry with lab, spanish ii, and statistics, all during the term i applied. in addition, this was my second attempt at the chemistry course...having taken it that former summer/term b and not doing favorably (largely contributed by missing exam and not allowed makeup) due to personal issues. i mention this to give awareness to the fact that this grade was on my application's transcript, and i still got in...i'm sure this was heavily influenced by my other grades, standing as evidence that this was an anomaly, but still.

2. another student in my chemistry class last fall was accepted (still completing her prereqs). two more girls in that class were rejected, but they had

3. i feel that there is a limit on the number of prereqs allowed to be in progress, instead of just making it a condition for rejection regardless. i had a friend apply at the same time as myself with a higher gpa, yet she did not get in. she had 4 or 5 prereq courses in progress.

4. disclaimer: i'm not at all certain about the above mentioned, but it may be the case and i feel it is worth mentioning. last year, i would have liked to know myself.

words of advice...

-yes, be organized. you must be because the program is not very well. even though you will be provided a term's long schedule in your fundamental's course, you may very often get the feeling that you must be on your toes from all the changes and updates that are made. labs always felt disorganized, even with a schedule.

-the skill videos should be one of the first things you buy for this program. you are expected to watch the assigned nursing skill demonstrations on the specified dvd, and then you will come in to your scheduled lab (the class was divided into a and b group, then further divided into smaller groups of up to about 10 for labs) and practice on simulated dummies while the instructors watch and comment. be prepared for this- you will not be given demonstration. if such a demonstration is requested from an instructor, be prepared to be glared at with questions asked of you regarding if you watched the skill videos. this happened to me twice, and in both cases i watched the videos but wanted to see it in front of me again. i previously saw nothing wrong in this in an academic setting...college is about teaching.

do not be made to feel like you can't ask questions, which is exactly how this kind of environment tends to make one feel.

books and readings: there will be a lot of assigned readings. i like to read, and i was interested, but you will probably never get the reading done. the good thing is, you don't really need to to do well on the exams. i felt that the main points (theory portion) were summarized in lecture, and the checklists summed up the skill content well enough. of course there will be a lot of additional info, and the readings can only help, but i wouldn't say they are necessary for the first term courses. exception: pharmacology, just because you won't really get much of a lecture. lots of focus on group activities instead.

if you have time for the readings, by all means do them- they will help. but if you don't, don't get stressed out about it. you will know what is necessary.

-my group's clinical instructor was actually asked one evening by a fellow student, "so, who exactly picked us to get in?" meaning into the nursing program. the prof. replied that no one does exactly, that it is rather based solely on whether or not certain criteria are satisfied. i'm thinking computer system here. it may be the case even that (most? all?) the applications never see human eyes...i have also heard not to bother with letters of rec., etc. for this reason.

-nursing tests: before you even start, at orientation you will hear from professors and students how much more challenging the nursing testing format and question type is compared to your familiar general ed/other subject exams. i did not find it any more difficult, but there are a few things you should know:

*don't read into it. if it's not stated in the question, and has nothing to do with the question, it shouldn't be in the answer!!!!!!!!!!!! there is usually at least one answer out of the 4 mult. choices that is completely 'out there' and can be thrown out.

*lots of emphasis will be put on this concept that nursing questions all require critical thinking. your prof's will also tell you you will not find that the answers are so simple as regurgitating a memorized fact. here is what this means: the question will not e.g. ask you "what is standard precautions?" instead it would ask "in what scenario would you not have to follow standard precautions?" and then list four scenarios. the result is that more knowledge beyond the basic def. is needed, but it's not terribly difficult. it still felt like the same formula, same type of testing that i'd been used to throughout my time at college.

-know that nurses diagnose using nursing diagnoses and that the medical and nursing models are distinctly different: nursing deals with the human response to the disease or condition (actual or perceived); medicine treats and diagnoses the disease or condition. you won't be taught this important point (3/4 the class raised their hands and admitted to a lack of knowledge that nurses even diagnosed) until the nursing process lecture, a few weeks from the midpoint of the first semester.

-this is complete opinion: i felt that the level of difficulty was due more to the feeling of being busy, that is, stress, rather than to actual difficulty in understanding/testing well on the material.

in other words, the program feels stressful. at times very stressful. and for me, it wasn't the same stress of microbiology class for example, but a stress of pressure to get all the readings done before class, to go to skill check off's, or clinicals, to be prepared enough for lab... i felt this stress continuously during the week, even after seeing how i performed on the actual exams/check offs/clinicals- which was good and got positive feedback. the external pressure from the faculty, in hindsight, is a bit much. i say this only because i would feel just as stressed out if i studied/read all night/watched skill videos half a dozen times after coming home from lecture until labs that next afternoon as i would if i would only read the text half an hour and watch the videos a couple times. this held true for exams- my performance would be about the same after wards (i got a's) despite my being more or less prepared.

the only reason i mention this is because i feel that the program (faculty) make the students feel like everything is far more stressful than it actually is. another example: you will have skill check off's that must be passed in order to do certain clinicals (hospital or nursing home). even though up front you are told should you fail you will be allowed to sign up to try again at no penalty, all is made to be very intense, as if it is pass/fail=stay or leave. the check offs take place weeks before the retry opportunity may need to be given to retakers to avoid this very predicament so that course progression is not hindered. in addition, students still pass if points are missed on check-off's. i was even told on the first check off that the instructor performing it had "never failed anyone."

(-also, know that you will need to have theoretical knowledge in place for whatever skill check off you are doing: you will be asked oral questions. this is not something we were told, but rather were made to believe it would be an observational pass/fail test)

maybe the faculty try to make the program that much more intense because of the nature of the actual work (i.e. dealing with people's lives). in my opinion though it is not very realistic while in school, as everyone is still only just learning.

i know i have a somewhat negative view of the program overall, but i hope some of this advice may help those here who want to and do get in to the program and who really want to be nurses.

last words of advice...make sure this is what you want! of course, this last part would have been the most important part for me to have thought about last term while applying. i had been contemplating it, and wasn't sure until i got that big double acceptance letter. i thought that since the program was so competitive (and that yet i had gotten in despite my own application issues), and because i had been doing prereq courses for 2 years that i had to give it a shot. but i had also been going back and forth for over a year on whether on i wanted to do nursing, and in hindsight i think i was just convincing myself to do it despite my feelings (and reasons)of not wanting to. this may be hindsight bias, i don't know. i was told by the ucf adviser that a large percentage of students that leave the first term realize it wasn't what they wanted.

i hope this helps someone. good luck to you all. :)

wannabnurs · Apr 2, 2011

Hi everyone! I have also applied to the Fall 2011 SSC/UCF Concurrent Program. I am so nervous/excited! Thank you to all who have posted their experiences. I have really enjoyed reading all the posts.

So here is my story:

4.0 GPA

77.3 TEAS

Finished pre-reqs Spring 2010

2nd application to the program

Good Luck to all of us and to the lucky ones who have already made it into the program!!!

wannabnurs · Apr 2, 2011

hi everyone. hi jacksonleo!
i also applied last fall to the concurrent program, and was accepted with the spring 2011 class with jacksonleo. these threads are a great idea, and you can all be of so much help to eachother through the process before classes start. then, once you start you may find you are good friends throughout the program!
i had actually begun the thread for our class last year, although today i am no longer a nursing student (long list of reasons but to sum it up nursing was not my ideal path, want to go more into research). i wanted to visit this site and maybe offer a few words of reassurance to the current applicants.

i was accepted and began the ssc-ucf concurrent nursing program, so my points may not hold valid for the generic bsn program through ucf, although it is likely the criteria is pretty similar.

here is something i want to emphasize and say up front:
i feel that the program is made out to be far more competitive to get into, as well as difficult, than it is in reality. i have found that one thing has been said by those in a position to speak on behalf the program, and another conflicting point would be made against it. for example: at the two information sessions i had attended, we were told that getting less than a b in a science course would disqualify you in ucf's eyes from the program, and yet i know others who got in (concurrent with ucf) with a grade of c in these same courses. this may have been due to these students already applying to the program before and this being their second chance. as i'm sure you all know, date of finished prereqs is a biggie.
another topic that often remains ambiguous at info or advising sessions is whether or not someone actually has a chance to get in if one or more prereqs is in progress at the time of application. i don't even remember how many times i tried to get an answer to this question. all of the information provided on program acceptance seems to say it is unlikely; however here is what i have witnessed/experienced:
1. i got accepted into the program during my final term of prereqs, and in fact i was taking chemistry with lab, spanish ii, and statistics, all during the term i applied. in addition, this was my second attempt at the chemistry course...having taken it that former summer/term b and not doing favorably (largely contributed by missing exam and not allowed makeup) due to personal issues. i mention this to give awareness to the fact that this grade was on my application's transcript, and i still got in...i'm sure this was heavily influenced by my other grades, standing as evidence that this was an anomaly, but still.
2. another student in my chemistry class last fall was accepted (still completing her prereqs). two more girls in that class were rejected, but they had
3. i feel that there is a limit on the number of prereqs allowed to be in progress, instead of just making it a condition for rejection regardless. i had a friend apply at the same time as myself with a higher gpa, yet she did not get in. she had 4 or 5 prereq courses in progress.
4. disclaimer: i'm not at all certain about the above mentioned, but it may be the case and i feel it is worth mentioning. last year, i would have liked to know myself.

words of advice...
-yes, be organized. you must be because the program is not very well. even though you will be provided a term's long schedule in your fundamental's course, you may very often get the feeling that you must be on your toes from all the changes and updates that are made. labs always felt disorganized, even with a schedule.
-the skill videos should be one of the first things you buy for this program. you are expected to watch the assigned nursing skill demonstrations on the specified dvd, and then you will come in to your scheduled lab (the class was divided into a and b group, then further divided into smaller groups of up to about 10 for labs) and practice on simulated dummies while the instructors watch and comment. be prepared for this- you will not be given demonstration. if such a demonstration is requested from an instructor, be prepared to be glared at with questions asked of you regarding if you watched the skill videos. this happened to me twice, and in both cases i watched the videos but wanted to see it in front of me again. i previously saw nothing wrong in this in an academic setting...college is about teaching.
do not be made to feel like you can't ask questions, which is exactly how this kind of environment tends to make one feel.

books and readings: there will be a lot of assigned readings. i like to read, and i was interested, but you will probably never get the reading done. the good thing is, you don't really need to to do well on the exams. i felt that the main points (theory portion) were summarized in lecture, and the checklists summed up the skill content well enough. of course there will be a lot of additional info, and the readings can only help, but i wouldn't say they are necessary for the first term courses. exception: pharmacology, just because you won't really get much of a lecture. lots of focus on group activities instead.
if you have time for the readings, by all means do them- they will help. but if you don't, don't get stressed out about it. you will know what is necessary.

-my group's clinical instructor was actually asked one evening by a fellow student, "so, who exactly picked us to get in?" meaning into the nursing program. the prof. replied that no one does exactly, that it is rather based solely on whether or not certain criteria are satisfied. i'm thinking computer system here. it may be the case even that (most? all?) the applications never see human eyes...i have also heard not to bother with letters of rec., etc. for this reason.

-nursing tests: before you even start, at orientation you will hear from professors and students how much more challenging the nursing testing format and question type is compared to your familiar general ed/other subject exams. i did not find it any more difficult, but there are a few things you should know:

*don't read into it. if it's not stated in the question, and has nothing to do with the question, it shouldn't be in the answer!!!!!!!!!!!! there is usually at least one answer out of the 4 mult. choices that is completely 'out there' and can be thrown out.
*lots of emphasis will be put on this concept that nursing questions all require critical thinking. your prof's will also tell you you will not find that the answers are so simple as regurgitating a memorized fact. here is what this means: the question will not e.g. ask you "what is standard precautions?" instead it would ask "in what scenario would you not have to follow standard precautions?" and then list four scenarios. the result is that more knowledge beyond the basic def. is needed, but it's not terribly difficult. it still felt like the same formula, same type of testing that i'd been used to throughout my time at college.

-know that nurses diagnose using nursing diagnoses and that the medical and nursing models are distinctly different: nursing deals with the human response to the disease or condition (actual or perceived); medicine treats and diagnoses the disease or condition. you won't be taught this important point (3/4 the class raised their hands and admitted to a lack of knowledge that nurses even diagnosed) until the nursing process lecture, a few weeks from the midpoint of the first semester.

-this is complete opinion: i felt that the level of difficulty was due more to the feeling of being busy, that is, stress, rather than to actual difficulty in understanding/testing well on the material.
in other words, the program feels stressful. at times very stressful. and for me, it wasn't the same stress of microbiology class for example, but a stress of pressure to get all the readings done before class, to go to skill check off's, or clinicals, to be prepared enough for lab... i felt this stress continuously during the week, even after seeing how i performed on the actual exams/check offs/clinicals- which was good and got positive feedback. the external pressure from the faculty, in hindsight, is a bit much. i say this only because i would feel just as stressed out if i studied/read all night/watched skill videos half a dozen times after coming home from lecture until labs that next afternoon as i would if i would only read the text half an hour and watch the videos a couple times. this held true for exams- my performance would be about the same after wards (i got a's) despite my being more or less prepared.
the only reason i mention this is because i feel that the program (faculty) make the students feel like everything is far more stressful than it actually is. another example: you will have skill check off's that must be passed in order to do certain clinicals (hospital or nursing home). even though up front you are told should you fail you will be allowed to sign up to try again at no penalty, all is made to be very intense, as if it is pass/fail=stay or leave. the check offs take place weeks before the retry opportunity may need to be given to retakers to avoid this very predicament so that course progression is not hindered. in addition, students still pass if points are missed on check-off's. i was even told on the first check off that the instructor performing it had "never failed anyone."
(-also, know that you will need to have theoretical knowledge in place for whatever skill check off you are doing: you will be asked oral questions. this is not something we were told, but rather were made to believe it would be an observational pass/fail test)

maybe the faculty try to make the program that much more intense because of the nature of the actual work (i.e. dealing with people's lives). in my opinion though it is not very realistic while in school, as everyone is still only just learning.
i know i have a somewhat negative view of the program overall, but i hope some of this advice may help those here who want to and do get in to the program and who really want to be nurses.
last words of advice...make sure this is what you want! of course, this last part would have been the most important part for me to have thought about last term while applying. i had been contemplating it, and wasn't sure until i got that big double acceptance letter. i thought that since the program was so competitive (and that yet i had gotten in despite my own application issues), and because i had been doing prereq courses for 2 years that i had to give it a shot. but i had also been going back and forth for over a year on whether on i wanted to do nursing, and in hindsight i think i was just convincing myself to do it despite my feelings (and reasons)of not wanting to. this may be hindsight bias, i don't know. i was told by the ucf adviser that a large percentage of students that leave the first term realize it wasn't what they wanted.

i hope this helps someone. good luck to you all. :)

i totally know you....lol i just wanted to say thank you for posting this. i know it took you a long time to write it, but i really enjoyed reading it. it was so informational. i wish you well in your future endeavors. one of these days you will be doing exactly what you want to do and enjoying it! :)

i miss spanish class together.

jacksonleo · Apr 6, 2011

Hi everyone! I have also applied to the Fall 2011 SSC/UCF Concurrent Program. I am so nervous/excited! Thank you to all who have posted their experiences. I have really enjoyed reading all the posts.
So here is my story:
4.0 GPA
77.3 TEAS
Finished pre-reqs Spring 2010
2nd application to the program
Good Luck to all of us and to the lucky ones who have already made it into the program!!!

Wannabnurs... I will keep my fingers crossed for you. I know you will be in this time around!!! Look me up when you get started in the fall. Actually, if you all want to come by sometime to say hello and check things out, let me know

Hi Nestadren!!!

Everyone... you should definitely make sure that this is what you want to do. It is a lot of work and even if you do well in your classes, it is a huge amount of your time invested and you will have to make many sacrifices. So you should not have doubts that this is the route you want to take because every aspect of your life may have to be put on the back burner. I am an older student with lots of life experience so I did not make the decision lightly but I do see many students, however, who are there because "mom is a nurse," "job security," "flexible schedule" or countless of other reasons that may not carry them into a long term successful and gratifying career. I have even heard several people say that they don't like to touch people or are affraid of germs... Hello?! It's nursing, what do you think nurses do....?

Just my two cents... Anyway... Good luck to you...

wannabnurs · Apr 7, 2011

Wannabnurs... I will keep my fingers crossed for you. I know you will be in this time around!!! Look me up when you get started in the fall. Actually, if you all want to come by sometime to say hello and check things out, let me know
Hi Nestadren!!!
Everyone... you should definitely make sure that this is what you want to do. It is a lot of work and even if you do well in your classes, it is a huge amount of your time invested and you will have to make many sacrifices. So you should not have doubts that this is the route you want to take because every aspect of your life may have to be put on the back burner. I am an older student with lots of life experience so I did not make the decision lightly but I do see many students, however, who are there because "mom is a nurse," "job security," "flexible schedule" or countless of other reasons that may not carry them into a long term successful and gratifying career. I have even heard several people say that they don't like to touch people or are affraid of germs... Hello?! It's nursing, what do you think nurses do....?
Just my two cents... Anyway... Good luck to you...

Jacksonleo, I would love to come by sometime and meet you and check things out. It is so nice to have people like you and Nestadren to help us out. This is a scary time in our lives. Thank you for having faith in me. You all will know the minute that letter comes, whether it's good news or bad. :)

jacksonleo · Apr 7, 2011

Jacksonleo, I would love to come by sometime and meet you and check things out. It is so nice to have people like you and Nestadren to help us out. This is a scary time in our lives. Thank you for having faith in me. You all will know the minute that letter comes, whether it's good news or bad. :)

Of course, I will private mail you with my personal email address and we can set it up. We have exams Mon and Tues next week so that will be hard, then clinicals Thu and Fri so won't be in school but the following week will be fine on Mon and Tue. Actually, there is an international dinner on the 18th and guests can attend...