SFSU GMSN Fall 2014

max79 · Mar 9, 2014

Yes, @master641215, me too! I wish I could call & ask countless questions, but I don't want to irritate. I applied to the UCLA MECN program, USF EL CNL & also Mount St. Mary's ABSN program. I did my undergrad at UCLA where I received a BA in English. Nursing will be my second career. I've sacrificed a lot to make this big change and am very excited to start a program in Fall. Now, if only admissions decisions would come in already! I am really hoping SFSU releases decisions early April since they are only admitting 20 students! I usually want time to slow down but in this case I wish I could travel to the future!

master641215 · Mar 9, 2014

I know what you mean max79! March isn't ending fast enough! Hopefully you get into at least one of your chosen schools. It's smart to cast a wide net to increase your chances of acceptance. Best of luck to you (and to all who are reading these posts)!

To all who aren't members of Allnurses, feel free to join us and post your anxieties/questions/concerns regarding the SFSU GMSN program! Misery loves company!

fancyeyes, BSN, RN · Mar 9, 2014

20 seems very low, are you sure that's right? I thought it would be around 40-50

"How many people do you admit into the program?We admit 40-50 students into our GMSN program and 20 students each into our RN-MSN, Cohort, and Post Master’s Certificate program each academic year, depending on enrollment targets. These numbers are subject to change."

Haha @max79, I know what you mean; I've been checking this thread for the past month and I haven't seen much activity. I'm sure there are others who are reading along, but haven't created an account yet. I hope this post serves as an open invitation to them!
I also went to an information session (in October), and they said in previous years, they've received ~120-200 applications and accepted 20-40 students. This year, however, they have to cap admission to 20 students.
I am currently earning a Masters of Science degree in Biomedical Science at SFSU, and will be finishing up this May. I also did my undergraduate there, as well. If I get into the nursing program, that will be my second Masters degree. As far as my feelings of the masters program at SFSU, I can't attest to the School of Nursing, however, the Biology Department is top notch in terms of quality and support. Because SFSU is a commuter campus that caters to ~40,000 students, sometimes it can feel as if student resources are non-existent. But because I've been there for the past 7-8 years, I've learned to hunt for resources (ie scholarships, fellowships, tutor programs) and was pleased to find the amount of quality professors who actually care about their student's success.
I was told there was no interview process this year, as well. Also, at the info session, we were told the personal statement would make the greatest impact on your chances of getting accepted. Second to that are the letters of recommendation. I have to agree with max79 that it was difficult to write a compelling statement in 500 words! I believe the reasoning behind the short word count was that the admissions personnel wanted to see if the student can persuade the reader as succinctly as possible!
@fancyeyes that's a good question: I'd like to know how many are accepted in each track, as well. Although, if they offer 5 tracks (chronic care, pediatrics, public health, administration, women's health), it would stand to reason they would only accept 4 students per track (just my reasoning, but I can be wrong!).
Best of luck to everyone! Let's keep this thread alive and growing, as this seems to be the only support us hopefuls have until decisions are announced in April/May!

master641215 · Mar 10, 2014

Hi fancyeyes. At the info session, I was told they'd only accept 20 applicants this year. And I believe max79 confirmed number in an earlier post. It would be great if they offered more spots, though!

max79 · Mar 10, 2014

Yes, sadly, @fancyeyes, there are only 20 applicants accepted. They brought it up multiple times at the info session I attended, I asked the admissions coordinator in person and then also asked again when trying to get the number of applicants from the SON. I was hoping it may somehow change but it appears it has not.

master641215 · Mar 12, 2014

Because we're all patiently waiting and checking this thread daily (at least I am!), how about we keep this thread alive and going so we have something to look forward to at the end of the day? Haha Totally voluntary, of course. I'll start:

Bachelors of Science, Biology: Physiology. 2006-2012

Masters of Science, Biomedical Science: Stem Cell Biology. 2012-2014 (Expected)

Health related experience: Plastic Surgery Center, 1 year

Nursing pre-reqs: 3.3 (I think.. it's been a while)

GRE Writing score: 4.5

Applying for: GMSN CNS, Community/Public Health at SFSU

What I would do if I don't get accepted: Probably reapply the following year, or continue working in academic/industrial biological research.

If you want to participate, you can post whatever your heart desires. Let's just keep this thread active!

max79 · Mar 12, 2014

Hi @master641215! Great idea. I'm checking daily too so at the very least we can entertain each other though I know there are many more applicants out there! Hopefully, they will speak up!

Bachelors of Arts, English: UCLA 1999. From 2000-2013 I worked in Retail as a Buyer, Executive, Retail Manager & Key Account Manager. This is a career change for me, obviously.

Health related experience: 2 Volunteer positions: UCSF in Pediatric Palliative Care & St. Francis in all Nursing Units - Also, just completed a 160-hr CNA course through the Red Cross which had 100 Clinical Hours in a Nursing Home

Nursing pre-reqs: 4.0

GRE Writing score: 5.0

Cum Undergrad GPA from NursingCas: 3.83

Applying for: GMSN CNS, Pediatrics

What I would do if I don't get accepted? I don't want to think about this just yet - waiting to hear back on several applications and trying to be optimistic.

fancyeyes, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2014

BA in Psychology from UC San Diego in 2011 (but took higher level science classes such as organic chem and biochem)

pre-reqs: not sure, my guess is 3.5

undergrad GPA: 3.1

applied to GMSN Pediatric track

lots of health related volunteering

writing score 4.5

if I don't get in, I'm going to one of the CSU's for a BSN or CC for a ADN first.

Because we're all patiently waiting and checking this thread daily (at least I am!), how about we keep this thread alive and going so we have something to look forward to at the end of the day? Haha Totally voluntary, of course. I'll start:
Bachelors of Science, Biology: Physiology. 2006-2012
Masters of Science, Biomedical Science: Stem Cell Biology. 2012-2014 (Expected)
Health related experience: Plastic Surgery Center, 1 year
Nursing pre-reqs: 3.3 (I think.. it's been a while)
GRE Writing score: 4.5
Applying for: GMSN CNS, Community/Public Health at SFSU
What I would do if I don't get accepted: Probably reapply the following year, or continue working in academic/industrial biological research.
If you want to participate, you can post whatever your heart desires. Let's just keep this thread active!

master641215 · Mar 14, 2014

It's great to hear from both of you, max79 and fancyeyes! Thanks for keeping up to date with the posts!

Any particular reasons for doing nursing?

As for me, working in biomedical science, I wanted to make a difference in how we use regenerative medicine as a therapeutic. While working behind a laboratory bench, however, I wanted to make a direct impact and actually see the difference health-related research makes on patients.

I chose the community/public health track because I want to communicate the benefits and links between health and scientific research. Science is usually poorly communicated to the public, and because science is strongly tied to health, I want to make it less convoluted. Furthermore, because nurses are on the front lines of patient care, I feel they would be the best communicators of health and science education.

How about everyone else?

nurseshellyRN · Mar 14, 2014

Hey everyone! I had been in the other thread for sf state, but I just found this one. I figured I'd join the convo. I can't believe they're only admitting 20 this year! That is really stressful. I have also applied to USF so hopefully I'll get in to at least one, but both programs are so competitive.

I'm applying to the women's health track CNS. My undergrad was at UCSB in Aquatic Bio and Spanish, graduated in 2012. Undergrad GPA ~3.3, pre-req GPA I think was around 3.6. GRE writing 4.0 (I was so shocked by that! I generally think that writing is one of my strong points, it's what I scored highest in on the SAT and I actually write as a hobby so am pretty bummed that I only got the minimum score on that part of the application.)

Healthcare experience: live in caregiver for dementia patient 3 days a week for the past year, helping with all her healthcare and general needs.

I'm really hoping that the personal statement is weighted as heavily as I've heard, that was my chance to show (hopefully) that my GRE writing score was not a good representation of my writing ability and to show how my life's experiences have shaped me to become who I am. It was my chance to show why purpose is to be a nurse, particularly in women's health. But I agree, it was not easy to put it all together in less than 500 words while being sure to address all of their questions.

Also, was it just me or did some of the questions in the prompt seem annoyingly similar?

master641215 · Mar 14, 2014

Great to hear from you, futurenurseshelly! I was on the thread you started, but this thread by max79 looked like it had more activity!

nurseshellyRN · Mar 14, 2014

Thanks, haha yeah I think you and I and the thread starter were the only ones on that thread. I've been more active in the USF thread, but it's nice to have more people to commiserate with here. The wait is so nerve wracking!