Spring 2011 VCU hopefuls?

NoleMercy · Feb 26, 2011

Well worst case scenario... you accept, hear from Cal State and go there and you're just out of the deposit money.... but VCU is great (their program anyways) from what I hear. MCV is a great hospital system also as far as I know. Plus so far all the ladies I've "met" on facebook that are in the program seem super :) Hopefully you'll stick with us, and love it. Welcome aboard!

vrpy · Feb 26, 2011

Hello, I was also accepted to VCU for the summer, and am very excited about it! I tried to find the Facebook page but was unable to find it as well. Did anyone go to the meeting today? I won't be going till the end of March. Congrats to everyone who got in!!!

burns7 · Feb 28, 2011

I needed developmental psychology as a prerequisite and the class I was in was just canceled due to low enrollment - anyone have any suggestions as to where I could look to take it before June 15th!?

Thanks!

VTGirl4282 · Feb 28, 2011

Did anyone attend the Visit Day this past Friday? I am planning to attend the one on March 11th but haven't gotten any information as to where it takes place, etc.

What did they discuss? Was financial aid discussed?

sbl29 · Feb 28, 2011

I went on Friday! It's at the nursing building - 1100 E. Leigh St. They will email you closer to the day of with a parking pass and some additional info. Dress is business casual. They briefly touched on a bunch of stuff - housing, financial aid, schedules, etc. They did discuss financial aid, but the actual financial aid advisor for nursing students was not there. They basically just brought up the lifetime borrowing limit for undergrads, which I believe is 57K. They also mentioned VCU scholarships - She said they try to give out some money to as many people as possible, and that our scholarship applications will be due on June 1. I have personally talked to the financial aid advisor for nursing students, and she said as long as you have your 2010-2011 AND 2011-2012 FAFSA completed, you are good for the time being. They do not give out awards until after we register for classes.

But back to the meeting, it was awesome! I am 200 times more excited about the program that I was before (and I was pretty excited before). Everyone was really nice and helpful and supportive. There was a student panel so we got to ask some great questions about what it's actually like to be a student. We also did a scrub fitting!! So you won't have to guess about sizes when it comes time to order. Overall, it was really great. There was supposed to be a tour afterwards, but we ran over on time and I don't know if it ended up happening. But come with questions if you have them!

sbl29 · Feb 28, 2011

Oh, and for whoever was asking before - our scrubs are now officially hunter green, not navy!

NoleMercy · Feb 28, 2011

i already got the navy blue ones!!!!

sbl29 · Feb 28, 2011

Did you order online? I was wondering about that, because when I looked navy was the only option. Maybe they just haven't updated it online, and you will get the correct color anyways?!

Christina10483 · Feb 28, 2011

sbl29 -- Were you allowed to take a guest (say, like your mom) to Visit Day? Did anyone bring a parent or friend? I was just wondering because I'm soooo super nervous. I'm pretty sure I'm going on March 25.

I've never been to the campus. Does anyone know if it's pretty? I hear it's in Downtown Richmond. Is anyone going to be staying in the dorms or on-campus housing? I'm turning 28 this year and I thought I might be kind of old for staying in the dorms or on-campus housing, so I didn't look into that.

Also, can anyone point me in the right direction for financial aid stuff? For my first undergrad. degree, I didn't have to take out any loans, so I've never dealt with FAFSA stuff before. I already filled out the FAFSA form and everything for 2011 (and included VCU on it).... I just don't know how to proceed.

And lastly, can someone direct me to the Facebook group? I can't seem to find it!

Thanks, y'all.

--Christina

sbl29 · Feb 28, 2011

Christina-- I don't know about guests. That's a good question. The room they had us in wasn't super big and it was packed for my visit day. I would email them to see. If there is room I can't see why it would be a problem. Don't be nervous!! It was fine. All they do is give the presentation, you try on your scrubs, and then the student panel answers questions. It wasn't a big production.

The nursing building itself is really nice. I think it's fairly new. It's on the medical campus so it's separate from the undergraduate campus. And everything is mixed in with downtown Richmond. I live in Richmond but haven't explored much of campus besides the nursing building and what you can see just driving down the main roads.

As far as financial aid, just make sure you have filled out both the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 FAFSA. Money for the summer session is based off 2010-2011, so if you want money for summer, you have to fill that out, too. If you've submitted both forms, you are done for now. From what I understand, after registration (which I think is in April) VCU will send you an award letter explaining how much money you are eligible to receive.

Hope this helps!

Christina10483 · Feb 28, 2011

Thanks so much, sbl29! Sorry, I'm so new to this site -- I mean, I've been reading posts for a couple of years now, but I've only posted a few times myself... and I don't even know how to private message! I noticed on the Facebook group that it says our class graduates in December 2012, but I thought we graduated in July 2012. I thought it was 14 month program... ?

sbl29 · Feb 28, 2011

I think you have to post 15 times before you are given the ability to private message. I'll PM you my email address in case you have anymore questions. And the program is 5 consecutive semesters, so December 2012 is our graduation date!