Starting MN program at U of M this fall

[mnscotti]

Hi everyone,

I just ran across this site and wanted to say hi. I am staring the Master of Nursing program at the U of M this fall. I'm a Minnesota native but have been out of the state for 10 years. My wife and I are moving to the "Uptown" area. It was a challenge finding a house that would accept our two dogs but we got lucky and are looking forward to exploring that neat neighborhood.

I've done some reading of posts and it seems that the U's school of nursing is well regarding on this site. I know the MN program is very new, but if there is anyone on here who has been part of it or knows someone who has, I'd be curious to know what your thoughts are on it. This is a second career for me coming from biomedical engineering. My wife is an RN and has inspired me to make this change. While I am very much looking forward to this, it is nice to have access to her insights and experiences. I feel (perhaps naively so) that I am somewhat prepared to face a lot of the frustrating aspects of this field. I can't help but wonder also on how hospitals may view this Master's degree. It is obviously not an Advanced Practice degree and as this is a 16 month program for non-nursing bachelor degree holders, we won't really get any more clinical training than a BSN program. But first this is first, need to earn that degree.

So, again, if anyone has any thoughts or advice on this program or nursing school in general, I'd be happy to hear from you. And any insights into the best places to explore in "Uptown" would be appreciated as well!!

Scott

[kbren05]

Hi Scott,

I hope the program is going well so far. I too am originally from Minnesota but currently in Key West Florida, but considering moving home to start Nursing school. I was very interested in applying for the Masters program at the U. The problem is, I only have access to community college for my prereqs considering the closest university is 3 and a half hours away. How was the application program for you? Was the competition intense? I am very curious! Good Luck,

Katie

[mnscotti]

hi katie,

yes, so far so good. this program is pretty unique. they cram a lot of stuff in the short time we have. so keeping on top of things is a bit of a challenge. the application process for me did not seem all that intense. i filled out the forms, submitted the essays, got a couple of references and sent it in. eventually, i was told what my prerequisite requirements would be based on my transcripts (and my work experience). for example, my background is engineering, so i was able to justify why i didn't need to take a statistics class. as far as where you take your prereq's, they really don't care. i had 3 to take and i took them all through online community colleges, one of which was not even in the state i lived in at the time. so don't worry about that. after some time, i was told that i qualified for an interview. normally, they want you to do this in person, but i asked if it would be ok to do a phone interview and they let me. about 3 weeks after the phone interview i found out that i was accepted.

there were over 200 qualified applicants in my class and they accepted 48 of us. there are 10 men and 38 women. it is quite a mix, some are 'old' like me, i'm 36. others are in their early 20's. lots of folks have advanced degrees such as in public health or psychology. they also have a lot of extracurricular activities, volunteering, and many have lived overseas. this is not to deter you, but just to prepare you for the types of folks that made it through the process. i applied to a couple of programs with this being my first choice. i suggest you might do the same simply because the demand for positions is much higher than what's available, for this program and most others.

best of luck you to. apply as early as you can and submit a petition to be excused from as many prerequisites as you think you might be able to justify. i got more excused than i thought i would, so it never hurts to ask.

by the way, what is it like living in key west? i've been there a couple of times and it's great. the locals are very nice but it seems like it takes a special personality to actually live there.

good luck!

- scott

[kbren05]

Hey Scott,

Thank you so much replying! I just have a couple more questions.. hope you don't mind. What online community college did you take your prereqs through? Also, what other programs did you apply to in Minnesota? Other than private schools, I did not see a program that I really was interested in. I really don't want to have to pay private school tuition though!!

Living in Key west is almost surreal. I sort of feel as though I am on permanent vacation which can be both good and bad. Before I moved here I was an operations manager at a Best Buy store in wisconsin working 50+ hour weeks. Now I am a first mate on a sailboat! I don't think you can get more opposite than that. I think I have a little bit of a hard time being too relaxed,which is one of the reasons I want to go back to school. Plus my sister is a nurse and I once was a PCA so I know the field some what. I think you said before that your wife is a nurse and that is what got you interested.

Key west is great though. You don't really feel like you are in the US. Its got such an island feel to it. I am going up to Ft. Lauderdale in a couple weeks so I guess its back to civilization. Plus I am going to be driving more that 30 mph! scary!! Again, thank you so much for replying. Going back to school is a little unnerving, and its nice to hear good things from someone who is actually doing it!

[mnscotti]

Hey Katie,

Sorry it took me so long to reply....as you might expect, this program is as intense as it is advertised. Anyway, I took online courses through a local community college in Michigan (Oakland Community College) where I lived before I moved here to attend school. If you are a resident of Florida, I bet you will get better rates locally. I also used Fort Hayes State University online. They had lots of relevant courses and were super cheap compared to a lot of places. I'd start there if I were you. They are in Kansas, not that it matters since you don't have to ever be there.

I didn't apply to any other school in Minnesota. I applied to one in Buffalo, NY and got accepted, but UofM was a much better fit for me.

Send some of that Florida heat up here! It got down into the teens last night

[kbren05]

Hi Scott,

I really hope that you are still on here. So, I"m guessing from the timing of this email, you should have completed the program at the U a few months ago. I'm extremely curious, how did it go?

After a very long debate, I gave in and decided to move from Key West ( and not back to minnesota) to work on a private yacht and cruise the Mediterranean. We have been cruising for a little over a year now, and are planning on returning to Minnesota in May. Again, I am back to the question of going back to school for nursing, particularly the advanced masters program at the U, and was hoping that you would have some good insight after completing the program.

What did you think of the program? Was the workload doable? Do you think there is a large benefit being a masters program? Did you feel it put you at an advantage over other new nursing graduates? Are you enjoying nursing? Would you recommend the program?

I got my BS in Business from UW-Madison, and worked as an Operations Manager at Best Buy for 3 years before getting into saling/yachting.In college, I also worked as a PCA for Assisted Living Center for two summers. After two more years of thought on the matter, I am convinced that nursing is what I am meant to do. Just wanting any insight you have, or any tips, pointers, etc. Thanks and I hope things are going well for you!

Katie