StonyBrook ABSN: Class of 2021

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Hi all,

Thought I'd start a thread here so we can connect. I am in the process of taking my pre-reqs and plan to submit my application by the Oct 2019 deadline for the Summer 2020 start.

I'm planning on attending the Sept 19 info session on campus - anyone else going?

Specializes in Currently in the Stony Brook ABSN program.

FutureRN,

Ok so some of your next questions are actually good ones to ill answer the quickly.

Program Questions

Does the program itself prep students to sit for the NCLEX, or is this something you need to do during your free time? As far as I know and from my experiences they do amazing at prepping us for the NCLEX. There is always supplementary material to use if you do not feel satisfied but they do a great job exposing you to many questions.

When do you actually get time to study? Over the summer: Whenever I had free time. Now: I study when I have to and relax when I dont. This semester is definitely more manageable. Youll get into a routine over the summer that will just feel like a habit sooner or later.

How has the new program director changed things up? She has become the new director during my school year but as of now the program works like a well oiled machine. I have full faith that nothing major is going to change because the teacher who have been here for a while know how to run this program very well. I can only see the program director beneficially adding on to the already great program.

Are there any pro or cons you can list? Pro: you get your license in a year. Con: You will have to accept having a limited life for a year.

General Questions

Is tuition with health insurance still in the 20K figure? I dont use their health insurance but i can say that the tuition will add up to around $17,000 and the school material will bring the total prince up to around $20,000.

Does SBU offer any merit-based scholarships? Sadly there is no scholarships offered to specifically nursing students through the school. There are general scholarships but you would be competing with the rest on the undergrads depending on the criteria.

What’s the longest daily commute you think would be manageable? I know of people that traveled from Queens but I do not think I would have been able to do it. Commuting from nassau county is more doable but like i said over the summer is intense so you'll just have to deal with it. I personally moved closer to the school from Nassau county and I don't regret a thing.

What are some things you wish you knew before that you now know? Most of the questions everyone is asking came into my mind at some point before the program so you guys pretty much are getting what I wish I knew by me answering all of them.

What are some honest ways one can really succeed in this program? I mainly answered this. Go into the program with the mindset that you will have a limited life for most of the year (Especially during the summer). The program is hard but you all are expecting that so just go in with fresh eyes and make the best out of your experiences.

Okok. I am really done this time. Till next time someone has a question!

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@Brett wow thanks so much for all of this info!! You're the best!

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Would anyone suggest reviewing how to convert between mL to L and oz to grams?

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1 hour ago, Jhoselyn E. said:

Would anyone suggest reviewing how to convert between mL to L and oz to grams?

I think they would have said that conversions would be on the test if we needed to know them. The email says "The math exam will include basic math in the areas of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, percentages, fractions and algebra."

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Good luck to everybody interviewing today!!

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Hey Everyone,

Good luck with your applications! I’m currently in the accelerated one year program at SBU. I will share some of my experiences so far in the program. Please excuse my grammar and run-on sentences :).

Summer course load and clinical

Summer classes- Orientation was during the first week of June. During orientation, we received iPads. The iPad is free as long as you graduate and comes with a keyboard case. All students received monthly parking passes for $22/month at the HSC garage. Classes started in the second week of June.

Over the summer, we had nursing fundamentals on Mondays (9-4), health assessment on Wednesdays (9-3), and fundamentals again on Fridays (9-11). We also had Role development class on some Friday afternoons and med math class on some Wednesday afternoons. Pathology is online, with lectures recorded.

Tuesday was for bedlab, where you practice nursing skills on mannequins. The class was divided in half with one group coming in the morning and another in the afternoon.

Taking into account classes and bed lab, this now only leaves Thursday, Saturday and Sunday left for summer clinical- for my class, all 80 students had fundamentals nursing clinical at stony brook hospital. For me, my summer clinical was every Thursday, starting the first week of classes. My other classmates had either summer clinical on Thursdays/some Saturdays, Thursdays/some Sundays, or Saturday/Sunday rotating. You will only have clinical once a week, for a total of 10 days in the summer.

The clinical start at 7 am and end at 7 pm, but most groups were let out early. My group left at 4 pm each clinical day, we never actually stayed till 7 pm. I had seven other students on the floor with me during clinical. We were assigned a nurse to work with each week. Some nurses are eager to teach and let you do hands-on care; others will not teach as much and dislike having students. My advice is to smile and make the most of the situation.

For clinical, we are required to wear stony brook branded scrubs and white pants/shoes. Please try to buy scrubs from former students to save money. A pair of SBU scrubs cost close to $80.

Taking into account clinical, this will leave you with two free days per week (two out of three Thursday/Saturday/Sunday) in the program to relax, study, or work. Even though they recommend not working during the program, I was able to keep a shift at my job on one of the two free days I had. I know a couple of classmates who also held jobs over the summer. I also decided to stay at my parents in Queens and commute from there. In total, I dedicated around 12 hours a week driving+ 8 hours a week working during the summer. In the fall semester, I carpool with other students from queens to save costs.

Tuition and educational supplies

Tuition for the summer was around $6300, opting out of school health insurance.

For fall and spring, I received nys tap and suny grants to cover some of the tuition. Fall tuition with financial aid was around $3000.

The total program tuition for me will be around 13k.

I primarily studied off of the PowerPoint slides. I had little time to read the textbook. Although you could get by without the textbook, you still need to buy the book because it is bundled with assignments that are graded. There is no way to buy just the questions. The assignment consisted of you answering nclex style question sets.

You are also required to purchase a $418 testing package. At the end of the summer, you take a simulated board exam for fundamentals and health assessment.

For the fall semester, we have pharmacology on Monday afternoons and lab simulation on some Mondays before pharmacology. Pediatrics and psychiatric nursing lectures on Wednesdays. Adult geriatrics and research on Fridays. We also have Pediatrics, psy, and adult gero clinical rotations. There will be a total of two clinical per week in the fall. Psychiatric rotations are the entire fall semester, either on Tuesday or Thursday. Psychiatric clinical sites can be from the Nassau queens border (LIJ Zucker), Ronkonkoma, SBU,Riverhead, Northport, etc. Adult gero and peds are half a semester. Adult gero on Tuesdays or Thursdays- either at SBU or Nassau hospitals. Pediatrics can be on either Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday. Pediatric rotations are at SBU hospital but can also be located in Nassau queens border (long island Jewish cohen hospital), so be prepared to drive/carpool if you are travel from Suffolk.

Be free to send more questions!

Good Luck!

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Since people are already interviewing, is it safe to assume that there will be no more interview invite waves?

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Thanks so much, @TY112! This is super helpful info.

May I ask how far you and others live in Queens? I'd be looking at a pretty far commute, so I'm wondering if it's not worth staying in Queens. On that note, did anyone move closer to SBU and find roommates from the program?

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@jjjjjj21122321 I actually emailed them asking when I should basically give up hope by lmao. They just answered me this morning. They said this:

Hi, you can be called to interview up until such time decisions are made. Decisions generally go out about 8-10 weeks after application deadline. Thank you

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@TY112 @Brett your insight has been tremendously helpful, thank you!

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I wish I knew more about the types of interview questions. I am prepping tirelessly!

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18 minutes ago, slorte said:

I wish I knew more about the types of interview questions. I am prepping tirelessly!

How are you prepping for the interview?

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