2010 Summer GEM at Rush

hi everyone! i just got an acceptance email =)

good luck to everyone waiting!

Congrats! I received my acceptance as well :) I can't wait

Same! Now the apartment search begins...!

Same! Now the apartment search begins...!

Are you from il?

Hi,

I have been all over this site for the past few months while waiting for replies from schools, but just signed up. I also just got accepted into Rush's GEM program! Congrats to you all! :)

hi all,

yeah..i got accepted too. i forgot to check my email yesterday. just found ~

i hope i see you all in the class..

and...........

enjoy this weekends!!!!!!!!!

congrats to everyone!!! i got accepted to the rush gem program as well :)!

Stepherbug-- I am from IL, north suburbs in Gurnee. I'm only slightly familiar with the city, but I'm really looking forward to living there! You?

If you don't mind me asking, what was some of your experience/ gpa for the program?

Did any of you have your cna and work as a cna?

I have little experience but am starting to volunteer soon. Just looking to strengthen my application.

:)

I graduated from the University of Illinois in May 2008. My GPA was 3.22, though my upper-level coursework and pre-reqs GPA was significantly higher. I was involved with volunteering and extra-curriculars, but I didn't really hold leadership positions in them. I think one thing that stood out on my app was that I had a lot of research experience (I was asked about it in the interview). I didn't do CNA, though I'm sure that would only help your application! Hope this helps!

jennacoh,

i had a 3.4 in biology, but my pre-req gpa was higher. i also took the gre and got a 1300-- 710 quant, 690 verbal, 4 writing. i studied with the kaplan book and also with the kaplan verbal flashcards, which i think really helped. the gre was not necessary due to my gpa being above a 3.25, but i had a strong score so i submitted it anyways. i shadowed a nurse for about 40 hours, worked as a cna for about 4 months, and did some volunteering (non healthcare related). i think getting the cna certification is a good idea, because it shows your commitment to the field, and also gives you practice with improving communication, time management in clinical situations, and learning clinical protocols, ect. shadowing is good too, but hard to find because of all the privacy laws. the nurse i shadowed was someone i knew for several years, so she just took me under her wing for some shifts. i tried getting shadowing positions just calling up and inquiring to hospitals last fall and had absolutely no luck!!!!... so if you know any nurses, ask them. make sure you spend enough time writing strong essays and also get good recommendations from science professors. rush seems to look at many aspects of candidates rather than just gpa (i think uic takes gpa into account much more). i was having major anxiety about getting in anywhere, and i ended up getting into my first choice -rush- so just apply and see what happens!!! good luck!

to all who are starting in the summer...any idea on what area to live??? i have been looking on craigslist and can't find anything less than 1,000/month. i was hoping to get a 1-bedroom for 800ish but so far no luck. maybe i'll just do student housing through the school. i'm looking forward to getting the big package in the mail from rush with more information, and to meeting all of you. :)

If you don't mind me asking, what was some of your experience/ gpa for the program?

Did any of you have your cna and work as a cna?

I have little experience but am starting to volunteer soon. Just looking to strengthen my application.

:)

From my experience, the best thing you can do is become a CNA and get some paid experience in a hospital setting before going to nursing school. I was a CNA for a few years before starting the program and it really helped me to pick things up very quickly when it came to clinicals. It also shows your commitment to the field of nursing. I couldn't imagine starting clinical rotations without ever having any inpatient experience. That being said, if you wanted to wait, you can work as a nursing assistant at Rush without going through a formal CNA training after your med-surg clinical (3rd quarter), so you could do that later on if you wanted to to get some experience.

Volunteering helps, good/high GPA helps, especially in the sciences, but it isn't everything. People enter into this program with all sorts of different backgrounds, and it doesn't really matter what you were doing before as long as you have a pretty well rounded application and a solid ability to communicate as to why you want to pursue nursing.