Is there anyone lurking who is planning to apply to the 2011 program?
I have spent the last 12 years in financial marketing/communications and am excited to try and change paths into nursing. I am currently taking my prerequisite courses at city college- stats and anatomy/physiology- and going in for the GRE Saturday. I'm volunteering at a children's hospital, which is causing me to consider the pediatric nurse practitioner track... I know UCSF is very competitive and it's a long-shot for someone like me to get in, but I feel like I have to try! If it doesn't happen next year, then I'll just keep building my volunteer experience and re-apply. Also on my mind is that if for some miracle I were to get in how I would pay for it.
But enough about me... what are some other candidates' takes on preperation, interests, anxieties, etc?
I heard the same thing as Veggies about the grade point average. But if UCSF isn't the only school you are applying to and you did well in those last 60 semester units, you should feel good about that. I have found that other schools do count those towards your grade point average, or at least they will take it into consideration. I've actually seen programs that say that you must have a B in your pre-req classes to get in.
Babymidfe1, I am also applying to Yale! I agree that they were very helpful and encouraging. I'm applying to the Peds track and was also happy to hear that they have a wait list for FNP, PNP and Midwife tracks because they are in such demand. Yale is very expensive, but I think it's a great school and definitely at par with UCSF.
I was a MEPN in 08-09. Home today with a virus and I could think of nothing better to do than to check in at AllNurses.
A few words of encouragement....Don't stress about GPA and GRE. It is my impression that they just want to see that you are a reasonably disciplined student and can handle the academic work. The work is not terribly difficult, its just that there is a lot of it in a very, very short period of time. Your experiences with sick people and how you describe them in your personal statement are extremely important. Pay close attention to your essays! And remember, you are applying to a NURSING program. Show the applications committee that you understand what nurses and APNs do. You should also show that you are familiar with some of the current issues in healthcare. If you dont really know what they do, then find out.
Apply! You may think your application is crap and you dont really deserve get in but you should leave that decision to UCSF. If you are a man, TG, and/or a URM you would be very foolish indeed not to apply. There is a big push to diversify the face of healthcare and I have the sneaking suspicion that applications from these groups are reviewed with care.
I loved the program. And I very much the advanced practice part of the program. It has is faults - these have been articulated ad nauseum on this site and others - if you can work with the faults you will get a great education. The single greatest strength of the program is your classmates.
thank you very much for your thoughtful note of encouragement! it is so refreshing! it is very discouraging to read the profiles of students that have gone through the mepn program--everyone sounds like super heroes.
the point you make about showing the applications committee that you understand what nurses and apns do is something i have heard before, but when the issue comes up, it makes me wonder if my understanding of the profession as an outsider is really sufficient to convince ucsf to accept me into their program.
would you be able to elaborate on this topic a bit more? are you referring to knowing what nurses in general do day to day? the profession offers so many possibilities--that is one of its many advantages. the responsibilities of a nurse in a hospital setting are very different from a nurse who works at a school, or at a dermatologist's private practice. i find myself unsure of how to focus this discussion on my goal statement, or how much to elaborate on this. after all, the instructions say that the goal statement should be about two pages double spaced. that is not very much text.
Yeah, the super-heroes are annoying. Rumor has it that their stool emits a fragrance of roses and violets. But don't worry, come next spring you will read a post on this thread to the tune of "I have a 4.0 GPA from Yale, 1600 on the GRE, I spent three years in the favellas of Rio delivering babies and they did not accept me."
At the core of nursing is the Nursing Process. Whether you work in a school, a derm office, a med-surg unit or are an NP on the Neuro Surg team, you will use the nursing process. Assessment, diagnosis,planning, intervention, and evaluation will guide your practice no matter what it is. Think about what you want your practice to look like and how the process fits in. This will lead to you why you need to be a nurse. So if you want to use the process to help, you gotta be nurse.
For example - if you say "I want to help people with their health" well errr, umm, you could help people by making a killing as a stock broker and giving money away to clinics. Or you could get and MBA and focus on healthcare. Or be a social worker. These are all key players in healthcare. But it is only the nurse that uses the Process to effect change.
Physicians, of course, use a similar process to nurses. So you may want to think about what is different between the work of an APN and a physician. I think the ANA defines nursing as the the "diagnosis and treatment of human response to illness, both real and perceived" or something like that. Read a little about nursing theory - don't need to buy a book or anything, wikipedia will do nicely. Henderson talks about how nurses do things for people that they would be able do for themselves if they were not sick. Orem (and they are really big on Orem at UCSF) talks about how nurses work to restore functional capacity to their patients. The difference between this stuff and medicine, which seeks to alleviate suffering and effect cures is subtle but important.
Two pages is not much space. This is where the english majors have the advantage. Read some short stories, Hemmingway, Annie Proulx, and many other will help with this. Didions essays are good too. What you imply can be as important as what you say. This is why many of the super-humans dont get in. They imply a sense of arrogance, entitlement, and self-importance that is not consonant with the practice of nursing.
This is why many of the super-humans dont get in. They imply a sense of arrogance, entitlement, and self-importance that is not consonant with the practice of nursing. .
Perhaps it is arrogant to quote myself but I think this important. While I wanted to sell myself to the admissions folks I tried to be humble about it. Attending the program at UCSF or any program, anywhere for that matter is a privilege not a right. Many MEPNs have a profound sense of entitlement. This (understandably) drives the faculty nuts. They see themselves not as beneficiaries of the collective learning of the faculty, but rather as paying customers who have the right to make whatever demand they want. Avoid giving the impression that you are this kind of person.
There is a famous story about a young man that applied to med school at Yale. Was the archetypal superhuman - perfect GPA, perfect MCAT, published a paper in Nature etc. He did not get in. He was perplexed by this. His father knew somebody on the admissions committee and asked why he did not get in. The answer was that the committee had the impression that the applicant considered his admission a foregone conclusion. Food for thought.
thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with us! i will certainly look into the nursing theory that you mentioned. i am sure that it will be very helpful.
do you know if there is a pattern of gre scores of those that are accepted into the mepn program? the admissions office says that they consider all sections of the gre equally; meaning that one is not more important than another. they say that successful applicants fall within the range of 500-700 for v & q, and 3 points minimum for the analytical writing portion. 500-700 is a big range. do you have any insight on this issue?
this is a big source of concern for me because i am not a native speaker and i am new to standardized testing. needless to say, my scores are not spectacular. they fall in the middle of the range.
First, thank you for your very thoughtful and eloquent posts. I've spoken to a few former and current MEPN students and there is definitely an added wisdom that comes from those that have been through the program.
I agree with you that UCSF and many other schools look at an applicant's total package. While there's probably some arbitrary cutoff for GRE scores, I have a feeling that most of us in this forum aren't going to be in that category. I did okay on my GRE (590V, 610Q). My score isn't anything spectacular, but I know that if I get rejected from UCSF, it likely won't be due to my GRE score. There is a reason for the essay, the transcripts, the foreign language skills, the letters of recommendation, the volunteer/work experience, and (if we're lucky) the interview. They want to see who you are as a whole, not necessarily how well you know five-syllable words and convoluted math problems.
I think it's okay to wonder and worry about getting in. We're all comparing ourselves to our competition - each other. We all want this and I imagine we've worked pretty hard to be here. I'm in the same boat and, believe me, I have my moments of thinking my GRE score will damn me. Until 9/1, though, I'm trying to focus on making every part of my application strong.
hi czyja they say that successful applicants fall within the range of 500-700 for v & q, and 3 points minimum for the analytical writing portion. 500-700 is a big range. do you have any insight on this issue?
this is a big source of concern for me because i am not a native speaker and i am new to standardized testing. needless to say, my scores are not spectacular. they fall in the middle of the range.
i think you have answered you own question! they gave you a range, your in the middle of the range. so you're all good! i've chatted with a few faculty who work on admission. they really do look at the whole package. i understand your anxiety though, i was there. imho your worrying would better spent on other stuff - like your recs and your essay.
what language do you speak? if it is spanish, chinese, vietnamese,etc. you are in luck. oh, a word to the wise. do not overstate your language capabilities, or you may have a problem on interview day. many of the faculty are bilingual. one person in my class put down she was fluent in spanish, and her interviewer conducted a big part of the interview in spanish. fluent, means fluent.
one of my friends and classmates in the program is from china. i dunno what his gre scores were but i would be really, really shocked of his verbal and essay scores were anything to write home about. he hard a tough time at first in the program because of his english skills. but his fluency in mandarin and cantonese sure were helpful in clinicals. he is a kick ass nurse. if i needed nursing care, i could think of no better person to provide it to me. i suspect the faculty saw this in him, and that's why they took him.
Thank you. Every time I psyche myself out through this process I'm going to refer to your posts. Just out of curiousity, what ms specialty have you chosen?
I am in the Critical Care Trauma Nursing tract. It turned out to be a perfect fit for me. I did not take a step out year so I am spending my summer doing "remedial" work as it were in the ICU - ie I am learning how to be an ICU nurse.
Choose your specialty with care. FNP, ANP and CNM programs get the most applicants. It is wise to look at the specialities and think how they might fit in with your career plans. I chose CCT because I am interested in the intersection between life, death, and technology. That intersection is very much located in ICU. I was not bothered that it is not an NP tract, because I was not that hung up on being an NP. If my practice requires me to be an NP, then I will do a post-masters at that time.
And, yes - there are other very good programs out there. So you have options. Penn, Washington, and Yale are well regarded. I know several people that went to Yale and they loved it. Penn gives you very personalized attention. The MEPN admissions process is not very warm and fuzzy. They dont take your calls and they dont really want any emails from you. I think this is because they have so many freaking applicants that it would cost big $ to hold everybody's hand. But once you get it the faculty are very, very helpful.
One woman in my program went to the second degree program at Merritt and started in the masters program at UCSF the year she graduated. So there are lots of ways to skin this cat.
The cool thing is that some you posting here will be accepted. And you will be classmates! I am friends with several classmates that I "met" here on allnurses.
Thanks czyja! Your comments have probably been the most helpful I've seen here. Yes, it's totally easy to get discouraged, but my drive to be a PNP is what's motivating me to keep trying-- even if I get rejected a second time.
I appreciated you letting us know about the possibility of your interviewer asking you questions in your second language.
I'm really hoping that I will get in this year, but if I don't I am making other plans-- and of course will apply again next year. If that is the case, could you share what you would have done to prepare better for the coursework if you could do it over again? I will have chem, physio, anatomy, microbio all completed by the time I enter the program. Is there a class you wish you had taken before you had started the program?
You are welcome. I am happy to be of service. You've got the right attitude - it is your goal of becoming a PNP that is important. Admission to UCSF, or any other program for that matter, is only stepping stone to becoming a nurse.
I was a micro bio major at a pretty tough university, so I felt well prepared for the curriculum. I would, however, offer that taking the hardest possible physiology course and really knowing the material is useful for the MEPN curriculum, the advanced practice curriculum, and the lifelong study that working in healthcare involves. My colleagues in nursing and medicine are all pretty agreed on this - you cannot get too much physiology. I took a difficult physiology course - the one for physiology majors. It was very helpful. My only regret is not having paid better attention and studied more! Endocrinology was useful - but mostly because it focused on normal physiology - like the menstrual cycle, thyroid, etc.
As for chemistry and all that other stuff, feel free to forget it as you will not use it. The concepts from micro etc that are used are simple and straightforward I cannot think why Washington and other places require them as prereqs. THe curriculum is no more difficult that an upper division undergrad course - it's jus that there is a lot of it, very fast.
ftrsfnurse
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I heard the same thing as Veggies about the grade point average. But if UCSF isn't the only school you are applying to and you did well in those last 60 semester units, you should feel good about that. I have found that other schools do count those towards your grade point average, or at least they will take it into consideration. I've actually seen programs that say that you must have a B in your pre-req classes to get in.
Babymidfe1, I am also applying to Yale! I agree that they were very helpful and encouraging. I'm applying to the Peds track and was also happy to hear that they have a wait list for FNP, PNP and Midwife tracks because they are in such demand. Yale is very expensive, but I think it's a great school and definitely at par with UCSF.
Any others applying to the UCSF PNP track?