2013 UCSF MSN / AGNP Application

Pachinko · Aug 15, 2012

I was wait listed at UCSF this year. My stats: 4.0 from a top ten nursing school, five years critical care experience at another UC hospital campus, two years of clinical teaching experience, and volunteer experience. I got in and got a fellowship at UCLA. So, I think it's competitive. I would add that I was going for FNP with having mostly critical care experience, so that may've hurt me.

Someone who got into UCSF mentioned in another thread that, this year, the rate of admittance was around 12%. That said, from what I understand, all of the UC campus nursing programs had a huge increase in the number of applicants this this year; who knows if that will happen for the 2013 cycle. UCLA and UCSF still offer Master's degrees (as opposed to DNP) and do not require the GRE, so they're very attractive nationally.

If you apply, be prepared for some mis- (or lack of) communication. During the application process, I sent a couple of emails to their generic nursing address that were never answered. I also never heard back from them about my status after applying. I ended up calling them out of curiosity in July (10 months after applying to the program) and was told over the phone that I didn't get in.

jojonavy · Aug 15, 2012

Sorry to hear that you didn't make it. I'd be curious to see the reasoning behind that, especially since your qualifications seem stellar.

jojonavy · Aug 26, 2012

I came up with a theory on why its more difficult for experienced nurses to get in. I think its economics. The school is charging 55K per year for MEPN vs 22k for the regular MS programs. The PHD programs is only 15K per year.

myelin · Aug 26, 2012

actually, the MEPN program has the 12% acceptance rate. In fact, I think that's the acceptance rate that the earlier poster is alluding to. From what we have been told here at UCSF, MEPN is the most competitive of the nursing programs. However, in all reality, it's all competitive here. And yes, the tuition crisis is a huge issue, although I should add that most of us got extra money from the school this year (if you applied for it) that brought the tuition down from 55k into the 40s.

jojonavy · Aug 27, 2012

I have to disagree, Pachinko's qualifications far exceed someone that haven't even started nursing school. 4.0 in nursing school, not prereqs. There's a glaring difference in tuition 55k vs 22K. More money for the school, not necessarily who is more qualified.

myelin · Aug 27, 2012

I'm not sure what you're disagreeing with? I agree that UCSF nursing is highly competitive. The 12% figure is the acceptance rate for MEPN, which is also extremely competitive.

edit: And just so you know: no, the school doesn't make more money off the extra MEPN tuition. The program is self-sustaining (ie: no help from the state), so that is why it is more expensive.

jojonavy · Aug 27, 2012

Starting this thread for UCSF's MSN program for 2013. The application period just opened up on July 19th. I'm applying for AGNP program. I was accepted to the 2012 Long Beach State AGNP program but decided to relocate the family up to the Bay Area.Anyone have any idea how difficult it is to get into the program?

I disagree with your assertion regarding competitiveness. If this where the case then the guy should of got in to the FNP program. Makes more sense regarding no help from the state. With all the cut backs to the UC system's logical that a priority goes to the MEPN.

myelin · Aug 27, 2012

... well numbers don't lie. By the numbers, MEPN is most competitive. Like I said, the program is self-sustained, which means that the university isn't making money off it.

sf34 · Sep 10, 2012

I am currently enrolled in the acute care peds np program starting in a couple weeks. I know the struggles of applying and the lack of communication that can go on. Let me know if anybody has any questions about the process or advice and I can maybe try to help you :)

Nobody actually knows the stats. I literally was just in the office of the registrar friday morning and they don't even know the % because it depends on the major that each MEPN chooses. The 12% has been floating around for years but they actually don't know that is true. It is a ball park and actually really doesn't matter.

If you have experience as an RN, you are probably a little less likely to get into the majors that don't require RN experience (i.e. regular peds, FNP, etc). THe MEPN students can only apply to certain specialties that don't require experience. Therefore, as an experienced nurse you are not only competing with them but with other experienced nurses in those categories. The more acute specialties require experience (i.e acute peds, acute adult, etc) and aren't "easier" but just a smaller pool of us.

Hope this helps explain the situation. It took me over a year to figure out the system and I work with a lot of people here at UCSF that are in different programs. Good luck!!

jojonavy · Oct 10, 2012

Just went to the info session and it clarified a lot. The fact is MEPN is only 50K for the 1st year and transitions to the traditional MS program. MEPN gets priority for the specialty slots when it transitions to the MS program. The MS specialty slots have become more impacted because the 1 year program graduates aren't finding work, and are not taking breaks in the program, as they would historically do. Regular MS students are not competing, with MEPN. There is no competition. MEPN gets the slot regardless. How fair is that?

How does MEPN, really know what they want to do unless they already started nursing, or at least the program. Regardless of how much shadowing or research you do, it doesn't equate to real experience. Is it fair that MEPN gets the slot? Or even makes sense? These are 1 year trained nurses who are going to advanced practice? How does that prepare you adequately to be leaders in Nursing. Again the gentleman who had 5 years of critical care experience in a teaching hospital is much, much, much more qualified than any of the MEPN's to become an Advanced Practice Nurse, Plus he had a 4.0 gpa, ***.

myelin · Oct 13, 2012

. The 12% has been floating around for years but they actually don't know that is true. It is a ball park and actually really doesn't matter.

Uh, we had over 500 applicants our year and a class of 62. So it certainly is true, but it doesn't really matter, I agree, since you guys are applying for different spots. However, we do have ACNP in MEPN, however, the ACNP students are required to "step out" and work for a year before continuing on with the MSN. Hope that helps.

eta: Also, if one is planning on attending UCSF for nursing and they have serious issues with MEPN or direct entry students, they might have some problems going to school here. There are a lot of us MEPNs from over the years and the program is 20+ years old. There are loads of us working as NPs in the city with no issues whatsoever. If it bothers people, they might consider a program that doesn't have a flagship direct entry program like UCSF does. It's kind of like going to Italy and then complaining about the Italian food... MEPN is a reality of UCSF. And yeah, our spots are guaranteed, because we already went through the grueling process of earning and securing them. And there are "real" experiences outside of nursing that are relevant to NP practice, even if others might not believe it to be so. I'm just saying, being openly hostile to direct entry students isn't really a winning strategy here, since many of the nurses (and faculty/preceptors) at UCSF are former MEPNs and students will have to work with them...