UMD CNL FALL 2018

isgvfj · Jun 7, 2018

Me too í ½í¸…

K_Trauma_RN · Jun 18, 2018

Hello everyone. I was accepted to the CNL program and wanted to offer some recommendations for folks who were not accepted due to their GPA. I too have a lackluster gpa from undergrad and I've been out of school for sometime. I spoke with an admissions officer at Johns Hopkins a few years ago. She reviewed my transcripts and she gave me the following advice:

1) Get A's in all your prerequisite courses. The science courses are very important

2) Volunteer in a health care setting. After our conversation I volunteered at my local emergency room and at UMMC Shock Trauma

3)Be very clear about what you want to do when you finish the program, and convey that during your interview and in your essay

4) The essay is very important.

I took a bit of time to work on these and was accepted to both programs, but also got a better perspective of the role of nurses in the hospital environment.

Good luck to everyone.

calliope7 · Jul 17, 2018

I heard that each cohort has students with all different GPAs, and that as long as you meet the minimum requirement you will be considered. This is making me worried because I don't have a very high GPA. Just curious for those of you that were told that, do you have any experience working in healthcare? Mia did tell me the only comment on my application regarding my rejection was that they had already filled all the spots. But now I am worried about my GPA, though I do have a lot of experience in direct patient contact and Mia thought they liked my essay.

doulos1 · Jul 17, 2018

@Calliope7

Haven't been accepted yet so hopefully someone else chimes in, but in answer to your question I have a few hundred hours of shadowing physicians and dentists (was originally predent -> premed -> prenursing). I also have 2 years of working as a CNA, first year as a float throughout the hospital and second year specifically in an inpatient psych unit. In terms of clinical experience I also have a week assisting and shadowing indigenous physicians as part of a medical mission to Peru.

I might be beating a dead horse, but try not to worry too much over the GPA. Do what you realistically can (extra classes, etc..), but after that it's really out of your hands right? I've never heard of a case of someone genuinely desiring to go into a career and not eventually make it into the school for that career. Really just a matter of time and effort you're willing to put in. Everyone comes from different walks of life, especially so for this MSN/second degree peeps, heck when I finished undergrad I had a cumulative GPA of 2.75 and a science GPA of 2.55. For me the worry really just came from comparing myself to others and seeing many of my same-aged friends way ahead of me on this society labeled "life plan." When I acknowledged this worry I was able to better let go of it and put my focus into the present, knowing it would pay off in the long run. This led to finishing a 2 year postbacc with a GPA of 3.65.

If there is anything I learned from my time preparing for a predent, premed, and now a prenursing career lol, it's that admissions focus on your growth as an applicant, what did you learn? how did you mature? Try not to get too bogged down with "getting into nursing school" so much that you lose focus on the present. In that sense, don't rush, enjoy and take advantage of the opportunities you have now. Who knows, maybe this is some "higher power's" way of equipping you to become a better future nurse.

Cheers

calliope7 · Jul 19, 2018

Thanks for your encouragement, doulos1 :) I remain hopeful for spring 2019.

doulos1 · Sep 24, 2018

Hopefully someone sees this. Looking to speak with a Fall 2018 CNL student who researched loans/scholarships.

I've been accepted for Spring 2019 and this is also my first time looking into loans and such. I wanted to get some feedback from prior students.