UMSON Fall 2014

NurseKait_11, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2014

I know you should hear back today! Someone already said they were making calls all this week. Good luck!

xkc3158 · Apr 18, 2014

Have you received your letter from UMSON yet? I haven't gotten mine yet.

Not yet still waiting!

afowler77 · Apr 18, 2014

slp6- letters should be going out soon. UMSON is really good at staying on top of things and walking us through everything. Just keep checking your mailbox.

afowler77 · Apr 18, 2014

I'm going to play devil's advocate here. I have to say this is just the gamble we take when we apply. My best advice to everyone is to plan for each possibility. Figure out the end result of each possibility, make a list of tasks needed to accomplish each end goal, then work your way back to the starting point. Determine where the tasks converge as you near your starting point (which would be today.) Then, from the starting point, take your first steps. You may find that some of the tasks overlap.

Is this frustrating? Yes. Is it A LOT of work and money? Yes. But you have to keep in mind that your ultimate end goal is to become a nurse. As long as you have a few routes by which you can take to get to that end result, you will achieve that ultimate goal.

I'm working on my back-up plans now.

totoroll · Apr 18, 2014

I attended an info session for prospective students last fall, and I took some notes on the accepted # of BSN students (don't remember if they refer to previous classes or Fall 2014):

80 Baltimore, 48 Shady Grove, and 30 Waitlisted [out of 600+ applications]

Perhaps these numbers change relative to the number of applications UMD receives. However, if the ratio is correct, maybe we can assume that being waitlisted is not as common and as futile as is being perceived on this forum. Being waitlisted still seems to provide a strong chance of admission later in the process.

Hope this helps.

Edit: The info session also informed us that admitted students will be contacted through the first week of May... so if you haven't heard any news yet, the staff is still making calls :)

chugger1 · Apr 18, 2014

No decisions still

PinkEagle · Apr 18, 2014

I was only venting out of pure frustration but, Yeah you guys are right. Toto roll if the numbers you are saying are correct then it seems as if we have a fighting chance. I spoke with my uncle and he recommended that I take the classes I need for Towson rather and simply sit around and wait for UMD. He told me a Nigerian proverb, "the one chicken you have in your hand is more than the many hiding in the bush." It's gonna be a risky and expensive gamble to pay for summer classes, but at the end of the day I need them for a school that gladly said yes to me and as my mother says, "there's no such thing as a wasted class, every class is a learning opportunity".

sunnyday5 · Apr 18, 2014

I just found out that I am wait-listed. I am extremely relieved right now that I have other good options; in fact Maryland is not my first choice. I have been accepted to one other BSN program, and am still waiting to hear from my community college application. They are ALL good choices, and can definitely lead to the end goal of getting a good and rewarding job as a nurse. All will require a lot of hard work.

If anyone reads this thread in the future, my advice (for whatever it is worth) would be to give yourself more than one option when applying to nursing school, work hard, do your best, and keep the end goal in mind. Things happen for a reason. I do not plan to remain on the wait list, so for those of you jockeying for a spot, that will be one less person! Good luck to you all! Maybe I will see you on the job in a few years!

sunnyday5 · Apr 18, 2014

Oh, and I forgot to say - If you got in congratulations!! That is a wonderful achievement!!

BusyBee91 · Apr 18, 2014

@pink, what classes does towson say you're missing? Can you CLEP them? At least that way it's only a fraction of the cost.

Also, I feel for all of those who are wait listed, but, like someone mentioned, playing devils advocate...they are trying to give you every possible chance at getting into an amazing program, and it's obviously been very competitive. I think they have your best interest at heart by having such a large waiting list. You all have a chance. Those who were flat out rejected do not even have a chance. That being said, you make your own luck, imo. Better to have lots of plans in motion and not need them than to have only one plan and it falls through. The uncertainty is frustrating, but I really liked what someone said earlier about being honored to have been wait listed, since the admissions process was so competitive. Please remember that if you got wait listed, it is because they wanted to give you a chance but had other applicants who ranked higher. It isn't because they need to fill seats - obviously they have more than enough people vying for seats. You are still in control of your life. If you need something certain, tell them you will reapply for the spring, spiff up your application, and have another go at it, OR, attend another school. If UM isn't realistic for you, there are so so so many other paths to becoming a nurse, many of which are less costly, less time consuming, less competitive. In the end, everyone takes the NCLEX, and everyone who passes has the same certification. The school on your resume probably says much less about you than your clinical performance.

Lastly, think about the possibility that this may be a sign that you are missing...didn't someone just say that the program is about to get way more intense this fall? Maybe it isn't going to be a good fit for you...maybe not, but it's worth considering.

Try to evaluate why you don't have the result you want, and make a plan to change that. Disappointment is part of life-but you can fuel many positive changes if you are able to set aside your disappointment and evaluate what must be done.

Just my two cents.

Em843 · Apr 18, 2014

Does anyone know if you can move up/down the wait list based on grades that you will submit for pre-reqs you are taking now or in the summer?

BusyBee91 · Apr 18, 2014

I believe you can, in the sense that you aren't currently ranked as a position on the wait list. If a spot opens up, they evaluate the wait list again to see the most up to date stats before making an offer. I think I've read this on the thread previously.