University of Maryland Spring 2010 Accepted Students

[eml2142]

Hi all soon to be fellow classmates! I just wanted to start this thread up so we didn't have to go weaving through all of the older stuff on the old threads.

I am really excited about starting school come January, really nervous though too. I have a lot to get done between now and then and sometimes I just don't think there is enough time in the day. Oh well, I plan on enjoying the holidays and working my buns off to save some money so that isn't an additional stressor during the first semester.

So lets post our questions, our thoughts and hopefully just get to know one another! And again....CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

[repurifyfantasy]

I stopped by UMB today. I need to vent.

1. The financial aid ladies are rude and have a 24/7 "I'm busy and annoyed and hate my job so go away" look on their face.

2. The SON Office of student services front desk lady was clueless and unorganized about the whereabouts of my DEPOSIT MONEY and my ACCEPTANCE LETTER.

3. Registrar's office... The only place that I got something done, quick, and easy. Plus the ladies there were soooooooo friendly.

[dorkalicious]

Congrats NEWBIESSSSSSSSSSS in getting accepted!!! I just took my last final today, and have just successfully completed my 1st year at UMB, so Senior year here I come!!! I started reading some of the postings on page 1 and 2, and wanted to touch on some things in case some of my other classmates on here hasn't responded already....

SHOES: As long as they are white and have no holes in front, then you are good to go (I love my hole-less Crocs)

Financial Aid: If you are relying on grants or scholarship, start making sure all that is applicable to your student account NOW!!! Financial aid is a tedious process and they WILL hold your money from you if you are lacking any paperwork (trust me, I've been there, done that!), and they will hold it from you without even telling you that you have outstanding requirements!!!. Its your responsibility to go onto your SURFS account and check under the Financial Aid tab and look to see if your money has posted to your account, and it is hasn't then it means they have no record (or have not yet processed it). BE SURE to check outstanding requirements, there's a handfull of paperwork that needs to be filled out, and if you don't submit those, they will not process your money. Also, if you are receiving outside scholarships or Loans, then it will most likely be something you have to deal with in "student accounting" (yes, there are TWO different offices that manages grants and loans).

Not sure what else has been mentioned on here, but you all seem to be very anxious about school starting in January. I attend the Shady grove campus and absolutely love it there, so if you have any questions, feel free to PM me, I don't come back on this thread too often, so I might miss any direct questions.... be ready to put on your rollerskates and say goodbye to your life as you know it, because it will be nothing but nursing school for the next 2 years!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy your break now!!

[dorkalicious]

Can a previous student please do us future nursing students a favor by going over what text we will definitely be needing. It seems like the safest thing to do is buy all the "required" texts from the bookstore and then return whatever books the prof. says we don't need.

For you all in the 1st semester, you'll need all the required texts. You'll see information come from the every aspect of every book that is specifically required for each class. Old editions are absolutely fine, you're just responsible for making sure you find out what pages the chapters are on, tables, pictures, etc. Recommended textbooks you can wait until you start class to see what your instructor advises you to do.

[jrbakern]

Congrats again to those of you starting next month. Getting into the program is no easy task as most of you know by now :-)

I too finished up yesterday (along with Dorkalicious!! yeah me made it!!) and can answer questions. It seems like most of them have been answered already.

If you haven't bought a stethoscope you can buy the package mentioned at orientation. There will also likely be students there selling their books if you want to wait until then. Lab coats are not sold at orientation - you can buy them at the same place you buy your uniforms. Any white lab coat is ok - you will just have to put the nursing school patch on it. Patches can be ordered through the UMB bookstore. There is a delivery service charge which is high. Since you don't have to have them the first day of class it may be a good idea for those who don't want to drive/park/walk in downtown Bmore to get together with a group of folks at orientation and make one order. The "president" people referred to is the president of the association of nursing students. They sell the packages as part of a fundraiser for the organization.

I haven't seen it mentioned in awhile so I will throw it out there again. If you want to get ahead, the best way to do so is to be fully prepared for Medical Calculations which is part of your fundamentals class (and will be an ongoing thing throughout nursing school.) There is a workbook that the last time I saw was "recommended" by Boundy on MedCalc; the truth is you are responsible to know everything covered in that workbook so it's hard to get by without it. The workbook will show you a number of ways to solve problems; if you attend practice sessions, you will likely see even more techniques to solve problems that are not in the workbook. For your test, they are interested in the right answer and the professor will not care what method(s) you use to get to the answer, so if the "ratio" formula doesn't make sense to you and another one does, stick to what works for you. There are some things you have memorize (such as formulas, metric conversions, terminology, etc); the rest you just have to practice, practice, practice, with a pencil and paper.

Last January, I tried to read ahead in my other classes but I am not sure overall how helpful that is. It's hard to know what to focus on until you have attended class. If you have some free time and want to start looking at something to get you started, try this.

One book that you will have to know pretty much cover to cover and is easier to read on your own is probably your Health Assessment book. The lab manual also serves as a study guide; the lab manual is one book you will have to get new or "slightly used" since there are tear out sheets you will have to turn in during lab. The first week you will probably cover chapters 1-2-4-5-8-9. The way the book is laid out, it will seem like there is a lot of "supplemental" information at the end of some of the chapters; the truth is that information is just as important, and more to the point you will see questions from there on your exam. Look at the same chapters in the lab book; pay attention to the glossary (you will see these words again in other classes as well) and exercises. Also sign up for student tools on the book website; there are additional multiple choice questions there to look at. You will find your exam questions will generally be a bit more diffiicult as they tend to be application questions, but if you know the subject matter, you shouldn't have too much difficulty.

Enjoy your 41 days you have left!

JR

P.S. I also have a favor to ask of everyone. Whenever you have time once school starts, check back here periodically and help out the people coming behind you. It gets harder to do so as you make your way through the program, plus it will be far "fresher" in your mind than it is in mine! Thanks ~

[redhed6288]

You don't need the patho books at all, and for research the book was helpful for the last quiz

[redhed6288]

You don't need the patho books at all, and for research the book was helpful for the last quiz but I got an A with powerpoints. As for your other classes, you'll need the book for nurs304 and nurs 333. Hope this helps!

[dorkalicious]

JR's advice on med/calc and Health Assessment was pretty dead on. Also if you aren't familiar with medical terminology, then you might wanna surf the net for some quick breakdowns of prefixes and suffixes just to make things a bit easier for you once you start. Another thing the instructor encourages is brushing up on your A&P, especially if you haven't taken it for a while. This will be a major focus in pathopharm (and everything else) that you will be expected to know the basics while they breeze through the diseases and meds for it.

[lunaaedon]

Holeless crocs where are these????

also I got a call on friday telling me that they haven't recieved my deposit. my dad mailed it a week before that along with( in separate envelopes) my medical form. im gonna call a check on that. I hope its not lost, I wish I paid online.

[thethumbs]

I am in the same boat. I sent my check in with all my forms and still no word and I am anxious to register for classes. I know they said they would reserve space in classes for us but it would be nice to schedule things as conveniently as possible.

Also when is tuition due? At orientation or first day of classes?

[jrbakern]

For those of you wondering if they have your deposit yet, one way to check is to log onto SURFS and see if it is posted. If you haven't set up your UMB ID to log onto SURFS it would be a good idea to do that as well. There are other things to fill out in SURFS like emergency contact info, so play around with it. You won't break anything :-) Once you have a UMB ID you can also log onto Blackboard although there really isn't anything there for you yet. You can get to Blackboard and SURFS through the UMB/SON website.

As far as classes go, they have allotted the spaces needed for the new students and you are guaranteed a spot. Payment is due the first day of classes 25 January 2010.

JR

[dorkalicious]

Holeless crocs where are these????

I searched high and low for the holeless crocs. If you are on the Southern side of things, especially in Montgomery County, they have them at the Famous Footwear in Aspen Hill. I've also seen them at most Journeys shoe stores in the malls as well. They are all white, no holes on them at all. The most COMFORTABLE shoes you can ever wear, in my opinion :D Luckily for you all, they have opened up a Croc store in Arundel Mills since I've started at UMB, so you can walk in there and find you a pair of white holeless Crocs without having to search all over town for it. I just recently bought the ones with the ventilation holes on the sides and haven't had any complaints yet, but it all boils down to how strict your clinical instructor is. Again, we weren't specifically instructed to wear a particular type of shoe, we were just told "all white shoes" (although tiny logos are perfectly fine, but again, check with your clinical instructor!!) Hope that helps!!

[bluelilmunkie]

I was just at Arundel yesterday. I guess I didn't pass by the Croc store (I'll have to go back or check Famous Footwear) but I went to SCRUBS & BEYOND.... For current students, is there other scrubs store in the area that sells smaller than XS?????? I'm petite and the scrubs were so huge on me. It's too loose even with clothes underneath, I'm so upset! Help.