University Of San Francisco ME-MSN Fall 2020

kaitlinrenee, MSN, RN · Apr 13, 2020

Hi @GratefulFutureNurse ! Thank you so much its hard work but its going to be all worth it after passing the NCLEX. Here are my answers to your questions ?

1. Sooooo honestly with the program being so new there have been a few kinks that had to get worked out but I feel like every program/school has its downfall. There has recently been a lot of staffing changes (for the good) so I hope that it will help improve the experiences your cohort would have. I think it's better to prepare yourself now for the limited resources on our OC campus. The campus is small and intimate which has its pros and cons but it is good to realize now that you are paying 100,000 tuition without the USF campus resources (library/gym/etc). Yes there are online services but it is limited and not the same as attending the main campus. Because the campus is small there are times the staff has the ability to be more accommodating but they also expect you to be very ‘flexible’ with their decisions. So all in all, I would definitely do it again but I also wish I would have applied to more schools (this was the only school I applied to). For it being an MSN there are times I feel an AA or BSN for the much cheaper price would be just as worth it.

2. Workload is a lot but manageable. It depends a lot on your background BA/BS and your learning styles. First two semesters are the hardest and every cohort tends to have 1-2 students who fail a class and fall back to the next cohort. I work as a substitute teacher which is super flexible and I have barely found time I can work during this program. There’s only a few class mates of mine that have had a job the entire program and a few that got CNA jobs in semesters 3&4 which is more manageable. You definitely have to put in the work yourself to pass but the classes are designed for you to pass and staff are there to help you as much as they can. Also the past few cohorts have 100% passing rate for the NCLEX which speaks a lot of the program.

3. As for pre-studying I am not too sure what to recommend other than studying some pathophysiology and maybe learning some meds. There have been staffing changes so I cant speak to the specifics your professor will be teaching / focusing on. The patho book we use is by McCance, but I would start watching (heavy areas - cardiac, respiratory, and fluid & electrolytes) osmosis videos on Youtube and videos from Armando.( https://armandoh.org/ ) Some people also use https://www.registerednursern.com/ but a lot of people can't stand her voice.

GratefulFutureNurse · Apr 14, 2020

@KatherineAudrianna-FutureRN Yippie! CONGRATS on turning in your app! I remember how relieved I felt after submitting mine since I had been stressing over my words for quite a while, so I hope you’re feeling a similar relief! I’m crossing my fingers for all of us getting in! ??Have you applied to any other nursing schools? ?

Also, I saw in others threads how diverse everyone’s majors were! What did you guys get your bachelors in? I got mine in Biopsychology!

kaitlinrenee, MSN, RN · Apr 14, 2020

Hi @GratefulFutureNurse ! Thank you so much its hard work but its going to be all worth it after passing the NCLEX. Here are my answers to your questions....

1. Sooooo honestly with the program being so new there have been a few kinks that had to get worked out but I feel like every program/school has its downfall. There has recently been a lot of staffing changes (for the good) so I hope that it will help improve the experiences your cohort would have. I think it's better to prepare yourself now for the limited resources on our OC campus. The campus is small and intimate which has its pros and cons but it is good to realize now that you are paying 100,000 tuition without the USF campus resources (library/gym/etc). Yes there are online services but it is limited and not the same as attending the main campus. Because the campus is small there are times the staff has the ability to be more accommodating but they also expect you to be very ‘flexible’ with their decisions. So all in all, I would definitely do it again but I also wish I would have applied to more schools (this was the only school I applied to). For it being an MSN there are times I feel an AA or BSN for the much cheaper price would be just as worth it.

2. Workload is a lot but manageable. It depends a lot on your background BA/BS and your learning styles. First two semesters are the hardest and every cohort tends to have 1-2 students who fail a class and fall back to the next cohort. I work as a substitute teacher which is super flexible and I have barely found time I can work during this program. There’s only a few class mates of mine that have had a job the entire program and a few that got CNA jobs in semesters 3&4 which is more manageable. You definitely have to put in the work yourself to pass but the classes are designed for you to pass and staff are there to help you as much as they can. Also the past few cohorts have 100% passing rate for the NCLEX which speaks a lot of the program.

3. As for pre-studying I am not too sure what to recommend other than studying some pathophysiology and maybe learning some meds. There have been staffing changes so I cant speak to the specifics your professor will be teaching / focusing on. Something easy is I would start watching pathophysiology videos on available online. (I posted some suggestion links in my first post back to you but I think the links violated the terms of service so the post is now hidden.)

Hope that helps!!

Sdnursinggirl619 · Apr 14, 2020

Hi everyone. I just submitted my application for Fall 2020! Good luck to everyone :)

GratefulFutureNurse · Apr 14, 2020

@kaitlinrenee I definitely believe it’ll all be worth it! I’m sure you’ll be an amazing nurse! But WOW!, thank you for all the insight and all the time you spent in answering the questions!

It’s really neat that b/c you are in such an early cohort, you get to be a pioneer of the program and give feedback on the professors! I didn’t know they don’t have a library. By any chance, do they allow you guys to study in open rooms in the building? And I’m happy to hear you’d choose to do the program again if you could go back! That speaks a lot for the program!

Noted on the workload. I definitely wouldn’t want to jeopardize myself by taking on too much during a hard semester. Do you know if many of the students come in with a CNA license? I’ve been trying to get a feel of what people who have been admit have, but everyone seems to be so diverse in their previous work backgrounds and GPA’s.

Thank you for the heads up! I will definitely look into the online pathophysiology lessons! But oh man, maybe I can use a voice changing program to try to make her voice more enjoyable!! ?

GratefulFutureNurse · Apr 14, 2020

@Sdnursinggirl619 Hi there! CONGRATS on applying! Did you apply to the SF campus or the OC one? Whichever one you applied to, I’m wishing you good luck!

(PS: I have no clue why whenever I write CONGRATS it capitalizes all the letters. I swear it’s not a writing quirk, LOL)

Sdnursinggirl619 · Apr 15, 2020

@GratefulFutureNurse I applied to the OC campus. I am from San Diego so I will be moving up to OC if I get in hopefully fingers crossed!!

GratefulFutureNurse · Apr 15, 2020

@Sdnursinggirl619 Yes! I’m crossing my fingers and toes for all of us! ??Whereabouts did you go to school for undergrad? Also since you live in SD, did you apply to USD for their nursing school by any chance? USD has been a school I’ve been looking into, although USF is my top choice! I live in the South Bay in LA County (about an hour away from the campus), so I was hoping to commute from home!

Sdnursinggirl619 · Apr 15, 2020

@GratefulFutureNurse Oh that's awesome. Not too bad of a commute! I applied to USD and got denied sadly. I got my undergrad at University of Hawaii. How about you?!

GratefulFutureNurse · Apr 16, 2020

@Sdnursinggirl619 I’m sorry to hear about USD! They missed out on you! But U of Hawaii sounds amazing! What an awesome place to go to school! I did my first two years at my local CC, then transferred to UC Santa Barbara! Are you planning on applying to any other schools?

PagingFutureNurseTerri · Apr 17, 2020

@Grateful Nurse Yes definitely speak it into existence! UCI was on my list as well, but I didn't get a chance to apply. Well I'm sure you will get into USF so the good new will be here in June. ? I am looking into Johns Hopkins their application I believe we open in July for Spring 2021. UCLA, Western University Pomona, Charles Drew, and lastly if all fails WestCoast University. I prefer a Entry Level MSN. But hey I'll take the BSN as well. Mount St. Mary's has an accelerated BSN program 1yr!

PagingFutureNurseTerri · Apr 17, 2020

@kaitlinrenee Thank you so much! My fingers are crossed! I am very anxious to start nursing school. I know it is very competitive, but I have faith. So we will know this coming June. CONGRATS to you, your almost done! That is a huge accomplishment. I appreciate all your feedback.