University of Rochester Accelerated Nursing Program - ABPNN

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I just got accepted into U of R's accelerated bachelors nursing program. Just wanted to start a thread to see who else is going there!

No doubt. The competition is getting worse. I really feel for you. I put a lot into my essay. I had several reviewers who had some good insight. I think that's what really got me the interview.

I really wouldn't worry about a 3.4. I think at that point they are really looking more at the person than the grades.

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Anyone know anything about the stats (vacancy, acceptance rate, etc) on applying for their traditional masters NP program? I'm a RN and I applied there for the ACNP program in December, but haven't heard anything definitive. I'm really anxious to get in so I understand how you all feel. I can understand their desire for diversity I can't put a value on it in the work place. I work Med-Surg and we have nurses that used to be in every conceivable field, their unique ideas and contributions to the work place make a great team environment. I hope I get a call for an interview soon, I really would like to start this summer.

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For the current applicants - I met with the Admissions counselor (Nancy Kita) before I applied, to discuss the program. I flat out asked her many of the questions that are being discussed here. They didn't act like there was anything to hide and had no problem answering them for me.

They are looking for someone with a good GPA (mine was 3.8/3.9 in Bachelor's/Master's, so they said that was a plus, but didn't imply any specific cut-off), a passion for what they want to do, and they said experience related to health-care would help. I asked for more specifics, since I had no health-care experience, and they said becoming an EMT would be very good experience, or volunteering at a hospital. I chose the latter, as I did not have time to go into EMT training (I decided to apply in August, deadline in November didn't allow for the extensive training). Beginning to volunteer at a hospital is an extensive process, it took over a month for them to interview me, do paperwork, get necessary Dr. forms and vaccinations, meet with a supervisor in the assigned volunteer area, and set up a schedule. Still, my less than 2 months experience when I applied in November was enough.

Also, as far as prereqs go, I didn't start any of them until September. After applying, they asked me to have my profs send grade updates to them (I took 2 at CC and 2 online that semester. They have access to the online grades). They had my final transcript for those classes before I was accepted in January, but my mid-term grades were A's, so that probably helped to get an interview. I was accepted with the condition that I finish and earn the passing grade on the last 2 prereqs. In my meeting with the admissions counselor, she mapped out for me which classes to take which semesters, and she emphasized that high grades in the sciences would be very important. They were very helpful. I wouldn't hesitate to contact Nancy Kita if you have further specific questions about your individual situation. It helps that I am from Rochester too, since they know which local colleges would let you take prereqs there. The online ones were really the easiest, though more expensive than CC, option.

As far as the interview goes, it was really very easy and casual. I dressed in a suit, which was probably a good idea but seemed unnecessary at the time. Elaine mostly asked basic questions - Why nursing, why now, basically stuff you answered in the essay. Most of the time she spent talking about the program and the nursing field, and people's (often misguided) view of what nurses do. Just be yourself and be outgoing/honest/passionate about what your plans are.

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Congratulations to those that got interviews!!

Where else did you guys apply and what is your first choice?

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For the current applicants - I met with the Admissions counselor (Nancy Kita) before I applied, to discuss the program. I flat out asked her many of the questions that are being discussed here. They didn't act like there was anything to hide and had no problem answering them for me.

They are looking for someone with a good GPA (mine was 3.8/3.9 in Bachelor's/Master's, so they said that was a plus, but didn't imply any specific cut-off), a passion for what they want to do, and they said experience related to health-care would help. I asked for more specifics, since I had no health-care experience, and they said becoming an EMT would be very good experience, or volunteering at a hospital. I chose the latter, as I did not have time to go into EMT training (I decided to apply in August, deadline in November didn't allow for the extensive training). Beginning to volunteer at a hospital is an extensive process, it took over a month for them to interview me, do paperwork, get necessary Dr. forms and vaccinations, meet with a supervisor in the assigned volunteer area, and set up a schedule. Still, my less than 2 months experience when I applied in November was enough.

Also, as far as prereqs go, I didn't start any of them until September. After applying, they asked me to have my profs send grade updates to them (I took 2 at CC and 2 online that semester. They have access to the online grades). They had my final transcript for those classes before I was accepted in January, but my mid-term grades were A's, so that probably helped to get an interview. I was accepted with the condition that I finish and earn the passing grade on the last 2 prereqs. In my meeting with the admissions counselor, she mapped out for me which classes to take which semesters, and she emphasized that high grades in the sciences would be very important. They were very helpful. I wouldn't hesitate to contact Nancy Kita if you have further specific questions about your individual situation. It helps that I am from Rochester too, since they know which local colleges would let you take prereqs there. The online ones were really the easiest, though more expensive than CC, option.

As far as the interview goes, it was really very easy and casual. I dressed in a suit, which was probably a good idea but seemed unnecessary at the time. Elaine mostly asked basic questions - Why nursing, why now, basically stuff you answered in the essay. Most of the time she spent talking about the program and the nursing field, and people's (often misguided) view of what nurses do. Just be yourself and be outgoing/honest/passionate about what your plans are.

I have a question - and this is to everyone else who is in the program or planning on going into it. How do you pay for it? A ton of loans? Do we get ANY financial aid? Or do we take out 50K in loans?

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Well that depends. Most of us aren't eligible for much. There are two main scholarships that the school offers. There is one through the school and one through a foundation called Robert Wood Johnson. The RWJ ones are worth 10k each. I am one of those award winners. To get that award, you really need to be a minority in nursing, which in this case includes men. The other 9 scholars and I are either white or african-american males, african american females, or asian-american females, and I believe one american-indian female. You basically write an essay about yourself, and being a minority in nursing. I do not know if they will continue to offer those. It totally depends on RWJ foundation. Our school has been lucky and received 10 scholarships every single round they offer them. Most schools don't get that.

There is another scholarship through the school which requires an essay as well, but does not matter if you are a minority in nursing or not.

The school actually awards both scholarships and you do not get both. They spread the wealth so to speak. Unfortunately, I did not qualify for any other financial assistance. The rest is student loans.

All told, I believe it's in the neighborhood of $55k for the program. I will be responsible for $45k, which must be done using both student loans, and private loans.

Hope that helps.

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Hi everyone

I got a call yesterday for an interview as well. Congrats to everyone else who did too! Does anyone know exactly how many people they chose to interview? Just wondering how much they cut it down to.

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well that depends. most of us aren't eligible for much. there are two main scholarships that the school offers. there is one through the school and one through a foundation called robert wood johnson. the rwj ones are worth 10k each. i am one of those award winners. to get that award, you really need to be a minority in nursing, which in this case includes men. the other 9 scholars and i are either white or african-american males, african american females, or asian-american females, and i believe one american-indian female. you basically write an essay about yourself, and being a minority in nursing. i do not know if they will continue to offer those. it totally depends on rwj foundation. our school has been lucky and received 10 scholarships every single round they offer them. most schools don't get that.

there is another scholarship through the school which requires an essay as well, but does not matter if you are a minority in nursing or not.

the school actually awards both scholarships and you do not get both. they spread the wealth so to speak. unfortunately, i did not qualify for any other financial assistance. the rest is student loans.

all told, i believe it's in the neighborhood of $55k for the program. i will be responsible for $45k, which must be done using both student loans, and private loans.

hope that helps.

what about living expenses? did you take out additional loans for that? and how hard was it to qualify for that much in loans?

are you worried about paying it back? i used a loan calculator for 45k and got this:

-----------------------------------------------------------

[color=#336699]loan calculator

loan balance:
$45,000.00
adjusted loan balance:
$45,000.00
loan interest rate:
6.80%
loan fees:
0.00%
loan term:
10 years
minimum payment:
$50.00
enrollment status:
still in school
degree program:
bachelor's degree
total years in college:
1 year
average debt per year:
$45,000.00

monthly loan payment:
$517.86
number of payments:
120

cumulative payments:
$62,143.46
total interest paid:
$17,143.46

note: the monthly loan payment was calculated at 119 payments of $517.86 plus a final payment of $518.12.

it is estimated that you will need an annual salary of at least $62,143.20 to be able to afford to repay this loan. this estimate assumes that 10% of your gross monthly income will be devoted to repaying your student loans. this corresponds to a debt-to-income ratio of 0.7. if you use 15% of your gross monthly income to repay the loan, you will need an annual salary of only $41,428.80, but you may experience some financial difficulty.this corresponds to a debt-to-income ratio of 1.1.

--------------------------------------------

that's not even including living expenses, previous debt, etc. just curious about other people's experience paying for the program and how they did it!

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The sheet that financial aid had during our orientation estimated about $75k for living, food, school and everything. I live in Rochester so I didn't have to worry about anything except school costs. My wife works so she is covering most of the expenses while I'm in school. There are some people who work during this program. One friend works 32 hours a week ( two 16 hour days on Sat. and Sun. ).

I am finding that during the second semester it is more believable that you could work part-time and go to school. I heard that the program isn't that bad again until med-surg which is in the fall for us. So the first and last semesters are more demanding. I also heard that some people in the previous cohort worked right through to the end. It won't be much but it will be something.

Some people mortgaged their house I think. I think most people are more immediately concerned with getting through the program at the moment than repaying the loans. I'm not a good one to ask about the loan portion because while I am responsible for ~$45k, I have a lot of financial help from my wife so my debt will be minimal when I graduate thanks to my wife and the scholarship. There are additional scholarships out there you can apply for to help as well. I used fastweb.com to look for them and found several, but I never applied for them. I haven't look too deeply but there are also loan repayment programs for people who work for a few years after graduation in a high need area.

If you're really interested, I'll try to ask some of my friends what they did to pay for school.

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Hello everyone,

I was just wondering what other colleges everyone applied to and if UR is there first choice.

Congrads to everyone and getting an interview

Syberian-The cost is very high and I am banking on getting a few scholarships and hope I can get enough loans to cover the rest. There are many many scolarship for men in nursing and I would take advantage of all of them. Check out ANA as well

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I was accepted into Columbia's program but the cost is too much and event hough I sent in my deposit, I'm thinking that it just might be way too much! I plan on applying for Spring 2012 and I just had a few questions for anyone already in the program....

Do they transfer in all of your grades from previous schools? It states on the website that:

"We do not really transfer in specific courses from your transcript. We transfer in 79 credits regardless (with no notation of what they are specifically). You must then complete 49 credits here (residency requirement) for the total of 128 for the BS in nursing. The pre-reqs are not transferred in- we just need proof of their completion with a "C" or higher."

I completed my undergrad at University of Miami and I completed that alone with over 120 credits. Are they still going to transfer in credits from my remainder schools including community colleges if they just 79? I'm not sure how it works. I was just wondering if my UR Transcript is going to list all the community colleges I went to following my UM degree.

Thanks!

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I was accepted into Columbia's program but the cost is too much and event hough I sent in my deposit, I'm thinking that it just might be way too much! I plan on applying for Spring 2012 and I just had a few questions for anyone already in the program....

Do they transfer in all of your grades from previous schools? It states on the website that:

"We do not really transfer in specific courses from your transcript. We transfer in 79 credits regardless (with no notation of what they are specifically). You must then complete 49 credits here (residency requirement) for the total of 128 for the BS in nursing. The pre-reqs are not transferred in- we just need proof of their completion with a "C" or higher."

I completed my undergrad at University of Miami and I completed that alone with over 120 credits. Are they still going to transfer in credits from my remainder schools including community colleges if they just 79? I'm not sure how it works. I was just wondering if my UR Transcript is going to list all the community colleges I went to following my UM degree.

Thanks!

Hi there! Congrats on Columbia - how much is it? Just FYI, U of R is around $52,000 for tuition alone for the full year, so it's not exactly "cheap" either.

As for grades, I don't think any specific classes or grades are listed on the U of R transcript. For a BSN, you need 128 credits. There are 49 in the U of R nursing program. For the other 79, they simply say "well you have a degree already, you've done 120+ credits, so we'll just say '79 credit completed previously.'" It's not specific, just grade-less, name-less, general set of 79 credits so that you meet the required 128. I'm not sure exactly what the transcript will look like, but I'm assuming it will say something like:

"Transferred in: 79 credits"

Then list your nursing classes under it. No mention of the specific 79 credits or grades.

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