UTA Spring 2012

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Alas! Here I go again!;) This thread is dedicated to all hopefuls to either of the programs- AP or traditional. Let's partake in the sharing of ideas, suggestions, and/or insight in the "intricacies" of this nursing program. Former grads, new or current students are encouraged to chat. Knowledge is power, indeed! Continued blessings and success to all! Good Luck!:D

Hello fellow nursing students,

I need some advice I have been called off the waiting list, but the partnered hospital would be in longview,tx. "good sheppard" didn't even know they were partnered ANywho, I do not know if I should accept this or reject and pray that next semester I get in somewhere locally. I would stay at an hotel for one night and have gas expenses?? IT would be a 3 hr commute away from husband and 3 yr old child! Please help I need some advice!!!

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@gracie

Not sure if you can take classes via both avenues. I am attending as an academic partnership student and signed up for Nutrition. I was kicked out of the course and UTA sent me a long email telling me that I wasn't allowed to take any courses other than the ones that are via the web.

It may be different for campus students :confused:

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@dyella, First, congrats on being accepted! Getting a call from UTA is a big accomplishment in itself with so many applicants, so you should be proud of yourself.

About Longview, it's a typical East Texas town. There are only two hospitals and Good Shepard is one of them. There are several schools of nursing around Longview, so I'm sure Good Shepard is a busy clinical site (UT Tyler is 30min away, Tyler Junior College, Kilgore College).

3 hours away from home is a long way. The cost of spending the night in a hotel and gas will add up quickly over time. Do you know for certain how many days you will be in clinical each week? Can you get a set schedule since you are an out-of-town student? What's your back-up plan if you can't come home when you are supposed to?

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@dyella, One more thing to consider is that wherever you "start" clinical is where you are required to stay. You cannot move to a more convienient location if one becomes available, so you would be at Good Shepard for the duration of the program.

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@Katy busy mom,

Thanks for your response. 18 months is a long time in Longview, TX !! I will be in longview for 2 days and stay one night in longview I am hoping and praying other students are traveling out that way so I could split the expenses..My heart says GO you worked your butt off this far, but then the other part is telling me to wait! AGHH....I am afraid of that "WHAT IF??"""

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@dyella, If you can make it work for you and your family, DO IT. It's 18 months and you're DONE. You are right, you have worked hard, you deserve this chance and another one might not come along, plus even if it does, it will put you back a whole six months.

I would talk to your clinical advisor at the hospital ASAP and let them know your situation. Tell them how dedicated you are and ask if they can schedule your clinicals back-to-back so you can minimize your travel and costs.

Find a rooming buddy if you can. That will help tremendously with hotel costs. Make friends with the front desk clerk! Perhaps find a hotel that participates in a reward program. Some chains offer a free night after you've stayed three nights. I don't think the nights have to be consecutively.

Find out from Good Shepard if they have any type of overnight accomodations that you could get at a student discount. Since they are new to the UTA program, they might have something planned for the students coming from out-of-town? You never know until you ask. The worst they can say is no.

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@ msmila

I wonder why they don't let you mix on campus and online courses. I guess I may have to take those 3 courses online if I can't get into the on-campus classes.

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@gracie...I'm not sure how that's going to work...I've always been told the online AP classes are reserved just for those students in the AP career path. You will probably need to verify that with your advisor...just keep emailing over and over until they answer your question.

@dyella...my 2 cents would be to go for it! With the way nursing schools are today..you may be another year out before you get accepted to another one. UTA's record breaking applicants (700 for the online AP spring '12 program!!!...yikes!!) The program is 15 months and that is actually a really short commitment compared to the rest of your working career. From what I've been told and read most clinicals are 2 days (back to back) so I think katybusymom had some really great suggestions and I would look into those. I wish you the best of luck!!! Congrats!

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So I have my degree from UTA and I spoke IN PERSON with an advisor yesterday.

Here is the low down:

-special considerations if: bachelors from UTA, 30 pre req hours from UTA, and 12 science hours from UTA. She really seemed like these mattered. Especially having a previous degree from there.

-Also, you have to have 12/16 science hours done by the time you apply. If you are in the process, then you will be disqualified due to not fulfilling requirements.

-She also said that you must have a Bachelor degree for this program. They will not even let students who are in the traditional program switch to the online program because of this.

-She didn't really seem too concerned about the partnership, but who knows really. I may get a job at parkland soon due to a friend who works in human resources.

Also, everyone I know it is frustrating when you cannot get in touch with your advisor. Even as a undergrad student there in the Business college this was the case. I mean, they are overloaded with students and that is not their fault. I would call 4 months in advance to get my advising appointments. You cannot wait until the last moment. I also always kept my own degree plan on hand. They would miss or forget classes I had taken and when I could show them otherwise, they were quick to correct.

Anyways, if anyone wants to ask any questions then ask away. I also hope y'all know they have walk in advising for current students every week right?

good luck!

a little extra: I have a 3.8 overall GPA and a 4.0 science GPA. Just in case anyone wants to compare.

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Well....that call was a disaster!! :( I don't even know what to really say??!! I honestly do not know anything more now than before the call. 95% of my questions were not answered due to "just don't know that answer"....I will say I was told only GPA matters in rankings. The only time the "additional consideration" comes into play is when you are "neck and neck with another student GPA wise and the additional consideration will give you the needed bump." They do not use the HESI score in ranking either. Partnered people compete against only those at their hospital and then non partnered people complete among the general pool for spots left..we all already pretty much knew that.

***didn't know how the spots were determined as far as how many each hospital got...SO ***didn't know how they determined how many spots they would have for non partnered applicants.

***also it is the applicant's responsibility to confirm with that partnering hospital that they do in fact participate in the AP BSN program at UTA. Apparently that hospitals HR department is the one that makes that decision.

Methodist Mansfield is not a partnering hospital for the online BSN program...they are only partnered with AP for RN-BSN program.

All this is very overwhelming to me...seems like a lot of miscommunication and different stories being told to everyone! :(

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@ tejas. When I talked to an adviser a few months back, she also downplayed the importance of taking the courses at UTA for special consideration if you have a good gpa. I'm taking all of my prereqs at local community college, so I was glad to know that.

I called the nursing department at UTA and finally got a hold of someone there. She was able to confirm that they would reserve seats in Patho and Pharm for Spring 2012 applicants. I assume the reserved spots are not displayed on mymav. I was getting worried, because on mymav it now shows that the Pharm courses are completely filled and that there are 21 spots left for Patho.

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@tejas03, Wow, I'm so sorry! It's very irritating when the people that hold your entire future in their hands 'don't know' the answers to your questions. And it's not like they are actively trying to find out the answers either.

They sure make it seem like the "extra considerations" make a big difference, but in fact, they do not. What a let down.

The more I hear, the more discouraged I get about UTA.

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