VCU Accelerated MSN Program

jennybeanca · Mar 27, 2009

Hi Amanda, I was accepted to VCU's Accelerated MSN program and will be starting this summer. Congrats on deciding to go for your dreams! What specialty are you thinking of going into? My specialty is Family Nurse Practitioner. My biggest advice is to focus on your prereq classes and get the most out of it (grades and knowledge-wise). If you can, I recommend trying to squeeze in some medical volunteering or just volunteering in general, even if it's just a couple of hours a week. As for the organic chemistry and W's, my advice is to go to the school of nursing and talk to them about it. They may tell you that prereq grades are more important. Sorry I can't be of more help since I haven't started the program yet, but if you have any other questions, feel free to let me know!

AmandiLee · Mar 28, 2009

Thanks so much for replying! I also would like to go for Family Nurse Practitioner, so I'm glad I know at least one person who has chosen that path. :wink2: Thank you for your advice with the prereqs and volunteering. I don't think I'll have a problem with the rest of the prereqs, it's just trying to squeeze in volunteering is hard. But I know MCV has a 50-hour student volunteer program, so I will look into that. Thank you again! And good luck!

okeefel · Apr 24, 2009

Hi Amanda and Jenny,

I'm new to this forum as well. This is actually my first post. I am extremely interested in VCU's Accelerated MSN program. I would like to specialize as a pediatric nurse practitioner and ultimately work in the er. I graduated with a B.S. in Psychology in 2007 and went on to successfully complete a semester of graduate school in applied behavioral analysis where I took some courses I hope would help my chances of admission. (i.e. Diagnosis and Treatment of Childhood Disorders and Behavioral Modification.) The program wasn't right for me and so I left on my own accord. Once I came home I got a job working for some orthopedic surgeons as a research assistant. I conduct biomechanical, clinical, and bioinfectious disease research. As an undergrad I conducted and presented research in the areas of behavioral pharmacology and behavioral neuroscience at both local and international conferences. I have also worked in pediatric functional feeding clincs and as a chiropractor's assistant. My concern is not in my experience but rather in my grades. I also have a w on my record and worry that I will likely recieve a C in anatomy and physiology 1 this semester (which is a prerequisite course). I would like to start in the summer of 2010. Based on that I think I will be forced to apply with this grade. Do you think I have a chance of being accepted. Additionally, how does the financial aid work out for this school. I am currently a resident of PA. Since the program starts in the summer are we eligible for federal loan money that first semester? Sorry for such a long message. I would greatly appreciate any advice either one of you have to offer. Thank you!

jennybeanca · Jun 3, 2009

If you're interested in pediatrics, I'm sure you will greatly enjoy VCU. Even though it's the first semester, it seems that the majority of my current teachers and clinical instructors either specialize in pediatrics or neonatology. I don't honestly have the answers about how your grades may affect your chances of acceptance; I'd advise calling the nursing school and asking what the gpas, etc. of their admitted AMSN, and ABSN, students are. Also, you might ask if you could apply to the ABSN and the AMSN. A large portion of our class, whether BSN or MSN, are planning on getting a masters in the future. My class right now has 104 people, about 25 of which are AMSNs. The staff told us that that was larger than the expected (more of us accepted than they thought would). I highly advise visiting the school of nursing and talking to students, especially the accelerated ones to learn more. Let me know if you visit, and if our schedules work, I'll try and make myself available if you have any questions. As far as financial aid, I'm not completely positive, but I think you have to attach the first summer to the previous year's financial aid.

I'm not sure if your experience addresses this, but I HIGHLY recommend trying to get experience with general medical terminology and basic medical skills. I'm certified as an EMT and took a medical assisting course. This is coming in quite handy as we rush through learning skills. Obviously, we get practice in clinicals and lab, but if I didn't already know how to take blood pressures, etc., I'd be quite frustrated learning how to do that in an hour. There's already so much to learn, make sure you give yourself as much of a heads up as you can.

Feel free to ask any other questions!

okeefel · Jun 6, 2009

Hi Jenny,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post. It’s always good to obtain the student perspective of a university. I’m spending the summer conducting research for 3 attendings , studying for the gres, taking them early in August, and getting as much shadowing experience as possible. I also registered for a medical terminology class along with anatomy and physiology 2 for the fall. Will you be around at all in August? I think that is the earliest I will be able to visit VCU. I would love to meet with you and obtain any information you have to offer regarding the program. It’s hard because I’ve always had a backup plan when it comes to schools but based on the research I’ve conducted, VCU seems to be one of the only schools in the country where you can get an AMSN and specialize as a pediatric nurse practitioner. I’ve always been extremely interested in evidence based practice, and this seems to be stressed by the university. Do the students conduct any research projects or a thesis as part of the curriculum? What backgrounds do most of the students have? The way I see it, I have a few months to make my application as competitive as possible in order to increase my chances of being accepted. Any hints you could send my way would be much appreciated. If you don’t mind me asking, did you apply to any other schools? I’m trying to construct a list of backup schools in case if I do find myself with a rejection letter. Thank you again for all of your help! I really appreciate it.

Thanks,

Lauren

jennybeanca · Jun 7, 2009

Hi Lauren,

I'll be gone the first part of August (vacation), but school is supposed to start around the 19th, so I should be around by then. Feel free to let me know when you visit, and we'll try to arrange a meeting. VCU does stress evidence-based nursing; we basically heard about it from the first day of class. I'm not aware of research or a thesis being part of the cirriculum, but since several of the professors are doing research, you could probably assist them as an extracirricular. I'm thinking about maybe trying to get my feet wet with a little research, so I'll let you know what I find out from that. It may be a little difficult, cause I think a lot of the PhD candidates are doing research with the professors, but I'm sure there's always something they'll give to undergrads. The backgrounds of the class are quite diverse. For the AMSN, most have been out of school for at least a little while. I think only one of the 20 just got her degree this year. I had 2 years between my degree and this program. Most of the others have a little more life experience. Some have been teachers, some are in their 30s and 40s and have kids, some have been doing things they enjoyed and now are here. We haven't done too much as a group, so I don't know too much about everyone's backgrounds. I know most nursing schools will say they have diverse classes when you ask about backgrounds, but this really is the case. There's no mold that we all fit into. I applied to UCSF, Johns Hopkins, and University of Colorado Denver. I was rejected from UCSF, and accepted to the accelerated bachelors programs at Johns Hopkins and UCD. I would advise applying to the accelerated bachelors and masters here at VCU (if you have the prereqs done). There have about 80 bachelors students (although their goal was 70... I think the economy made more people accept) and 20-ish masters. I think given your background you have a good chance of acceptance to at least one of the two. Medical experience is not required as there are students in our class who have very little experience with the medical field, so your experiences will definitely be a plus. However, no matter how the application goes, I've realized in my short time here that's it's one of those "where there's a will, there's a way." Some of our professors started with associate's in nursing and worked their way up to PhDs. The roads to graduate degrees in nursing are extremely varied. Hope this gave you some more answers. Feel free to keep the questions coming...I know I had a lot of questions when I was going through the application process. If you want to know about the other schools I applied to or looked at, feel free to ask about that too.

okeefel · Jun 28, 2009

Hi Jenny,

I initially ruled out applying to any accelerated bsn programs due to the fact that I am very close to capping out on my undergraduate federal loans. If I go back for another bachelor's degree, I was told by Pitt that I would have to find private loans myself. This past week, I ran into a former classmate of mine that graduated from the same college as me 2 years ago. She went to Georgetown for an ABSN after graduation and was able to attain all of the additional loan money she needed without a co-signer. She told me to look into Sallie Mae and private banks. Obama also placed a bill before Congress recently to disperse $125 million in scholarship and grant money for nursing students. Are you aware of any other sources of funding?

Thanks,

Lauren