GCU ABSN Program Details from a Student Nurse 

@lailamarquezzz Hope you're ready to conquer this semester here in a couple weeks!! You're gonna do great! Feel free to reach out for assistance if you need anything along the way!

Glad it was helpful! I’ll work on a study video once I start prepping for our first exam this semester :)

Decided to take your advice finally and make that video :) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TBg4X2xdnn4.html

Glad I could be of help! Any assistance you need along the way feel free to reach out :)

I’ll work on one when I get some downtime, which could be a while😅

Thank you so much, I really appreciate that!

Hi Lela! All of my prerequisites will apply and carry over, as it has for all the previous GCU grads who had done the program and pre-reqs here and then gone back to CA to work as an RN. I did some of mine online and some in person but it all works out through GCU. I cannot speak to other universities unfortunately, especially if it specifically says "online" on your transcript. Clinical hours are not a problem either. I was in the same boat prior to coming into this program with overthinking and all that, so you're not alone in that! I know several people from my hometown who did GCU nursing and are now working as nurses back home, so you'll be just fine like the rest of us! Hopefully that helps!

each semester is 17 weeks long I think? Give or take a week or two. Clincial days completely depends on the semester but usually once or twice a week and on campus once or twice a week. There are times where this is more often for both

I just checked and the semesters are 15/16 weeks long with a week off in between semesters. Sorry for the wrong info initially!

Hey there! More popular? I haven't heard of anyone going off of popularity but its usualyl whatver campus is closest to home for them and whatever one has open seats. Sun City is the orginal for the ABSN program. West Valley is on main campus so its going to be a lot fo traffic and whatnot to get there, and Chalnder is in a nice area from what I've seen driving around that area. It all depends on what you are looking for. If you are going off of popularity, then I am a bit confused to be fair, could you explain what you mean by that?

Fellow CA student sweet! I did not have any remaining balance after loans and my own funds. FAFSA and private loans did the trick for me. I’d have a detailed conversation with your counselor about this.

The HESI exams are essentially practice tests to eventually prepare you to take the NCLEX. They do count towards your overall grade, but there isn’t really any solid way to study for them so it’s a bit of a weird situation. You are tested on all the material from your normal classes so if you’ve studied well then the HESI isn’t really a problem. Failing those isn’t an issue, it just takes away points from your overall class grade. Failing an actual exam means that you have to work harder on the rest of the exams in order to keep your exam average above the passing of 76%. Hopefully that is what you were looking for!

@@dawsoneslinger4880 i appreciate all your input. Im feeling alot more prepared going into semester 1. Counselors have given me so many mixed signals, i was feeling extremely misled. I also seen on my share point calendar, that i have labs before an exam then following an exam. Is that normal?

@@micheleelliston257 The counselor situation is actually very common, we all had that issue ourselves, which led me to make these videos. And that schedule is unfortunate but not uncommon. There will be some weeks where you have no idea how you will get through it and manage your time, but you will! Welcome to nursing school and the wonderful adventures of chaotic schedules!! On a serious note, it happens to all of us, but you’ll be perfectly fine :) You’ll get very good at time management throughout these next 16 months!

It is confusing! Each week is different. All lectures are recorded online and for you to view on your own time. You come in person to campus for labs, exams, etc., not for anything else. Then you go to your assigned hospital for clinical shifts. So week 1 you may have 2 labs back to back on Monday. Tuesday, Wed, and Thursday you are studyign yourself and doing homework, then Friday may be clincial. Then the next week may be a bit different. We have access to a updated calendar for our cohort once you get into the program, so you will know more when you get it, but it really has a super varied structure on a week-to-week basis. Majority of your time will be spent studying and doing homework throughout the week. Hopefully that helps but if you need more clarificaiton feel free to let me know!

You usually get 10 days (give or take) of break between semesters. No full summer break or anything - straight through.

Hey Sarah, Semesters are around 15 weeks long and then there is a short break between semesters depending on the schedule. Winter break is around 2-3 weeks long, Spring break is a couple weeks, and fall break is a couple weeks. The breaks are enough to recharge you so you have some time to mentally prepare for the next semester. Its actually pretty lenient in my own opinion! Hope this helps! Also we have a few days off for Thanksgiving and other holidays that are interspersed throughout the year. If you Google the GCU Academic Calendar you can find a pdf of these holidays :)

Working is still doable, just makes it a bit harder and you’ve got to figure out if you are capable of juggling that. I used a mix of loans and funds I had saved.

4 semesters straight through. So right now I’m in block 3, summertime, and still going. It’s nonstop with a week or two break between semesters. Hope that helps!

Did you make it through more of the program? How was it? How many people graduate? Have you heard anything about the Vegas location?

⁠​⁠@@lauricemullenax2369Yeah I have! We are wrapping up Semester 3/4 and it’s going well. We are at around 11 students in my cohort, down from the original 21 at the start. The Vegas site is pretty good from what I’ve heard, but I also haven’t heard much so take that with a grain of salt. Hope that helps!

We wear normal clothing for exams, but every other time we are in the hospital or on site, we wear scrubs

The GCU program is accredited, but the Idaho site is new, so you’ll be one of the first groups of students up there. It’s the same process and everything no matter where you do it, so don’t stress too much about that. Expect 40% of people to graduate, and NCLEX stats can be found online if you look up the program. Hope that helps!

@@dawsoneslinger4880Thank you very much! Will be starting this Spring in AZ

Hey Virginia, This is a complicated answer since it varies so much day to day, week to week, and class to class. Some days you may just be in the hospital for clinical from 7am-7pm, while others you may have time for homework until noon followed by lab from 1pm-5pm. It’s very variable, but a rough estimate would be like 2-4 hours spent on homework or studying per day at a MINIMUM. It’s usually much more. I know that’s a roundabout answer but that’s honestly how it goes, so hopefully that helps!

You are doing MANY things in person, so you have to relocate to whatever area you’ll be at. I relocated to Glendale area of Phoenix close to the Sun City site.

Hey Sev! It went really well! A few close calls and one exam that I bombed, but I was able to make up for it all by just grinding and studying more and harder for the following exams. Clinicals were really unique with OB and Peds so it was overall a really fun but hectic semester (hectic applies to all semesters actually). Ended up with a mainly Bs and one C+, but those are all A's and B's on a nomral grading scale so it was pretty solid in my opinion. Are you in the program or looking to apply?

You get “accepted” kind of whenever but Id talk with your counselor for exact details and dates!

Once or twice a semester, but we also have 3-4 med math questions on every test. It’s not bad!

Hey Virginia! Yeah it is! Any specific questions I could help with?

​@@dawsoneslinger4880 Thank you so much yes I will be starting the program in September and I was told for the first year it was online and than hands on I do currently work from home as a medical assistant and was wondering what a day consist of

@@virginiamadrid8407It’s in person and online for the entire program. So you’ll have maybe 2-3 days of in person lab, exams, clinical, etc per week. Sometimes it’s more sometimes it’s less, the schedule varies a lot. But if you work from home you could definitely make that work if you can arrange it!

You’ll be alright, losing people is normal unfortunately :/ I’ve noticed that those of us who don’t have a “plan B” or at least think that way, will MAKE it work and pass regardless of intellectual ability or motivation. If you think or actually don’t have any other career options then you will be between a rock and a hard place, essentially pushing and forcing yourself to succeed. Prepare for some difficult material in Critical Care, like Cardio was difficult for myself, and in OB it can be very confusing, but you’ll do just fine!