This entry is for everyone thinking of coming to the JHUSON and for those who are newly accepted to the programs for the upcoming semesters! Congratulations and welcome to the JHUSON family! I want to invite all of you to come to your Accepted Students Day when it comes around, I know the Accelerated Class already had theirs and I met some really great new people there! For everyone else, I just want to walk you through the day and tell you about my experience.
I applied to the JHUSON on a whim because, I mean, it’s Hopkins and I never thought I would get in. I figured I would at least put in an application just to see what happened and I was trying to apply to as many nursing schools as possible. About a month after I submitted my application, I got a phone call from a 410 area code and didn’t recognize it, so of course I didn’t answer it. I saw I had a voicemail so I checked it and heard Mary O’Rourke’s voice congratulating me on my acceptance to JHUSON! WHAT? WHO? ME? HOW DID I GET IN? I was extremely shocked, I NEVER thought that I would get accepted. Not that I wasn’t a good student but come on now … it’s Johns Hopkins and only the best of the best go there, right?
Well it turns out, someone at the JHUSON thought I was the best of the best and decided to give me a chance to go to their amazing school. I found out about Accepted Students Day, but I lived in Texas and I didn’t know if I could get out of school and work to fly to Baltimore in a couple of weeks. I went back and forth about coming and then finally decided I needed to come and check out the school and Baltimore before I could decide if I should pick up and move halfway across the country in August.
When I walked into the nursing school on Accepted Students Day, I was greeted with warm and friendly faces. I met tons of people at breakfast and answered the big questions, “Where are you from? When did you graduate from college? Are you still thinking about other schools?” The other newly accepted students were all very fun and interesting and didn’t look like the snooty geniuses I was expecting.
When it came time to start the discussion groups and information sessions, I was so happy to hear faculty talk about “When you graduate from JHUSON… When you become nurses…. When you pass the NCLEX…….” Everyone always said “when” and not “if.” It was so reassuring to know from the beginning the faculty supported all of the new students and wanted to help them get through school in any way possible. (As a side note, it’s true about the faculty being amazing, they really go above and beyond to make sure you know what you are doing, and to help you in any way if you are struggling.)
I really enjoyed talking to the new students and faculty, but I benefited most from talking to current students. At lunch, current students came and spoke with us at our tables. It was nice to see the people who were deep into nursing school and how they were handling it. They gave great advice about living situations, moving, studying, Baltimore and everything else. I left that day with so much information it was crazy, but I was so excited. I knew after going to Accepted Students Day that I was supposed to be at JHUSON in the fall.
It is hard to explain how it feels to be a student at JHUSON … it’s great, opportunities are everywhere, it’s challenging, and sometimes frustrating, but I know it will all pay off in the end WHEN I graduate. I encourage you all to come and check out the school and people on Accepted Student’s Day, because you just might fall in love like I did.