The charming university

Coming with the previous schooling in biology, I felt ready to take on the hard program of nursing. Around Christmas time, I decided to apply. The application was straight forward and did not take long. The fee was $50, and it was the best $50 I ever spent. I first received acceptance into my second choice program of chemistry, and then a few weeks later I got my acceptance into nursing.

I love how we hop right into labs for nursing. Most universities just have first year designated as general science courses, but at UPEI, we start the nursing courses right away.

The school wants high 90's to get into the program. If you have previous university experience, it seems like they like that. The minimum grade for nursing-specific classes is 60%, and all other courses, such as microbiology and anatomy are 50% minimum. A lot of my previous courses transferred into UPEI, so it didn't feel like a waste.

There are so many exchange options within the university, along with on site training for nursing. Most of the students seem to be working and I rarely hear anyone complain about the lack of jobs around.

The campus jobs are posted online and have a fair game for all students. They're very thorough in the hiring process, but that is super important. They don't want to work you too hard though. They seem to prefer students who've been on campus longer, just because they know how it runs.

My school is very liberal, which I love. They understand the changing climate of our world and actively work to change that. Along with that, the sports teams are very loved on campus, along with all the societies.

Nursing tuition was about $7000 for the year, plus books. A lot of that was for fees, which include paying into the nursing professional fee, and a few other things that I'm still not really sure what they are. The tuition and fees are second cheapest in Canada I believe, but it doesn't look like it.

Financial aid through provincial and federal loans.

Exam schedule is put out in early October. Some occur in a classroom, and some are in the gym.

My professors are all very knowledgeable and approachable. They really invest themselves into their profession and it shows. Very timely to reply to emails. All of my professors have at least their masters, most are PhD.

Unfortunately, the city that UPEI is in has a housing crisis. I applied for residence in early 2019 but wasn't placed. If you're coming straight from high school, they guarantee a spot in residence. Thankfully the university paired up with a local inn where almost 100 students are staying.