Virginia College New RN program - anyone know anything about it?

matchsticktgt, LPN · Apr 14, 2009

They are accredited......but when the first class graduates if they don't have an acceptable pass rate of the NCLEX they can then be denied accreditation.....hence the reason I opted for another route. Not to mention the $$.....

LilQueen CMA · Apr 15, 2009

What about the people who does pass the NCLEX? Would they still be able to get their licensed?

DeFacto · May 12, 2009

I have a friend that just finished the 18 month and 20k dollar pharm tech program there, the same one Jeff Satate offers for $995 and takes 6 weeks.

We were taking A&P at the same time. All of you Jeff Staters know that big Green AP book with the tennis girl on it. That's a real AP book. Hers was paperback and about 150 pages. Seriously, it was a joke. No wonder their credits don't transfer.

jace24 · May 13, 2009

My friend said it was 40k, he played with the idea of going there because hes at Jeff State and hes not sure he will be able to get in. Im not trying to be sarcastic but do they think there Harvard or something? I know many who have been rejected at Jeff State once or twice. Anyways not trying to get off subject but, yah its way overpriced

ruthie5573 · Oct 11, 2009

I was there last week & met with an advisor who told me their nursing program is close to $50k...seems like we've all gotten different quotes! I'm so thankful for this board so that I don't waste my time there!

hdagnan · Oct 11, 2009

I was told by a nice woman, in a nice dress what a nice program it was...with an ugly price tag! Are they serious??? She told me it was just under 50k and I almost fell out of my chair. I asked her why it was so much and showed her my papers and research on JS and LS and how their programs are only about 10k including tuition, books, uniforms, fees, testing fees, etc. She simply said the benefit of their program was you can get in right away. I was so shocked. I can wait until next fall rolls around if it means 40k less in debt. I could almost pay my house off with 40k, or at least buy a really nice car....maybe a new Camaro....

matchsticktgt, LPN · Oct 11, 2009

The prime consideration here being - do you have As in ALL prerequisites for JS or LS? They go strictly by points, and you may have to be on the waiting list a while....not plugging for Virginia college, but they are a night program, which is very beneficial to people who still have to work while attending school, and you take the "prerequisites" along with regular coursework, so no retaking classes trying to get your points high enough to get in. I chose not to attend based on the $$ as well, but waiting a year on a waiting list to get into the other programs is 1/2 of a program...in other states that have waiting lists of 3-5 YEARS it comes down to how long are you willing to wait to save that money? Money that you could be earning back as soon as you hit the job market (assuming you get a job, but that's a different story). We here in this area have more programs to choose from than lots of other states, so go easy on the ones that jump at the chance to spend that money and get done faster :twocents:

hdagnan · Oct 12, 2009

Matchstick makes a good point, but the biggest fear I had was not finding a job right away and still making those student loan payments. I didn't want to go down that road.

alwaysashutterbug · Oct 28, 2009

Glad I found this. I have 2 pre-req classes left at Jeff State and then was going to try to get into the night RN program, but my math class killed my points! So I thought instead of retaking classes and wasting time and money (on school and baby sitters for my 2 children) that I'd go to Virginia College. I got a nursing brochure in the mail today and it said "Look where some of our graduates are working"...and listed Brookwood, St. Vincents, and several others around here. So I am wondering why it says that if nobody has graduated yet?

They told me to send my Jeff State transcripts to them, so do they not accept any classes you have taken? The lady on the phone said once she saw my transcript and they determined what could transfer, then she could tell me how much my remaining classes would be. Hmmm, supposed to meet with her Fri, I'll still go just to see. There is no way I can make the points for Jeff with a 2 yr old and a newborn to tend to! I was hoping VC would be good.

And I can't believe someone paid 20k to become a pharmacy tech! I've been a tech for 3 yrs and NEVER went to school for it. And 20k is a lot considering techs don't make much until they have some experience! It's like the school charges what your annual salary will be for the job you are studying to get into.

Another question, say you complete VC program and take the exam to get your RN, wouldn't it only matter that you passed that exam to show you are competent rather than where you went to school?

alwaysashutterbug · Oct 28, 2009

Did some research on approved colleges with the AL state board of nursing and Virginia College IS approved! So that's good to know. Checking on the exselcior college that is a complete online RN program...will post when I find out.

justshe · Oct 28, 2009

Shutterbug, Im not really sure of your location, but you should also consider Wallace State. What are your pre-req grades? If you only have say one C and a pretty good Compass test score you probably have a better chance of getting into Wallace.

As someone who started Virginia College years ago, I would make them my last option. I went there several years ago and what I didn't know was that the credits don't transfer anywhere so basically you finish with them or you are screwed. Once I heard that my credits would not transfer and tried to confirm it they would not give me a straight answer. They wanted to know who gave me that information. They never would just come out and say that nobody would accept their credits. I basically called every school I could think of and asked if they accepted their credits and kept getting "NO".

I work for a hospital and they DO consider where you attended nursing school. I have heard the complaints about new grads that are not prepared. I'm not saying that nobody would hire a Virginia College nurse, Im just letting you know what I hear.

Please know that I am not trying to discourage you, I just think you should explore every other available option.

Think about it even the things you mentioned in your post are questionable/misleading

Our pharmacy techs here take a math test to be considered for a postion PERIOD. Why would you go to school for that?

Good luck on whatever you decide to do!

alwaysashutterbug · Oct 28, 2009

I am in Hoover, where is Wallace?