Chamberlain or Maricopa CC

U.S.A. Arizona

Published

Hi everyone! I have been floating around this site for a while and decided to create an account finally :x3:

I just graduated high school this year and don't have a stellar GPA - I didn't care about school until senior year and by then it was too little too late. My options are limited now and I am torn between two pathways - Chamberlain or the CEP program at the Maricopa Community Colleges.

Chamberlain is so expensive but I love the community feel, the fact that it's a school only focused on nursing and everyone in the program seems to love it. There's also a lot of information about the program and a lot of their students post about their experiences online. Because the degree is so expensive if I decided to go there I would take all the classes possible at community college and the total cost would go from about $85,000 for a BSN to $50,000. It's still a lot of money. Everyone that goes there loves it but I've read some not so great things about the school on this site, like how employers don't want to hire graduates from the program but I've also heard the opposite. Their job placement rate is 95% which seems pretty good.

I'm also considering the Maricopa nursing program but I don't feel the same excitement that I feel thinking about Chamberlain. Students don't seem to post about their experience and information is hard to find. I read bad things about CGCC's program from years ago but nothing recent and because of the lack of information I feel unsettled. I also don't like that the CEP is online because I don't think I would focus as well as I would in a classroom. Any advice would be super, super appreciated and sorry for the long post! :)

Specializes in RNC-MNN & Operating Room.

Hello, recent Chamberlain-Phoenix graduate here! If you ever decide to attend Chamberlain in the future, I urge you to take all of your prerequisites at a community college; this route is way cheaper! As far as the education at Chamberlain, they will definitely train you to be a fully competent nurse. I have no complaints regarding the faculty or clinical rotations; both were pretty amazing. In regards to job placement, I have never heard anything about Chamberlain graduates not being able to find employment. I have been on multiple interviews with hiring managers who said they love Chamberlain graduates because they know that we were trained well. I graduated two months ago and have already been offered three positions and I have another interview at an excellent, well known hospital next week. Good luck on your journey! :)

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Sorry to hear that you weren't happy with Chamberlain! It seems people either love it or hate it.

And thanks so much I hope things work out for you too :D

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ASU sounds like a great program but it seems transfer students have a disadvantage. And thanks for the tip that's really smart and something that I never thought of! :up:

Maybe I'll see you around campus then, I'm going to be starting at CGCC in the fall this year

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Thanks for your answer!

I will definitely do my prerequisites at a community college - I read a comment about how doing that knocked off $35K in the cost :eek:

I looked up the total cost of the CEP program and with ASU it's about $40,000 - and Chamberlain isn't too much more than that with initial classes done at the CC.

And I'm glad to hear you were happy with the program and found it easy to get a job. I read some comments about employers tossing applications with private colleges aside so that was a concern for me but I'm happy that isn't the case :)

I'm going to their open house July 19th so I'll see how I feel about the campus and see how I feel about the community college after taking my prerequisites there. Thanks for your help :up:

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Specializes in Neuro.

If you're doing CEP, worrying about being a transfer student at ASU isn't an issue b/c CEP is a concurrent program, so no disadvantage. ASU automatically accepts CEP program students as long as you meet pre-req requirements & the minimum GPA you're automatically accepted...its the community college that has the final say in you being able to start CEP, thus with ASU concurrently.

Second, no offense to ASU, it's my alma mater, I got my first degree there, it is one of the most expensive CEP schools, why not consider the CEP with NAU, Ottawa or UIU? As an alumni, I love ASU, but their tuition is too much nowadays. I went Ottawa & many others here NAU, a much cheaper route than ASU & significantly lower than Chamberlain.

Your high school GPA does not matter. Your college nursing pre-req GPA is what matters. So do not fret about HS grades.

As another poster who goes to Chamberlain suggests, do your pre-reqs at the comm college regardless which route you go. Personally, I'll save myself at least $25k & go to Maricopa/Ottawa's program.

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If you're doing CEP, worrying about being a transfer student at ASU isn't an issue b/c CEP is a concurrent program, so no disadvantage. ASU automatically accepts CEP program students as long as you meet pre-req requirements & the minimum GPA you're automatically accepted...its the community college that has the final say in you being able to start CEP, thus with ASU concurrently.

Second, no offense to ASU, it's my alma mater, I got my first degree there, it is one of the most expensive CEP schools, why not consider the CEP with NAU, Ottawa or UIU? As an alumni, I love ASU, but their tuition is too much nowadays. I went Ottawa & many others here NAU, a much cheaper route than ASU & significantly lower than Chamberlain.

Your high school GPA does not matter. Your college nursing pre-req GPA is what matters. So do not fret about HS grades.

As another poster who goes to Chamberlain suggests, do your pre-reqs at the comm college regardless which route you go. Personally, I'll save myself at least $25k & go to Maricopa/Ottawa's program.

Basically ditto all of this. I'm CEP with UIU and it's not nearly as expensive as ASU.

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I strongly suggest you consider the community colleges. It is far, far, cheaper and the education is exactly the same quality.

Start by applying to your local CC to get all your pre-reqs in place. The CEP expects that you have all the pre-reqs AND the co-reqs completed, and that includes the co-reqs for the University you apply to. I agree with the previous posters - NAU may seem like the cheapest option on paper, but they have quite a few extra co-reqs that will cost you in both time and money. ASU is one of the most expensive University's to partner with. I suggests UIU or Ottawa in terms of cost and additional pre-co-reqs.

Yes the CEP is competitive, but that's not a bad thing if you are willing to apply yourself in your classes! But the entire degree, including online classes and so forth, is about $20K compared to $50K+ at the for-profit schools.

Go and speak to an advisor and get your classes rolling......!

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I just wanted to clear up that when applying at the CC for CEP people aren't getting denied or not making the program. They just aren't getting a spot in the go. Applicants get a time stamp and it comes down to who's number is up and if one of the three schools they have listed has a spot for them. If not then they have to wait for the next round.

As for online classes I personally loved them and as long as you are organized and on top of your due dates they aren't difficulty.

I am a block 4 GCC evening/ASU student. I love ASU. I will graduate well under $20,000 in debt. My pell grant covered a lot and there is always plent of opportunity to apply to scholarships to help reduce cost.

For more information about the CC I suggest going to a campus and talking with an advisor. There are also a few different Facebook groups for Maricopa nursing you can alway ask questions there.

Good luck on your journey!

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I just wanted to clear up that when applying at the CC for CEP people aren't getting denied or not making the program. They just aren't getting a spot in the go. Applicants get a time stamp and it comes down to who's number is up and if one of the three schools they have listed has a spot for them. If not then they have to wait for the next round.

As for online classes I personally loved them and as long as you are organized and on top of your due dates they aren't difficulty.

I am a block 4 GCC evening/ASU student. I love ASU. I will graduate well under $20,000 in debt. My pell grant covered a lot and there is always plent of opportunity to apply to scholarships to help reduce cost.

For more information about the CC I suggest going to a campus and talking with an advisor. There are also a few different Facebook groups for Maricopa nursing you can alway ask questions there.

Good luck on your journey!

Are you saying here that acceptance into the CEP is random based on your timestamp?

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Are you saying here that acceptance into the CEP is random based on your timestamp?

No, the older the time stamp, the more preference is given. If you are applying and your time stamp is May of this year for example, and it's between you and someone with a time stamp of May of last year, they will go with the older time stamp.

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Exactly what the other person said. It's not random, but it's not simple either. That's why I think it's better to have three choices instead of one. You open up your chances of getting place much faster then with just one campus.

Each campus works differently but I haven't heard anything really bad about any the entire time I've been a student here.

Wish I could explain better how they place people but it's hard to in writing lol. Hope this was helpful.

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Exactly what the other person said. It's not random, but it's not simple either. That's why I think it's better to have three choices instead of one. You open up your chances of getting place much faster then with just one campus.

Each campus works differently but I haven't heard anything really bad about any the entire time I've been a student here.

Wish I could explain better how they place people but it's hard to in writing lol. Hope this was helpful.

Haven't seen you on here in awhile Mrs. B! Hope all is well :)

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