Apollo College Associates Degree Program

Ask some Excelsior students if a licensed RN is a licensed RN. Lol.

The the OP....sounds like you really only wanted to hear good news, or only part of the truth. Problem is, on a public board you get a mix of both.

If you choose to pay 46K for an associates degree (lol) then that's totally your choice. You're the one who will be debt over a $2000 dollar degree, not me. I hope the economy picks up by then and there are acutally new grad jobs out there when you're done. And I really mean that. This economy sucks right now for nursing.

Sure, hospitals and companies can draw almost any line in the sand about the rqmts they demand for their incoming employees, but given what I've learned about accreditation and there being like 4 different types, it seems to apply mainly to assoc degrees in nursing being accepted by 4 yr colleges for students moving on to BSN. That's my takeaway impression anyway.
I've always thought that students who pass the Nclex have demonstrated min competency, and that the school they went to was insignificant. We all know MBA's who went to "top level schools" that cannot balance their own checking accts, so being a natural skeptic, I would question the motivation behind that selection process......maybe they just had a bad experiecne w/ certain grads from that school? Who knows?
In this economy, it is mind numbing how many factors must be considered when making these huge decisions.

The OP mentioned several times about moving on with a BSN. If you were going to stay an ADN, then that's one thing. But trying to get a school loan is hard enough right now, and getting one for a BSN, after a 46K for an ADN may be impossible.

Plus, you limit yourself to UofP. Nothing wrong with UofP other than the cost. So very expensive! At the end, the cost of this ADN and BSN from UofP would be outrageous!

Why not find a LPN program and do the LPN-RN BSN bridge at UofP? That would save tons of money. Tons!

I know your BA is old, but can it transfer to any Accelerated BSN programs anywhere?

Again having graduated and passed my baords I am now an ADN RN regardless of what school I went to. I have a job, thank GOD, for the next 3 yrs and when I am done with this contract I will have 3 yrs as an RN under my belt, and just as qualified as the next. The accredidation far as I understand, is so that you may sit for the boards.

Did you read that link to this forum that I posted few days ago? It's a good discussion of this accreditation stuff. From what I've read and remember, there are like 4 different types of accred., Apollo has 2 of those, and some schools require the other types for their incoming RN students to transfer in to earn their BSN.
No I don't know the details or what the differences are, I'm sure you could find this out by online research. Beneath it all I get the impression that it's fighting and competition amongst the businesses and universities and different interest groups that want their own little "standards" to be the winner...... just look into the BSN vs RN issue, it's ugly. You see this split by the different "accreditations" and who takes what. To me it seems that this serves the univesities, not the students or public. They of course will SAY that it promotes higher standards or whatever.
Funny thing is, to practice nursing in this country, all you need is an RN lic. Seems to me that this would suffice as a min starting point for anyone who wants to study for and earn their BSN. Every single student in this country must sit for the SAME nclex test regardless of where they went, and yeah some schools are better than others, and some are barely minimum, but we can't all go to MIT huh?
So do whatever you think is best, and be careful about financing that much $$. A few yrs ago many places would repay student RN loans, and some pay for BSN. Most local places have killed that already, and will it ever come back? So it's a safe bet to assume the worst, that whatever you borrow you will have to repay!

This post is for MICHEVOG, I too am in the same boat as you, I am 40 and switching careers. I have decided to go the community college route for the expense reasons. I was able to transfer in many of my previous credits and just had to do the sciences. I am on my last pre-reqs before I apply, which will be at the end of this month. Rio Salado make it very easy to complete these courses online, so that you can work or whatever, and study when it works for you. If you are able to get a job with a hospital that has an affiliated program with the community colleges, that will increase your chances of getting in faster. I was able to get a job with one of those hospitals, and my wait time for getting into the actual nursing program will be less than 1 year, and once in, it is an accelerated program, so not a full 2 years. I have given myself 3 years to complete, and I am on track to complete sooner, so that we can also go back to the East Coast and start over.
Good Luck to you and if you want further information letme know.

Everytime we asked my grandmother out for dinner, she would say "No thanks. I'll eat mac 'n' cheese at home and be just as full as you". LOL

Obviously to us, my grandmother was being silly and tight. But that was how she wanted to spend her time and money, so no amount of arguing would have done any of us good.

What's good for the goose is not always good for the gander. You need to figure out what your future goals are and make a decision based on that. If you have your heart set on getting a BN from a school that will not take Apollo grads, then don't go there. If that's not an issue, then I don't think that an Apollo degree would be bad. Just expensive. And you may always deal wth some snide opinions, just like the UofP graduates do. But it comes down to your own comfort level and future goals. Good luck whichever route you take!!!