Platt college?

U.S.A. Colorado

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Anyone out there who attends or is about to attend platt college??

What is DSN?

Anyone willing to share about what the monthly payments were? I know Platt is expensive and everyone one is different but I was wondering if it was close to what DSN is.....$1800 or so

I'm afraid that I cannot be of help, as I've gone through the program on loans or scholarships. I suspect that you could get an answer from someone in the office.

Specializes in SCI/TBI, Hospice, Legal Nurse Consulting.

Hi all,

Sorry I have been MIA for a while; I have been doing my Senior practicum (Capstone) and working my other job as well as classes so life has been crazy. I will try to answer a few questions first and then tell you about my recent experiences.

Financial Aid: The financial aid office is one of the best things about Platt. They are EXTREMELY flexible, very helpful and will go out of their way to help you when you are about to miss a deadline, etc., even if they are on vacation. Yes, I have had personal experience with this. It all depends on how many classes you need to take. Basically every quarter 2-3 nursing classes are offered with 2-3 gen-ed/pre or co-req classes. For those people who had no science/gen-ed or pre-reqs coming in, you will probably have a full load of classes (and the charges to go with it) every quarter (this was me as my prior degree was a BA and the only science I took was Geology). However, if you have some prior classes, you will not pay as much and will have a lighter load. I decided to pay monthly, as I go, and there is no interest charged. In addition, if I was a bit late, it was not a big deal as long as I made them aware of that. Very much came in handy. So it is really hard to let you know how much it is going to cost as each individual is different. I would suggest you ask to speak to the financial aid office and they can give you many more specifics. Also, I have 3 alternative education loans, in addition to the Federal loans; Platt partners with almost every bank so that shouldn't be an issue.

NCLEX: Last I heard, could be slightly off, but last I heard, the first class had 8 out of 9 pass on their first try and 1 passed on her 2nd try. My class should be taking the NCLEX around January, maybe late December, so there should be reportable numbers at that time. We all just recently took a predictor test and everyone did very well on it.

Graduate School: I plan on going to graduate school very soon. However, I have no intention of leaving a job and going to a proper campus so will probably end up doing it online. There are many schools that do have agreements with Platt, including the ones mentioned above and due to the fact that only 10% of nurses have an advanced degree these days, I have no worries about someone saying OMG, you went to University of Phoenix?? Noone cares as long as you have that Masters degree. Of the first class, I know of at least 1 person who has applied for Graduate School and has been accepted pending completion of a full year of nursing.

JOBS: There are many hospitals, including Children's and Craig, that say, on their website (mainly due to their Magnet Status), that they will only accept (although the fine print actually says "preferred") those students from an accredited school and sometimes the accreditation body is named. I have spoken with people there, and am in the process of applying at Craig, while I have a friend who is applying at Children's, and the word is that they are very impressed with what they have seen of Platt students and want us to apply. In addition, Children's has already hired many people from DSN which is also not accredited and has actually had some "issues" with the Colorado State Board of Nursing.

CLINICALS: I have done Clinicals at Denver Health, Skyridge, Porter Hospital, Triumph (Long Term Acute Care-great wound experience), Parker Adventist (Health Fairs/Clinics, etc.), Spaulding (rehab) and some other random places. Some of my classmates have also been to St. Joe's, St. Anthony's, Swedish, and I am trying to remember the rest, but can't, sorry. Do remember that Children's had a freeze on students for the year before they moved and a significant period after they moved; plus they charge an enormous amount to take students so a lot of schools do not do Clinicals there. BTW, the minimum amount of Clinical hours required nationally for schools of nursing is 720? I might be a few hours off. Colorado Board of Nursing uses that as their requirement as well. Once graduated from Platt, I will have done over 900 hours of Clinicals including a High Acuity Clinical in the ICU and a Leadership Clinical where I actually acted as Charge Nurse. In addition, I am now BLS and ACLS certified.

MY EXPERIENCES: I am doing my Senior Practicum, what we call our Capstone at Craig Hospital and am loving it. I feel like I was very well prepared by Platt and I am getting very positive feedback from all the people I have come into contact with, including the physicians and administrators.

OK, this was way long, so sorry about that, feel free to ask more questions and I will try to answer in a more timely manner.

Specializes in SCI/TBI, Hospice, Legal Nurse Consulting.

BTW, Denver School of Nursing just announce that they are now nationally accredited by "The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology which is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency." This is the organization that Platt has been accredited by for the last 25 years and is why Platt does offer Federal Financial Aid.

On a different note, I can't seem to figure out how to reply to private e-mails so I will just do so here. When I graduate from Platt, which will be in about 3 days (Friday is my last day of classes), or 2 weeks (we have our Pinning Ceremony on Dec. 6), depending on how you look at it, I will have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I will be a BSN, and will title myself accordingly. Once I pass the NCLEX, I can add RN to my name. At that poing, if I start to work at a facility that adds titles after names on the name badges, I will have both RN and BSN.

Platt isn't like getting ordained on the internet; you don't just say you want it, answer a few questions, pay a fee and then you have it. This was a rigorous, accelerated 32 month Bachelor of Science program...and I am SOOOO glad I am just about done!!!

Feel free to follow up and ask more questions.

Specializes in SCI/TBI, Hospice, Legal Nurse Consulting.

Again, can't figure out how to reply to a message...

I forgot to add; I am applying for a job at Craig Hospital here in Denver. It is 1 of the top 2 Rehab hospitals in the country and a MAGNET HOSPITAL. Their website says they "prefer" graduates from accredited schools, but I have already had my 2nd interview and was told that I have met all of their minimum requirements; now it is just a matter of "do they like me" and "will I be a good fit".

Platt has agreements with University of Phoenix plus Grand Canyon University, just to name a few off the top of my head, so when I recover from this last 2.8 years, I plan on getting my MSN from 1 of them. I think there are about 4-5 others curently, and the list is getting bigger. No one cares where you went to school or how you did. There are so few nurses with BSNs and even less with MSNs, that it is not an issue. Seeing as how I don't plan on doing my Masters fulltime at a definite location, an online program, like those mentioned above will suit me perfectly.

Hope this helps, I'm off to my 2nd to last class of this BSN journey...:yeah:

Specializes in Med Surg/Ortho.
I went to a information session right when Platt opened up and they takled about the cost but it wasnt really 1on1. I guess my big fear is that they are similar to DSN where it is about 1800 a month and if that is about "right" I need to just plan on starting my ADN Aug 09' at a community college and transfering over because there is really NO WAY I could afford it. I am trying to not take out any loans other then Stanford loans/PELL.

I just wish that people in finiancial aid would TALK to you without making you jump through a MILLION HOOPS at some of these schools :(

I can't say for sure because I haven't been there, but someone told me that Platt is about $20,000 more total than DSON (Denver School of Nursing). For a BSN through DSON, it is around $40,000, and Platt is $60,000. Not sure what payments would be, but for me, that isn't worth it. That is way too much money when I still owe money on my previous degree.

Specializes in Med Surg/Ortho.

Platt has agreements with University of Phoenix plus Grand Canyon University, just to name a few off the top of my head, so when I recover from this last 2.8 years, I plan on getting my MSN from 1 of them. I think there are about 4-5 others curently, and the list is getting bigger. No one cares where you went to school or how you did. There are so few nurses with BSNs and even less with MSNs, that it is not an issue. Seeing as how I don't plan on doing my Masters fulltime at a definite location, an online program, like those mentioned above will suit me perfectly.

Hope this helps, I'm off to my 2nd to last class of this BSN journey...:yeah:

Glad you are liking it, and it is good that you can go on and get a Master's. You said that no one cares where you get your MSN, but it does matter to some students. I personally want to go to University of Colorado Health Sciences, and that is my personal preference. I know that I could not go there if I went to Platt. U of C offers some of the best nursing MSN and PhD programs in the country. They also offer programs not offered at U of Phoenix, like pediatrics and midwifery. That matters to some people. Plus, some people want to go to UCCS for their forensics program (one of the few in the country, and the only one in Colorado) and cannot do this if they go to Platt, they won't be accepted. So Platt seems like a great school for some, but it is not for everyone. Just my :twocents:

hi all,

just wondering if the platt class that was set to be finished soon is done? if so, have any of you taken the nclex? how about jobs?

i hope all is well and would love an update!!

:heartbeat:clown::heartbeat:clown::heartbeat

Specializes in SCI/TBI, Hospice, Legal Nurse Consulting.

Hi All,

Sorry it has taken me a bit to update.

I need to clarify what I meant when I said no one cares where you get your Masters. There are so many upper level nursing positions open and so few nurses who not only have the experience, but the education, that facilities are really looking more at personality, experience, skills. Those positions do require a Masters, but there are MANY nurses who are working as Directors of Nursing who have gotten their Masters from schools such as the University of Phoenix. In addition, I have been told by recruiters, that for those upper level positions, you don't necessarily need a Masters specifically in Nursing, but you do need a Masters degree. If you look at the websites and bios of the highest level nursing positions at most of the major hospitals here in Denver, there are many who have MBAs and other Masters degrees. SO just a clarification. I plan on getting a Masters in Nursing, but I also plan on going to law school and getting my MBA. We'll see in what order that actually happens.

Also, just a heads up. I went into school planning on doing pediatric oncology or just something to do with pediatrics. I was VERY confident of that and so really looked forward to all my peds classes and Clinicals. Yeah, I pretty much hated all of it and determined that I had absolutely NO desire to do peds. Much of my class was the same. They came in with a very strong idea of where they thought they wanted to be, and completely changed their minds by the end of school. So I think it is great to have a plan and think of the future, but don't lock yourself into that. I did that in my former life, flourished for about 6 years and then realized it was not for me and floundered for the next 7 until nursing. There is something to be said for appreciating the journey, wherever it takes you, as well as the destination.

On a completely different note, I HAVE A JOB! I have been selected for Craig Hospital's New Grad Program, starting in February (assuming I pass NCLEX). Craig does have Magnet Status so it looks like the fact that Platt is not accredited yet makes no difference. Or made no difference in my case. I will be taking the NCLEX on January 15 and will let you all know how that goes. I know of at least 3-4 other students from my class who already have jobs and we only finished on Dec. 6, so maybe we all just have really good timing? No idea. I have not heard that anyone has actually taken the NCLEX yet; I may be the first one.

Hope this helps, again feel free to ask questions...

Congrats on your new job and graduation!! What is the "new grad program?" at Craigs? Will you be working as an RN there?

Are you taking any additional courses to prepare for the NCLEX? Not to make you nervous, but do you feel fairly confident? :yelclap:

How many people were in your class?

Out of curiosity... law!? WOW! Do you plan on switching careers or incorporating them both? I haven't heard of that double combo! :bugeyes:

You have been very helpful in all your posts, thanks again!!!!

Happy (almost) NEW YEAR!

Why did the National League of Nurses drop Platt College in Aurora from their group. All that is left is the national accreditation from The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT), and my understanding of accreditation is as follows:

thinkingwoman_large.jpg

The main issue is the transferability of credits from one institution to another. While nationally accredited institutions will usually accept credit from regionally or nationally accredited institutions, regionally accredited schools often do not accept credit from nationally accredited institutions.This also means that if you hold an Associate's degree from a nationally accredited school, you may have to start over if you later decide to pursue a Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited school. Similarly, if you hold a nationally accredited Bachelor's degree, you may not be eligible to enter a Master's program at some regionally accredited institutions. Considering that state colleges and universities are regionally accredited, and are an inexpensive local option for many students, this is definitely something to keep in mind.

So Platt is 60,000.00 plus and 3 1/2 years from what I am reading. This is crazy. Why would anyone go here. The school needs to prove viability through volume. Please someone share with me how many nclex passes the school has had per class. Also I would like to know how many people stayed in each graduating class from the beginning. The information I am getting already is narrowing my choices between National American University and Denver School of Nursing. Concorde is a possibility, but it has some issues as well.

Why did the National League of Nurses drop Platt College in Aurora from their group. All that is left is the national accreditation from The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT), and my understanding of accreditation is as follows:

thinkingwoman_large.jpg

I received an email from a friend at Platt College, and it is my understanding that some classes have lost as many as around 80% of their original class. Some as low as 25%. I know that there are financial reasons, 60,000.00+, life and compromises, but these seem like really high numbers. Please do not respond to this question unless you can give me fairly accurate numbers. Also, I hear that the program was changed from a 2+ year program to a 3+ year program. I do not care if it is a BSN or not, there is no difference in pay at most hospitals. It is experience that derives pay grade. I can go to many other nursing institutions and graduate in 1 year and usually less than 2 years ADN. BSN or masters is a quick online six month conversion through university of phoenix. Please only relay accurate information about Platt College. I am not looking to hear how everyone feels, or their take. Positive or negative I would like the truth. The accreditation is also a worry. How do I find if there were any problems at the school? Are there publications or can I contact the ACCSCT directly.

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