Are all Excelsior Grads "Super Smart" ?

I thought Missouri was one of the states that accepted EC. Has that changed, since I last checked with the state board of nursing?

Are all EC grads super-smart? YES!!! Smart in the following ways; self-motivated, disciplined, obsessive, emotional intelligence (Know your capabilities and limitations) organized, unable to accept "no" for an answer, as in "no, you aren't capable of ...."
I suggest that you practice as LPN in sub-acute care, you will learn all the clinical skills that you need to pass CPNE; assessment, documentation, clinical skills such as tube feeds, foley caths, wound tx, med passing, IM, IV meds, sub-q meds, running a code, time mgmt. Consider this as paid nursing school clinicals.
For me, the most important piece of time mgmt for exam study time was a dedicated room in my house with all of my books, study materials, laptop, etc. This worked for me because I could grab study time while multi-tasking, cooking, laundry, monitoring kid's homework, etc. I turned my once lovely dining room into a study hall/lab complete with dummy to practice on, IV's hanging from chandelier, hutch converted to med closet, you get the idea.
BTW, EC is not "ONLINE" it is the same content of brick and mortar schools. I have a friend who did traditional RN while I did EC and we were assigned same content, textbooks, But I did not have to waste 2-3 hours a day in traffic or work for free doing "clinicals".
EC worked for me, middle-aged, mom, but I could not have done it without the support of the allnurses.com crew.

Maureen GN

Not necessarily super smart, but they work hard.

Steadfast commitment and headstrong determination. Similar to a traditional program, but what's different is you have to autodidact well. The rate of assimilation I presume can be a little longer for the distance type courses, since you have a longer time frame for which you can complete the course, but there are still limits in that regard.

On a side note, these sorts of comments never set well with me:
But, perhaps I'm jumping to conclusions. Do you care to elaborate, Rochester?

I'm a paramedic who is finishing EC's program and we don't do some of the skills nurses do but we can sure learn them. If it wasn't feasible they wouldn't offer the program. Melissa

Make sure your state accepts them. California does not hire/give licenses to Excelsior graduates. Guess they think they are not taught all they need to know. At least that is what some one told me.

California actually takes EC graduates and reviews them on a case by case basis, although their criteria for who is approved and who isn't is unclear. If you look on Excelsior's website they very clearly tell you how each and every state's BON views EC grads!

I hope to start the program as soon as I get my test date and pass! I finished my Accounting degree via distance learning and as a military wife who will be moving soon EC is the perfect answer for me. I am not worried about those few states that are stuck in the dark ages on the subject, they'll come around eventually. Times are changing.

I couldn't characterize Regents/Excelsior grads as rocket scientists as rocket scientists are mostly introverts. I would say that Regents/EC grads are more akin to the fighter pilots of nursing. Tens of thousands of wannabe's apply, as an example, for Navy flight school. Only a few of those are accepted and make the grade to eventually become naval aviators. Out of those, even a smaller percentage are actually up to the task to fly jets. Out of those, even a smaller percentage have the right stuff to fly fighters.

Please don't take me the wrong way; I am in no way suggesting an elitist position other than stating simple facts. Most anyone can be spoon fed a nursing program over the course of two to four years, regurgitate skills and knowledge with a snap of the fingers and jump through hoops like a trained circus ferret.

It takes, however, a special kind of ballsy individuals to say, "No thanks, I have my crap together enough to just take the final exams for all the nursing classes and then I'll show 3-5 masters/doctorate prepared nurse educators the real deal during a three-day comprehensive nursing skills exam." In a way, it’s a pretty arrogant and cocky way about going through a nursing program--much like the jet fighter deal.

In the end, though, it's good to be a Regents grad.

Tammy, you kill me! Bwa ha ha ha!!