does mississippi accept grads from excelsior;any veiws on EC please

geminiLPN-2bRN · Aug 17, 2012

Hi I am a Mississippi LPN and yes they do accept Excelsior grads

Aliakey · Aug 17, 2012

A list of states that have additional requirements for Excelsior graduates is listed here:

State Board Requirements - excelsior.edu

Like geminiLPN-RN confirmed, Mississippi is not one of the states that has additional experience requirements, etc.

As for the program itself:

Just go through Excelsior on your own without any third-party involvement and you should do just fine both academically and financially. There's a thread on the College Network, which applies to other non-affiliated third party networks here: https://allnurses.com/excelsior-college-online/the-college-network-766291.html

Bottom line... you don't need (or necessarily want) to involve yourself with these third parties.

I am nearly finished with my Excelsior program... CPNE in mid-September. I know you're in a hurry to earn your RN, but please keep in mind there is a LOT of studying and time commitments ahead of you. The FCCA (a course that follows completion of all of your nursing core classes and precedes the clinical examination [CPNE]) is not self-paced anymore; it'll require 8 weeks of time on its own. The CPNE has a minimum of a 2 month wait to your test date from the time your CPNE application has been completed. You cannot apply for the CPNE until your nursing core courses have been completed, the FCCA has been passed, and you are no more than 10 general education units away from completion of the entire AS or AAS program.

This journey will end nearly at the two year mark for me, assuming I pass the CPNE the first time around (fingers crossed). There's been a lot of textbook studying and a lot of work on my own to become proficient in the nursing skills that differ from my paramedic ones. I have no regrets at all, and learned so much from this experience. You need to be VERY motivated to work on completing this program on your own; you will have days where you just want to yank all your hair out from the studying, lol! If you live with family, they have to understand that oftentimes, you simply do not exist in their world. This is particularly true when studying for the CPNE, which is an exam of near-perfection and nerves, where you are assigned the nursing care and documentation of patients you've never met before at a hospital you may have never stepped foot into.

Just wanted to give you a "heads up" on what to expect; not trying to scare you off. I know in the past, Excelsior was able to be completed in a very short period of time; I know of an RN from my area who finished it in 101 days, but that was many years ago. That's no longer the case; the bar has been raised (which is good IMHO).

Good luck to you in whatever decision you choose!

magnoliapn · Aug 17, 2012

Thanks just what I wanted to hear. A real opinion from a real person. Do you think one year is a realistic time frame to complete this course. I have very good motivation to get it done. I live in MS and want to move to colorado but my husband won't move unless I get my rn. I work 3 on 2 off 2 on 3 off so have lots of free time. My 11 yr old son is as motivated as I am to move so he will support me too.

Aliakey · Aug 17, 2012

A year would be tight; don't know how fast you learn so hard for me to judge how much time it'll take for you to conquer each exam. I also do not know if you have any or all of your general education units completed as well. I came into the program with a BS from an engineering field of study, so had a few life sciences courses to complete for the general education requirements since my transcripts were heavy on math and physics. Otherwise, it took me about 3 to 8 weeks per exam, depending most on the content... and forever for the Reproduction exam, lol! I am not what one would call a fast learner; takes me awhile to get through a textbook, but I take the extra time to *understand* the material, not just memorize it. My memory stinks, honestly, but forcing myself to really understand the workings of the human body has been a tremendous benefit. The time spent includes my working about 42+ hours a week (12 hour shifts) and a very supportive family who can cook for themselves, if needed.Just remember that at least 4 months (8 weeks of FCCA and minimum of 2 months CPNE) are out of your control. You can save a couple of general education classes for that period of time if you can handle the extra study load.Did you get a chance to read about Colorado's requirements for endorsement? While Mississippi has no restrictions for Excelsior graduates, Colorado does when you want to take your RN across the state lines. The website states, "Endorsement: All graduates enrolled after January 1, 2006, must endorse in with 2000 hours of RN experience (or complete the preceptorship)."In other words, you need about a year of full-time work as an RN *before* you can apply for licensure in Colorado, or, put in the good chunk of hours required for preceptorship.Didn't know if you saw that on the state requirements link?

Aliakey · Aug 17, 2012

Sorry about the lack of spacing in the above post... forum box was acting weird and this site was slow as molasses on Christmas.

I also thought of some other time sinks to consider (not trying to scare you off, but just so you're aware). Once *everything* is done... all of the courses, FCCA, CPNE passed, and financial obligations have been met to Excelsior (if any left), there is another 6 to 8 weeks or so for them to process and officially "graduate" you as a GN. Being out of state, there will also be some time for Mississippi to process the information Excelsior sends them to allow you to take the NCLEX-RN, and then of course, there *is* the NCLEX to take as well. All that also takes time.

Okay, think I'm done typing for a bit now (maybe) , lol! :)

Editorial Team / Moderator · Aug 22, 2012

Thanks just what I wanted to hear. A real opinion from a real person. Do you think one year is a realistic time frame to complete this course. I have very good motivation to get it done. I live in MS and want to move to colorado but my husband won't move unless I get my rn. I work 3 on 2 off 2 on 3 off so have lots of free time. My 11 yr old son is as motivated as I am to move so he will support me too.

Just be aware that Colorado has additional requirements for EC grads to endorse their licenses in... see the same link where the MS info was. I think it's 2000 hours of RN work time.

I did EC's program in one year, one month, and one day -- and that was with a 6+ month wait for my CPNE. But that was pre-FCCA, and I did nothing but study all the time. :) I finished all the theory exams (there were 7 for me at that time) in 5 months.

Good luck!