Remington College of Nursing - Orlando

NewYorkMom · Mar 24, 2010

Hi Rad Sugar

Thanks for the honest evaluation of the program.. How many were in your first starting quarter and how many are left? If you don't do well in a class then is there any way of repeating the class with the load you are already carrying?

NYMOM

OakRNland, BSN · Mar 24, 2010

Whoo, I just started the application process for this school and sending transcripts, and just finished reading all these posts. I'm now concerned, and appreciate everyones comments. although I do expect where ever I go/ which ever program excepts me, for the ABSN to be a year of misery, despite learning the great stuff- I sort of anticipated awkward shifts, lots of papers, and not having a social life for 12-16 months. Luckily I have the support of my husband , I also have a 2 year old daughter. Has anyone gone through the program who also has a family and finished successfully? would love to hear any good points about the program. We'll be moving from San Francisco, CA so this is a huge deal for us and just want to make the right choice. Is Lake mary, family friendly? thanks for input.

rad sugar · Mar 24, 2010

Whoo, I just started the application process for this school and sending transcripts, and just finished reading all these posts. I'm now concerned, and appreciate everyones comments. although I do expect where ever I go/ which ever program excepts me, for the ABSN to be a year of misery, despite learning the great stuff- I sort of anticipated awkward shifts, lots of papers, and not having a social life for 12-16 months. Luckily I have the support of my husband , I also have a 2 year old daughter. Has anyone gone through the program who also has a family and finished successfully? would love to hear any good points about the program. We'll be moving from San Francisco, CA so this is a huge deal for us and just want to make the right choice. Is Lake mary, family friendly? thanks for input.

you're relocating to lake mary just for the program?

have you ever visited orlando/lake mary? how many vehicles do you have? public transportation is virtually nonexistant here, and honestly - there is NO way you could get through the program without a car.

as far as other people in the class with kids/families:

one lady dropped out at the beginning of the 2nd quarter because she wasnt spending enough time with her family - she has two small children.

one student has a 1yo and a 5yo, and she's hanging in tough. doing really well. she also has 10+ years experience as a tech and has been in nursing school before... so she comes in with an advantage.

another guy in our class has a 3yo and a 2yo and his wife doesn't work. he hasn't been doing well in the program and is extremely stressed over the financial impact of what happens if he doesn't pass.

it sounds like your expectations are realistic in many ways... i anticipated the same things, and i remember nodding my head and agreeing to them. others told me not to do an ABSN program and tried to warn me how stressful this would be... i have NEVER had anything affect me the way the stress of this program has. but that's just my experience and my opinion. i was essentially a straight A student in college my first time, and i partied my way through college. now i study nonstop, more than i EVER have... and i fail tests. its unlike anything i could have prepared for!

whatever you end up doing, i wish you the best of luck! let me know if you have more questions.

rad sugar · Mar 24, 2010

Hi Rad Sugar
Thanks for the honest evaluation of the program.. How many were in your first starting quarter and how many are left? If you don't do well in a class then is there any way of repeating the class with the load you are already carrying?
NYMOM

we started with 32, and we're down to 28 now. 1 left by choice, and the others "failed" out. its really upsetting - but we've basically been told that this quarter - the THIRD - is the "weeding out" term. its pretty messed up to have people come so far and then get weeded out now... but its happening. many people aren't carrying passing grades and/or test averages ... and we have 3 weeks left.

you must pass every class to go on to the next quarter.

this is a VERY small school... so they aren't multiple classes being offered. my 28 classmates and i take every class together. there isn't various times offered, etc. and the school starts new cohorts every 6 months.

IF you fail a class (less than 75% in the class OR a test avg lower than 75%) - you must repeat and pass it before you can go on to the next quarter. the problem is, the class isn't reoffered again for 3 months (with the cohort that started after us) ...so you have to retake that one class with him, and then pick up the new quarter and continue to go through with them. this pushes back your graduation date by 6 months. and getting a slot with the next class to repeat your failed class is NOT a guarantee. there has to be space... and the class had to exist.

one girl failed "nutrition" in our 2nd quarter. she plans on re-taking it next quarter with the new class when they're in the their 2nd quarter. the only problem is, the administration is thinking about changing up the curriculum and they may combine nutrition w/ another class. sooooo... no one knows how the girl who needs to repeat it, will do so.

its all very messy!

PrincessO, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 25, 2010

Whoo, I just started the application process for this school and sending transcripts, and just finished reading all these posts. I'm now concerned, and appreciate everyones comments. although I do expect where ever I go/ which ever program excepts me, for the ABSN to be a year of misery, despite learning the great stuff- I sort of anticipated awkward shifts, lots of papers, and not having a social life for 12-16 months. Luckily I have the support of my husband , I also have a 2 year old daughter. Has anyone gone through the program who also has a family and finished successfully? would love to hear any good points about the program. We'll be moving from San Francisco, CA so this is a huge deal for us and just want to make the right choice. Is Lake mary, family friendly? thanks for input.

Hi Jen,

Are you moving from California just for this program or for some other reason?

OakRNland, BSN · Mar 25, 2010

We are moving to where ever I get in. I'm applying in Arizona, (2)Colorado, Nebraska, Indiana and Florida, so yes, we are moving for nursing school. People move all the time to go to school, so we don't see ourselves any different just because we are from California. I don't know if any of you are from California, but if you are, you know how competitive it is out here, very impacted, and very expensive, for example, Samuel Merrit's ABSN program is 12 months, 52k plus books, plus living in the bay area. We live in a SUPER AFFORDABLE (for san Francisco) 2 bedroom apt in san francisco for $1600 alamo square, which is unheard of, most our friends pay well over 2200/mo for their 2 bedrrom apts. So moving to a more affordable location is something we are really looking forward- a change of pace. 36k I was thinking was a great deal, when you compare some of the costs of private schools in CA, it's close to saving over 20k for one year. Are most of the applicants for Remington only from Florida? I'd be surprised if I'm the only one relocating from another state. Out of the 6 schools I'm applying to, Remington is not at the top of my list, but I do like the thought of it being on the east coast, closer to Ireland, which is where my husband is from, so it does have it's benefits. No matter what the challenges are, I expect them, I'll grab them by the horns and do my best, my motivation is my family and I will succeed.

NewYorkMom · Mar 25, 2010

I appreciate the honesty about the program. It is always tough when a program is so new and they are trying to work out the kinks. I guess the first few classes are the guinea pigs for what will work and what will not. It is a shame not to be able to repeat a class without repeating the whole quarter. When I went up to the school last July to look around I know they were getting ready for visitation from another accrediting agency for the school. Any word on how that was going? I think for me the Cons out weigh the Pros. Hey at 57 this would be a third career for me. My youngest in a junior at FSU and I am widowed 5 years now, so I don't have really any family constraints on me. The question I have to ask myself is this way too much stress to handle and is this school not quite where it should be with its programs and issues.

Thanks again for your insight!

rad sugar · Mar 25, 2010

Jen-

sounds like you have it all figured out then! good luck, and enjoy lake mary. i would do some research on housing in the area, it sounds like what you pay in your area is very comparable to the orlando renter's market.

are most of the applicants from florida? yes. but some people have relocated. some commute from diff parts of the state, living in lake mary during the week and going home weekends. i myself drive an hour one way to get to school. there are only a couple people in my class who relocated specifically for the program, but many of us are leaving the area after school.

newyorkmom,

just to clarify - if you fail one class, you don't repeat the whole quarter - but you cannot progress with your classmates until you have repeated and pass the class. there aren't simultaneous classes running, just two a year. so... if you fail one class, you have to stop in your track and wait for the class behind you to take the class you need to repeat.

we run on 4 quarters. each quarter is 12 weeks. there are a few breaks throughout the year. we had a week off in oct, one week off at xmas and we'll have a week off at the end of april.

there is talk about making it 12 weeks of classes and a 13th week of finals. as it is now, the 12th week of each term is our finals week.

so. if you start the program in july, and take 4 classes, and fail one. the class you failed will not be repeated again until january. sooo... you have 3 months off. then in january, you don't take a full course load, just the one you failed. then in april, you are full time starting the second quarter with the new class. your original class will graduate when you are halfway done; essentially you get pushed back 6 months.

the same goes for if you have a conflict with a teacher, or have absences, etc. you can't just transfer into a different teacher's class. there is no add/drop week. its a tiny private school.

is it worth the stress? i say hardly. if you're doing this just as a 3rd career, i would look into florida hospital's program, or check out some of the community colleges around. that's just my opinion. if you decide to go through, i wish you the best of luck!

rad sugar · Mar 25, 2010

Rad sugar,
U are currently enrolled in this program? If you are, please email me at [email protected]. Thanks

i am, sorry i missed this before... must have gotten lost in the shuffle. i will email you soon!

laurdra · Mar 26, 2010

Hi Jen,

I want to reassure you that Lake Mary is a great place to live. I recently moved here from NYC and am loving it. I've lived in FL before, but was in NYC for the past 3 years. It's soooo cheap. I'm living in a very upscale apartment complex in a 1br apartment. It's huge (bigger than my 2br in Jersey City) and only $1200 per month which is considered expensive for the area. It's less than half the cost of my apartment in JC and there are actually amenities. If you consider the tax differences and cost of food, it's less than half the cost of living. I think there is a lot to do here and it's very safe.

My husband got a job transfer to come down here. I'm not sure what your husband is planning on doing but the job market here is awful. It's bad everywhere, but it's so much worse here than in NYC. I was hoping to find a job to fill my time until January but I've had no luck.

I'm applying to Remington for January 2011 in addition to a couple of other schools, but I'm starting to feel nervous about Remington.

rad sugar · Apr 2, 2010

i just posted a new thread about one of RCON's clinical sites....

https://allnurses.com/fl-nursing-programs/pt-beats-another-466786.html#post4216222

PrincessO, MSN, RN, NP · Apr 9, 2010

we are moving to where ever i get in. i'm applying in arizona, (2)colorado, nebraska, indiana and florida, so yes, we are moving for nursing school. people move all the time to go to school, so we don't see ourselves any different just because we are from california. i don't know if any of you are from california, but if you are, you know how competitive it is out here, very impacted, and very expensive, for example, samuel merrit's absn program is 12 months, 52k plus books, plus living in the bay area. we live in a super affordable (for san francisco) 2 bedroom apt in san francisco for $1600 alamo square, which is unheard of, most our friends pay well over 2200/mo for their 2 bedrrom apts. so moving to a more affordable location is something we are really looking forward- a change of pace. 36k i was thinking was a great deal, when you compare some of the costs of private schools in ca, it's close to saving over 20k for one year. are most of the applicants for remington only from florida? i'd be surprised if i'm the only one relocating from another state. out of the 6 schools i'm applying to, remington is not at the top of my list, but i do like the thought of it being on the east coast, closer to ireland, which is where my husband is from, so it does have it's benefits. no matter what the challenges are, i expect them, i'll grab them by the horns and do my best, my motivation is my family and i will succeed.

i can understand moving from california to florida for school because i moved here to go to medical school two years ago. however, i am no longer in medical school and currently in nursing school. orlando is a good place to live for people with family, but i would not recommend moving this far just to go to remington college. remington is a new commercialized for profit school that is not accredited and not well known or not even known at all. and yes it does matter especially when it is hard to find work as a new grad. i went on an interview for a pca position and the director of nursing at the hospital where i applied told me it would be very hard for me to find a job as a new grad if i went to that school because they have so many applicants to choose from that they choose the well known accredited schools first. i would recommend going to a school that’s much closer. i can give you a list of schools if you are having a hard time getting accepted somewhere. i love it here in miami(being a single female), but there were a lot of things to get used to because i am used to the culture and all the opportunities we have in california, which is unheard of here in florida. in florida they work you much harder and pay you much less and they can do that because they don't have the unions we have in cali not to mention the job market here is about 10 times worse then california and ny. i was lucky that with a degree and 10 years of experience that i found a job in 6 months, but my friend who also have a degree and experience have been looking for a job for other a year. i don't really want to post everything on the board, but if you want we can talk about it by email and i can recommend you some other schools if you are having a hard time getting in, but florida is not the best place to move for school with a family(especially not for remington college). i would not even recommend a single person to move from california to florida for this school. it is also hard to get into a nursing school here in florida, but since remington is new and for profit they will take almost anyone. there are some comparable schools like that in california too so why not go there instead? yes, i know a couple of people that applied to remington from other states (one from cali). i believe the one from cali did her research and decided to go elsewhere and one from tennessee that decided to go elsewhere. i would say use remington as a last resort, but i am praying that you will get accepted somewhere closer. arizona or nevada would be some good places. you can buy a nice house in nv for about 60,000. good luck to you!