west coast university?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello, I'm looking to earn a BSN. I've looked around for schools and I found west coast

university (LA Location) to be the fastest route. So, I have a few questions.:cat:

1: What are your thoughts on this school? brutally honest answers are welcome!

2: How hard is their HESI exam?

3: Is the HESI score and H.S GPA all I need to enroll?

4: I plan on getting my masters at UCLA, and probably furthering my education to become a CRNA, will WCU grades transfer to UCLA?

5: Also like I mentioned before, my dream is to become a CRNA, how can I get to be CRNA in the fastest way possible? (I have the time to be a full time student)

6: what is the educational path to become a CRNA?

thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions. I kindly appreciate it! :cat:

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

My thoughts are...it's HORRIBLY overpriced, you will be saddled with over $100,000 in student loan debt, and is it nationally and regionally accredited?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

I would guess that the school's academic counsellors or Admissions Office could answer all your questions way more effectively than we could. It might take a little digging and a little more effort on your part, but worth the time for accurate answers.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Considering you will be saddled with $100,000 in debt (unless you have that kind of coin just laying around, and if you do, call me) then adding in the cost of CRNA school (another $50,000 more or less). WCU is a terrible choice financially.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

Oh, you're in California! Were you aware that the average length of time for new grad RNs to find their first nursing job is something like 6-12 MONTHS? How will you pay off your student loans during that time?

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This school does not have a good reputation; actually, their reputation is for enrolling anyone with the ability to take on maximum student loan and private loan debts. Their criteria is less academic, and more financial.

Graduates of WCU aren't viewed as valuable when trying to get placement at what I'll call a "real" graduate school, down the road.

You might want to reconsider. Fast doesn't equate to Best. Or even, necessarily. very good.

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so, If WCU is not a good choice, then what schools would you recommend? I live in LA. Also, I'd like to mention that I would hate to get into a "lottery based school". I've heard that some colleges around here do that. It doesn't matter if you have good grades, you can only enter their nursing program by a "lottery method" which they choose at random, which is why I was looking into WCU, but I'm open to any schools. It's just that I graduated from their sister school as a medical assistant, and I really like the medical field so it's time for me to further my education. I'm 25 now and I don't want to wait around for a college to decide if I made it into their program.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Think about it this way: If you 'wait around' for 3-5 years to get into another school, one that you can afford, and it saves you $1000+ a month in student loan payments for 10 or more years - which is the better plan?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Do you already have student loans from your MA program?

The so-called lottery schools have implemented that system for a reason: they have many, many applicants for too few positions. That is likely because they offer an excellent nursing education at a reasonable cost. If they did not use the lottery system and only went by GPA, for example, only the perfect GPA's would get in. With the lottery, at least those folks who may have dropped a few points of GPA along the way will also have a shot at getting in. And, BTW, I doubt that the lottery schools choose folks "at random" to enter the lottery. Pretty sure an applicant must meet specific baseline criteria to even be considered for the lottery.

If you're really serious about nursing and having a decent quality of life that is not saddled with thousands and thousands of $$ in student loans, you're going to have to re-organize how you're looking at this situation.

And move. You're going to have to get out of LA if you want to get a reasonably priced education with even a hope of landing employment after graduation.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

West Coast University's BSN program costs $132,000+ in tuition and fees. If financed for 10 years at 6.8 percent, your student loan payments will be $1,500+ monthly.

Don't do it! Do not go to this academic sharecropper school! If you do, the balls and chains of intractable student loan debt will burden you well into middle age!

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I'll answer a few of your questions:

1. I think they are a greedy, over-priced school that suckers desperate students wanting to be a nurse into debt slavery.

4. Probably won't transfer to UCLA, unless WCU is regionally accredited.

5. Fastest way possible? Don't attend WCU, because you'll be straddled with loan repayment. If you really want the fastest way possible, leave california, move to a state that is ADN friendly, get a job as an ICU tech/clerk, get hired at graduation, get your ICU experience while doing a BSN online, and then apply to anesthesia school.

6. Educational path…become a BSN RN with ideally 2-3 years high acuity level 1 trauma center ICU experience. It is at minimum a masters degree in nurse anesthesia with ALL anesthesia schools moving to a mandatory doctorate degree by Janurary, 2022.

Just laying it all out there so you go in with eyes wide open. WCU= bad news.

Seriously, how can a school justify having a student pay 132K, when local ADN colleges are less than 10K?

One word: greed

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
I'll answer a few of your questions:

1. I think they are a greedy, over-priced school that suckers desperate students wanting to be a nurse into debt slavery.

4. Probably won't transfer to UCLA, unless WCU is regionally accredited.

5. Fastest way possible? Don't attend WCU, because you'll be straddled with loan repayment. If you really want the fastest way possible, leave california, move to a state that is ADN friendly, get a job as an ICU tech/clerk, get hired at graduation, get your ICU experience while doing a BSN online, and then apply to anesthesia school.

6. Educational path…become a BSN RN with ideally 2-3 years high acuity level 1 trauma center ICU experience. It is at minimum a masters degree in nurse anesthesia with ALL anesthesia schools moving to a mandatory doctorate degree by Janurary, 2022.

Just laying it all out there so you go in with eyes wide open. WCU= bad news.

Seriously, how can a school justify having a student pay 132K, when local ADN colleges are less than 10K?

One word: greed

Seriously, OP?

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