allnurses Got Me Into Nursing School

I was afraid, and confused, and even a little angry at times... But, allNurses helped me choose (and even get accepted to) my first choice nursing school. This is about how I came to my decision, and how I'm very appreciative of all the help I've received in regards to choosing my school. Nurses Announcements Archive Article

I know there are many opposing opinions in regards to private/ for-profit/ community college/ university/ ADN/ BSN schools and degrees, but I just wanted to say that thanks to AN, I have been able to research, visit, take an entrance exam, submit an application, and be accepted to the nursing school of my choice.

I was able come to a decision to start at Galen College of Nursing at St. Petersburg, FL.

My ultimate decision wasn't made from school reviews. It wasn't made by people who didn't attend the school. It wasn't even made by just touring the facility. It was made by me; by spending hours online researching medical facilities in my area; by talking to hiring managers and different colleges in my state; by talking to individuals who were directly responsible for Galen's accreditation; by interviewing (in person) current students and recent graduates.

I would not have realized that I needed to do these things if it were not for the advice I received on allNurses.

Why I Choose Galen.

1. I've been in contact with 2 separate individuals at SAC. Both that I've spoken to have said that Galen will be SAC accredited in June of 2013. Yes, I understand that this is not the same as NLNAC or CCNE accreditation (although I had no idea what either were when I first started on AN)

2. From the reviews I've read online, many people are mostly complaining about: cost and credits not transferring... Cost is not an issue for me (I'm not rich, but I have enough to pay for classes), and credits not transferring is something I am not worried about (I already have my A.S. in biology, and I've taken micro and labs, A&P I-II and labs, stats, psyche, pre-calc, chem, speech, lit, and a few others) so from what I've seen, and from what I've been given in writing from other universities and community colleges in the area, I don't have to worry about those credits transferring. Also, in regards to the NUR credits, of the 5 schools I've talked to about getting my BSN, they accept Galen's NUR credits for transfer, just not their non-nursing credits.

3. I've called several medical facilities: home health, hospitals, ALF's, SNF's, ALTC, LTC... the ones that I am most interested in hire Galen graduates. I don't want a hospital job as my first, and from what I've heard that makes me weird, but I'm okay with that!

4. I have gone to the school for more hours that I should have, and I've talked to the students. I've gone on study group dates to Starbucks and talked to them (about 30 in all, different times, dates, study groups lol), and the ones who didn't like the school were the ones who were going out to party every weekend and those who missed their social lives because they had to study 3-4 hours a night and on the weekends. There were a few who didn't like the instructors or the clinical sites, but that's to be expected with any school in my experience.

5. I have a close friend that I've known for a few years, we both went to the local community college together. She decided about 3 years ago to go to Galen, and sure, there were tears and stressful days and freakouts (it's nursing school!) but she passed her NCLEX the first time around, and is working at a pediatric home health co. that she loves.

I Guess What I'm Trying To Say Is...

The best advice I've gotten from AN is to do homework. You can ask for opinions all you want, and you can go based solely on those opinions, but you'll never have the answers. Even after doing my homework I'm still a little nervous, but it's getting less and less.

"There is a real threat of danger, but fear is something that you choose to feel." Instead of being afraid, I did research.

And that would not have happened if it weren't for everyone who gave me the good, the bad, and the ugly advice I asked (and even didn't ask) for.

So thank you AN! I got my acceptance letter to Galen College of Nursing today. It's going to be a journey, and I'll always be honest about what's happening at the university. Some of you may think that I'm a faculty member, or a current student, or even a fan-girl of the college, but the truth is, I'm just like all of you other nursing school hopefuls- I hope this turns out for the best, but I won't be sure until I'm done with this leg of the journey.

Happy learning, and thanks again. All of you.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
No one in my family went to college, let alone nursing school, so AN has become somewhat of a surrogate family for me... I can ask questions and gain helpful information from the users on the site.
Same here. . .I was a first-generation college student, and since no one in the family knew anything about higher education, I had to gain information from other sources (classmates, guidance counselors, the internet, and yes. . .Allnurses.com).
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Specializes in Pediatrics.

Your thread came up on my Facebook feed. You're famous :)

You did your homework. You did not take the decision making process lightly. It is very difficult to make a decision based in what the school administrators, faculty or website tells you. You also have to weed out all the negativity (remember, more people will give their negative opinions over their positive ones, and people who feel they have been 'done wrong' will shout it from the rooftops to everyone and anyone). Also remember, there are two sides to every story ;)

You also asked many of us opinions about a certain type of school- not your specific (prospective) school. Therefore, we could only speak of what we have experienced. It does not mean your experiences will be anything like ours. Even if they did attend your school, your experience will be different.

Congrats on making your decision.

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Your thread came up on my Facebook feed. You're famous :)

You did your homework. You did not take the decision making process lightly. It is very difficult to make a decision based in what the school administrators, faculty or website tells you. You also have to weed out all the negativity (remember, more people will give their negative opinions over their positive ones, and people who feel they have been 'done wrong' will shout it from the rooftops to everyone and anyone). Also remember, there are two sides to every story ;)

You also asked many of us opinions about a certain type of school- not your specific (prospective) school. Therefore, we could only speak of what we have experienced. It does not mean your experiences will be anything like ours. Even if they did attend your school, your experience will be different.

Congrats on making your decision.

Oh wow, that's awesome that I'm circulating on FB now lol!

One of the reasons I tried to make it a type of school instead of a specific school is just for that reason, I wanted to hear what people experienced. I didn't want to say 'Hey, I'm going to Galen, what was your experience?' Because that opens the door to 'I've heard from the internet that it's horrible; they're too expensive and that's why they're horrible; they told me they were accredited and they're not, etc'. I never had an administrator pressure sell me, I was never told they had accreditation that they did not have, and so on. Just very honest, and I wanted that from people on the boards. Honesty from those who attended, not gossip or people who felt they wronged because they were kicked out for not making the grade, etc.

May I ask, what did the FB post day, I'm curious :-)

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Specializes in critical care.

One of my favorite inventions on the planet is message boards. There is not much more valuable in life than the experiences of others. Congratulations, and best of luck to you!

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Congratulations!!!! Nursing school is such an exciting time and I'm sure you'll bring your diligent and positive attitude with you into your coursework! Thanks for sharing.

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

No matter what my opinion is on for-profit schools, I'm glad to hear that you came to your decision after lots of research and due-diligence. I think too many people rush in to things without properly understanding all the pros and cons. Congratulations on starting nursing school. I wish you all the best :)

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Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
Oh wow, that's awesome that I'm circulating on FB now lol!

One of the reasons I tried to make it a type of school instead of a specific school is just for that reason, I wanted to hear what people experienced. I didn't want to say 'Hey, I'm going to Galen, what was your experience?' Because that opens the door to 'I've heard from the internet that it's horrible; they're too expensive and that's why they're horrible; they told me they were accredited and they're not, etc'. I never had an administrator pressure sell me, I was never told they had accreditation that they did not have, and so on. Just very honest, and I wanted that from people on the boards. Honesty from those who attended, not gossip or people who felt they wronged because they were kicked out for not making the grade, etc.

May I ask, what did the FB post day, I'm curious :-)

It was posted on FB as a link, so other people could find it on AN :)

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

You have to have already "liked" allnurses to see it on your feed, and it just links you to this post. They Di this from time to time. Threads that may be if interest to a lot of people, I guess.

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The only concern is the accreditation if you ever move . I did not think is important but know when I am looking for job everybody wants NLN or CCNE Hopefully the places you research will able give a job ....

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