moving to texas next year

mavnurse · Dec 12, 2004

Hmm...I go to UTA but I know some people who went to TCC for prereqs or who applied there for nursing. I live in Arlington/Fort Worth. All I know about TCC is that the wait list is long, although it may be the same in Dallas. As for living, I would definitely choose Fort Worth over Dallas. There are too many slummy parts in Dallas and traffic is awful. (Fort Worth has bad areas too, but you can avoid those more easily.) If you have any more specific questions about TCC I can probably find out for you. I think my aunt is going there right now, and I could ask her. HTH!

mavnurse · Dec 12, 2004

PS It can't hurt to go ahead and apply to both schools now just in case there are long lists at both.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2004

i have been to both and recommend tcc. let me know if you have any questions.

hey there, i am planning to move back to texas next year( summer of 2005) and has anyone went to tarrant county college?:) i have been online looking at both tcc and dallas community college.... which one is best???? does anyone children ages 12/13????? how is apartment living???? how can i best survive going to school full-time with children???:balloons:

drea3751 · Dec 13, 2004

Thank you for responding to my questions. How was the program? How were the teachers? Do you recommend any for Math 0304?? :coollook:

drea3751 · Dec 13, 2004

How is the program at UTA??? Was it hard to get into???? How long are the lists at the schools??? Where are your clinicals???? I know that I am full of questions, but I know that you have been through the schools and since you live there you are a better expert...:chuckle

Nikki730 · Dec 13, 2004

Hi Drea,

I'll fill you in on DCCCD (El Centro/Northlake, not Brookhaven). There's a list of 4 classes for pre-reqs, and several other classes that are gen. ed support classes. If you do fairly well on the NET, (I think you just have to pass it, though many people seem to think that a good NET score trumps a good GPA) then they look first at your pre-req GPA. If you have a 4.00, you are virtually guaranteed a spot (provided you passed the NET.) If you have a 3.77 (that is, you made all A's except for one B on a three-hour class), then the "tie breaker" becomes your # of hours of support courses completed. The tie breaker after that is GPA you got on the support courses. There may be a stipulation about having to have at least a 2.5 GPA on the pre-reqs and/or the support courses. Not sure. In the last few semesters, the lowest GPA accepted for the pre-reqs turs out to be a 3.77. I think it may dip lower at the last minute, if people back out or drop their seat at the last minute.

The part of all this that would probably interest you the most is that there are NO WAITING LISTS and NO interviews. You either make it in or you don't. You can re-take pre-reqs or support courses for better grades, and I believe they only count the most recent grade. Brookhaven, which I mentioned earlier, is it's own program. They do interviews.

tsu_girl82 · Dec 13, 2004

have you considered tarleton state university in stephenville ..really tough program (we lost 18 girls this semester alone) but we have, like a 96 percent passing rate on the nclex and the wait list is not as long because we are king of a rural school (8000 students)

hey there, i am planning to move back to texas next year( summer of 2005) and has anyone went to tarrant county college?:) i have been online looking at both tcc and dallas community college.... which one is best???? does anyone children ages 12/13????? how is apartment living???? how can i best survive going to school full-time with children???:balloons:

KevinN · Dec 13, 2004

Hi Drea, I just finished my second semester at El Centro in Dallas, I can't tell you which district is best since I have only attended El Centro. However, I am satisfied with the DCCCD. As Nikki has said, there is no waiting list and admission is based on your GPA of 4 prerequisite classes (Algebra, Psychology, English, and A&P1). Also, unless you prefer to take those additional prerequisite classes (Micro, A&P2, Speech, Humanities, Developmental Psych) during the summer and winter breaks, I would suggest finishing them before you start the nursing classes. The program can be time consuming and stressful without the added headache of taking additional classes during the program. As far as clinicals, first semester I was at Presbyterian in Dallas twice a week for 8 hours each day. During second semester I was at three different hospitals starting with Children's for Pedi, Methodist for med surg, and Parkland for Maternity. During second semester clinical was only one day a week but it was a 12-hour day. In addition before each clinical day we had to go to the hospital and get our patient information in order to have a care plan ready for the following morning. So the day before clinical can be an additional half a day's work depending on how fast you can write out care plans.

mavnurse · Dec 13, 2004

Well let's see...UTA kinda wants you to have some classes there before they really consider you, but once you are enrolled it's not too hard. There are approx. 700 applicants for 100 spots a semester. My clinicals are spread over the DFW metroplex pretty evenly. Some are in Ft Worth, some in Arlington, Dallas, Irving, etc.

As for TCC I've heard the avg wait time is 4 semesters. Not sure if this is entirely true though, but I can probably find out.

sjt9721, BSN, RN · Dec 14, 2004

Here are other schools in the area:

North Central Texas College in Gainesville

Collin County Comm College in McKinney

Grayson County College in Denison

Oh yeah, and Texas Women's in Denton

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Dec 14, 2004

I took pre-reqs at El Centro and my best friend is in her last semester there. She likes it, it seems to be challenging and they do lose a few who just can't take the pressure. She feels they are pretty fair in how they treat students. The academics seem to be good--you'll learn a lot. They are tough about clinicals--which is also good. Another advantage is that El Centro students get a free DART (mass trans) pass, and the school is right at, I mean 50 yards from the train station.

I completed my first year at Collin County in McKinney. The instructors are mostly OK. The academics are a little strange: lectures get cut short, you don't get to see the entire power point, and then when stuff shows up on the exam you never heard of, you are told, you are responsible for what is on the power point. The director has serious control issues but she is an equal opportunity tyrant--she is as abusive to the instructors as she is to the students. The clinical opportunities are OK. I don't recommend this school, but only because you can get as good or better education/training without suffering the emotional abuse. Plus, the attrition rate is about 50%. My class didn't get to see any of their exams after they were graded the last two semesters of school. I thought that stunk, but I was already in another program. (I was doing well at Collin County when I transferred, by the way--I didn't flunk out.)

Probably the best shot you might have would be at Sherman, Grayson County Community College. They have a very low attrition rate, and don't pressure you much. The students who washed out of Collin County who went up there were very pleased. They liked how they were treated. They all passed and they all graduated. I don't know how many passed the NCLEX. I believe at Grayson you have to push yourself to work hard, because they might not challenge you as much as some other schools would.

It's also less expensive to live in Sherman or Dallas. The Collin County suburbs are pretty expensive. I have friends who could help you find a safe, secure and relatively inexpensive place to live; if you want to, email me when you are closer to coming and I'll connect you with them. They helped me when I was looking for a place for my SIL.

Good luck! And welcome to Texas, in advance!