Online Nursing Program - Is it worth it?

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Hello everyone. I just got accepted into the ABSN program. I'm a little bit skeptical about this nursing program because the majority of it is online. The online component is mostly comprised of recorded lectures. Whereas taking the exam is at the school as well as doing lab. I checked the school's nclex pass rates which is at a 96.15%. I've never taken online classes before, let alone fulfilling my second major mostly online. The advisors at the school did say that at orientation, they group students up and that's who you'll be studying with until you graduate. Has anyone else done their BSN program mostly online?

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Where do you do your clinical hours? What type of relationship will you be able to have with your clinical instructor? Will you be able to reach out to the professor who recorded each lecture should you have questions on the content?

I've definitely heard of bridge programs (RN to BSN) being online but I'm interested to hear about this program works. The high NCLEX pass rate is encouraging, you should also check to see how many students took the NCLEX. It's one thing to get a 96% pass rate when you've got 100 students taking the NCLEX and another to get that rate if you only have 20 students taking the NCLEX.

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Where do you do your clinical hours? What type of relationship will you be able to have with your clinical instructor? Will you be able to reach out to the professor who recorded each lecture should you have questions on the content?

I've definitely heard of bridge programs (RN to BSN) being online but I'm interested to hear about this program works. The high NCLEX pass rate is encouraging, you should also check to see how many students took the NCLEX. It's one thing to get a 96% pass rate when you've got 100 students taking the NCLEX and another to get that rate if you only have 20 students taking the NCLEX.

It's slightly difficult for me to get an unbiased opinion about the school because I've mostly talked with the faculty and prospective students. I do know that we have clinical rotations around the city. Also, the school requires at least a 90% on each exam because each block is pass/fail.

I want to make sure I'm investing wisely because the price tag for this school is $60k. The other nursing schools that are close by require more prerequsites and it's pretty competitive. I know if I go to this school that I will be able to graduate and work much more quickly.

Here's the nclex info taken from the state website.

Jan '17 - March '17

50 passed

2 failed

= 96.15%

Jan '16 - Dec. '16

147 passed

24 failed

=85.96%

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$60k would be really hard for me to swallow. Especially when you're getting recorded lectures. Have you looked at reviews for the school online?

What's the schools retention rate, do you know?

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I agree with Jen, check out that retention rate. Requiring at least a 90% on every exam seems absolutely crazy to me - if my school (which has an NCLEX pass rate in the 90's with about 100 students/class) did that, my entire class would be gone by now.

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Jen: I am not exactly sure what the retention rate is.

Emmjayy: 90% is crazy, but I guess how the school does it is that you take the exam once by yourself and then you are able to retake that exam with a group for an extra 5% added onto the first exam score. If you still don't get a 90% then you retake a similar test the third time.

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$60k would be really hard for me to swallow. Especially when you're getting recorded lectures. Have you looked at reviews for the school online?

Completely agree. $60k seems to be the going rate for a lot of ABSN programs (at least in my area), but I'm not sure if I would be ok with paying that much and receiving limited in-person instruction.

You also mentioned that you've never completed online coursework before. Online learning requires you to be extremely well organized, have great time management skills, and be very self-directed. You definitely want to be sure that you're ok with all of that before jumping in. I think a program like this could be doable, but you want to be sure that it's a good fit for your learning style and abilities.

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Completely agree. $60k seems to be the going rate for a lot of ABSN programs (at least in my area), but I'm not sure if I would be ok with paying that much and receiving limited in-person instruction.

You also mentioned that you've never completed online coursework before. Online learning requires you to be extremely well organized, have great time management skills, and be very self-directed. You definitely want to be sure that you're ok with all of that before jumping in. I think a program like this could be doable, but you want to be sure that it's a good fit for your learning style and abilities.

60k is very expensive in my opinion as well, considering that I am still in debt from my last degree. This is the only school where I can get done the fastest. Applying and getting accepted into other schools could potentially take a year if not more because I would need to take more prerequsites, and that doesn't include if I get denied and having to reapply again. It's just not worth it. Another option is that I could get my ADN and then do the RN-BSN route, but that will take even longer. Either way, I am paying out of state tuition so the cost some-what balances out.

In response to the online classes. I am extremely motivated, have great time management skills, and is hardly ever late on assignments. I might need to improve on being more self-directed because it takes me longer to grasp certain concepts and I've learned to accept that and devoute more time into learning the material, but if I have questions on certain topics, I just hope that I have a prof. that is readily available.

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60k is very expensive in my opinion as well, considering that I am still in debt from my last degree. This is the only school where I can get done the fastest. Applying and getting accepted into other schools could potentially take a year if not more because I would need to take more prerequsites, and that doesn't include if I get denied and having to reapply again. It's just not worth it. Another option is that I could get my ADN and then do the RN-BSN route, but that will take even longer. Either way, I am paying out of state tuition so the cost some-what balances out.

In response to the online classes. I am extremely motivated, have great time management skills, and is hardly ever late on assignments. I might need to improve on being more self-directed because it takes me longer to grasp certain concepts and I've learned to accept that and devoute more time into learning the material, but if I have questions on certain topics, I just hope that I have a prof. that is readily available.

I don't know how old you are, but $60K is a lot, especially if you already have student debt. I advise you sit down and calculate your future student loan payments versus your future income. New grad RNs don't make a lot of money and you may end up with $1000 a month or more in student loan payments.

Why are you in such a rush? The public community and 4 year colleges are the most cost effective options. Or a reputable private school that has good scholarship and aid programs. You can also look at - online and a reasonable price.

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I don't know how old you are, but $60K is a lot, especially if you already have student debt. I advise you sit down and calculate your future student loan payments versus your future income. New grad RNs don't make a lot of money and you may end up with $1000 a month or more in student loan payments.

Why are you in such a rush? The public community and 4 year colleges are the most cost effective options. Or a reputable private school that has good scholarship and aid programs. You can also look at Western Governors University - online and a reasonable price.

I'm in my mid 20's and I don't pay for rent or any of the basic neccesities like that and I have a good financial support group. There's just a lot of pressure for me to get done with school soon so I can start working.

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