Pre acceptance--My Bauder College experience

[bellamia1015]

I am excited that I have been accepted into Bauder College for the AND RN program for the February 2013 term. I found out about the nursing program from my neighbor who is currently in the ADN program, she told me to look into it because so many people here in Georgia are having a hard time getting into nursing schools. The program is only a little over a year old and its fairly expensive but I thought I should give it a try anyway. My initial contact with the school was on November 8, 2012 when I attended the nursing info session. Mrs. Lanier gave the presentation and explained all of the requirements.

It seemed to be a good program but the price of $348 a credit hour is really expensive, especially in comparison to a community college that costs $85-100 per credit hour. I stayed for the entire info session and took the Wonderlic test. I didn't know what to expect but for the RN you need to get a 24 out of 50, and the text is only 12 minutes. I got a 17 on my first try so that really sucked. I was told that I could come retake it after 24 hours. I was still leery about the overall cost of the program, which is $40,000, but the cost can be reduced depending on how many classes are transferred in. So I took some time to really think about if I wanted to commit to the cost before I retook the Wonderlic.

I talked to a few people I know who are LPN and RN licensed in Illinois and Georgia. So about 2 weeks later I went back to retake the test and I got a 23, one point from the needed score for the RN. But since I scored passed the LPN program requirement I was allowed to come back to take the KPT the following Friday. When I took the KPT it was supposed to start at one time but they didn't call us for almost one full hour. The test was ok, it was Reading and Math, some questions were confusing but it's the stuff you either know or you don't. Afterwards they give you the score and I passed good enough for the RN program, but since I needed one more point on the Wonderlic I had to retake that. I came back the following Monday and retook it and thank goodness I got a 24 needed for the RN. I brought in my application and paid the $10 enrollment fee. I had to fill out a ton of forms, but I guess this is how the for-profit schools operate.

It felt like I was signing a contract to attend school. I have never had to do such a thing and I have a Masters degree. After that I went straight to take the drug screening at the urgent care that they use and completed the background screening online. I had to go back to the school to meet financial aid. When I did that they have you fill out more paperwork, which I have never had to do at any other school I have ever attended. Then they take you to the computer to complete your student loan promissory note. That part was really fishy to me because I still hadn't found out if or how much financial aid I qualify for. I was with financial aid for a hour and the lady still couldn't package me because my transcripts weren't reviewed yet. I figured to give them an extra week to look at my transcripts, because since I already have a degree many of my gen eds are done, except for the sciences.

I went back on December 14, 2012 to interview with Mrs. Black-Arias the Director of the Nursing program. Before the interview I had to complete this interview questionnaire where I guess they score your answers to determine if you qualify to get in the program. She seemed to be a nice lady and the interview wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. She asked me when did I decide to go into nursing but I think she just wanted to break the ice to see would I give the typical response. She said she had already decided to admit me into the program, which I was so happy to hear. I went back to admissions to meet with my rep Dee Banks to find out about my transcripts, which still hadn't been reviewed, and I had turned them in on Dec 3, 2012. I had to go over to the registrar and Mr Mooney quickly reviewed them and accepted my gen eds, which transfers 29 credit hours, so all I need is the sciences, I took A&P 1 lecture but I will take the lab at ATLM in the Spring. And I still need A&P 2 and Microbiology. I went back to Dee to let her know Mrs Black-Arias said she will be accepting me into the Feb 2013 class.

I tried to take to my financial aid rep but she was not in, so I will be calling her on Monday to get the info, because that is the part that is scaring me because cost is so high. But from what I calculated it won't be as expensive as I think because I transferred so many classes in., as it should take off almost $11,000. So I am going to keep my fingers crossed about the financial side because since I have a degree I don't think I qualify for grants anymore. So I'm excited that I may be starting the program in Feb 2013 but I don't want to go into debt trying to get the RN license.

Also while I was there I spoke with several people in the program and they seem to like it, they are just ready to be done. They were all on break while I was waiting for my interview and they said that they change the schedule of things all the time and just make sure to keep my schedule open from 7 to 7 M-F. I spoke with my neighbor who is about to start her clinicals and she said they told her she may have a clinical on Saturday. I still need to complete the physical and turn in my immunizations. I'm just gonna remain positive and think about my future.