opinion about nsu shreveport vs panola in carthage...

U.S.A. Louisiana

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I am in the process of trying to make my final decision between Panola College and Northwestern State University in Shreveport. Panola has their online/flex option (clinicals at night and on weekend and classes can be taken online) which is great and they do clinicals here in shreveport also, but it is a long way for me to drive if i want to take some classes there. And I have heard that its not as bad to get into clinicals there as it is Northwestern (from an actual advisor at Panola) due to the waiting lists. On the flip side, I have considered Northwestern because it is local, and if i need to speak with an advisor face to face, I can. But I have also had an advisor there tell me getting into clinicals there is VERY competitive. And, i have heard a ton of horror stories about NSU Right now, my over all gpa is 2.9 (but thats including my business classes, as i have recently changed my major). If they just look at the classes that will be applied to the adn progam, it would probably look even better. So if anyone out there has had experience with either one of these or both, please let me know what you think. Thanks!

It is much easier to get in in the spring. I know many people who have gotten in with a TEAS in the upper 70's and a 3.4 GPA and up, and to the contrary, people who have high TEAS and lower GPA and gotten in. Just relax and apply, the only thing they can say is no! Last spring my Bro in law got in with a 3.1 GPA and an 84 on the TEAS. He also had a previous BS which helps some too. Good Luck!

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Thank you K T did and piccliner... I'm trying to to freak out but it's hard eheh I have a bachelor degree but it's from another country so I dont' know if they will consider that or not. Do you know when should I find out if I get in or not? cuz I heard ppl said that applying deadline for fall is May 31 but I won't hear anything til August... that's pretty long!

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yeah, if you apply in may, you will not find anything out until late july, early august, then you will have like a week or so to get all your stuff back to NSU, so have your ducks in a row. Remember, if you do not get accepted in August, try in the spring, you will more than likely make it. Also, be prepared when you do get in. Nursing school is not like anything else you have ever done. It is extremely stressful, and a lot of information, and nothing I took prior to nursing classes prepared me for them. That being said, the material is not that complex, just an awful lot of it. I highly recommend not working, at least if you are gonna go to NSU. Im sure panola is the same way.

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"I have heard nurses say they can't stand working with the nurses from NSU in clinicals, and when they hear I chose to go to Panola, they say "I am SO glad you aren't going to NSU!" Two of my husband's friends have said that exact thing to him"

Kinda curious as to which hospital you heard the nurses saying that? Also, were your husbands friends nurses, and where? The thing is, every nurse I know has respect for any other nurse, regardless of where they went to school (as long as they are a good nurse of course). Hearing these types of things to me is silly, and just spreads rumors. I rarely see a nurse not stoked about a group of students on the floor to do their "dirty" work, almost an initiation of sorts:D. I can tell you undoubtedly that NSU stresses more than anything, THE PATIENT, never forget that is the only reason any of us are here in the first place, and if a nurse cannot stand working with an NSU clinical nurse, its probably because they are not focused on the patient in the first place, and hence, not a very good nurse. I would be ****** if a Student Nurse did not confront an RN not putting the patient first! Not saying that is the situation, but most the time that is the case. Again, good luck to all of you.

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Thank you so much for your suggestion Piccliner... I will definitely reapply if I don't get accepted for this fall. I'm not working but I just haven't taken Physiology and microbiology yet. So I probably have to take it online "IF" I get into clinical soon. :)

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Well my opinion is slightly one-sided :) I chose panola college...I too had heard the rumors about losing accredidation and the difficulties getting into clinicals. Not really sure how true those are, but I don't want to take any risks when it comes to my education (the high NCLEX pass rate was definately a factor...last rumor i heard it was 95%). I will say panola college has an excellent program..I am about to graduate and in the final hour I can look back and say it all had a purpose (though it seemed kinda crazy at some points). My biggest complaint is there is alot of driving involved...the college is about 45 min. from shreveport and 50% + of my clinicals were in longview (1h 15min) since NSU does get most of the clinical opportunities in the shreveport area. I do however feel that I have received a solid foundation in nursing and I can't imagine any instructors that are more open and willing to work with you (they are so great you don't feel like just a 'student' to them, they actually want to see you do well)...can't really ask for more from a nursing program!

btw...I am considering going to NSU for my RN-BSN :)

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"Not really sure how true those are"

See, and this is exactly my problem you see, because I have always heard Panola was where everyone who COULD NOT get into Northwestern went, making it "second rate". However, I would never agree with that, as I have NEVER ATTENDED PANOLA! All this heresay is getting on my nerves. I don't state things when I am "not really sure how true they are" GEESH!!!! Come on people!!!

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I agree completely...the rumors about both schools are unecessary and for the most part untrue (although was unfortunately my deciding factor..so I only applied to Panola and I have had zero interaction with NSU other than some info on the RN-BSN program).

After being in the panola nursing program and local nursing community I have come to realize you will work very hard and get a good education from either program....so your decision should not be on which is a better nursing school but rather which is a better fit for you! I will continue to check this thread so if anyone has any specific questions about panola I would be happy to tell you what I know :)

btw....forgot to mention in the previous post, if you plan to go to panola it is much to your benefit to take your pre-reqs there (it really increases your chances of getting accepted)..but really doesn't matter where you take your co-reqs.

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I have heard not so good news from people who have graduated (1 w/bsn & 2 w/bsn). When I went to talk to the advisors there, they weren't as helpful as the nursing staff/falculty at Panola. I am planning on applying for Panola's online program next year. I passed the HESI entrance exam in May. I even had a counselor come to S'port to actually advise me on her off day! What I am trying to say is that I have good vibes about Panola as opposed to NSU. I think that once you go to any college campus and talk to the staff, you can kind of get a feeling of how they are and how you feel about it. I have even met a few nurses who graduated from Panola and said that they loved it. They would recommend it to anyone that's interested. I know for the people in the S'port-Bossier area, they told me that they would try to place you at clinical sites in Longview, Marshall, and S'port. You will have to do a 2-3 day clinical in Rusk, TX (psych ward) though. Also you are doing 1 class every 8 wks. instead of doing multiple classes during a semester and you do not get a break! You go the whole 19mths. straight through where as the face to face program has the summer months off.

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Your best chances of being successful are going where you feel the most comfortable! Panola is an excellent choice if you feel more comfortable there. However, it is unwise and reckless for other posters on this thread to trash NSU when they have never attended, and/or cannot get accepted there. I am happy for anyone who chooses nursing as a profession, (lord knows we need more good ones out there) regardless of where you get your education be it NSU, Panola, Southern or a Vocational school (LPN's). I just get tired of these posters saying "well so and so's brothers cousin is a nurse and said NSU studens suck, and there program is terrible too". One thing I have learned is to take what anyone says with a grain of salt and experience things for yourself. If you get caught up in the heresay, then you just end up continuing to perpetuate the lies.:angryfire Good luck!

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I am a recent graduate of NSU. What is true is that you have to work for what you get. Sure there are those that slide through the system because of favors but that's in any program. Don't be fooled, maybe the former students or other nurses don't have good things to say but when an administrator sees that you graduated from NSU they have alot of respect for you. There are great nurses in every program but NSU's name holds its weight. We were on probation 2 classes ago but not now. Students have to be successful on their first attempt of NCLEX, that's what makes the difference. Studying is on us as students, not our instructors. There's no way they can teach us everything that NCLEX asks. There's at least a month of study time between graduation and NCLEX. With that said, NSU is a great school but sometimes it forces you to try harder. People's lives are at stake.

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Excellent post, sums it up great:yeah:. If a grad comes from NSU, administrators take notice. I know for a FACT Shumpert and WK in the Shreveport/BC area are going to interview an NSU grad before one from panola/southern.

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