I need advice on where to go from here....

Nurses LPN/LVN

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Hi, everyone!! I need some help deciding how to get an ADN. First, a little background: I graduated (as valedictorian of my class :monkeydance: ) May 2005 from practical nursing. It was one of the hardest things I or my family has ever done!! My husband and I have been married 8 years almost and are buying our first house (we close Oct 20). He wants me to be an RN, but doesn't want to go through the whole school thing again. I also have to work full time for obvious reasons. So, we've been thinking that Excelsior would be the way to go for us. However, (more boring background), I had my first baby when I was 17. I graduated top 10% of my class a year early and had been accepted to every college I'd applied to. Of course, I had to give all of that up to start raising a family. I really, really want the experience of going to a real college! I feel really guilty for wanting to actually attend class again because I know the hell my poor kids and husband went through while I did that the first time. I don't know much about Excelsior. I've heard good and bad things about it. Will my student loan from LPN go on hold until I graduate? Will I have a hard time finding a job if I go through there? How quickly can I get through the classes? I have an appointment next Monday with a College Network guy to discuss this further, but just wondered if anyone could help me out with some of questions before I speak with him. Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

P.S. I love this website!!

I'm not so sure I want to go on for my BSN right now. I'm sure that may change someday, knowing me, lol. That is a very good point, though!!

OK. I had to reschedule my appointment with the CN guy due to scheduling conflicts with my son's orthodontist. However, I did get to talk to him on the phone for about an hour. I asked all kinds of questions. He is rescheduled to come out on Friday, so in the meantime, I thought I'd post everything he told me and see if anyone has any input. (I think he hated that I had been doing research and talking to all of you because I kept saying, "Well, everyone on allnurses says...." lol)

He told me all about the differences between ASN to BSN. With ASN, yes, I could get all of the info on my own without using CN. (He said all of the stuff you buy on ebay is "Buyer beware".) I would have to do all of the research myself, whereas, CN sends a condensed version to study which will show me what I need to know for the tests. (I asked him if that meant they are spoonfeeding me vs. learning on my own, lol.) Also, regarding the gap between the time I finish my nursing classes to the time I can actually take the CPNE, he said I should schedule the CPNE when I start my nursing classes, which would leave about a 2 month gap between the time I finish and the time I can go for the CPNE, which would also leave about a one month period to schedule a practice CPNE, which he strongly suggested. The money is all paid as you go and you cannot get your LPN loans on hold since they are not considered a title IV school (no government funding). If I were to go straight through for my BSN, it is scheduled through Indiana State, which is a title IV school so all of my loans would be on hold until 6 months after I graduate. It is time sensitive, which is different than Excelsior (do it on my own time). He said that it would take about 3 years vs. 15 months with EC. He also said that since most hospitals are trying to get magnet status, it really helps to have a BSN under my belt if I wanted to work in a hospital setting. He said I could still get a job in a hospital with an ASN, but the hospital may make that position contigent on me earning a BSN in the future. ASN is approx $10,000 vs BSN is approx $26,000. (The one year traditional school ASN here in town costs $23,000, so I would still be saving money.) He also said that insurance companies for our employers are pushing them to hire all BSN due to risk management. Since I have no prereqs, (according to him) I should start taking them at my community college and through them so I can get them all done by next August when I would be eligible for entrance at that time. He said with my GPA of 3.98 from LPN school, it would not be an issue of me getting in at that time. (I knew I was working so hard for a good reason back then!! :specs: )

OK, NOW what should I do??? I'm 32 years old, don't want to be a career student, have a husband who is 45 years old, with two kids--Mat is 15, and Tater is 13. All I want: be an RN, be hirable, be done with school before my kids start college and before my husband is too old (no offense!!!) to enjoy the rest of our lives together, and make more money. Any advice, anyone??

Whether you go to excelsior or a local college, you will still have to take time from your family to study. In excelsior, dont you still have to do clinical? you cant do it at home.

Specializes in Med/Surg, ER and ICU!!!.
with asn, yes, i could get all of the info on my own without using cn. (he said all of the stuff you buy on ebay is "buyer beware".) i would have to do all of the research myself, whereas, cn sends a condensed version to study which will show me what i need to know for the tests. (i asked him if that meant they are spoonfeeding me vs. learning on my own, lol.) [color=sienna]do you want to learn everything, or only study for tests? also, you still need to call excelsior and talk to them. they are not as pushy as this guy seems to be. talk about buyer beware, if he was intimidated that you were talking to us, shouldn't that scream to you something is wrong? the only time i have ever had a problem with someone being upset with me doing background checks on someone is when the business wasn't really kosher.also, regarding the gap between the time i finish my nursing classes to the time i can actually take the cpne, he said i should schedule the cpne when i start my nursing classes, which would leave about a 2 month gap between the time i finish and the time i can go for the cpne, which would also leave about a one month period to schedule a practice cpne, which he strongly suggested [color=sienna]he is not the one, nor is cn the ones how decide when you are scheduled. ec is. the cn is just a middle-man. call excelsior and talk to them. they will tell you everything.. the money is all paid as you go and you cannot get your lpn loans on hold since they are not considered a title iv school (no government funding) [color=sienna]i think you can get them on hold thru ec. call and find out. i am not sure.. if i were to go straight through for my bsn, it is scheduled through indiana state, which is a title iv school so all of my loans would be on hold until 6 months after i graduate. it is time sensitive, which is different than excelsior (do it on my own time). he said that it would take about 3 years vs. 15 months with ec. he also said that since most hospitals are trying to get magnet status, it really helps to have a bsn under my belt if i wanted to work in a hospital setting. he said i could still get a job in a hospital with an asn, but the hospital may make that position contigent on me earning a bsn in the future [color=sienna]girl, this guy is trying to get you for what he can. if this were true, there would not be as many adn programs as there currently are. this could be a big adn vs. bsn debate. we are not looking for that so no flaming, and please do not turn your post into one. this poster is only curious. . asn is approx $10,000 vs bsn is approx $26,000. (the one year traditional school asn here in town costs $23,000, so i would still be saving money.) he also said that insurance companies for our employers are pushing them to hire all bsn due to risk management. since i have no prereqs, (according to him) [color=sienna]so what do you technically have? girl, pm me.i should start taking them at my community college and through them so i can get them all done by next august when i would be eligible for entrance at that time. he said with my gpa of 3.98 [color=sienna] :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :bowingpur :bowingpur from lpn school, it would not be an issue of me getting in at that time. (i knew i was working so hard for a good reason back then!! :specs: )

ok, now what should i do??? i'm 32 years old, don't want to be a career student, have a husband who is 45 years old, with two kids--mat is 15, and tater is 13. all i want: be an rn, be hirable, be done with school before my kids start college and before my husband is too old (no offense!!!) to enjoy the rest of our lives together, and make more money. any advice, anyone??

ok, for the clinical question, you take a 3 day clinical at one of 4 or 5 places. it cost approximately 1600 dollars, and is thru ec!!! you can study at home, but other than the 3 say clinical that you must pass, there is no clinical. that is why several states, especially california, do not accept this as rns. my advice is if you truly want to go this route, contact ec. excelsior.edu, or 1-888-647-2388 and ask for admissions office. the only real big problem i have with cn vs. ec is that with cn you must sign a contract. if anything happens, you must continue and pay the money. and to be perfectly honest about the ebay, you can find stuff of theirs on it. you are taking the same test as i am, only i am not paying as much as you are. my biggest question would be for the clinical. a friend of mine just graduated from ec. she did it in less than a year. it took her 6 months to get into a clinical. ask questions from different people until you get consistant, truthful answers. and, it is freaky, my youngest has an orto appt. on monday also to get f tooth excised. how weird is that?

Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

everything you need to take classes from excelssior is available through the website or from the college including study outline.

many of our members are excelsior graduates including [color=#330000]ericenfermero one of our mod team. please feel free to contact him for detailed info.

Specializes in Rehab, Corrections, LTC, and Detox Nurse.

I met with a CN person before who tried to deter me from my BSN and to get my ASN. Whatever!

Specializes in floor to ICU.

one thing is for sure...I think casey12873 and Texas LVN were separated at birth...

Specializes in Med/Surg, ER and ICU!!!.
one thing is for sure...I think casey12873 and Texas LVN were separated at birth...

I fell the same way. It is just tooo weird. LOL. Love ya casey!

it IS pretty weird all the things we have in common....:cool:

The CN guy is coming out today at 1:30pm. I'll let you guys know what all he has to say.

I have been up since 3:30 this morning!!! I need sleep!!!! I had to go an hour away from home this morning to try to get my IV sticks in so I could get my IV cert. I tried 5 times, got one, blew two, and just plain missed on two. :scrying: So, now, I have to go back again! :(

Specializes in Med/Surg, ER and ICU!!!.
it IS pretty weird all the things we have in common....:cool:

The CN guy is coming out today at 1:30pm. I'll let you guys know what all he has to say.

I have been up since 3:30 this morning!!! I need sleep!!!! I had to go an hour away from home this morning to try to get my IV sticks in so I could get my IV cert. I tried 5 times, got one, blew two, and just plain missed on two. :scrying: So, now, I have to go back again! :(

The ivs were probley from lack of sleep. You will get them next time. Good luck with everything. I decided to go thru EC. I have to finish my micro and speech (taking this semester) and then I will start on NC1.

Texas, you are so supportive!! What would I do without you??

The CN guy was here. I have decided I am going to try to take my pre-reqs on my own, test out, then try nursing through EC. If that doesn't work, then I will go back and sign up with CN just for the nursing aspect of it.

To everyone who left advice/tips for me: :thankya: THANK YOU!!!

Specializes in Med/Surg, ER and ICU!!!.

Thanks for the update. Are you going to go thru the local cc? If so, most of the pre-reqs can be done online so you can still have the time with you family. PM me. I want to stay connected. and good luck.

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