Concorde vs. American Career College

blueaura6 · Oct 28, 2008

my experience with both schools, kinda long...

I dont know which concorde or acc you are planning on going to, but i first went to the Concorde in North Hollywood Ca. (it was my first choice because its closer to my house) and I had a very bad experience. The advisor that talked to me asked me the regular questions like why i wanted to be an lvn if i was planning on moving on to r.n. etc. then it got a little weird, he started pushing the m.a. program eventhough i stressed i did not want to start as m.a. he then started asking me why i waited so long to start a career (im 23, graduated high school at 18) i told him i didnt wait, i was doing the community college pre reqs for a couple of years and had to quit school due to personal reasons, but i wanted to get my career started as soon as possible. he then, started to question my commitment, saying that if i quit school once already, i might do it again since the lvn program is so hard. after much reassurance of my part, he let me take the entrance exam. my math is not the best but i passed. his excuse then, was that my math wasnt good, and that eventhough i passed, it wasnt good enough for lvn program, he continued to push the m.a program. after declining it over and over,(no disrespect to m.a.'s i just wanted to start as lvn) he started to make me feel bad by saying that i didnt care about my career or else i would take the steps i had to, to become a good nurse etc etc. the point is, that by now i was crying :cry:and felt like a failure, so i left. I then called acc in los angeles. i liked that they had a night/weekend course for lvn so i made an appointment with an advisor. she was so nice, treated me like i was already part or the school. asked me the regular questions, but did not try to push anything on me. gave me a tour, let me take the entrance test. said i needed some practice with math but gave me papers to practice from. gave me an appnt for the hesi test. passed and now im there. i am currently doing clinicals for the 1st term, and i love:redpinkhe my instructors. it is a little out of my way but its worth it. i have spoken to 3 other people in my same class who also had problems with concorde. like i said, it might be different in another campus or state, but that was my experience. hope it helps.

replicat · Dec 8, 2008

My girlfriend had a similar experience at Concorde in North Hollywood, CA

They kept pushing the M.A. program on her.

And when i called, they pushed it on me too!

:down:

OC85 · Dec 14, 2008

My girlfriend had a similar experience at Concorde in North Hollywood, CA
They kept pushing the M.A. program on her.
And when i called, they pushed it on me too!

Well, if that isn't a sign that they just want your money.....

I ended up going with Pacific College in Costa Mesa (god bless morning commutes that don't involve the 405 or 22). Seems pretty solid to me....there are some nasty rumors going around these forums about pacific, but when you ask them specific questions involving actual documented numbers, the answers seem to disprove all of the serious accusations...I'm sure many of the things people say regarding the little annoyances are true, but then again, you're almost certain to encounter those sorts of things in ANY program. Anyway, if you're still looking for a school, you should check them out. As with any school, be sure to ask about the actual number (not just percentage) of students enrolled, students who successfully graduate, students who pass their NCLEX exam, and also, how long the average instructor has been teaching at that particular school (if very few instructors have been there long, this may indicate problems with retention, and by extension, problems with the program).

Hope you find what you're looking for.

kat7ap · Jan 2, 2009

Wow... Must be the difference in campuses because I never had any of the following experiences with Concorde. I graduated from the Arlington campus in 2006 and my husband is now a student in the surgical technology program. Neither of us were ever pressured nor even suggested to go towards another program. In both our cases we were able to test in and get started in the program in less than 2 weeks. In my area Concorde has a great reputation and has been around the longest compared to the other private for-profit schools. Sadly with any school that is for profit, the bottom line is that they want your money. Obviously that rep you saw and Concorde was a moron and if I were you, I'd write a letter to the cooperate office about your experience. Good luck in nursing!

SD2LB · Jan 6, 2009

i go to concorde in garden grove, ca...and the admin reps are nice....they pool alot of strings to get people in....ive been in the lvn program now for about 4 months...and its going great...despite the the high price of more than 30k....teachers here are great and helpful....i heard from a friend that is it the lvn program acc...that he learns less than what we have learned, he doesnt do enough hands on, and less care plans for patient's which might i add is very important for patient care....well hope i helped...good luck

yuliwannabanurse · Jan 12, 2009

I was wondering what people think of the entrance exam at Concorde Arlington into the LVN Program... am looking to start in March but don't know if I should be worrying too much about the ENG & MATH tests... am an "above" average kinda girl hehe.. any thoughts are appreciated

OC85 · Jan 13, 2009

I was wondering what people think of the entrance exam at Concorde Arlington into the LVN Program... am looking to start in March but don't know if I should be worrying too much about the ENG & MATH tests... am an "above" average kinda girl hehe.. any thoughts are appreciated

I wouldn't worry, the English and math entrance exams for most private LVN programs are an absolute joke. Basically, if you are a native English speaker, you should pass easily [and if you don't, then you have no business applying for nursing school anyway]. The math shouldn't be much of a problem either. If you have a decent grasp of basic algebra, then there shouldn't be any issues. Honestly, I think most of these programs have an entrance exam just so they can have the appearance of being somewhat selective about their students...they are not. To put things simply, if you have a high school education and are willing to pay the money, you're in.

yuliwannabanurse · Jan 13, 2009

I wouldn't worry, the English and math entrance exams for most private LVN programs are an absolute joke. Basically, if you are a native English speaker, you should pass easily [and if you don't, then you have no business applying for nursing school anyway]. The math shouldn't be much of a problem either. If you have a decent grasp of basic algebra, then there shouldn't be any issues. Honestly, I think most of these programs have an entrance exam just so they can have the appearance of being somewhat selective about their students...they are not. To put things simply, if you have a high school education and are willing to pay the money, you're in.

:zzzzz I like how you say that if am a native English speaker if not I have no business, that's not nice :no: ... English is my second language (at the age of 6) but even then I've been told I speak and have better grammar than a NATIVE hehe :banghead: ... but still, then if you're right about having a High School education (+ some college) am sure I will be fine... Thanks for your reply!! :up: :)

OC85 · Jan 13, 2009

:zzzzz I like how you say that if am a native English speaker if not I have no business, that's not nice ... English is my second language (at the age of 6) but even then I've been told I speak and have better grammar than a NATIVE hehe ... but still, then if you're right about having a High School education (+ some college) am sure I will be fine... Thanks for your reply!! :)

I'm really sorry, but thats not what I meant. I meant if you are a native speaker and , after 12 years of school and speaking the language every day, couldn't learn grammar well enough to pass the English section, then you are obviously in need of remedial education and are not ready for nursing school.

I never meant anything negative about people who speak English as a second language. I was just saying that native speakers have no excuse for not passing at basic test on the grammar of their own language.

Again, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.

yuliwannabanurse · Jan 13, 2009

aaaaaaaaaah :yeah:no problem, I didn't personally feel offended since I confident :smokin: that I am able to speak and write the English language. Thanks for your reply. :)

Gen2Nurse · Jan 29, 2009

I was just on the LVN Board website, and found the NCLEX pass rate %. Between the 2 schools, Concord had percents in the 80-90's, while American Career had them in the 70's. It's something to consider.