College Network

Nursing Students LPN-RN

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Has anyone done LPN to RN program through College Network? How long did it take you to finish the program? How did you like the program?

Specializes in Corrections.
the advice you will get from others is to leave tcn out of the equation. you do not need to pay them any money to complete the isu program. you can obtain the study materials elsewhere for a fraction of the cost or you can get your own study materials for free or again, at low cost.

im sure if i understand exactly what youre saying....if i leave the college network out...how do i test out of my pre reqs? does isu still allow me to do that? and if so how much is it going to cost me to buy all the books or study materials to test out of my pre reqs?

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Hey guys.. First post ever since I ever had an account to all nurses.. I actually have a meeting on thursday with a "rep"... But seeing this.. seems suspicious.. i'm guessing I should cancel and make up some BS like "I actually found an ADN program I want to get into instead" or something..

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There's no harm in meeting with a TCN rep... if you don't like what they say about the program then you don't have to pursue it. But I would at least meet with them so that you can get the info and make that decision yourself (dont let anyone else make up your mind 4 u). theres no questions that alot of companies have been in and out of the eductation-provider business, but TCN has been around for about 20 years...if it were a scam or breaking the law it would have gone out of business a long time ago. I love what the way they have structured the material.. not textbooks...no classes... a private tutor if I can't pass my course exams. It's pretty awesome. Theres a couple of nurses at my facility who went through this program and they say as long as you are self-motivated its an exccellent way to earn your license.

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Meeting with the TCN rep is only subjecting yourself to a high pressure sales pitch. Why give yourself the headache. Instead, go to ebay, type in Excelsior College, and see how many of the TCN study guides you can buy for $15 to $30 dollars apiece.

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I wouldn't describe my meeting as "high pressure" at all and I don't understand why you would try to scare people away from making an educated decision for themself.

also buying them though ebay presents a couple of problems.... violation of copywrite laws and the chance the materials are incomplete/out of date, and absolutely no support.

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Yeah. I'm trying to look more into LVN to RN programs. I took NCLEX PN 2 weeks ago and I've never worked a floor without a clinical instructor. I would like to go straight for my RN training if possible but if I can't afford the options I will probably use the LVN license to save up money for RN programs.

I'm saving up for pre reqs and am awaiting transcripts to come to me so I can send them to different colleges.

UOP , Modesto Junior College, And Unitek College are the top 3 priorities. I am taking the fact that my parents' credit is wrecked from my parents buying a new house AND getting a loan to pay for LVN school for me into consideration for things. I am still in the process of Looking around before leaping into anything..

I do want to be careful because some people try to con you into things, unfortunately.

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im sure if i understand exactly what youre saying....if i leave the college network out...how do i test out of my pre reqs? does isu still allow me to do that? and if so how much is it going to cost me to buy all the books or study materials to test out of my pre reqs?

isu does not require that tcn be used, people test out of the courses without paying any money to tcn. people get caught up with tcn because isu steers them in that direction and does not emphasize that you don't need tcn to take the tests.

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I wouldn't describe my meeting as "high pressure" at all and I don't understand why you would try to scare people away from making an educated decision for themself.

also buying them though ebay presents a couple of problems.... violation of copywrite laws and the chance the materials are incomplete/out of date, and absolutely no support.

Giving people the information that paying $5000 to TCN is not necessary is not trying to "scare" them, it is pointing out the almost obvious.

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Giving people the information that paying $5000 to TCN is not necessary is not trying to "scare" them, it is pointing out the almost obvious.

Telling people to "expect a high pressure sales pitch" an opinionated statement that doesn't reflect 100% truth, so the only reason to write that would be to scare people...unless YOU have personally met with a cn rep -- but it doesn't sound like you have.

If what you're pointing out is "almost obvious" then your basically calling everyone who has used college network to earn their RN an idiot IMO. there are thousands of nurses who have been successful using college network and I suggest looking through the stories on their website.

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Specializes in ER; CCT.

I completely spaced on another thread and forgot that I bought the TCN world religion deal. I spent the weekend reading (this was about 5 years ago or so) and was more than prepared to take the test. About that time, ISU said they would accept another course for that area so I didn't have to take it.

Looking back, TCN service saved me time, as there is no way I would have time to read the books associated with the deal. Even if I did, I'm not sure if I would have retained it. I have a bit of a reading issue as I can't read too fast, and the way the guide was written really helped.

The other thing was that without TCN, I would have never found out about ISU, which in my estimation (and I'm biased here) is one of the best educational places on the planet. If it wasn't for my buddy Kim at TCN, I would of ended up losing tens of thousands of dollars more than I had to spend by going through a brick and mortar place 20 miles down the road three times a week for 2.5 years, while losing time off work, headaches with driving, etc.

Something else that most people don't know is that TCN really helps from behind the scenes to help students get placed in clinical sites. If it wasn't for TCN, I wouldn't have been able to get any of my students placed in California. For those ISU students living in California, you know what I'm talking about.

I know everyone has opinions, but my hope is that we can look at both sides.

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Specializes in LPN, Peds, Public Health.

I met with a TCN rep a couple of years ago. It was a high pressure sales call. Only to find out that there are NO sites in the state of Oklahoma (where I live) to do clinicals and I would have to spend 1 weekend (really?? only 3 days of clinical for a BSN??) doing clinicals at some small hospital in Texas. THEN once I graduated I would have to do an extra 30+ hours clinicals in Oklahoma to be eligible to sit for boards. Seriously?? And they wanted over $10,000 for this? I decided right then and there this was not for me and seemed awful suspicous that OK had no clinical sites for this program. SOoooo... I start for my ASN next month, going online at a State University here by my home, doing clinicals weekly here in Oklahoma. And paying much much less.

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wow.. yeah. I am lurking around at both sides of the takes on TCN. I've considered it as a route for LVN to RN, maybe BSN if I could...

Right now I plan on working as an LVN for a bit so I an work up some money for RN tuition. Unitek is an 8 month accelerated program but I'm basiclly working money for tuition and everything else I need to set me up to succeed. If you are familiar with the Bay area, traffic is brutal if you don't wake up on time, and some of my clinicals used to be 2 hour drives.

Nursing school and my distance issues were brutal but hey.. I was just super determined to become an LVN.. hehe

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