Galen vs Excelsior?

Nursing Students LPN-RN

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Specializes in geriatrics, dementia and like, insurance.

I had an informational meeting today at Galen in San Antonio, Texas, and the program sounds promising. Expensive. Fast paced. The lab looked comprehensive and the classrooms are up to date with tech. There were tons of resources in the student library and they seem to be a quality school.

I've also checked with Excelsior and have had them review my transcripts, etc.

I'm torn between which school to enroll in. I would be doing online courses with Excelsior or the hybrid/online with Galen.

If you have experience with the either program, do you mind sharing pros and cons? I'm conflicted here and could really use some input from actual students or former students.

Thanks!:)

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I think you'll have a better outcome with Galen. I'm going to sac for their mobility program but I have a lot of coworkers going to Galen. They enjoy the program & said good things about it. Excelsior however has a lot of bad reviews. Only because of its lack of support. Nursing is a hard topic to cover & I couldn't imagine being able to do it independently without support.

Good luck

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Specializes in ER.

I don't know about Galen but I know Excelsior has some issues with licensure in some states such as California.

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It all came down to cost and time really (I don't plan to move to California). EC has graduated over 40,000 RNs and they actually do have support, all you have to do is call your adviser. I choose EC because I'm paying out of pocket so I won't be in debt up to my eyeballs when I graduate and I can study on my schedule and I don't have to do group projects or write essays. (Unless you take the online classes, then you have to write an essay for Micro I hear). :yuck:

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Specializes in geriatrics, dementia and like, insurance.

Thanks for the responses! I'm in Texas so licensure in California wouldn't be a problem. Texas has an agreement with Excelsior. I like the accessibility of Galen because it's in San Antonio which is a short drive for any assistance and I work near the campus. Excelsior is tempting because I've already done nearly everything except actually enroll and start classes.

My main concerns for Galen are cost and acceptance from local employers. Someone told me the VA doesn't hire Galen nurses (I have not plans to work at the VA), but, if you pass the boards and have your RN, does it matter where the education came from? You need to know the same info to get past the boards so whether you went to community college night school or the Ivy league, you still need to pass.

For those going to Galen, how difficult was the admission process? I was told there was a pre-test, they review your prior GPA from submitted transcripts and look for a minimum 2.5, and require FBI fingerprinting which can take up to 45 days to get done. I asked about actual clinical sites but the sales person didn't tell me anything specific. All she said was that with more than 1500 students and over 100 sites, it would just depend on the site itself. I was hoping to hear actual hospital/clinic/nursing home names to get an idea of who allows them in with their students. I'd like to hear from actual applicants. The sales pitch at any school will generally leave much unsaid.

As for Excelsior, I've "heard" that the time for a clinical site to complete the program can be a waiting list of several months long. I'd hate to finish my program in less than a year only to have to wait an additional six to nine months to actually do the clinical so I can graduate and take my boards.

I'm still considering both programs. I want to get started as quickly as possible and the start date for Galen is October 4th. I'm running out of time to get all the paperwork submitted.

Any more suggestions, advice, or information would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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i'm going to start with Galen in Jan 2015 there online lvn to rn bridge program. Where I work at now we have Galen students doing clinicals here. I did take the PAX test last Tuesday and passed- let me just say I've been out of school for many, many years and all I studied was the math and passed with a 99. The fingerprinting is for when you start your clinicals-which I can understand that.I choose Galen because they have a campus right here in San Antonio.

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