Anyone here had any trouble finding a job after graduating from Chamberlain?

U.S.A. Missouri

Published

Hi everyone! I'm a long time lurker, first time poster!

Anyway, I'm from St. Louis, and I just got waitlisted for UMSL's clinical BSN program. I'm looking at applying at Chamberlain since I have a friend who has a lower GPA than mine and she got accepted. I know that Chamberlain is a for-profit school, so that itself makes me hesitant to apply.

I've read almost every post about Chamberlain on here, but I was wondering if anyone has actually graduated from and gotten a job that they wanted? I don't know anything about this school's reputation. But I DO know that they are listed on the Missouri Board of Nursing's website as an accredited institution, and that their NCLEX pass rate from 2009 was 90%.

Has anyone here graduated from Chamberlain? Did you have trouble finding work? Does anyone know how employers feel about hiring graduates of Chamberlain? Has anyone WORKED with a graduate of Chamberlain?

If you DID get a job, did you feel like Chamberlain prepared you properly? I know I'm asking a LOT, but any insight would be awesome and SUPER appreciated!

I'm attracted to Chamberlain because they don't have a waitlist. On the other hand, I realize that they ARE a for-profit school, and this might be some kind of scheme to sweep up desperate people like me. I may just be paranoid though...

Specializes in PACU, Surgery, Acute Medicine.

Can't help you, I haven't heard of it. I've worked in St. Louis for a year and a half, but I didn't live here before then so I'm not tuned in to all the local nursing schools. I can tell you that a 90% pass rate on the NCLEX doesn't sound great to me. Maybe look at the last few years and see if that's typical or if it was an anomaly. You might try calling the HR departments of some of the larger area hospitals and just ask them what they think. They tend to be decent people and I bet they would give you an honest opinion of what kind of impression Chamberlain makes.

I've heard a lot of not-so-great things of Chamberlain. I'm not sure they have the greatest reputation. However, I have a friend who graduated from there and got a job right away a couple hours away in ICU.

Specializes in NICU, High-Risk L&D, IBCLC.

A pass rate of 90% is actually quite an accomplishment, in my opinion. UMSL's pass rate is in the mid 90's, I believe (don't quote me on that, though, since I haven't looked on the board's website).

I think the biggest issue will be price difference. As you know, Chamberlain is extremely expensive. Only you can decide for yourself if it's worth the extra money to be IN the program versus waiting. With the job climate today, it may not be. I think a lot of Chamberlain's reputation is because it is for-profit (which translates into acceptance of students with not-so-stellar GPA's and virtually no wait list) and because of their entry-level online nursing programs, which may or may not still be in existence.

I graduated from UMSL so I will be biased toward their program (which was exceptional, IMO, if you decide to wait it out), but I can also say that I currently work in the NICU at a SSM facility with a Chamberlain graduate. If you are concerned about Chamberlain's reputation, the best advice I can give is to call recruiters at all the hospitals in St. Louis and ask them how they feel about hiring Chamberlain graduates. Go directly to the source. I can say that having a BSN over an ASN will definitely give you an advantage, though.

Specializes in MICU.

I know a few girls that went through there program. It's no better or worst than any other accredited school, some liked it, some didn't. Right now, every new grad is having a hard time finding work in St. Louis. There are too many damn nursing schools here. Most of the hospitals in the area have done away with premium pay, agency, etc because we have a nursing surplus. The Big Job Company in STL is considering not hiring anymore ASN/ADN grads because the surplus is so great.

Good Luck

Does anyone else have input for Chamberlain? I'm at St. Charles Community College finishing prereqs- I have almost all of them done except Chemistry because I put that off for so long :) So I have just about all of the gen eds done for a BSN. I won't be able to get into SCCC til Fall 2013, probably the same for STLCC so i'm looking at Chamberlain, Golfarb (Barnes), and Lutheran School of Nursing and hoping that I could get in sooner or atleast start a Bachelors program at the same time I would've gotten into the ADN program. I know Chamberlain is very pricey. I've talked to a recruiter at St. Luke's who said they hire grads from every school, Chamberlain and Sanford Brown included! She said if you've got the degree they'll consider you. So, any new thoughts on any of these schools?

Most people who failed out of UMSL's pre-clinicals are now at Chamberlain. That tells you that they don't really care about the quality of their applicants, they just want your money. It's only a matter of time before employers realize the poor quality of their applicants and stop hiring them and Chamberlain becomes another University of Phoenix. And Chamberlain's NCLEX pass rate is pitiful.

I'm at UMSL right now and it's an excellent program. Goldfarb is also another great school. I don't know anything about Lutheran though.

Another thing is that Chamberlain's credits don't transfer anywhere, so if you ever want to get a higher degree you're stuck with Chamberlain as your only option. And who knows if they will even be accredited at that point.

Specializes in Medical/Surgical/Transplant ICU.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

I am a Chamberlain graduate, graduated in August. Was Chamberlain my first choice? No. Do I have regrets of going there? No.

I hate to hear people lump us all into a certain group because apparently some of the students "flunked out of UMSL". I personally don't know any of those people but I'm sure they're around. I graduated with one of the last groups of the evening program. Here's a rundown of where a few of us are working, most of us had jobs lined up before graduation.

1. ICU @ St. Johns

2. Step-down ICU @ St. Lukes

3. Trauma? ICU @ SLU

4. Kidney/liver transplant @ Barnes

5. OR @ Children's

6. Myself- Medical/Surgical/Transplant ICU @ Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN

We each passed NCLEX with 75 questions. I expect Chamberlain's pass rate to be much better this year. Unfortunately, we had a group of HESI cheaters that tanked our pass rates. If you want to rip on the "quality" of those, I'll be right there with you.

If we were crappy, we wouldn't be working at these jobs :)

Thanks MeatballExperience, your input helped a lot! I've been put off by the cost of Chamberlain because I have a family but I feel like i'll just be waisting more time getting the RN now and later having to go back to school to get my BSN. I'm also nervous about not getting a job with an ADN since i've heard several people recently talk about their hospitals preferring BSNs, even most job listings for RN's now say "BSN preferred". I've been hearing really good things lately about Chamberlain :)

I am not a nurse yet but I just wanted to say that I volunteer on a floor where Chamberlain students do one of their clinicals, so I've met many of them. Any time I meet a nurse or nursing student I hound them for information lol. Most of them seem very happy with the program. I know they even have a study abroad option where you do your Community Health clinical in Brazil.

I also know a few of the nurses on the floor that graduated from Chamberlain and they told me they liked it. I am applying to UMSL as well, and am looking at others schools as "safeties", and Chamberlain is one that I am considering.

I only caution you to on two things here.

1 Ensuring this pass rate is current data,

2 If you want to be more marketable do not got to an ADN program. I'm not saying they are not good programs but bottom line is we are NOT in a nursing shortage and organizations can be selective and b/c of Magnet status and other regulations for awards they have to have a certain percentage of BSN / MSN and PhD prepared nurses. Also it usually does not matter where someone goes to school, sloppy practicioners are from everywhere it is work ethic and general professionalism.

+ Add a Comment