Fairleigh Dickinson University- FDU Nursing

[ggabri07]

Has anyone applied to FDU or heard anything about thier 2 year evening nursing program.

I am in a delimma. I am stuck b/t FDU and UMDNJ.

I like FDU because I would be able to work. You are in class 4 nights a week with 1 class each day.....but its an expensive school. About 25k a year and you finish in 2 years

I ike UMDNJ because its cheap but its at an accelerated pace but you have a heavy schedule and probably wont have much time to work.

What do you guys think. I live at home with my parents. I want to be able to work. I am 23 years old and I am looking to get married in the next 2-3 years. ...So I def need to save money.

Should I just do the FDU program which will offer me the flexiblity to work partime and save some money but pay the higher tuition or should I just do UMDNJ...not work and pay the lower tuition

[ggabri07, BSN, RN]

Hello Smilz:

Thanks for your question. I am sure my answer will provide you with some clarity.

How demanding is the program? The program in general is demanding as with all nursing programs. A nursing program that is not demanding should be investigated! There is a lot of work (papers, exams, careplans, group projects, etc). The 2- year program is definitely less demanding than the 1 year program. While we have 2 - 3 classes a semester they have like 4 - 5. There is a lot of information to learn in a short period of time but is doable.

To work or not work: Most people in the evening program work either full time or part-time.

I know of one student that did not work. When I started the program- I was convinced that I was going to quit my full time job but I ended up staying. I work from 8-4. The challenge about working and going to school is that some days you leave your house in the morning and you do not get in your house till the morning (literally). On average I would leave my house at 7a and would not get in till 11p-12a...then I had to sleep and do the same thing over again. You just have to test out the waters and go from there.

My best friend started out working full time but eventually left her job b/c she could not balance the two. She worked part-time elsewhere.

Working? When is there time to study? I studied on the days that I did not have class and on the weekends. My weekends were totally devoted to school work. If you can get buddy buddy with a RELIABLE classmate- life in nursing school is a little easier. Not much time for social play especially if you want to pass your exams.

Class Schedule: For the most part, classes and clinical are at night time. There is 1 class and 1 clinical during the day. Healthcare economics and community health clinical. That is later on in the program. On average- you will be getting out of clinical b/t 10:30pm-12am. It all depends on your clinical teacher.

Final Thoughts: You are going to do great. Many have done it before your. You are 1 step ahead by asking this valid question. Feel free to e-mail me anytime, if you have any more questions about the program, study recommendations, etc.

Thanks,

Geri

[ggabri07, BSN, RN]

km3428:

you are right. you are exactly where i was 2 years ago. well ,i got accepted into both schools. i decided to go with fdu b/c i wanted to continue working full time. when i was deciding on which school to pick- i heard bad things about both so my decision was based on the school that would be most flexible with my schedule. if i was not worried about work then i would have went to umdnj.

i cannot speak for umdnj, but i know that in general it makes no difference what school you go to with regards to job offers. you just need to get out there and market yourself and always tell people that you are looking. you never know an opportunity might just pop up out of no-where. i can tell you that a lot of students that were in the recent 1 year accelerated are already working as rns and they some of them have passed the nclex. with my group ( 2 year)...we just finished taking the exit examinations....so none of us have taken the nclex yet.

fdu will prepare you or give you the jump start but you have to take matters into your own hands. no more blaming teacher's b/c you don't understand...b/c they don't care. they see as being adult learners and will not baby us along the way. i passed the ati examination on the first try. the ati examination is an exit exam that you have to take at the end of the program. 180 questions. supposed to be harder than the nclex. i cannot and will not say that i passed it b/c of the education i got at fdu but i will say that i passed it b/c i had to study my a** off and that is the approach you have to take with the classes.

i have been offered a position at as a nurse case manager at the company that i work for but it had nothing to do with my education at fdu. they were concerned about me being a nurse rather than the school i went to.

i think you will do great!

[karan91]

hi gabri, can you please send me your email . . i have a lot of questions about the nursing program at fdu and i need help!! =(

[km3428]

Thank you ggabri07, I got into UMDNJ but still waiting on status of my application to FDU. I am still deciding and still trying to figure out what makes more sense. I found out from UMDNJ that that particular program is considered a 5th year undergraduate and I can apply for Financial Aid, but that's not the case with FDU. After speaking to one of their advisers I was told that I would have to get creative with the money part because that program is considered as a graduate level of study. Is that really true? Would I need to look for a personal loan to pay for this? I am starting to freak out right about now and I'm very confused. I know the decision is mine but future bills are really stressing me out.

I hope you are done with your studies and hope that you are in the RN profession :)

[LB_RN2B]

I just got accepted to fall 2012 too! I am soooo nervous! Heard more bad things than good things about FDU!! I just want to be one of the sole survivors!!! Anymore advice????

[RN2b2014mville]

Hi I'm a nursing student and am looking for other students to chat with that are on the same track as me...

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[LB_RN2B]

this makes me feel better!!

[RNintraining72]

Hi I'm a nursing student and am looking for other students to chat with that are on the same track as me...

Sent from my iPad using allnurses.com

How far are you into the program??

[RNintraining72]

Hi I'm a nursing student and am looking for other students to chat with that are on the same track as me...

Sent from my iPad using allnurses.com

Hi RN2b2014mville,

What school are you attending???