Puerto Rico school feedback?

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Anyone out there have info on the school in Arecibo, PR? It is a 24 month program that begins in August.

I'd love to hear anything, thanks.

zzzzzgirl

Specializes in Emergency.

I am finishing up the program with my last semester starting in about 2 weeks. Rent here is really cheap, especially if your standards aren't too high. Coming from the states mine were, but I got over that quickly. Having a car is a really nice thing. It makes life a lot easier and a lot more fun. Cars are not cheap and buying a "beater" has not been a good gamble for most people I know. That said, living near school is affordable and you can easily walk to and from the Los Cumbres neighborhood that has been mentioned several times. It is easy to find a roommate once you get here, but probably not right away. It's always good to get to know people a little before you commit to living with them. Groceries are really expensive. It's more manageable if you go shopping at Costco with a friend or two. Gas is about the same here as the national average. If anyone is interested in more costs or anything, let me know.

This is EXCELLENT info! Thanks so much. I feel like this has really given me a starting point. I can't imagine how I would begin to start gaining information without this website!

snowshyne,

Have you gotten any info on how folks are making it work in the financial arena? I am just trying to get a sense of how to prepare for moving down there! Being a full time student and not working and running out of money is not fun! I did it while working on pre-reqs and I don't want to do it again.

Kelly

Hi Kelly,

I have not received any information on that yet. I've read every single post on this thread multiple times over the last couple of years and have a fairly good idea of what to expect job-wise, but it seems that most of the jobs require you to speak Spanish, which I unfortunately do not do at this time. I was hoping for other ideas - other than the ones previously mentioned on this board - that someone could throw out there.

If I am able to find a roommate, then I would love to go. I had some friends interested in going last year but they ultimately decided not to go. I do some online stuff so I would have some income, but not enough for rent and all monthly expenses, so I would want a friend to join me in going there. As mentioned by others, I'm sure I could find a roomie once I get there - and I'm sure once I take a trip there to check it out, things will start falling into place.

If I hear of anything else though, I'll let you know.

...It's nice to hear that groceries, etc. is pretty inexpensive--I've heard conflicting reports on that and I think my monthly cost of living is really what I'm trying to figure out...

Groceries are NOT cheap like Cahoon said. THey are a lot more expensive than the main land and worse quality. Vegetables have awful quality on the island even at Costco I get rotten veggies about every other visit.

And be prepared to spend a lot more on electricity. Now I live alone, my washer and dryer are outside and I don't pay electricity on them as they are for the building, I don't use my AC, and I only use one light at a time and still pay 60 USD a month. I had a roommate that ran the AC 24/7 and one month the electricity was over 300 USD. Be prepared because in August you will want to run the AC at least a little.

I have read multiple posts and haven't come across these random questions I still have. I would live your guys/gals input. 1) has anyone traveled there with a spouse? I am planning on attending next fall and my boyfriend would be coming with me. He will not be doing the program and I'm a little worried where he would work or what he would do but I really want him to come!2) from what I have gathered the ADN program is fairly newly accredited. Has anyone had any trouble coming back to California or any other state and obtaining a job as an RN? I have most of my generals done and was considering that bachelors program. But I'm not sure if I could do the full two years that far away.3) I e-mailed "E" about four days ago and have not received a response where should I go from here? I am looking for an application or how to apply?Thanks for all of the info so far this thread has been great again I apologize if these questions have already been answered but I haven't seem to find them thanks again advance. Veronica

... I've read every single post on this thread multiple times over the last couple of years and have a fairly good idea of what to expect job-wise, but it seems that most of the jobs require you to speak Spanish, which I unfortunately do not do at this time. I was hoping for other ideas - other than the ones previously mentioned on this board - that someone could throw out there...

Keep in mind if you are getting financial aid you can do 20 hours a week of work trade. You get paid 7 USD an hour and there are a bunch of different places to work. Lately a lot of students are working in the nursing building. Also if you you feel up to the chalenge you can tutor Pharmacology after your 1st trimester. Or there are other places on campus to work.

Thank you for your reply. I am very interested in doing work trade at the school and I'll be sure to check into that when I go for a visit. That's actually exactly what I am hoping to be able to do when I get there.

You've been such a huge help to everyone on this board and I know we all really appreciate your time, advice, the information that you've provided.

Thanks again!

I have read multiple posts and haven't come across these random questions I still have. I would live your guys/gals input. 1) has anyone traveled there with a spouse? I am planning on attending next fall and my boyfriend would be coming with me. He will not be doing the program and I'm a little worried where he would work or what he would do but I really want him to come!2) from what I have gathered the ADN program is fairly newly accredited. Has anyone had any trouble coming back to California or any other state and obtaining a job as an RN? I have most of my generals done and was considering that bachelors program. But I'm not sure if I could do the full two years that far away.3) I e-mailed "E" about four days ago and have not received a response where should I go from here? I am looking for an application or how to apply?Thanks for all of the info so far this thread has been great again I apologize if these questions have already been answered but I haven't seem to find them thanks again advance. Veronica

Hi Veronica,

When I emailed "E", it took over a week to get a reply from him, so you'll probably still hear from him - it just takes a while.

The application can be found on page 103 of this thread. I believe it's on the school's website too, but I don't remember where. Also, Google Translate is a huge help in getting around their website if you are going to check it out.

My bad - the application is on page 102.

Snowshyne, Perfect! Thanks :)

Thank you for your reply. I am very interested in doing work trade at the school and I'll be sure to check into that when I go for a visit. That's actually exactly what I am hoping to be able to do when I get there.

You've been such a huge help to everyone on this board and I know we all really appreciate your time, advice, the information that you've provided.

Thanks again!

Snowshyne if you go to La Inter I think you may end up being one of the new helpful people on this thread. Myself, dessigner-mommy, Cahoon, and jeb-in-minneapolis are leaving soon.

By the way people can feel free to give me a "like" anytime. I only have a 11 at the moment for almost 200 posts so it is a pretty low ratio. :-)

Also FYI, about 10 people from our class (of about 60) have taken and passed the NCLEX and Jeb-in- Minneapolis is one. Yay Jeb. Almost everyone used Kaplan by the way. Actually almost everyone I know from different nursing schools in the country used Kaplan and passed.

Also keep in mind that the Puerto Ricans staying in Puerto Rico will not take the NCLEX as they don't need it if they are staying here. So there will never be a class that will have 100% of the students that will take the NCLEX.

I am studying, slowly, right now. But really not spending as much time as I should. The next trimester one of our 4 unit classes is an NCLEX preparation class and I am definitely hoping to get the harder prof for that class.

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