Drexel ACE versus Jefferson FACT

Guess we can add that to signs that you're a nursing student - you're so exhausted, you can't remember where you go to school. Good luck with classes!

Hah, hah! One day I actually called someone and gave my husband's name instead of mine! Granted, the call was ABOUT him, but it wasn't actually him calling. Argh!

I'm not sure if its too late, but I graduated from Drexel and would be more than willing to share my- and most of my class mate's- opinion of the program from an insider just send me a message with any questions you may have.
K

Thank you to everyone who provided useful information here. I am a little confused about Jefferson's FACT program. Is it a a combined bachelors/masters program? Is there an option to only get your bachelors? Is the bachelors portion of it only 1-year (12 months)? Thank you!

As I understand it, you can earn the BSN in 1 year. Continuing on to get the MSN is optional.

People keep mentioning how a lot of negative things are said about Drexel's ACE program. I have not been able to find these comments. What is it that so many people dislike about the program? Is it extra stressful because it is a few months shorter than most accelerated BSN schools?

I checked out the NCLEX pass rates @ and Drexel currently has the better rate, but the difference is marginal at 98.5% vs 96.1%. I soke to people who have been through both programs and I am leaning towards ACE myself. Both programs are seemingly very equitable, and I've had a hard time settling on which one is the better fit for me, but what a lovely predicament to be in! I feel like I can't make a bad decision either way.

Some complaints that people have about Drexel are that the administration can be uncooperative and the program is very intense. I had a positive experience like some others here, and I thought that most of the whining was a little silly. I had a rough go with the administration when I was applying, but it was mostly smooth sailing from then on. I thought the professors were good and fair. I thought the workload was doable.

For the OP, I can't imagine much of a difference between the two programs in how intense they are since a year is short for a nursing program - some people have problems with it and some people don't. Mostly it's a matter of educating yourself about whatever program you choose and for Pete's sake, **read** the student handbook!!

Because none of us have done both programs, it's hard to help you with fit. Beyond what everyone has said about early assurance programs, are there other points of comparison you are looking at?

People also don't like the exit HESI that you have to get a fairly high grade on to graduate (I don't recall the number off the top of my head). You can get As in all of your classes but if you don't pass the HESI after a certain number of attempts you are out of the nursing program. I've heard people complain about class size and lack of resources, and while the class is big (160?) there are practice labs that are always empty when I go, review sessions, and you can set up tutoring if you need it.

Yeah, people in my class have complained about: How unfairly an assignment was graded. How unfair the test was because they didn't do well. How unfair the test was because we didn't go over something in class (we did they were talking in the back of the room). How it was against school policy to have more than 1 test on a day during midterms (it's not). My new theory is that because they accept based on grades only, there's no personality filter in the way of interviews and essays and recommendations so they get all the high-strung Type A people along with the more grounded Type As and Type Bs. A year is a short time to get a BSN, so I think we're all a little crazy on some level
YES! You should be able to access both school's handbooks before making your decision and read them over. I can't get over how many people seem shocked about policies that are clearly spelled out if they'd taken the time to read the handbook. Also, see if you can get a tour. I saw a freshman group getting a tour the other day and was tempted to tag along just to see if there are any secret rooms I don't know about.

My main complaint about the program is that for the first quarter we have very limited clinical time. Ohhhh boy will that change next quarter, but I wish we had a little more feet-getting-wet time at the start. Sometimes I think I'm crazy to be doing all of this in a year, but then I realize just how much I've learned in the last few weeks. It goes by both slowly and quickly, if that makes sense. We've gone through finals and are starting final check outs for health assessment and principles soon.