Making a choice of Schools

U.S.A. Texas

Published

Hi everybody,

I just want some feedback about the various Nursing Schools in North Texas, like UT Arlington, Baylor (Downtown Dallas), Brookhaven and El Centro.

I've done some research into the four of them and the main differences I can find are:

* Brookhaven and El Centro are Associates of Nursing; while UT Arlington and Baylor are BSN minimum. I don't want to start a whole ADN vs BSN flame war, but I'm leaning twards the BSN.

* Brookhaven, Baylor and El Centro are an easy DART Ride from my house while UT Arlington is at least a 30-45 minute commute depending on the time of day.

* It seems like the ADN schools take fewer students than the bigger schools. I know UT Arlington takes 100 students each Spring and Fall Semester while Brookhaven and EL Centro take between 30 & 50 students once a year [Generally the Fall of the year].

* Some of the Colleges, like Brookhaven and El Centro, prerequisite classes fill up so fast during enrollment that the person who has to go down to the college and enroll in person end up not getting in the classes at all. I guess that's one of the advantages of going to a larger school. You get in the classes you need instead of having to take some class like Art instead of A&P.

* I'm wondering how schools like Baylor and UT Arlington handle transfer students like myself. I've got 60 transfer hours from a Community College (Brookhaven College) and would like to transfer to a school that allow me the best chance to get in a Nursing program.

THose of you on the boards who have any sort of experience with any of the four schools that I mentioned above give me some feedback. I'm willing to listen to both the good and the bad and will give you a slice of Chocolate cake with Chocolate frosting just for giving feedback. I figure you might enjoy that with Coffee.

Thank you,

Mr. Beef

There's also NCTC in Gainesville. It's about 30 minutes north of Denton. I graduate from there next month. I'm not sure how far north you live but it may be worth looking into.

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Mr. Beef,

Take another look at Brookhaven/Mountain View. Since they received full accreditation in the spring they're going to alternate classes every semester. They're doing a Summer '07 start at Brookhaven and a Fall '07 class at Mountain View.

I've got it down to either El Centro or Brookhaven. El Centro has the lead because it's a lot easier to get into (pre-req wise) than Brookhaven, but Brookhaven is closer, and the college credits I have so far are from there.

Also, your gpa won't be as much of a factor because it's a point system based on your test score on the entrance HESI exam, your gpa and how many support classes you've completed. They take the top 60 students, do an interview and then pick 40 from there.

The point system is a lot better than just GPA on Pre-Req's like they used to do. You still need to pass all the classes with at least a 2.75 GPA for them to even consider you though.

The HESI exam kinda scares me. I don't do well on standardized tests, and the HESI is one of those.

Brookhaven has info. sessions the 2nd Tues. of every month. I believe the next one is Nov. 14th. Also, check out their website; they have updated it to show all the new info.

http://www.brookhavencollege.edu/instruction/h%2Dh%2Dservices/nursing/

I went to the web site yesterday, and looked up all the pertenant information, and I'm planning to go to the information session next week so maybe we'll meet there. It's going to be packed out so I plan to get there early.

Good luck with whatever program you choose.

Thank you lex, the only luck I need is the kind you get to get into the program.

There's a little bit of cake left as well as some yummy chocolate chip cookies for you to have with the coffee.

Thanks,

Mr. Beef

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There's also NCTC in Gainesville. It's about 30 minutes north of Denton. I graduate from there next month. I'm not sure how far north you live but it may be worth looking into.

Considering that Denton is a 35-40 minute drive up I-35E another 30 minutes is a lot further than I want to go.

Thanks for the help. Have a chocolate chip cookie, and coffee.

Thanks,

Mr. Beef

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Just a couple of words about UTA -

When I asked my advisor about preference being given to students who had completed more hours as UTA she told me that that was a previous "point earner" and not the case any longer.

Also, beginning for fall '07 they will no longer be using your cumulative GPA as a factor, but rather just your nursing prerecs.

I just found out that I got accepted into the UTA program for Spring '07. I did most of my prerecs at TCC, but transferred in about a 3.8 GPA.

Good luck to you!!

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One more thing that I forgot -

UTA also includes an interview and writing sample as part of your admission process. I believe they narrow it down to the top 200 or so and interview those selected before chosing their top 100 for the class. I really enjoyed this part because I felt like they got to know you as a person rather than just a number in line, or GPA.

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The HESI exam kinda scares me. I don't do well on standardized tests, and the HESI is one of those.

Hate to break it to you but El Centro is now requiring the HESI A2 entrance exam as well. No more NET. The HESI wasn't that bad. There's a study guide available in the Brookhaven library at the reference desk. That was a big help to me. It also looks like El Centro has a test prep course. Here's the link.

http://www.elcentrocollege.edu/Programs/HealthLegalStudies/packets/pdf/ADN07web.pdf

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I'm a December '05 grad from UTA- yes, the class with the 100% NCLEX pass rate! :biggringi I loved UTA!! It is an excellent school, very well-respected, and the faculty is awesome. I transferred from TCC with a 3.65 GPA. They accepted my hours with no problem. That semester, over 800 people applied, so you can see where I'm going... (Go to their site and print out a copy of the course list.) The drive on I-30 was hardly ever a problem for me, but I was coming from Fort Worth. I don't think I-20 was ever too bad either. Definitely apply. They do have an interview and essay, but I think that's what sealed the deal for most of us. I don't know if they still require the NET exam, but they did when I applied. They also changed the curriculum up quite a bit to make it easier on the students, which I'm happy about. When I was in my first semester, they had us take Patho, Pharm, and Concepts along with Foundations and ?? (I forgot the course- lol!) They also now require the HESI exam in order to graduate (we were the first class to test), which is a good indicator of NCLEX rates...

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Oh yeah, I graduated with $20,000 in student debt, but I deferred the interest... A lot of hospitals will contract with you and pay for your education if you promise to work for them for a few years. I wish I would've done that... Well, not really b/c I had a baby a week after graduation, but aside from that, it's a good deal.

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Just a couple of words about UTA -

When I asked my advisor about preference being given to students who had completed more hours as UTA she told me that that was a previous "point earner" and not the case any longer.

Also, beginning for fall '07 they will no longer be using your cumulative GPA as a factor, but rather just your nursing prerecs.

"Point earner" what does that mean? Is it like the way Brookhaven does it by assigning points based on standardized tests and GPA. Some It seems like most places go by Pre-Req's rather than anything else. Looks like I need to get off my big backside and register for Spring 07 classes as soon as possible.

I just found out that I got accepted into the UTA program for Spring '07. I did most of my prerecs at TCC, but transferred in about a 3.8 GPA.

Congradulations on your acceptance into the UT Arlington Nursing program. Have a big slice of cake and a giant cup of coffee. You deserve it.

Good luck to you!!

Good luck to you on the road ahead. You're a lot closer than I am.

Thanks,

Mr. Beef

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One more thing that I forgot -

UTA also includes an interview and writing sample as part of your admission process. I believe they narrow it down to the top 200 or so and interview those selected before chosing their top 100 for the class. I really enjoyed this part because I felt like they got to know you as a person rather than just a number in line, or GPA.

What kind of writing sample, creative or technical? If it's Creative, then I shouuld have no trouble because I took Creative Writing in the Spring of this year and got an A in it. If it's Technical, then I really don't know how to handle that sort of thing. I can probably take a Technical Writing class in the spring just to see how things are in the Technical Writing field.

As for interviews, Brookhaven does interviews of the top 60 canidates and invites the top 40 back to be in the program based on those interviews.

Thanks momto2beauties,

Mr. Beef

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Hate to break it to you but El Centro is now requiring the HESI A2 entrance exam as well. No more NET. The HESI wasn't that bad. There's a study guide available in the Brookhaven library at the reference desk. That was a big help to me. It also looks like El Centro has a test prep course. Here's the link.

http://www.elcentrocollege.edu/Programs/HealthLegalStudies/packets/pdf/ADN07web.pdf

As long as I don't have to get up at some really early time of day just to take it, then I can probably make a decent score on it. For the The SAT and TASP I had to get up really early (7:00am) and I was out before noon, and on the SAT I made a 1010, and passed all the parts of the TASP with flying colors except the Math part that I had to take devlopmental classes. I have a slight math test anxiety, but all the others I kick backside in.

I have to take all the classes over again so I would not be taking the HESI A2 for a while yet.

Thanks for the help.

Mr. Beef

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I'm a December '05 grad from UTA- yes, the class with the 100% NCLEX pass rate! :biggringi I loved UTA!! It is an excellent school, very well-respected, and the faculty is awesome. I transferred from TCC with a 3.65 GPA. They accepted my hours with no problem. That semester, over 800 people applied, so you can see where I'm going... (Go to their site and print out a copy of the course list.)

Congradualtions on your passing the NCLEX, and doing something that I can only dream about.

Geez, if I'm competing with at least 799 other people I guess I really need to make myself stand out. I know a 3.14 GPA is not the best in the world, but that's about the best I'm going to do without taking most of my classes over again.

The drive on I-30 was hardly ever a problem for me, but I was coming from Fort Worth. I don't think I-20 was ever too bad either. Definitely apply.

I have to look at the Mapquest to get to UT Arlington. I'm thinking it's I-30, and as long as I don't get too caught up in rush hour traffic then I should be okay. Also If they don't close I-30 between Dallas and Arlington for too long than I should be good.

They do have an interview and essay, but I think that's what sealed the deal for most of us. I don't know if they still require the NET exam, but they did when I applied. They also changed the curriculum up quite a bit to make it easier on the students, which I'm happy about. When I was in my first semester, they had us take Patho, Pharm, and Concepts along with Foundations and ?? (I forgot the course- lol!) They also now require the HESI exam in order to graduate (we were the first class to test), which is a good indicator of NCLEX rates...

Looks like I'm not going to avoid the HESI A2 so I might as well take it and see what I get on it. I'm going to need to take the Math and Anatomy or Chemistry and Anatomy (depending where I go) and then go from there.

The Anatomy thing is kind of daunting because I took Anatomy in High School and made mostly C's in it, except the 'A' I made in the Circulatory System. :confused:

Thanks Heather, R.N. for the info. Have some cake or cookies and coffee. We have decaf and regular on the coffee.

Mr. Beef

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