What would you do?

jeaneous · Nov 18, 2008

Apply to all that interest you. If a school doesn't interest you, it's probably not a good idea to apply just to save a year or two. Plus, many times schools with shorter waiting lists=more $$$, so it may not be financially a better move.

Make sure whatever school you choose is NLNAC accredited. Otherwise, going for Bachelors could be a problem. Besides that, no one cares where you went to school that is hiring for the most part. I used to to hiring in my last job and all I cared about is if they had an active license. Where they went to school didn't cross my mind.

You could work another part time job in the interim and make extra money, working and nursing school is hard.

Good luck!

MagsMom · Nov 19, 2008

I do know that there is a waiting list at SLCC. Where do you live? Davis Applied Technical College in Davis County now has a program that does not have a waitlist nearly as long. If you live in SLC area you could take the frontrunner to DACT - I believe the program is for LPN but then you could work while you were doing the LPN to RN program through somewhere like Weber State. I don't know anything about Utah Career College- there are several places online you can do an RN to BSN program and the U has an online program too. I think if money is an issue somewhere like UCC is very expensive. Hope that helps.

MagsMom · Nov 19, 2008

Also wanted to mention that if you are working as a CNA at the U they now have a program with SLCC and if you have all the pre-reqs etc you go straight in - here is the link

http://www.slcc.edu/nursing/NSGPartnerships.asp

just go to thebottom of the page - I know 2 people in this program- it just started this year.

cnafromaz · Nov 20, 2008

Thanks for responding. I will have to look into the U of U program.

Carneyd · Nov 24, 2008

i am currently enrolled at ucc. anyone that enrolls at this point in time is not guaranteed to be able to sit for the nclex. i would wait until they get their full accreditation prior to going to this school. it is very expensive ($50,000).

blissfully_married · Nov 24, 2008

I couldn't agree more with CarneyD! A school being accredited is a huge deal. It shows a lot in their quality. You should also ask any school that you are interested in going to what their passing rate is for the NCLEX for the past 5 years. That will show you how well they are really preparing their students. You definately do not want to start putting in all of this money to not be able to pass the test at the end to get your license. I wish you the best of luck!

tfleuter, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2009

I used to go to UCC (west jordan campus) but for their Vet tech program. All I can say is I was VERY dissappointed with the school. Extremely expensive, particularily for a career where students cannot reasonable expect to make more than $9 - $10 per hour after graduating, even lower in other parts of the state. I felt they were dishonest with incoming students, saying to each group that Utah laws will be changing in 1 - 2 years requiring certification to work as a vet tech, so they better start school now and get it over with. They've been saying this since my friend went there (4 years ago), since I went there (2 yeras ago) and are probably still saying it today. Truth is, Utah is no where near ready to require certification of its vet techs. Also, it seems every semester tuition fees would be raised and the teaching staff was a bit dissappointing. There were a few excellent instructors there, others were obviously not prepared to be teachers. I also despise the fact that they required approx 105 credit hours for an associates degree and that we had to pay 10 credit hours for our externship, even if we were already working as techs and could find our own opportunities. I'm not a bitter student either. I had excellent grades while there and was usually in the top 10% of all my classes.

Sorry about the tangent, but I feel that Utah Career College is a rip off, at least for the vet tech program anyways. I'm not sure how others feel about their experience with the other programs they offer. I'm glad I left the program before I invested lost of time and money into them. Really, it's what lead me nursing and couldn't be happier with my decision!

NATALIE369 · Jan 23, 2009

thanks tfleuter. He referred me back to this thread after asking about UCC. I also was looking into UCC RN program to get done quickly and move on to get my masters.

With a lot of help from a friend (NP, PhD) we found that UCC and Provo College's nursing programs are both accredited by the National League of Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) which is GREAT however the colleges are accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT) BAD!!!!

Because of that accreditation the only place you can take your credits is to the University of Phoenix. I was told by UCC "worst case scenario is that you would have to move to Arizona ( because their Arizona campus is the only one that offers the NP program) and then move back"! Ya right! Like I don't have a family that I would have to up root? I know that nursing school is very hard and working during school will be even harder, but it can be done and it HAS been done- many times! You do what you HAVE to do.

I just cannot believe with all the demand out there, that nobody offers a accelerated program in the evening and that could transfer to a university? If anyone has any suggestions, I would be forever grateful, as would my family. HELP!!!!

NATALIE369 · Jan 23, 2009

thanks tfleuter. He referred me back to this thread after asking about UCC. I also was looking into UCC RN program to get done quickly and move on to get my masters.

With a lot of help from a friend (NP, PhD) we found that UCC and Provo College's nursing programs are both accredited by the National League of Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) which is GREAT however the colleges are accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT) BAD!!!!

Because of that accredidation the only place you can take your credits is to the University of Pheonix. I was told by UCC "worst case sincario is that you move to Arizona ( because their Arizona campus is the only one that offers the NP program) and then move back"! Ya right! Like I dont have a family to up root? I know that nursing school is very hard and working during school will be even harder, but you do what you HAVE to do.

I just cannot believe with all the demand out there, that nobody offers a program that could be accelerated in the evening and that could transfer to a university? If anyone has any suggestions, I would be forever grateful, as would my family!!! HELP!!!!

tfleuter, BSN, RN · Jan 24, 2009

Well, here's the way I look at it. I too want to be done with nursing school as quickly as possible so I can start working again (very fortunate that we can live off of my husbands salary while I'm in school, but it's been tight!) The problem is, that all the programs that seem to be able to get you through quickly or offer classes that are doable with a full time job are VERY expensive. From what I hear, UCC's program will cost you around $50K to finish. I'm currently at Utah Valley University, and even though it's very competitive, there's no waiting lit and tuition will be much less than private schools (I think about $12K for their ADN and $15K for the BSN) That's about a $35K difference, which is not too far off what many bring home in a year! I couldn't bring home even that when I was working as a vet tech before.

If you are worried that you can't afford to stop working to attend school full time, consider the total cost of the tuitions and what you will be saving by not going to a private school. I would rather take out the student loans to cover living expenses so I dont' have to work, rather than take the loan out just to cover the tuition cost and STILL have to work!!!

If you don't think you will be able to get into a competitive based program like UVU or U of U, then check out Salt Lake Community College. They have a waiting list, and when I was looking into it last summer, the advisor told me it was 2-3 years out, but most students would get in quicker, like 18 months b/c not everyone on the list ends up going to the school. While this may seem like a long time, it's a great time to focus on saving up so you won't have to work (at least full time) while you are in school.

Not sure if this will help your situation at all, just how I look at it!

nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP · Mar 22, 2009

I'm a white, male 30-year-old nursing applicant. Just got my rejection letter from WSU's RN program. They said I was a strong candidate, have my CNA, 3.64 cumulative GPA, 3.9 prerequisite and science GPA (though I didn't have my math done), and I was a Supplementary Instruction instructor/leader for Biomedical Core (Anatomy and Physiology). No previous associate's. Didn't get in. Oh well, try again next year. I've also applied at Davis Applied Technology College and Ogden-Weber Technology College for their LPN program, which bridges you to get your RN through Weber State. We'll see what happens.

Having to wait a year or so seems to be pretty common among nursing schools, from what counselors at WSU, DATC and Westminster have told me.

SLCC's waiting list is really long. When I asked them about the waiting period this year, they said I could get in their program around 2013! Four years!

I would avoid Utah Career College, Ameritek and Stephens-Henager if you're wanting to get your BSN eventually. They either aren't accredited (like Ameritek and S-H) or their accreditation is brand new and they're all very expensive. I plan on getting a Master's in Nurse Anesthesia as a long-term goal, and I don't want any "iffy" elements to the degrees I'm getting.

As far as the U's or Westminster's programs go, they're BSN programs, so when you apply, you're applying for a complete four-year program instead of a 2-year RN associate's program. So, they have more prerequisite requirements. The U's has about 5 additional pre-reqs than WSU's, including:

- Chemistry 1120 (in addition to 1110)

- Microbiology 3603 (in addition to Intro to Microbiology)

- Statistics (Math 1040, even if you've taken math 1050 you have to take this class)

- Human Growth and Development

- Nutrition 2320 (In addition to Intro to Nutrition)

Westminster doesn't require Statistics, Human Growth and Development or the additional Nutrition class, but they do require Sociology. In speaking to a counselor at Westminster, they also give priority of acceptance to students who took their pre-reqs at Westminster vs. other schools.

Also, if you're going to do your nursing pre-reqs at Weber State, they have two ways to fulfill the Anatomy/Physiology pre-req requirement for their own program: you can either take Human Anatomy and Human Physiology, or take WSU's Biomedical Core 1110 and 1111. I highly recommend avoiding Biomedical Core. It's a great class, but BIOMEDICAL CORE DOESN'T TRANSFER TO ANY SCHOOL OTHER THAN WEBER STATE. So now I'm finding that, despite getting A's in Biomedical Core, I have to RETAKE Anatomy and Physiology to be able to apply anywhere else. Stupid.

I would say waiting to get into an accredited program at an actual university or accredited community college is a far better investment than shelling out 50k to get in and get one's RN faster through a private school such as Stephens-Henager. You want the ability to progress and get a Master's degree, as you never know if you'll need more money or want more knowledge down the road.

In short, waiting sucks, but most of us have to do it. I would say don't put all of your eggs in one basket, apply to many schools. I know of students with near 4.0 GPA's and years of CNA experience that have been turned down for WSU's program multiple times. There is no guarantee there, so spread your net wide.