The College Network

U.S.A. Washington

Published

Hello has anyone heard of The college network. Please can i Have your Feedback.

Specializes in ICU, ER, Hemodialysis.

a reminder from the staff...no personal attacks allowed. debate the topic, but no personal attacks.

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Specializes in M/S, Travel Nursing, Pulmonary.

I almost signed up with TCN. I didn't. There is a major college that rents a building at the community college 4 mins. from me that uses the building for RN 2 BSN only purposes. And you get all the benefits of the CC (library, computers etc). I prefer that. I had no issues with TCN, just prefer going to the other school overall for a variety of reasons. I will add this though:

Before I decided to meet TCN and while I was weighing my options, I talked to the educator assigned to our unit about online schools. She had no reservations about them, said it is actually going to become much more popular. She encouraged it for me, I have the personality to do it. After narrowing it down to the school I ended up picking and TCN, I went to her for.........something else (turning in critical care class test or something). I mentioned that TCN looked temping, I like the timeline their program offered.

Her response was to just say "Oh, you didn't say TCN, thats different. Make sure the hospital will give you tuition assistance for that, cause they might not. And be careful about whether or not their credits will transfer if you plan on getting a Masters." She left it at that. I didn't press for more info. That helped decide things for me. It was the "Oh, you didn't say TCN, thats different" part that got me. The tone was.........very telling.

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Specializes in Med Surg/ Pedi, OR.

I met up with the women and it seems too good to be true....!! I changed my mind after reading these blogs and doing some research. I gave her $$ and she gave me a book. My advice is if you want to learn more about this NETWORK cause it isn't a school. Please don't except anything from the sales people. It has been heck just trying to return the book to her. Plus they cashed my check after I cancelled. Today I mailed all the materials back to them and they will send me a CHECK asap. I hope.

All these problems and I changed my mind. Good luck with someone that has the time and money for this Big loan cause they do not defer payments... I feel like I dodged a bullet!!:twocents:

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If you didn't cancel within those first three days you won't be getting a check back even if you did send the books back. Did you notify them in writing when you cancelled? Do you have documentation of that?

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Specializes in Telemetry,Med/Surg,Behavioral Health, LV.

well... i've been enrolled in their lvn to bsn program for about 2 years now only got distracted from it and am now diving back into it.. one topic that i think isn't not discussed clearly enough regarding this matter of lvn to rn or bsn is that it is really "state" dependent..

i live in california and ca has some of the strictest guidelines for nursing education around.. although tcn does offer an lvn/lpn to rn program in small print you'll see that california isn't a state that it is available in.

also regarding excelsior (not sure on the correct spelling ;), california hasn't for quite a few years now recognized any education or programs from them, actually they have removed them from offering their educational nursing programs here in california.

if you were one of the lucky ones that were able to complete your excelsior program before california made the change your good but anyone not able to is not so lucky. .

the only advice i'd give to any lvn or rn looking to further your education via distance learning is to make sure that the state where you live or plan to practice acknowledges the program/school your considering, also it's a must that your school of choice is nlnac accredited as well as accredited by your state of practice..

good luck to you all and just know that it's a long road in furthering your education but like anything else, nothing great in life comes easy or free... ;)

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Specializes in Elder Care.

Do not sign up with this program if you arent sure you can do all of the learning on your own

i found this program just wasnt working for me and when i tried to cancel and get a partial refund they refused and said no refunds allowed

they essentially have stolen 7000 dollars from me at this point

hello has anyone heard of the college network. Please can i have your feedback.
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The same thing with me, in my opinion this company does not have the students best interest in heart. I am paying for a service that does not work for me. I found out that I need stuctured learning but the could care less. Do not sign up if you have any doubts.

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I just recently signed up with The College Network for the LPN to RN program. I found TCN to be very organized and straight forward on what I needed to complete, (that's what you are paying for). It's true that they are not a college but, they are like an agency that provides you with everything you possibly need to pass the tests required. It is somewhat like a travel agent meaning: you have a trip that you want to go on and have to stay in many locations and will be traveling for a while. You can: (a) look up and search for all of your tickets and hotels on your own, also your tours and what ever else you may need on your trip or, (b) you can just hire the travel agent to set it all up for you. Particularly, for me, my preference was to pay a little more money for a service I know I needed verses spending all that time searching for study guides and not knowing if they were sufficient enough and risking more time wasted. The gentleman comes to your home and explains everything in black and white. They also had an option that was to just pay for the pre-reqs (I needed everything) so, I am not actually financing a huge amount- Only $4400. ( broke down to $300 down and then $97 per mo. for 60 months) You can also pay it off early with no penalty. This covers all the study guides, online modules, and other online services, a chat blog with other TCN students, THE ACTUAL EXAMS at excelsior- ALL INCLUDED. Then, after I complete all of the pre-reqs, It is my choice to re-sign up with them again for the nursing portion or, I don't have to. If I re-sign it will be about another $4400 for TCN and after that there would be $4100 to finish up with Excelsior (that fee includes the CPNE!) My first study guide was for Life Span- I can choose to read the material from the book or, I can go online and do the modules (or both) which is what I like to do. Also, they have practice exams that are free as well. I find the online services very useful- especially the blog of students whom have taken the exams and tell you what to focus on. The bottom line is, you have to actually read the materials and go take the exams to become the RN whether you choose to use TCN or not. I felt that it would be much quicker for me to achieve my goals by taking this route. Plus, I will be an RN sooner making more money- so, the money evens itself out.

For anyone interested in TCN you can just give them a call and someone will come out to talk with you. Please just understand that you don't have to sign up, you are just getting all the details. If you don't like it then DON'T SIGN UP. Please be smart and read everything and ask questions! They do let you cancel but it has to be within 3 days. So, just don't sign up until you are sure. As for me, I have the peace of mind in knowing that once I am finished with this study guide, I can call them to set up my exam and send out the next subject (also you can do 2 at once) I will keep anyone updated on my progress if your interested. Just curious, anyone that has signed up with TCN and has complaints about owing them, have any of you received your degree elsewhere yet? By the way, I am a LPN and in no way affiliated with TCN other than I am just a student in their LPN to RN program. Thank-you to all for reading this! My first post on all nurses!

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Specializes in School Nursing.

Am I understanding correctly?? The purpose of these companies is to prepare you to test out of classes (CLEP) with an exam. Basically self study, test, and the class is over? Do you do this for all classes required? And lastly, will they all transfer if one chooses to continue on to a BSN? Colleges here seem to only want to accept 12-15 credits of CLEP which is only a few classes. (though I must say one test and being done with a class sounds inviting.)

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The college network is a net spread for ignorant nurse program seekers. They do not help you at all and it is all a money making business. Do not fall into the trap of College Network. If you want to sign up with the colleges straight, you can do it easily than going through college network. I am a martyr of the COllege Network and I hope no one will ever fally into their hands...please..please........

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To compalin too much,

The reason I was ripped off has nothing to do with your top 5 reasons.You sound like a know it all, but let me be the one to inform you, I was lied to. I was told TCN was setting up a program through the company I work for to help with the tuition cost. That was not true. I would not have signed a contract if I thought I would be paying the $6000 on my own. I was not told they are just a publishing company. You can buy these same cheaply put together binders off of Ebay for next to nothing. Once they get you to sign with them, they never call you to see how your doing with your education. I am currently getting my BSN through a real college and I do not procrastinate.

Where are you going? I dont know how else to do my LVN- RN or BSN online! Im in CA which does not accept excelsior. Please help.

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The college network is a net spread for ignorant nurse program seekers. They do not help you at all and it is all a money making business. Do not fall into the trap of College Network. If you want to sign up with the colleges straight, you can do it easily than going through college network. I am a martyr of the COllege Network and I hope no one will ever fally into their hands...please..please........

So what do you suggest? I live in Southern California (which does not accept excelsior) and I want to bridge LVN- RN or BSN. I work full time Mon-Sat BUT my work is ok with me doing my schooling while working. What would you suggest? Thanks

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