Excelsior---College Network, RUE, Istudysmart.com, ????

[nurseangels]

I am really overwhelmed right now by all of the publishing companies that offer LPN to RN programs. I have recently attended a meeting with College network--$8,000. Rue's program would be about $6,000. I am willing to pay the $$, but I want to make sure the program is good. I am having a really hard time deciding which publishing company to go with or going directly through Excelsior???

I kknow the publishing companies are here to make $$, that's pretty obvious by the gap in price between all three companies. It's really hard to pay that kind of money when an RN program at a technical college is $7,000 total around my area. Obviously, the waiting list is extremely long or I would just go back to a technical college.

As far as clinical work, I currently work in Occ. Health so I am not getting a lot of hands-on nursing. A plus for me is that I originally started out in an ADN program and had a lot of skills courses where we did NG, Irrigating, dressing changes, care plans, etc.

I've read the forum here and I don't know what I think. I need pro's and con's from people who have been in each of these programs. Please Email me your response.

Thanks!!!

nurseangels

[caliotter3]

This week Rue is asking $11,000 . It's a special deal. lol Oct. 2009

Whatt???? $11,000?? Next week it will be $13,000 and so much a better, yes better, better deal!

[nbrody]

Thanks for the info. I will take your advise and contact my local hospitals regarding internships.

[ndragonfly]

I did the LVN to RN program through Excelsior College. Beware - Illinois requires 2 years experience as an RN before you can endorse and California does not accept Excelsior - they are doing a 1 on 1 basis for endorsement (i've been working on it for 8 months now). Otherwise, it's a good route to go if you're an experienced LVN/LPN. I went directly through excelsior college itself which saved me about $8,000. I went on Ebay and purchased a CD rom that had study notes for all the exams. I used the CD rom alone and passed all the exams on the first try. You can sign up for the exams directly through excelsior - I believe they're around 200 bux a test. You save about $4000 alone in textbooks. It worked for me and quite a few nurses I work with. You can also place everything on a payment plan directly with Excelsior College. Basically it's somewhere around 800 dollars enrollment fee, 200 and something per test and 1800 for the clinical. There were 7 exams when I did excelsior in 2005-2006

what's the name of the cd rom you bought on ebay?

[continue ed]

I did the LVN to RN program through Excelsior College. Beware - Illinois requires 2 years experience as an RN before you can endorse and California does not accept Excelsior - they are doing a 1 on 1 basis for endorsement (i've been working on it for 8 months now). Otherwise, it's a good route to go if you're an experienced LVN/LPN. I went directly through excelsior college itself which saved me about $8,000. I went on Ebay and purchased a CD rom that had study notes for all the exams. I used the CD rom alone and passed all the exams on the first try. You can sign up for the exams directly through excelsior - I believe they're around 200 bux a test. You save about $4000 alone in textbooks. It worked for me and quite a few nurses I work with. You can also place everything on a payment plan directly with Excelsior College. Basically it's somewhere around 800 dollars enrollment fee, 200 and something per test and 1800 for the clinical. There were 7 exams when I did excelsior in 2005-2006

I just graduated and have been working as an LPN for a couple months I'm thinking about getting my RN through the college network and excelsior college... advise???? a little sceptical

[fullferue]

I am an lvn in texas. I enrolled in excelsior one month and one week ago. I will be finishing up the last exam next week and then on to the cpne. It is very doable, you just have to have the right study material and I recommend taking the excelsior practice exams for each exam. I was skeptical in the beginning also, until i decided to push my self and believed in myself that I could do it. Now, I am going from lvn to rn in less than 6 months, but finished the school within 2months. The long part is waiting for a testing date for your clinicals. I am glad I did it, the material is thorough and I used Lisa Arends notes in cd rom format from ebay. I purchased her whole set of study material for every exam, including clinical preparation for under 80 dollars. Now thats a cheap way to get your RN. I am definitely satisfied with excelsior. I have joined a nurses excelsior group/forum on yahoo and we post who is passing, failing, cpne experiences and give each other encouragement through the program. I say if you have been a nurse or worked in the medical field for a while and have some experience underneath your belt...go for it.

[briggsdbboss]

fullferue,

I was looking on ebay for excelsior study guides. There are quite a few of them. You mentioned about Lisa Arends Notes, still can't locate them on ebay. Do you have other information about Lisa Arends that I can look up on ebay?

[moomoo111]

I am a LPN with 2 years experience in South Carolina. I became unemployed due to lay off's, and decided to go through The College Network/Excelsior by exam. I take the courses and only use Excelsior for the exams. I am planning to return to work soon, but will have to travel and stay with my parents with a weekend shift. I have worked in Med Surg at a small hospital and gained 2 years experience as a Nurse Tech/CNA, then graduated with LPN and worked there about 18 months. It was extreme, doctors not there at night, just an ER doc, was floated to ICU when they were short and floated to ICU as a Monitor Tech/Secretary several nights. I have 15 years as a Paramedic prior to nursing but that scope of practice is so different from nursing. The experience I got from that was a great learning tool for me. I went into a skilled nursing facility because due to the hospital sending you home often due to census, I was just not getting the hours I needed to financially support two kids in college and had no choice. After I left the stress was gone! My question is, what is the best way to obtain the hands on clinical experience while using The College Network/Excelsior? Can you find preceptor that will let you gain experience in case I'm not able to find work in a hospital as LPN's in this state are being phased out in all areas except Long Term Care/nursing homes. It looks as if I may have to go that route. Where do you find preceptors to allow you to follow so I can gain experience or is that possible? I live in a small town and it was an extremely long wait list plus double the money so I prayed about it and decided it was the right choice for me. I'm better at online classes since I'm 49 and the younger students don't have as much discipline in classes like they used to back when I was in school. They are allowed to talk, text, use computers to chat, ect. and it was way too much distraction for me and I struggled through LPN school due to that. I'm doing find with The College Network and feel I'm more than getting my money's worth going this route. I also have experience in IV therapy and IV sticks with my Paramedic but I will have to get certified for nursing and plan to do that through a technical continuing education course before I take RN state board so I can have that on paper. I have EKG experience and saw more as a Paramedic since I worked for a large hospital system's Ambulance service, Nicu, Critical Care and other transports where a Paramedic had to be in the back with the patient. Talk about crammed in with a Respiratory Therapist and vent, RN and some doctor's on board with us for long term transports. I'm open to any suggestions. I don't want to go in as a new RN with no clinical experience and you only get one weekend with an 8 hour day, and two 12 hour days. Please advise if you have experienced this. Please excuse me if I repeated myself, a little brain fog and anxiety this morning after reading some forums on using The College Network. I'm happy with them and feel it was right for me. Thanks to anyone who responds.