Achieve Prep

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Mar 25, 2013

They are not a school but a test prep program. They do not offer clinicals but a practice lab. You will have to still apply to Excelsior College in NY, still have to separately pay for the exams (and practice exams), and the clinical performance evaluation to be taken at one of the Excelsior approved site. Basically it is an extra expense for a study group to prepare you to sit for the Excelsior College exams and evaluations. You must still apply & enroll at Excelsior College and pay the fees directly to Excelsior in addition to any of the test prep/class fees from Achieve Test Prep.

They are NOT affiliated nor are they endorsed/recommended by Excelsior College.

You can find out about Excelsior College from this thread: https://allnurses.com/excelsior-college-online/excelsior-college-distance-808335.html

This is the school they are "test preparing" you for: http://www.excelsior.edu

Heavenly4505 · Mar 30, 2013

I checked in to Achieve Test Prep a month or so ago. Extremely expensive! The quote they gave me would have been over $200 per month just for their "loan" payment! Plus you still have to pay Excelsior directly for the enrollment fee, exam fees, etc. You don't get credit from a local college; Achieve just prepares you to take the Excelsior nursing challenge exams. The credit ultimately will come from Excelsior after you pass their tests.

I would have liked to enroll in Achieve because I'm currently trying for the 3rd time to do Excelsior on my own. I struggle with motivation and structure, and I feel like the classes and test prep offered by Achieve might have helped me stay on track. But I just could not work it into the budget to spend an extra $200 a month on top of what I already owe Excelsior. I have heard excellent things about the Achieve program, though. You can fill out an online information request, and someone will call you with details and give you all the info about the program. Be forewarned though--once you fill out that request, they can be a bit pushy. They called me several times, even after I told them that I couldn't afford the program and was no longer interested. They finally stopped calling after I e-mailed them again, indicating that I am no longer interested and asking them to please stop bothering me.

If you can afford the program through Achieve and need the extra motivation and structure, it might be a great program for you! But it's totally not necessary to use them. Many people do Excelsior on their own and are completely successful. Good luck!