Achieve test prep?

RNBearColumbus, BSN · Aug 27, 2018

Don't do it. They are nothing more than a middle man for getting your ADN from Excelsior College. Achieve Test Prep does not grant the credits, and does not grant the degree.

Take a look at the Excelsior student forum here on All Nurses. A few people have quite a bit to say about Achieve Test Prep.

Bottom line, if you are thinking of going through Excelsior for your RN, you can get everything you need directly from Excelsior. No need to spend extra money ( to the tune of THOUSANDS of dollars) on a third party.

lmjsierra · Aug 27, 2018

thank you for the feedback!!!!

I was thinking of using it to get through the BSN pre-reqs for Indiana State university.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Aug 27, 2018

thank you for the feedback!!!!
I was thinking of using it to get through the BSN pre-reqs for Indiana State university.

Achieve is NOT a school. They cannot give you credit. Go through a reputable source- ask ISU for suggestions. Achieve will do nothing but take your money- the Attorneys General of many states have pending litigation against Achieve. AVOID

Jeremy Cove · Jun 26, 2019

So I signed up with achieve test prep took a few classes. Very helpful. Having said thst and now enrolling witj excelsior. I want to cancel achievetestprep but how do I go about doingthat and not getting charged with anything we but the classes I have taken so far. I can't afford it anymore with excelsior and paying for the exams as well.

whisperingsage · Nov 6, 2019

I just signed up with them, and It sounds like they have been rethinking their management- they do have actual classes of 4-6 weeks (one 3 hr class a week), which I don't really need as I am a very good reader and just did an online course for Precision Nutrition certification and a year course took me less than 30 days. But My mother taught me to read phonics at 3 yrs old, and that is a tremendous advantage. If I could do self paced, I would be happier but I won't complain about 4-6 weeks of once a week classes.

I had tried with Excelsior years ago but they were pretty confusing. I did waste $5000 with a different test prep program, which sold me a bunch of bindered books that were only the LPN program I had just been through in a brick and mortar college and had my LVN license in hand.

But Achieve has taken on the role of walking you through every step, and not leaving you to twist in the wind. (I will see if that is true soon). I had been prepared to take the tests at the Pearson Vue 60 miles away but they found me a test proctoring center (aside from the actual RNCLEX) in a library 40 miles away which is very cool. They allow payment plans, they gave me half off of the down payment for having an active LVN license (I'm licensed in two states so I'm cool ) which will be $390, and then $150 bimonthly. Hopefully, I can get my Precision Nutrition online coaching going ( a different program) and make some money to pay for this without stressing my hubby. He legally grosses $54,000 but after doing taxes every year we have to face he only ever sees $31,000 every year and that's not great for having been in the same workplace and having promotions over 17 years. That works out to about $14/hr. So understandably, he's stressed over money.

Achieve now accepts ALL my credits except for my very old A & P and Micro, but those will just be me testing out of those as I always refer back to those for various continuing ed reasons. In fact I found a Micro textbook in the thrift store for $3.50 that I am reviewing for a church member that also wants to go into nursing. And it is more updated than my old one, great pictures, new information, I love it. I love doing the reviews of the cell and the processes. That's fun for me. But Achieve has me buying very new books, (and that is the biggest cost of the program but I couldn't get out of that, BUT I have NEVER had totally new books before, so this should be fun. )

So I am feeling very encouraged. They also take you through a special lab , basically the clinical test, with a real person, and Achieve says they will be there for me every step of the way. Now I have been doing all the skills on the list for years, there was nothing special or unusual about them, in fact I have done many other things not on the clinical list. SO it should be a breeze. I have been an active Lvn since 2006. Even though Excelsior gets my credit, my Achieve support will be there and help me schedule my testing, etc. This is very different from what I heard them to be years ago (here on allnurses actually, and other student review sites). I think my advantage is that I was a CNA for 10 years and an LVN/LPN (two states) for 15 years. I have done surgery on my own goats, (one was a hind leg amputation from dog attack- lucky I had lidocaine on hand. The rest were basic dehorning, disbudding and castration). So I am not afraid of this or really nervous. It's just another thing.

I have been looking for this kind of opportunity for years to get my RN and partly thanks to allnurses talking about such things, I have found a deal where I can do it.