Advice on Charlotte, NC

[zink333]

Hi, I am making the career jump and wanted to see if anyone had any advice on choosing a nursing school in the Charlotte, NC area. I have a BS in an unrelated field and am looking at Mercy School of Nursing, but I know there are also programs at UNCC, South Piedmont, CPCC and so on. The loan forgiveness program is appealing at Mercy.

[thebrantmeister]

Check on Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (Concord)... They have a 2 year RN program and upon successful completion you are guaranteed eligibility to attend the Cabarrus College of Health Sciences for their RN to BSN program. RCCC is EXTREMELY inexpensive and if you score high on the pre-test, you will be placed ahead of everyone on the waiting list. I have checked on the program, and I have a friend that is also planning on attending. But beware of UNCC, I used to work there. I have spoken with a few students and a couple of graduates. The graduates claimed they didn't receive enough clinical "hands on" experience.

[Jolie, BSN]

I worked at Mercy years ago (1990's) and found their nursing students and grads to be of excellent quality. It was also a nice place to work, so re-paying time would not have been a problem.

That's been a number of years, so I don't know if my opinion still holds, but I think it is worth checking into. Call the school and ask for an appointment with the admissions counselor. After your meeting, ask for some names of recent grads who have participated in this program. They will tell you like it is!

Good luck.

[zink333]

OK thanks for the advice!

[zink333]

OK thank you!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Moving to the NC forum where you'll be able to hone in on some more locals.

Good luck!

[ashleyjean3]

Presbyterian also has the repayment program as well as Carolinas. Mercy is a diploma program.

[zink333]

Thanks a lot. Is Presbyterian's program a diploma as well? Which would you recommend?

[ashleyjean3]

NO presby is an ASN. I think Mercy is the only diploma program left in the state.

[zink333]

Does it matter when I go to apply for a job if I get an ASN or a diploma?

[prosperouschick]

No, there is not a difference when applying for a position with diploma. For someone with a bachelor's degree already, there is really little difference between getting an ASN or a diploma in nursing. Mercy and Watts (in Durham) are the only diploma programs in NC.

[dreamon]

It shouldn't matter, especially not locally. Watts in Durham is the other diploma program. I did some research off this site and I got nothing but positives in regard to the program and the capability of their graduate nurses. And I had no interest in pursuing a diploma at all! Now I hope I will get accepted.