Advice On Schools

CaterpillarGirl · Mar 27, 2004

Hey Megan. In the last report I saw, UNLV had a first time pass rate on the NCLEX of 83%, with Community College of Southern Nevada having a rate of 89%. I've been accepted to UNLV as a pre-rn major, as far as I know this means that as soon as I complete my pre reqs I begin the program (space allowing, but there is currently no waiting list). I too am moving there in the beginning of July. :) Where are you moving from? If it's a western state make sure when you apply you apply for Western Undergrad. Exchange tuition, it's only $127 per credit (unless you plan on establishing residency first.) So far, there have been I think three people that (I have spoken to) are actually IN the program at UNLV, and they like it, so here's my big (1300 mile) leap of faith. :)

Good luck in your move. Have you decided where to live yet?

Megan

iliel · Mar 30, 2004

Hi, it's hard to say who has the BEST program, they are all good.

UNLV has a lower pass rate but I don't know how many ppl drop, etc.

CCSN has one of the best reps with students. It's pass rate is higher it's drop rate is high too!

Nevada State Henderson is new, they haven't sent out a grad class yet but if you want an idea of their program look at UNR. NSH is the umbrella school of UNR...all their classes are the same.

Good luck!

NVNURSETOBE · Apr 13, 2004

hello,

i just wanted to clarify some information. the new school is not nevada state henderson but nevada state college. the web address is www.nsc.nevada.edu. the other thing is i am currently on my second semester of clinical at nsc and love it. i am a transfer student from unlv and don't regret it for a minute. for me the environment is just so much more encouraging. the faculty are always there for the students and will do anything they possible can to see that the students succeed. which is unfortunately not the way things were for me at unlv.

this is my break down of the nursing schools in vegas. ccsn is great but is only an associate degree. also the last i checked they had a waiting list. unlv is a bsn and is well established. they do not currently have a waiting list but in my opinion have extremely high expectations of their student and faculty are not available. i personally was having some problems/second thoughts and when i tried to get some guidance i was told "there are too many of you student there is no way she could possible see you all so if you are having problems you will just have to figure it out on your own." again this is just my experience and i am sure that it does not happen to everyone. however about 50% of my class is unlv transfers so i must not be the only one who had problems. also unlv is currently in the process of redoing the order of their classes, the latest i heard there are mandatory summer clinical. but i don't have conformation of that, and that is not neccessarily a problem.

which brings me to nsc. like i said before, i love it. i took a chance by transferring because at the moment the nursing school is not accredited. our official inspection is scheduled for fall 2004. i am a member of the first class and we will graduate in may 2005, god willing. because the school is new so is all of the equipment. everything in our skills lab is brand new and has the latest technology. the school is small; there are only 36 students in my class. our campus does not have all the amenities that ccsn and unlv have. however since all of the schools are governed by the same board of regents they are all interconnected. meaning all you have to do to access a feature on one of the other schools campus is show your school id.

what i would suggest for you is if you still need to complete your core classes to attend ccsn, they are the cheapest. and while you complete your classes meet with all of the schools staff and form your own opinion. because there is no way that you can truly get a feel for the school through a brochure or the internet. just my opinion. hope this helps.

Idiopathik · May 9, 2004

I'm a bit late on the reply here, but I will post my experience. I'm currently at UNLV, finishing 3rd semester. And yes, there will be summer classes for our 4th semester - with 2 twelve hour clinicals!!! UGH - I am not looking forward to it, but the summer session is 12 weeks compared to the usual 16 weeks, so they have to cram the extra hours in there. As far as the program itself, it is okay, some of the instructors are wonderful, and some are not so wonderful. Yes, there are high expectations of students, but I think that is a very good thing. I want to graduate from a school with a good reputation, I want to be held accountable for knowing what I should know and need to know to properly care for patients when I graduate. Many classes have a requirement that you get at least a 75% on the comprehensive final, meaning it doesn't matter if you have 90's all the way through the semester, if you flunk the final, you flunk the class and have to re-take. Stressful, yes, but only one person has failed out so far. Might be more after critical care this summer though!!