Any College of DuPage COD Nursing Students with a bachelor outside nursing?

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First off, thanks for taking the time to read on :) I currently have a BBA-Management and would like to pursue studies and a career in nursing. WHile there are many options, the MS and accel. BSN programs are very competitve and I would need 7 +/- pre-req's (paid out-of-pocket.. and possibly out of district $$) and no guarantee of acceptance. Further, if you have attended COD you know how difficult these are to get! Bonus too that COD is significantly less than the private colleges BSN programs-- and pay seems nearly same with RN designation. That being said, I am seriously looking at the ADN Program at COD. After just 2 pre-req's (chem and a&p I) I could get a conditional acceptance before taking the a&pII, cna, etc. From what I see, I have nearly all the gen ed req's too... Has anyone gone this route?

Secondly, if you have went this route... have you been able to get federal student loans for an ADN program after already having a BBA?

Finally, in the admissions process- do they weigh your entire GPA (mine is 3.38) or add the additional combination of pre-req's (not that it would make much difference as I already have 124 credits) or look heavily at scores in the pre-req courses.

Is there any weight in the application for already having completed a degree, work experience, etc.?

Thanks for any info you might have!!!

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you might have already got an answer on this but you can apply with the chem and a & p 1 but they look at a lot of stuff for you to get in and turn away 300 students who are qualified each year. The more prereqs the better, GPA-they only look at the prereqs which is good because they say they take 2.75 GPA but they don't really. They take the best 117 which are all 3.75 GPA and higher. But if you apply and don't get in you might get on a waiting list for students that were accepted and decided to go somewhere else. Also if you don't get in, you can apply the following year and get an extra point. I guess they thing you are really serious. Also, like me, you have another bachelors degree and you get an extra point for that. I am applying this January but don't have my prereqs done so I doubt I will get in but I will have them all done before next January and I want that extra point for applying this year. I was accepted at Chamberlain College of Nursing without the prereqs but they picked apart my BA and I would have had to take an extra 20K, no thanks. COD has a deal now with NIU and Illinois Benedictine where you can get your BSN after you get the ADN. Lots cheaper. Now COD has raised it's tuition for only nursing classes, prereqs same price. I figure if I am done and haven't been accepted right away I will just be a CNA since we have to be certified for that. I'm not in a hurry, but like the fact that it is close to home since I am married and it's cheap with the horrible economy.

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Thanks, I actually met with COD and was very impressed with thier program in comparison to Chamberline, Western Suburban, etc., very $$! 300 Students! WOW, I had no idea there were so many applying! I am to, going to apply w/o having completing Microbiology and Nutrition (as other schools don't req nutrition). Currently, I enrolled in my A & P and Chem courses online out of state and that is working out well.

I think if we stay in IL, I will reapply again if I do not get in 2010. But we are considering relocating and have started to look at schools in other states too-

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With only 2 classes not completed you have a better chance than me. i have quite a few more like the CNA thing. But I think the 300 they said at the meeting they turn away might not be the best candidates. They didn't say that but the people at the advising session didn't seem to savvy. Not to be mean at all but they were asking questions that were in the packet. I think you might have taken the 10 minutes to read it!!!

Well good luck with what ever you do. I saw West Suburban too. Impressed but heard some other stuff here about teacher turn over rate. Plus $690.00 per credit hour. UGH. It's not too close to me either so I wasn't into getting my ADN first but with the price hike at COD it is still only $225 per hour. The others don't get close. It might take me longer but heck I'm not in a race.

Good Luck!!

Lisa

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you might have already got an answer on this but you can apply with the chem and a & p 1 but they look at a lot of stuff for you to get in and turn away 300 students who are qualified each year. The more prereqs the better, GPA-they only look at the prereqs which is good because they say they take 2.75 GPA but they don't really. They take the best 117 which are all 3.75 GPA and higher. But if you apply and don't get in you might get on a waiting list for students that were accepted and decided to go somewhere else. Also if you don't get in, you can apply the following year and get an extra point. I guess they thing you are really serious. Also, like me, you have another bachelors degree and you get an extra point for that. I am applying this January but don't have my prereqs done so I doubt I will get in but I will have them all done before next January and I want that extra point for applying this year. I was accepted at Chamberlain College of Nursing without the prereqs but they picked apart my BA and I would have had to take an extra 20K, no thanks. COD has a deal now with NIU and Illinois Benedictine where you can get your BSN after you get the ADN. Lots cheaper. Now COD has raised it's tuition for only nursing classes, prereqs same price. I figure if I am done and haven't been accepted right away I will just be a CNA since we have to be certified for that. I'm not in a hurry, but like the fact that it is close to home since I am married and it's cheap with the horrible economy.

Pre-reqs = chem & A&P? Or does COD also consider the gen ed classes when determining GPA for rankings?

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yes you need chemistry and the first A&P to apply but then they look at all who apply and see how many of the prereqs are completed and with what grades and then it is on a "point" system. You should go to an advising session because they have a new director who is making some changes so what I have said could have already changed.

Good luck.

Lisa

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Specializes in Med/Onc, Infusion, Telemetry.

If you have a bachelors already, why not look into Illinois State's ABSN program. Sure you have to move a couple hours south and west of chicago, but you finish your BSN in 15 months and it won't cost that much more than CoD. Unlike some ABSN programs, ISU charges by the credit hour, and the tution comes to $22k total. I have a friend in CoDs program currently, and it didn't seem like the pre-reqs he was required to take were very different from an ABSN program. With the CNA requirement, you almost need more classes for CoD.

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yes you need chemistry and the first A&P to apply but then they look at all who apply and see how many of the prereqs are completed and with what grades and then it is on a "point" system. You should go to an advising session because they have a new director who is making some changes so what I have said could have already changed.

Good luck.

Lisa

Thanks Lisa. I thought the only 2 pre-reqs were chem (either contemporary or general) and A&P I. All of the other non-nursing courses (A&P II, microbiology, nutrition, speech, writing, lifespan psychology, math, etc.) I thought were general education classes.

An advising session would probably be very helpful indeed :)

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Thanks Lisa. I thought the only 2 pre-reqs were chem (either contemporary or general) and A&P I. All of the other non-nursing courses (A&P II, microbiology, nutrition, speech, writing, lifespan psychology, math, etc.) I thought were general education classes.

An advising session would probably be very helpful indeed :)

Well some of them happen to be gen eds like English and speech but the A&P 2 and nutrition and micro, psych, are more for the nursing program. On the COD ADN program admissions worksheet it states to start working on those classes. It really says you can pay to apply with the one chem and one A&P done but I think they should change that since you can't get in the program with it. You need a lot of the others. I think it also depends on how many they get to apply. I know you want to get as many done as possible and work with someone there to get a schedule to get done as many as possible before you apply. There is a guy, Jim Ryan, who works in health sciences as an adviser for all health sciences and he can help you pick out what to take and when to take them. He's a big help.

Good luck!!!

Lisa

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If you have a bachelors already, why not look into Illinois State's ABSN program. Sure you have to move a couple hours south and west of chicago, but you finish your BSN in 15 months and it won't cost that much more than CoD. Unlike some ABSN programs, ISU charges by the credit hour, and the tution comes to $22k total. I have a friend in CoDs program currently, and it didn't seem like the pre-reqs he was required to take were very different from an ABSN program. With the CNA requirement, you almost need more classes for CoD.

Yeah, that might be a good idea except it would be a long commute to downtown Chicago for my husband if we were to move a couple hours away. I also have most of the prereqs done and want to SKIP getting a BSN since I have a BA. You can skip it and get into an MSN program. So I wouldn't have to pay all that or move to central Illinois. It might work for someone who wants to move away. You can finish your BSN in 15 months with a BA in Chicago too if you have a bachelors. I just didn't know that you didn't have to get another bachelors if you have one in something else. Moving on to a master's program is what I want to do anyway so that's where I am headed. Thanks. Hope this works for someone who wants to get another bachelors.

Lisa

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Has anyone here had their transcripts from COD evaluated by someone at Chamberlain? I wanted to know what classes they said would not be transferrable.

Thanks:)

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Has anyone here had their transcripts from COD evaluated by someone at Chamberlain? I wanted to know what classes they said would not be transferrable.

Thanks:)

yes I have. They have accepted my A&P 1 and 2. You need to have both because they put them as one class in Chamberlain. Also they will take my chem 1105, contemporary chem but only if I have the microbiology with it. They put those together as one class too. BUT the best part of that is that you can get accepted and take the micro at night at COD and they will take it. They took everything from COD I took but had a hard time with my math from SIU. I went there a long time ago and it looks like I can try to "test out" of the math but I haven't had it in so long I might have to take it again. It's probably a good thing. Before I took any of this science and nutrition and developmental psych I got in Chamberlain. I turned it down because they really wouldn't take much from SIU so I needed to spend another year at COD. I am finishing that up and I am going to take the HESI A2 again for October. I will still be in the end of Micro but they are okay with that. I will have most of the Gen Eds and all of the nursing to go. It cuts out almost one year. I got a 92% on the HESI with no math or science. Now I have the science and the math is doable. I have to take the HESI again but it should be easier since I took the science classes. It isn't as hard as the PAX test at COD AT ALL. I got on the Group A waiting list at COD but decided against it. After seeing Chamberlain, there is just no way to describe how COD doesn't have their stuff together. They are NOT accredited. They will tell you that they WILL BE accredited but they ARE NOT and HAVE NOT been for 5 years. People who work at hospitals and want to get the hospital to pay for college are not paying for COD because it is just not accredited. They used to be. But they cannot promise they will be. I can't take that chance. Chamberlain is much more expensive but I am finding that you get what you pay for. If you have any other questions, let me know. Good luck!!!

Lisa

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