Anyone in CA about to start LVN Program?

I start school at Baldy View ROP in Ontario on August 29th:) I chose this program because the cost is very low (2,500 for everything) and it does not require prerequisites. I also checked into North-West College in Riverside but it was VERY expensive. You can check the Regional Occupation Programs in your area and also some Adult schools also offer the LVN program. Good Luck! :)

Hi there,

I am new to this board. I recently decided to do the LVN program. To get some experience I just took a p/t back office job at a doctors office. I have been researching so many schools and would love information on where you are going to take your classes and why you made that choice etc?

I am overwhelmed with all the different schools and the differences in tuition etc. If you can give me any input, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank so much!!!

Hi there,

I am new to this board. I recently decided to do the LVN program. To get some experience I just took a p/t back office job at a doctors office. I have been researching so many schools and would love information on where you are going to take your classes and why you made that choice etc?

I am overwhelmed with all the different schools and the differences in tuition etc. If you can give me any input, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank so much!!!

Gurnick Academy if you are in Northern Cal!

I just finished an LVN program at Concorde Career Institute in Garden Grove. It's a bit on the expensive side (22K, OUCH!), but luckily I was able to get a good chunk of it in grants and school loans. I did the weekend program, which is clinicals Sat and Sun, usually 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and theory on Monday nights from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. This allowed me to be able to work Tues-Fri, which I needed to do pay my bills. And the program only took me 18 months to finish. Granted, it is a certificate program, but IMO it was worth it to be able to get the training and education needed to sit for the NCLEX. The degrees can come a little bit later for me. The instructors (both theory and clinical) there are some of the most wonderful teachers that I have ever had. Go check them out! :)

I am an LVN student at Antelope Valley Medical College in Lancaster, California (High Desert). I am 47 years old and paid $18,600 for my program, but was able to get a $2500 scholarship and California Training Benefits (unemployment). We only have 11 students in our class (started with 15) and it is great. Only four months to graduation. I am working on my pre- reqs for the RN program at our local community college as I want to get into the second year (bridge program) and graduate with my daughter who starts RN program this August. Class size is important and instructors also. I have about six different instructors and they are all good. Also watch out for how far away your clinical sites are. Mine are all in our town. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good Luck.

Hi there,

I am new to this board. I recently decided to do the LVN program. To get some experience I just took a p/t back office job at a doctors office. I have been researching so many schools and would love information on where you are going to take your classes and why you made that choice etc?

I am overwhelmed with all the different schools and the differences in tuition etc. If you can give me any input, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank so much!!!

I went to Pacific College in costa mesa, ca. I took the part time class tuesdays and thursdays nights and weekends. It was tough because I was also working almost full time but I really enjoyed the school. Tuition was expansive though, I paid $18,000 last year. I guess it was worth it.

I graduated in may.

anyone out there who attended visalia adult school or clovis adult school?, any info on these schools would be very helpful, seriously considering one of them.

did you ever find out about clovis adult school? im looking for any info.

Thanks

My road to obtaining my LVN has been a long one.

I started off at Concorde Career College in Garden Grove, CA full time Monday to Friday: They have good teachers and the biggest clinical room I've ever seen. I didn't make the 80% grade for my first term. That had nothing to do with the school, though. I was young and didn't have my priorities straight.

I continued to attend Pacific College in Costa Mesa, CA full time Monday to Friday: For what I had to pay up front (I tried to lower the overall balance on a student loan I would get) it's not worth it. The teacher I had didn't seem to know much about the "nursing world today" because she hadn't been an RN in years. They do however start classes quite often so I suppose if I had to do my LVN course all over and didn't want to wait, go here. I however was involved in a car accident nearby school and was forced to leave campus for fear of liability issues on part of the school should I have endured an accident I didn't feel pain from yet. I then had a severe case of appendicitis and put it off for so long because I was focused on not missing anymore days that I had to have an emergency surgery (within the hour of being in the emergency room). So I missed the maximum amount of days.

Finally I decided to try again and ended up at North-West College in Riverside, CA. First of all very informed teachers! The ladies in my class (no men at all in ours) were much older than I and yet managed to re-enact high school with their immature antics. Never the less I was able to maintain near perfect scores (learning so much more than what the textbooks say) and made great contacts during my clinical rotations. I knew nursing school at the private institutions were getting more expensive by the year but WOW! To tell you the truth I think it's worth it.

I passed my NCLEX-VN this May 2008 and am so excited to actually pass my pre-req classes this Fall 2008, haha.

Hi Everyone,

I need to add a comment about Pacific College in Costa Mesa. I nothing bad to say about the school. In fact, I transferred there from another school and I did VERY well.

The teachers were well informed and the students all got along and helped each other.

I've seen some negative comments here, but I NEVER experienced any of those issues. It's not an easy college, but many people over the years have passed their state boards because of it.

I am going to attend American Career College in Los Angeles. I start in October. I was going to start June 26 but couldnt because I had no childcare. Now that I do I cant wait to start!

:)Hi,

I have had two relatives go to American Career and they both like it.

One is almost a graduate. Good luck to you!

I think that something to consider is the schools passing rates which you can find on the Calif State board for LVNs. If the passing rates are low, you can bet that school is having problems. I'd think twice about dropping $18,000 (seems to be the average tuition for those schools) on a school with a low NCLEX pass rate. I'm not targeting any school in particular on this site, just food for thought.