is anyone going to Medical Careers Institute in Richmond VA??

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Hi, I plan on starting school on May 4 to get my LPN at MCI in Richmond VA. I'm getting cold feet though because I don't want to make a mistake in the school that I choose. This one kind of fell into my lap so to speak. It was incredibly easy to get in and the time it takes to complete LPN is like 14 months. Now I'm feeling a little skeptical about it, I checked it out it is regionally accredited, 100% passed the Nclex (Spell??) but do employers look down upon the school? Did anyone who graduated here have a hard time finding a job in Richmond? I've called several hospitals and they all say that it doesn't matter where you went to school...but I've heard otherwise from a family member who actually did the hiring for Bon Secours and a Registered Nurse. I'm also concerned about going from LPN to RN, as long as I am a licensed practical nurse, does it matter what credits I have to transfer to a new school like VCU to get my RN and work as an LPN at the same time? Someone help please! The reason why I chose this school is because of the timeframe it takes to complete. I am a single parent of 2 little preschoolers and I want to be able to have a decent job while continuing my education. I would love to hear from anyone who knows anything about this school! :redbeathe:redbeathe:redbeathe:redbeathe

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

I don't know anything about it school. Never heard of it. But keep on posting and I'm sure somebody is attending or attended the school. Do you know if they have an lpn-rn program or rn program?

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I don't think VCU has an LPN-RN program. They start at BSN. I would call Susan Lipp (Admissions Director @ VCU SON) and ask her if this is your plan. She is straight forward in most things. IMHO (however ignorant it may be), with so many RN and BSN programs in the area, I wouldn't suspect that there is much of a demand for LPNs. I know that VCUHS is trying to make the transition to all BSN degreed nurses and you would be 2 steps behind on that. I know that your concern is the time factor, but if you have to put in double the time to get to an RN to secure a job, rather than LPN with a lot of worrying and then returning to get the RN...how does that factor in?

You said that other programs had fallen through. Have you applied to ALL the RN programs in Richmond? There are plenty. Yes, it will take a bit longer.

Better yet, if you have a bachelors in another field, VCU offers a second degree accelerated BSN that lasts 16 months or so.

Just my :twocents:.

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VCU doesn't but J Sarg does have a LPN to RN associates. J Sarg's program I believe is 3 years or two. Ive heard that ECPI is not the best way to go, I went through henrico county to get my LPN and it only cost like 3000.00.. HTH

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Could you tell me what school you ended up going to? I was at Henrico County for LPN and failed out my second semester and now I am looking into MCI.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Stay away from this school. Go directly for your RN. You will thank me later...

I attended the Manassas campus. Took me a year and a half, and I got my LPN license first time around taking the NCLEX. I feel the school did not prepare me enough for the real-world.

Horrible staff, horrible clinicals, and a waste of $24,000. I'm sure its alot more than that now, though... Probably 28k?

Either way, you don't even get an associates degree.

Go straight for your RN, trust me!

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^ What she said.

The school is all about marketing. The 'admissions' dept is actually sales and marketing. A friend works for a technical school not unlike ECPI and the admissions dept has to meet quotas of applicants every quarter (even going as far as to send out emails such as 'YAY WE ARE DOWN TO 16 APPLICANTS LEFT!!')

It is not a hard school to get into, quite frankly (as I've read on other posts here), because they don't turn people away. You want to go to their RN program? You take the entrance test (often times without warning, on a visit to campus), and if you don't score high enough (or, as I was told, are too young, at 2* years old, to be in the class, with women twice my age, come to find out that most all the RN students ARE my age), you are simply placed in the LPN or MA program and they try to push you to come back to complete their other degrees.

I had to give a book back for a certain class last term, so I couldn't even take it home to study at night, since the night class needed it. Books are supposed to be included in our tuition (yet tuition hasn't gone down, since books are no longer technically 'included') and they didn't have enough, so not only were we not allowed to make any marks in them, we only got to use them during the class period.

Boy if I had known back then what I know now...

Do yourself a favor. Go somewhere else.

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Don't do it! I went to the Richmond campus to inquire about the RN program. I only went to get information. I ended up having to stay for 5 hours!!! I took the TEAS test, passed with very high scores and DEREK ALTIZER told me that I still may not get in because I'm very young. Apparently, all of the people in the program are at least 28 and since I was only 18, my odds of getting in were decreased. But, I was guaranteed to get into the LPN program and after completing that I could go and get the RN from them. That all sounded like a bunch of crap, but I brushed it off. Then, the bombshell fell when I saw the price. When I asked why tuition was so high he looked at me like I was stupid and said, "well, you would have been paying way more than this if you had stayed at UVA." and I'm thinking, well duh, I would have been getting a BACHELORS degree. My story could go on & on, but I hope you get the picture. Overall, the home thing just seemed like a quick way for them to make money. Their admissions people graduated from schools with Sales degrees. They obviously had very limited knowledge in the field of nursing. Save your money and time and go to a school with real degrees. Community colleges are MUCH cheaper. Like 20,000 dollars cheaper.

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i did the same thing when i went into ECPI richmond. i was there for like 5 hours. i was NOT prepared for that.

but i knew when i went up there that i would be enrolling. no matter what. i have been chasing the dream of being a nurse for YEARS. right now, this is the best way to go for my family. i am stating RN school Aug 30th with the evening class. i am happy about it. i am also not stupid, i do realize that they are trying to "sell" the whole thing to me. but like it said, i was already planning to enroll.

i start the chem class tonight. and then after a brief break, i will start aug 30th with the nursing classes. :yeah:

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I have had a lot of friends attend and they love it. A quick program means in your career quicker.

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I attended MCI and I can tell you that the Instructors were great and the staff always took time to say hello and ask how I was doing. I notice a few complaints posted and can tell you that the majority of my classmates were very happy with their experience. Of course, like any class there are always a few that think their degree (and jobs) should just be handed to them on a silver platter. If you are not going to school to put in the work or if you expect some kind of hand-out then you should go somewhere else...

My classmates (the one's that actually care about their patients) realize that you will only get out of it what you put into it. Make sure that your reasons for a career in nursing our not selfish, make the sacrifice of time and effort, ask the questions and you will be successful.

MCI was worth every dollar and every minute I put into to it!

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i am liking the school so far. i have been going for about 4 weeks.

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