Anyone heard of College Network LVN to BSN

Nursing Students Online Learning

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Hello all, I was told about a program through college network. Basically they have a LVN to BSN bridge program thru Indiana state univ. I was told even though its online, you earn you degree and they told me they are accreditted by the board however, they were not on the boards website. If anyone has heard of this program or currently taking courses I would really appreciate more info about how program works.

I work with a lot of LVNs who also bought into this program and many want to shoot themselves in the foot including myself. I get a stomach ache when I look at the books sitting in my closet. 1) you will have to spend a non refundable about 5-7 thousand and continue to make monthly payments until paid off----they make financing VERY easy. 2) Everything is distanced and YOU have to pave your own way for everything including sigining yourself up and paying extra to take the tests. My advise is this if you have them come to your house to give you more info- have someone with you as support to help you NOT sign up at that visit but wait until you've checked all your options other than them. The sales pitch is very enticing. Remember how we all passed the program in a group with due dates set out for us the support of doing it together with an end date in sight if we just did what our instructors told us to do. This is not the same and I feel that I am " handicaped" for this type of study as are most nurses. Most people do not continue after signing up ( contract) - they find another route fully online or in a classroom and still have to pay for that. I am looking for a program where there is a place people go to and learn together, test together with the end date in sight. If I just do what they want me to do I will get there someday and with the fact there are people I know who have actually succeded that way and are working in the hospitals. Please look into everything before buying into this. There are other ways.

What do you suggest for a LVN-BSN program, I keep reading mixed reviews.

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I really have to second the opinions of this post. I have a co-worker who has been enrolled in their LVN-BSN program for 5 years!! She works 2 fulltime lvn jobs just to keep up with the loans and there is no end in sight for her degree. She has zero time to pursue the clinical portion, as she is working so hard just to make the payments and to work on the online portion. I know its easy to get sucked into the car salesman like pitch of the college network people, but this program is really for people who are entirely self-motivated and self-taught. Run for the hills...:nono:There are so many better options out there.

What in your opinion is the best?

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Excelsior College RN program is the most widely known distance nursing program in the US. It can be accomplished without the additional cost of purchasing study guides from publishing companies. If you want study guides, such as those from The College Network, buy them used on ebay for $15 to $30 apiece and save yourself a lot of heartache and money.

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Excelsior College RN program is the most widely known distance nursing program in the US. It can be accomplished without the additional cost of purchasing study guides from publishing companies. If you want study guides, such as those from The College Network, buy them used on ebay for $15 to $30 apiece and save yourself a lot of heartache and money.

How much is the program though? And how do the clinicals work? THey want me to pay the $75 for application and I wanna make sure its something I can do before I throw that money away.... Thanks so much

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All the info you need is on their website. http://www.excelsior.edu There is a page that lists all of the current costs, but you have to do some searching because the present website is difficult to navigate. They increase the fees every July or August. Do not have the current fees since a rate hike just took place. Enrollment fee, graduation fee, CPNE fee (currently $2025 or $2050), yearly administrative fee (about $450) if you do not complete in your first year, exam fees, costs of individual courses taken elsewhere or CLEP/DANTES exams. It adds up but is still the most reasonable program, costwise, out there. Will set you back in the vicinity of $9,000 to $10,000 total, depending on how long it takes you and how you choose to gather your credits.

The clinical consists of a weekend (Friday evening, Saturday, Sunday) examination. You do four lab stations of predetermined nursing skills, such as IV push drug administration and three successful (out of possible 5 tries) patient care scenarios with real patients at a hospital testing site. Two adult and one peds patient must be passed (may get an adult substitute if no peds patients are available). You will have travel and hotel expenses for the weekend as well as the cost of the test. You can take the CPNE up to a total of three times. If you fail the third try, you are dismissed from the program and cannot reenter for five years. Most people have trouble with the CPNE because they cannot control their nervousness, not because they don't know what to do. Do some looking in the distance learning forum and you will find lots of references to Excelsior that will give you an idea of people's experiences with the program.

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Specializes in HH, Med/Surg, SCI Rehab.
What in your opinion is the best?

You should first check with the board in your state to see what schools are approved. Some states do not allow Excelsior because there is no clinical portion. I would not recommend TCN. However, I would recommend ISU. I am in my final year (took 3 years total) of the LVN to BSN program and my only complaint is finding a clinical site. I am in CA and it is difficult to find a clinical site because there are so many community colleges, vocational schools, and universities with nursing programs. Many facilities do not like the idea of one of their employees responsible for a nursing student with no instructor. I have been lucky and not had too many issues finding either a clinical site or preceptor. The program is difficult because you MUST be disciplined to study and complete your work! ISU may be more expensive, but you will have a BSN, not just RN.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetery, gerentology.
Stay away, their finance company destroyed my credit!!!!!!!!

Did you pay for it? I went with them and paid my bill in full and it did not ruin my credit.

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