Anyone know about Deconess?

Similar, but you don't have to be a paramedic, LPN/LVN, or RT for admission to the program, so the clinical requirements are much different. Check out their website at www.deaconess.edu .

Deaconess is nothing like Excelsior.

Excelsior is totally self-study, whereas Deaconess is not. You go by the school's calendar, log-on to chats with your instructors and classmates once a week for each course, follow a syllabus for each course (online tests, readings, papers, etc). In addition, you have to set up clinicals in your area. Each course has a certain number of hours you need to complete. And finally, you have to go up to St Louis to the school 5x for the ASN program, (LPN-RN program is a few less), for check-offs and clinicals.

I graduated from there a year ago and wouldn't have done it any other way!

Didn't intend to mislead anyone. The similarities I was referring to:

- Deaconess and EC are both large nursing programs in which the student base is spread out over a large geographic area.

- Both programs offer the ASN and BSN.

- Both schools have programs that rely heavily on distance education, technology and alternate sources of credit.

As I mentioned, there are some significant differences as well. I think its worth pointing out, however, that Excelsior College is not entirely self-study. Although many students can complete the ASN almost entirely by self-study, EC does offer instructor-guided WebCT classes, especially at the upper-division and graduate levels.

i think deaconess and excelsior are both great ways to go. it just depends on your strengths and weaknesses. i thrive on independent study, the more independent, the better.

if i were to do it again, i'd do excelsior again, but that's just me. if you're not a medic or lpn, deaconess may be the choice for you. i got my paramedic license specifically to do excelsior.