I want to say thank you to the people in the Arizona forums. I hope to move there in March. I have been researching all the schools for hours, and the info on this forum has been so valuable, because you can actually talk to people who have had expierence with each school.
About my topic, I have been reading allot of negative things about Apollo College, which I am like 90% sure that is were I will be going.
All the horror stories about accreditation and little old sally who spent 40,000 dollars on an education, and now her credits wont transfer and she has to start over bla,bla,bla.
I just got off the phone with a real nice admin counselor at Apollo. She has been there three years. She told me that they already have Matriculation agreements in place for several schools in Arizona that will accept Apollo credits toward a B.S.N.
You can also tranfer allot of prerequisites in to Apollo, and save allot on tuition. I will have six prerequisites that will transfer by the time I start in July. So, I will be done with R.N. in hand while you community collegers are still waiting to get in. Nothing wrong with that if you are 19 years old living with your Mom and don't have to wory about it, but for the rest of us in the real world with car payments, and rent or you are on the street: We need to get to work Now
i know what you mean and i appreciate your thoughts. i had my interview last week and it went extremely well, it also made me feel very comfortable with the program. i can't wait to begin this adventure; i know its going to be great.
since you are far along in the nursing program i value your experience and wanted to ask you one more thing. i just wanted to make sure that there is no waiting to start the nursing core classes once you finish the prerequisite semesters correct...you just carry on through? i'm almost positive i heard brook say that in the information session but i just want to be sure, i would hate to have to wait.
Once you're accepted to the program, unless you fail a class during the semester you will just advance along to the next block, along w/ all your fellow travelers. Failing a class puts you at the mercy of mgmt who have the power to "seat" you in the upcoming class, or not.
I was accepted into the program!!!!! One more question, were you required to take a CPR or Basic Life Skills class prior to entering the first nursing block? Did you have another orientation...or did you just carry on through.
Excellent! You don't need cpr and all that until you start the actual RN portion which is like 3rd semester, you need it for clinicals, they'll let you know in advance and maybe even have 1 class on campus to get certified.
Once you have completed or are near the end of the nursing program, does Apollo have recruiters that help you find a nursing job? I've heard that some hospitals aren't hiring new graduate nurses.
They do Passionionate but it is not difficult to find new grad jobs here in AZ despite the slow downs. However it is not hard to pick a preceptor position in whatever area you want during your last semester; OR, PACU, Home Health, OB, Med Surg, Tele, ER, ICU whatever...
My class is the largest class to go through the program, I think we have about 30 right now. I don't know anyone who did not get the assignment that they requested. This is important because 90% of the time, as long as you make a good impression and don't kill a patient you will be offered a job where you precept. I already know several people that have been offered a job including myself on two different units.
Let me rain on this sunny parade just a little- all hospitals have at least curtailed their new grad hires, I can't honestly say how MUCH they have but they certainly have, to say anything else in this miserable economy would wrong. It is expensive to bring a new grad up to "speed" so you can imagine that when possible, they will delay that. Elective surgeries are down, ins. companies have reeled in pymts and people, who are out of work, are just not paying hosp bills.
That said, RNs are still in demand so you will want to think "non traditional" if the country is not turned around when you graduate. The places that offer you jobs on the spot right now, you may not want to work for. If something sounds too good to be true, it is. So buyer beware.
seeing as how i don't begin the program until next month, i have a little over 2 years before i need to start searching for a job. hopefully by that time the economy will have turned around a little, but to be honest, after graduation (knowing that i'll need to be trained) as long as i am working as an rn regardless of the hospital or department...i will be satisfied.
passionate23
41 Posts
i know what you mean and i appreciate your thoughts. i had my interview last week and it went extremely well, it also made me feel very comfortable with the program. i can't wait to begin this adventure; i know its going to be great.
thanks