Apollo College?

An Apollo College opened up in my area recently, and it sounded really appealing. I thought it would be great to be able to skip the wait get in and be done my ADN in 18 months right? But I scoped out the facility and was really disappointed that they were located in a business plaza type office space and although I didn't go in, I kinda questioned how the classes would be in that sort of space. Then I mentioned it to other people and they warned me about the accreditation. (They are not accredited by the BoN here) Sure I would be done in a short time, with a shorter wait, but I don't just want to be an RN, I personally want to continue and eventually get my Masters and transferring the courses and credits wouldn't work from that school to the local universities around here. Although we are in a huge nursing shortage, those who go to Apollo, graduate with an RN, pass NCLEX are actual nurses and will probably have no problem finding work. It's probably only more questionable if you want to pursue a higher degree. Also, a lady in HR at a hospital that I know said that they personally will choose a college/university graduate over a school like Apollo should they have 2 candidates that they have to choose over. Hope that helps. I don't know which Apollo College you are talking about but honestly, when you go in for orientation, use your judgment and go with your gut. If you think the shoe fits, wear it! Good luck!

The mother of one of my A&P lab partners is an instructor at an Apollo College. I'll ask her for some specifics, if you like.

What questions might you have?? I'll do my best to get them answered for you :)

Angelica

Thanks for the replies! I appreciate it so much. I will really check out the place when I go in for the orientation and ask about being accredited and whether or not I can transfer my credits in the future. I also would like to pursue higher education at some point.

Angelica thanks so much for doing that for me. My questions would be about the acceleration part...how much more accelerated. The cost of it and also if for any reason I had to drop out (if life happens) would I still owe the whole amount of the loans? And just overall how good is the program. Thank you so much!!!

Skipping the wait is very tempting. I need to be able to go to school now that my circumstances are right. Maybe 2yrs from now I won't be able to. KWIM?

Thanks alot,

Jessica

I am currently in the Apollo Nursing program and I enjoy it. The teachers are great and vey helpful. The Apollo I currently go to just recently opened the nursing program here and has had a good NCLEX pass rate. There are also hospitals here that are contracted with Apollo in a way that will hire you once you graduate and they are paying for my tuition. I plan on going on and getting my BSN and my Masters and have no worries about the accrediation. I will be able to attend University of Phoenix for their BSN program or even transfer to a state University as a diploma nurse to get my BSN. If you chose Apollo you will most likely be able to go to a UoP campus for your BSN. You can even all to ask. Good luck.

Jess, did you end up going?

Also, Unravel:

How is UoP viewed as a nursing university? I know on the business end (buddy of mine works there and has an MBA from there), they are the "red headed stepchild" and often folks with degrees from there are chosen secondary to someone with a "real university" degree - do you find this to be the case at all through your research?

Apollo may be one of the few options I have with my work schedule and it worries me that down the road when applying for CRNA school or something further, that it might come around to bite me in the rear

I'd definitely love to hear more - when they re-open next week I'm going to head down for a walkthrough and info seminar to find out a little more as well. I'll also talk to my UoP buddy to see if he knows anything about the program there since he works in the finance section.

i am graduating from apollo's nursing program in NM next week. they have in the last stages of getting approved for BSN, and Masters programs. I was in class when the accrediting council was touring the facility and it seemed as though they were extremely impressed. UNM has stated that they will accept Apollo transcripts for the rn - bsn program, although i don't believe this is in writing.

While the financial aid dept has failed to meet the lowest standards, the education there can't be beat.

I would suggest that you NOT enroll at Apollo RN in Albuquerque. The program is very disorganized and as students we do not get the education that we are paying for. The faculty turn-over is very high. The director is very difficult to communicate with. This should actually be an online program because we have to teach ourselves most of the information. It seems like the program is set up to make it as difficult as possible for students to learn. We have to overcome huge obstacles just to learn anything. There is not enough space for the program we are in, so we have to cram into the nursing lab and usually not everyone gets a chance to practice the skill we are supposed to be learning. For the money we are paying, almost everything about the program is subpar. Also, CNM and UNM have recently told us that they will NOT accept our accreditation. If we want to go to either of those schools to continue our education, we will have to start from the beginning.

I have been going to CNM for my nursing degree and some time ago I decided to try out Apollo. After a semester and a half I sucked up my losses and went back to CNM. I was not happy with the teachers there, one of them just hired a day before the semester started! With the high tuition I thought it was sad that we were using the medical assistants classroom and when they got a new room they stripped the room of their stuff including the clock! So we sat in a bare room! Anyways they said they were accredited and that the University would take their credits, which was never the case. The A&P classes are 4 theory/lecture credits and no lab, at least here it is, so I don't see how that would even transfer over. I guess it just wasn't for me, I'm happy I went back to CNM!

As a long time nursing educator and nursing department chairperson, let me encourage you NOT to attend a non-accredited program, despite how attractive it may seem. The increasing number of unaccredited and unregulated schools have resulted in state boards of nursing moving in the direction of requiring graduation from an accredited program for licensure. WHile you may be able to be licensed in your state, if you move to another state ou may not be able to be licensed there by endorsement. In addition, while UoP may accept such a degree, many other colleges and universities will not and I expect this number to grow.

I just graduated from Albuq Apollo and passed my NCLEX (today). :yeah:I can tell you that the teachers (for the most part) are the same teachers from other area colleges, they are mostly pretty good. The DON:argue: is ex-military which makes things suck! She is happy 1 second and yelling the next, which means that it is an unstable environment, very unorganized, alot of faculty turn over, and a very hostile learning environmnet. I wouldn't reccommend it and am thrilled to be done with it.

As far as education, you have to be self motivated cuz you'll find yourself teaching yourself alot!

I am attending Portland Community College to get my pre requisites out of the way. Now that there is an economic crisis, even more people are going back to school and applying for the nursing program. I feel as though I will never get in with all of the competition and wait listed students.

I really would like to get in somewhere and be done with school with a certification. Apollo is somewhere I definitely would consider, however, I am wondering: I read somewhere that the nursing program there is very new still and not a student who passed the program is employed yet?? Is this true? This is the Apollo College in Portland.

That is not true, we are very well sought after. The hospitals actually prefer Apollo students over area college students and everyone is employed. Apollo pass rate is 90% and they ARE accredited. I can continue with my Bachelors anywhere. My daughter may go to the one in Portland when we move to OR (as soon as my house sells).

I just disagreed with how unorganized and hostile our school was, doesn't mean OR school is the same, they were recently bought out by DeVry Institute. You should check into the program cuz the 2yr program includes your pre-reqs. Good luck