Applying for NCLEX with 1 DUI conviction

clckwrkorange · Jun 13, 2015

Hello everyone,

I have a DUI conviction from March 2014- plead guilty with 0.9 BAC, no prior criminal conviction at all.

Applying for NCLEX RN: March 2016

I am from California but I am looking to apply and live in another state. I am looking at Virgin Island to apply for my boards and was wondering if anyone out there has gone through the process. When i contacted them, i was told it could take up to 90 days to be able to sit for NCLEX, but that it will most likely be less than 90 days. Any one else heard this?

Also wanted to know if taking the NCLEX is easier in the northeast region:

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. I hear the process can take only up to 8 weeks, can anyone vouch for that?

(honestly, i have read too many horror stories about CA BON, i do not have any financial support system so i would need my license pretty soon and i am not sure if taking a risk with CA is the way to go. Although i am currently licensed as a Psychiatric Technician in CA so i wouldn't mind being employed as an LPT until i find an RN job).

So once again, here are my questions:

1) has anyone applied through Virgin Island? IF so, would you recommend it? How long is the process if you have a misdemeanor?

2) Is it easier to apply through northeast regions?

3) do you recommend any other state i should consider applying through?

4)...and when is it a good time to return to CA :-( ? It would be two years since my conviction in 2016. If i am a working RN in another state, can i return in about a year to CA? (my case would also be expunged by then)

5) is an attorney really worth it? Or can i just submit my paperwork from courts, letters of recommendations, get a psych evaluation, etc?

I know i screwed up so i am willing to face all the consequences, but it would be a dream to live in CA again.

Thanks