Are Career Schools Worth It?

[Idiosyncratic, BSN, RN]

In my local area, it's pretty competitive to get into the nursing program. Most of the programs start in the Fall(with the exception of one), and most of them are REALLY difficult to get into.

However, there's a career school that offers an associates of nursing, and their entrance is a lot different than the other schools in the area. Obviously, most colleges require pre requisites, a test, and some other things to be completed(CPR card, immunizations, etc). However, the career school(Carrington) only requires you to take an admissions exam, the Hesi(with just Reading, Vocab and Math), and that says whether or not you get into the program.

The disadvantage to this, is the price. They are about 3x as much as they local colleges are. However, they also have about 4 admission periods a year, and include ALL the coursework. They are also associated with the biggest hospital in my area, and have more clinical hours than any other program in the area.

I'm debating at this point. I already have the majority of my pre requisites done, but I've never been all that competitive academically. I'll be retaking a lot of pre and co requisites due to having B's instead of A's - which the A's will give me the maximum point levels.

Has anyone else experience a career school? I know there are many like Concorde, and some others. I don't know of many, sadly, but I know there are lots!

[RunBabyRN]

I wouldn't do it. There's a reason they don't have the same requirements. Find out the reputation among hospitals in your area- make a couple of calls to HR departments and ask. They probably don't have many staff members from there. Most of those schools are a rip off, some aren't accredited, they have poor pass rates, high drop out rates, put you into a ton of debt... The list goes on. I would apply to as many other schools as you can, and make sure they'll take your repeats- I know here, if you have repeats for grade improvement, they won't count the higher grade, and often frown on the repeats.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

I would not. Only certain campuses are accredited. That says a lot that only certain campuses are accredited. There NCLEX pass rates are not that good. Plus their credits will not transfer if you want to do a BSN down the road. Plus you are paying an awful lot of money that you can't do a whole lot with. I would avoid these for profit schools. They just want your money and don't care whether you succeed or not.

[Idiosyncratic, BSN, RN]

Well, they are accredited with the state board of nursing, as well as another agency(can't remember what it's called). I just have on last pre requisite to technically complete(AP 2) and won't be able to apply for local colleges until next Fall. I've not been able to find any real bad reviews on them - biggest complaint is expense.

It would just be nice not to have to sit back, and retake courses. Oh, and our retake policy at my local college is you can take your sciences 3 times, no matter the grade. Everything else, you can take as many as you'd like, up to 5 times I believe. That's what they told me, at least.

[RunBabyRN]

Well, they are accredited with the state board of nursing, as well as another agency(can't remember what it's called). I just have on last pre requisite to technically complete(AP 2) and won't be able to apply for local colleges until next Fall. I've not been able to find any real bad reviews on them - biggest complaint is expense.

It would just be nice not to have to sit back, and retake courses. Oh, and our retake policy at my local college is you can take your sciences 3 times, no matter the grade. Everything else, you can take as many as you'd like, up to 5 times I believe. That's what they told me, at least.

Did the nursing department tell you that, or the school? The nursing department can have different policies than the school.

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

If you have to re-take pre-reqs due to grades, what makes you think you're going to jump into a nursing program and do well? There's a good reason why you need high grades in those courses. It's the foundation for what you're about to learn in nursing school.

Faster does not always equal better. If employers aren't going to touch you because of the reputation of your school, what have you accomplished? A lot of these for-profit schools are notorious for withholding your degree or make you keep spending more money on additional "modules" before they'll tell the BON you're eligible to sit for the NCLEX.

Don't be swayed by the lure of "have it all now". If it's too good to be true, it usually is. Plus you'll be in debt up to your eyeballs when you're done.

[Idiosyncratic, BSN, RN]

Did the nursing department tell you that, or the school? The nursing department can have different policies than the school.

It's on the state board of nursing website's list of approved schools. However, they have issues with the general education classes being approved, so its a no-go.

[Idiosyncratic, BSN, RN]

If you have to re-take pre-reqs due to grades, what makes you think you're going to jump into a nursing program and do well? There's a good reason why you need high grades in those courses. It's the foundation for what you're about to learn in nursing school.

Faster does not always equal better. If employers aren't going to touch you because of the reputation of your school, what have you accomplished? A lot of these for-profit schools are notorious for withholding your degree or make you keep spending more money on additional "modules" before they'll tell the BON you're eligible to sit for the NCLEX.

Don't be swayed by the lure of "have it all now". If it's too good to be true, it usually is. Plus you'll be in debt up to your eyeballs when you're done.

It's not that my grades are bad, by any means. I just have B's instead of A's. I have a few A's, just not enough of them.

Thanks for the thought, though.