Barnes Jewish college question

saymo82 · Mar 31, 2009

They have their pre-reqs listed on their website. For the accelerated program you have to have a bachelor's degree.

They offer a BSN upper division program also, and I don't think you have to have a bachelor's for that, but I am not sure.

tcameron921 · Mar 31, 2009

Marie:

They also have a BS completion program that you could apply for, I think. Check out the website. It's pretty comprehensive.

Good luck!

Tracy

jsjr1029 · Nov 26, 2009

I attended BJCON and it was the worst learning experience I ever had. They only focus on test taking not the actual role of the nurse. The professors are not helpful in any way. The adminsistration only focuses on generating money to pay for the new building not on the real focus of educating students on how to become a nurse. They have the minimum on clinical hours which is the most important aspect of nursing school.

shenderson314 · Dec 22, 2009

I actually just graduated from GSON BJCON and had a pretty good experience. I'm sorry to here that some people say it's the worst ever. It doesn't matter what nursing school you go to, there's always something wrong. It can feel like the school is a business but colleges are a business. There are some great teachers and there are some bad teachers because they do not know how to balance teaching classes and working on their disertations because they require all teachers to continue their education. We do a lot of clinicals and all my clinical instructors have been great. We have a great NCLEX passing rate right now and students from other schools such as UMSL are transferring since we seem to have a good reputation.

CAguyinMO · Dec 24, 2009

There are three outstanding nursing schools in St. Louis, if you're wanting to earn a BSN (as opposed to a two-year degree). Goldfarb/Barnes is very good. I have a friend who's in their accelerated program there now, and he is very happy. SLU is fantastic as well, as is UMSL, which I attend. UMSL, in fact, has the highest NCLEX pass rate of the three (our most recent class, which graduated in August, had a 100% pass rate). And we have students from Barnes transferring to us because of our reputation. You can't go wrong with any of the three.

cedarjen · Jan 3, 2010

My cousin went to SLU for her BSN and I have been looking at UMSL and GSON. I am leaning toward GSON because there are fewer pre reqs. I like the fact that I am not required to take Economics or any of the "cornerstone/capstone" courses required by UMSL!

I hope I can get loans and scholarhships to cover all the tuition and fees though!! Whew- it is a hefty price tag!!

RN9742 · Jan 27, 2010

I had filled out the form on the Goldfarb website for more information, it asked that I also let them know what school I was currently attending. They emailed me back the next business day, and attatched a list of classes that I need from my current school specifically! It was very helpful! I have sent off my application and am hoping to get in for Spring 2011.

For those who attended GSON how long did it take for you to hear about acceptance/denial?

saymo82 · Feb 3, 2010

Once I completed my application and sent it in I think it took about 2 weeks to get my acceptance. I had all but 3 of my pre-reqs completed at the time, but I know some people who got their acceptance with less classes completed than I had. In hindsight I wish I had applied a bit earlier because I was accepted for a semester later than I had anticipated starting and therefore when I was done with my pre-reqs had an entire semester's worth of time with no job and no classes to take!

Also I don't care what they say at GSON, try and get a tech job! I know a lot of people who already have jobs lined up just because they were a tech, and we don't graduate until May. A couple of people had accepted RN jobs in November and it was only because they were already a tech! Biggest mistake I made was worrying more about grades than experience, and now wish that I had gotten a tech job instead of focusing on getting all A's, I think it would have been time better spent so that I could be guaranteed a job upon graduation.

RN9742 · Feb 5, 2010

I would not mind having a tech job ahead of time, but just do not see that happening. I have 4 kids, married, and school is difficult enough without throwing a job in there. I have no idea when I would even have time to work!

saymo82 · Feb 5, 2010

With 4 kids I would definitely not recommend trying to work and do this program....

Are you going for the accelerated program or the upper division program? If you're doing accelerated I will warn you now that it is just about as intense as they say it is. Every semester you get busier than the last, plan on not spending much time with your husband and kids... I know a few people who's spouses get pretty upset because they spend so much time at school and often on the weekends need to get out of the house in order to be productive at studying. It's definitely time consuming. If you think you'll need to spend more time at home because of your kids I might recommend the upper division program because it's not as intense, the downside is, is that it takes longer to complete. However there are always people who fail the core classes in the accelerated program and must repeat them before moving on to ANY of the other classes, so if you feel like you're not going to be able to commit the time that is necessary for an accelerated class then don't attempt it. You end up spending thousands of dollars to retake it and push your graduation date back anyway because once you fail a class there is no way that you can graduate with the rest of your cohort, you're automatically pushed back to the next one (assuming they have a spot for you in the class you need to retake). This is part of what is so scary about this program, and a legitimate reason for having to dedicate so much time to it.

I really can't speak for the upper division program since I am not in it and don't really know any of the people that are, but I know they don't go to class as much as we do during the week, so it's more spread out. I know that there are some people in our class that wish they had done the upper division instead of accelerated because of time issues and because your core nursing classes are really difficult and they would have preferred less pressure while taking them. If you're deciding between the two I would strongly recommend talking with the staff there and being honest about what you can and can't sacrifice with your life right now. It would suck to work so hard only to be left behind at the end of the semester and then have to dish out more money for the same damn class!

Good luck though! I am done in May, and cannot wait. It's been a tough year, but it has flown by and I have made some great friends who are suffering right along with me. Overall I have no regrets!

RN9742 · Feb 6, 2010

I am applying for Upper Division, I was looking at going into an associates program at the local cc, but can not get into there until the same semester I could get into GSON... It was an easy decision to go for the BSN over the ADN! If I do not get into GSON I will most likely start Chamberlain in the fall!