Best ADN/BSN program in SFBay? ok to base on NCLEX pass rate?

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Hi,

I have a BA from UCBerkeley and have take most all my pre-requisite classes to apply for a nursing program. I'm just wondering what the best ADN and BSN programs are in the San Francisco area? I want to get done as quickly as possible, but I also do not want to sacrifice the quality of my education whatsoever. I was thinking of doing an ADN program and had my sites on CCC, but then I went and took their drug dosage class (and I'm not trying to put anyone down), but it seems like these people never graduated high school. They could not perform basic skills, think things through, and were getting confused with basic, basic knowledge (ex: that 3 is equivalent to 3. ) I overhear most of the students there talking about how they have C's and D's in their pre-requisite courses! Now I'm highly skeptical, of ever going there... I feel they have low expectations, and the two course I took there were no brainers, basically. I was not challenged at all. I don't want my nursing education to suffer the same deficit.

So why do they have such a high NCLEX pass rate??? And SF State has a lower pass rate? Can I judge the strength, challenge, and educational quality of a program based on their NCLEX pass rate???

p.s. What would the difference in pay rate be after graduation w/ either an ADN at CCC or BSN at SF State?

Any advice would help! Thanks! :)

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I live in the Midwest and have no idea about the SF area (sorry!) but I had to respond. I am getting my ADN at a large community college here. I took all my pre-reqs at the same school. I'm trying to be diplomatic here, but I'm not sure there is a way to do it... I had the same experiences as you in many of my pre-reqs. I'll just stop it there. However, their nursing program is well-known to be one of the best in the state. I would strongly advise you to not base your decision solely on your experiences in pre-reqs. Nursing schools are competitive, and if you don't know your stuff, it's going to be really hard to get in. Those people will be weeded out REALLY quickly. If the school has a good NCLEX pass rate, they must be doing something right.

If you haven't already, it would be a really good idea to make an appointment with someone from the nursing department. They might even be able to set you up with a current nursing student to talk to. Do your research, see what their reputation is in the community. Tour the facilities. Don't judge just on one attribute - you need to look at the whole picture. You WILL be challenged in nursing school...I've never met anyone who said it was easy!

I know how hard it is to make such an important decision. Best of luck to you...just my two cents!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Nsg QA.

When looking at the NCLEX pass rate, take into consideration the number of student that took the exam and the number that passed. For example, if 48 out of 50 students passed the NCLEX you have a 96% pass rate. However if for some reason only 2 students took the exam, but only 1 passed the pass rate is 50%. I have seen the statistics where this has happened.

If you are able, talk to people at the nearby hospitals to get an idea of what the employer thinks of the graduates.

As Rexy points out, students with poor pre-req grades will be weeded out as the schools are quite competitive. Good luck!

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Expounding on the post above, look at the school's retention rates. For example, I've seen schools that pass ~90% of students through the program but only have a 60% pass rate on NCLEX. The program I attended consistently passes 55-60% of their students, but our NCLEX pass rates stay above 90% year after year. I'd rather choose a school that passes a lower percentage of students through the program in exchange for a high pass rate on NCLEX.

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Thanks! That helps a lot! Well yes, the school I feel appears a little desolate and run down. And I don't feel challenged by other students nor the environment and it's questionable whether or not they have accommodating facilities/equipment appropriate for a quality nursing education. It's been very, very painful for me to go to class everyday because I pay $12 everyday to get there and I'm not challenged.

Yes, their NCLEX pass rate is about 96.1% based on the 40-50 students that took the exam. I was just wondering if they simply just train you to take the NCLEX?? And that's it? lol..

ok, I guess I will seek it out further...

Thanks!!! :)

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The best program is the one that accepts the student applicant. Nursing programs in the Bay area are impacted and are very difficult to enter. Recall reading one time that someone was disappointed because they were not selected from a field of more than 1200 applicants.

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oh... @rexy... so in the end you feel you received a good nursing education at your school? Thanks!

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Specializes in ER, Pediatric Transplant, PICU.

I went from a large university to a CC for nursing. The nursing classes were HARD. But, we got the summer off between first and second year, so I wanted to take a few classes that would go towards my BSN at the CC.... I felt like you, holy moly... some of the people in that class were like, wooooow! But, those people dont get admitted. You have to be a smart cookie to get good enough grades to get in. Like a previous poster said... I have never met anybody that said nursing school was easy that passed the NCLEX.

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Specializes in Medical-surgical nursing.

I went and toured a lot of schools in the bay area. Attended SJSU for my undergrad, and was familiar with the nursing program there, but I was not impressed. I heard some pretty horrible stories about instructors from nursing students there.

After I graduated, I visited several schools. I'll list them with my experiences-

Bakersfield (not really bay area, but close)- Program and facilities seem really nice, if you can handle heat and how far away Bako is from.... everything.

Ohlone- Campus was ok, nursing building was pretty average. Heard they give priority to people who live within 10-15 miles of their campus. Overall I was not impressed.

SF (city)- I have known people who have graduated from there. They have nothing but great things to say about the program.

Evergreen (EVC)- Toured and loved it. I accepted an offer for their ADN so I will be starting in the fall. They do their clinicals and Santa Clara Med. which I am familiar with from internships during my undergrad. The faculty are all super helpful, and haven spoken to several graduates from the program- I was sold.

LMC- Well... if you have ever been to that campus before... you'll probably know how bad it is. My impression of the nursing program was not much different from the rest of the school/area. I've never spoken to anyone who attended their program so it could be really great, but just from speaking to faculty and what I saw personally, I didn't care for it.

Chabot- I liked it a lot. Great faculty and campus.

De Anza- I thought the facilities were good. I know a couple people who graduated from there and they said they enjoyed their experiences. One (of the three I knew) did not pass NCLEX the first 2 times they took it.

As for pay differences, I heard it's $1-2/hour and also easier to land a job in the first place with a BSN. But that's just hearsay, and I am sure individual experiences are different.

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@ Ellie... for SF (city) Are you referring to City College of San Francisco? Not SF State? Did you get a chance to ever explore CCC (Contra Costa College) Thanks!:)

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Specializes in Medical-surgical nursing.

Yes, CCSF. I know two BSN nurses from SFSU who enjoyed the program but the school has such a low pass rate I didn't even bother looking into it. I never checked out CCC, nor do I know anyone who has attended the ADN program there, sorry.

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oh... @rexy... so in the end you feel you received a good nursing education at your school? Thanks!

YES!! I have never doubted my decision for a second. I love the faculty, staff, and students. And my student loans will be very manageable. :up:

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