Bryant and Stratton and Cardinal Stritch

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I have decide to apply for both school in Milwaukee. They are both ASN direct entry program. Bryant and Stratton except nursing student 3 times a year and you have to take the TEAS test. While Cardinal Stritch takes students once a year and you have to take the NET test. Any information about any of these programs is great. If there are any pass or current students out their that can tell how they feel about either program will be very helpful.

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Hello!

I am a student at Stritch so I can share a little. I am about to start my 4th semester and have been very happy so far. I would recommend perhaps doing your prereqs (A&P, Micro etc) at a different school to save $ and then transfer in. That also makes things easier on you when you are in your clinicals. It is very expensive but I feel the teachers are very good and want to help you get through. I am happy I am not sitting on a waiting list still! Let me know if you have any other questions. I dont know anything about Bryant but I think I had heard a few years back that they weren't accredited. This may have changed though. Good luck!

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I graduated from Stritch with my ADN (had a prior BS from years back) in May 2005. I work at Froedtert part-time. As for myself, I had a very good experience there. I was lucky to have very good educators and clinical instructors. I found that they really went out of their way to accomodate the needs of any student willing to put in the work. Yes, it is much more expensive than WCTC or MATC but when I started, those schools had a 2 yr waiting list while Stritch didn't. When you factored in the salary made by an RN as opposed to an aide, the 2 years as an RN helped make up for the add'l tuition.

Stritch doesn't have the greatest reputation at Froedtert but I think that is more a function of some individual bad experiences rather than the university as a whole. They tend to prefer to hire grads from UWM and Marquette because they are really trying to increase the education level of their RN staff. As for the question of ADN or BSN, unless you have the luxury of plenty of time and money - just get that ADN (and pass yr NCLEX), work as an RN and let the hospital pay for the BSN. (most of them in the area will.

Other little things that were nice about Stritch - a safer neighborhood (as opposed to UWM or MATC - that matters when you have night classes and are walking alone) a daycare center nearby if those are your needs & a staff that knows you by name.

Hope this helps!

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Specializes in ER, Pre-Hospital, Cardiac, Endocrine.

I also would be willing to answer any questions for you regarding Cardinal Stritch. I am a student currently at Stritch, and my wife is a graduate of the ADN program there (she is VERY pleased with how easy and quick is was to get her BSN from Marquette, and start MSN courses there because of Stritch).

I can answer a large amount of questions for you if you like. I know a fair amount more then most of the students at Stritch, as I am on the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee there. While it may not seem like much, I am actually privy to a great deal of information about what is going on currently, and what is going to occur in the not so distant future with the ADN and BSN programs.

Stritch does have a good reputation in SE Wisconsin, but as another poster stated Froedtert is not exactly happy with ADNs in general. Both my wife and I worked at Froedtert, and had seen a fairly rapid change in that facilities opinion to ADN RN's and ADN students.

I know a few B&S students, and am not sure what to think of that program. What concerns me the most is just how short it is. I consider the 5 semester ADN program at Stritch to be BARELY adequate to train entry level RN's. With B&S it is something like a 20 month program. The one thing is that B&S has not had many graduates placed into the field yet (I think they have only graduated 2 classes). Therefore their program is hard to judge. I will say that a few of the students I meet from there are intelligent, but that may not be the norm. I can think of a few issues with the program there that I have heard a fair amount of complaints from. The biggest being the head of the program. Oddly enough, the head of the B&S program use to be an instructor at Stritch (I will say this. My wife had this person while at Stritch, and then ran into her at Froedtert while B&S was having clinicals on my wife's old floor. Anyways, my wife thought OMG what happened to this women, did she have a nervous breakdown?).

Also, I can say that the hospital RIGHT next door to Froedtert has no issues with Stritch, as my wife was EASILY hired into the NICU at Children's Hospital with only having an ADN.

Rick

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Specializes in CVICU.

I'm at Bryant and we are accredited through the middle states but not nationally. So beware of that before you enter. I stated last May (2006) and I will graduate this December. At the beginning you had to have a 20 on the TEAS but now I believe you have to have at least a 40 or 45 to be considered and then you have to have an interview after you get the result from the TEAS. It is expensive, runs about 7500 a semester. You will be expected to get a 100% on you pharmacology test when you get to Med/Surg or they will drop you from theory and clinical. If you are a steller student then you will not have any problems in this program. However, if you are boisterous I would not recommend coming here. Many instructors grade off emotions and not the quality of work. There is a huge turn over with instructors so I guess I would say a little on the disorganized side but then again it is a fairly new program. The first cohort started in May 2005 so if you decide to come and BnS doesn't get their national accreditation by the time you graduate you will be grandfathered in. Also, because we are not nationally accredited, we had to have our Peds rotation at Waukesha Head Start instead of Children's Hospital.

Pros: It is an 18-month program but it is fast-paced and VERY intense. You much stay ahead or you will not be successful. All of the students have landed GN/Intern/Extern positions so you will not have to worry about not being placed at a hospital. I am in Med/Surg with one semester left and I was able to land a position as a Nurse Extern in the SICU at St. Lukes.

I believe the previous poster is speaking of Elaine Burns but that is all I will say on that:uhoh3: .

Good luck on your decision!

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Do you have any idea what the score needs to be to pass the teas test to get accepted into the nursing program. I saw that you said it was a 40 or 45 but that doesnt mean percent wise does it? I asked and all they could tell me is i have to score within the 40%. I am worried because I only scored a 70 on the practice exam.

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Specializes in LTC, Assisted Living, Clinic.

Could someone please tell me more about the nursing programs in the Milwaukee area? Have considered MATC. Does stritch have an easy curriculum?!?!...I've feel like I've wasted a great deal of time and energy at the technical college. Thank you!!! I look forward to hearing back from you all!!!! =)

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Specializes in LTC, Assisted Living, Clinic.

If I wanted to apply for admission to Stritch, what qualifications would I need? Courses, etc.?

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Amandabell- if you are still interested in Stritch contact Stacey Wegener about their program. She gives great informational sessions and tells you which classes you have taken will transfer over. Also I attended a session a few months back and they now require the NLN exam not the NET. You need to score at least in the 70% to be considered.

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