Cerritos College Vs. Citrus College

lauren1181 · Mar 24, 2011

Hello all,

I'm in the process of taking my pre reqs for nursing programs and was wondering for those of you that got into Cerritos how long did you or other people in the program have to wait after you applied. I know it is a lottery but I was just hoping to get an idea of the average wait time.

Thanks

AOX4RN, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 24, 2011

There's no "wait time"... you get picked in the lottery or you don't

ms.a · Mar 28, 2011

I applied in the beginning of March and it takes 2 months to get a response for a denial or acceptance. If I don't get in this time around they will keep my name for the next semester lottery. So that could be 3 months plus wait time assuming I don't not get in the first time.

DarkBluePhoenix · Mar 28, 2011

I currently attend Citrus and I love it, but unfortunately they are still new. Also they only take applicants once a year so if you, like me, are done this spring you have to wait until like January to apply; wasting time in the process

Sunglitz56 · May 9, 2011

got my thanks but no thanks letter today from Citrus. It's cool though I got accepted to College of the Canyons, still waiting to hear from Saddleback this week sometime.

yellow_p · Jun 7, 2011

I would totally move if I had the option. But since I have a family I will have to suck it up. I work at Scripps La Jolla and drive 45 mins to work. I have been to some schools (for orientation) thats at least 1 hr away and you are right it is draining but I will have lectures to listening to on the way home. At this point I feel that I don't have any other choice becuase all the schools (but 2 National University and Mt San Jancinto) are all 1 hr drive.
Is anyone else out there commuting this far?
Please share you experience.
Also I need help with the TEAS test.... advice? study guides? anything helps!!!

The horribly edited study guide from ATI (version V) is the definitive one, though I'd emphasize the practice tests near the back of the book as opposed to poring over every single page (the mind can only take so much frustration).

I'd also (if you can spare the change) try the online practice tests from ATI (be SURE you order the version V, they also let you do version 3.0/4.0). They're like $35 each, but it's identical format to actual TEAS I took recently and like the NCLEX (VN) itself, drilling yourself on answering questions is the most useful study route.

Good luck with your testing!

BT001 · May 22, 2012

Hi Kadc, I did chose Cerritos College over Citrus and I feel as though I made the right decision. I have 1 semester left to go before I'm done with nursing school. I can't really say much about Citrus College since I don't know any one who graduated from the program previously. I can give you examples what it's like being in the nursing program at Cerritos, but the best thing to do is to ask someone that has gone or is in the program at Citrus so you can get a comparison of the two.

Luckily my sister lives in Cerritos so I stayed with her during the weekday. I must say that the commuting time is a big hassle and wastes a lot of time and by the time you get home you will feel like you need a nap in order to attempt studying on clinical days. The last thing you want to do is to sit in traffic after being at the hospital all day. However, at Cerritos you usually have an option of AM or PM shift clinicals at the hospital. If you don't have any pre-commitments such as children, family, work then you should do the PM shifts since you will miss a lot of the traffic going and coming back (10am- 8pm). However, some of my classmates commute from huntington beach, inglewood, Glendale, Chino hills, and even from San Diego county and they've made nursing school work for them and are some of the more successful students in our class. It really all depends on your dedication.

The professors are helpful, they genuinely want you to do well in the program. I mean if you do well, it makes their program look good. You have clinicals 2 days a week and lecture the other 2 days. The lectures are usually powerpoints and you have to be a fast writer and a good listener to fill in the ppt notes and to jot down anything they say that would be important. The professors also have office hours as well if you have questions. Cerritos also has an open skills lab where you could study, practice any nursing skills, ask questions/get help with skills with the nursing instructor assigned for that day or with student workers. They also have a clinical lab tutor, so if you need tutoring on a subject you are stuggling with, you can sign up for tutoring for free.

All in all, I'm glad I chose Cerritos College. My class is very supportive of each other and we all push each other to do well by forming study groups and giving each other a heads up. Also I forgot to mention that Cerritos is an accredited nursing program, which is important if you will want to continue on with your education and to get a higher degree. I'm not sure what Citrus college has. I hope I answered some of your questions and helped you out a little. Shoot me another message if you have any other concerns. Good luck on your decision! :nurse:

rambo33 · May 23, 2012

BT,

Thanks for the insight! I just passed my TEAS exam today at Cerritos and will be starting on August 20th ( My birthday!). I'm grateful that I made it on my first time applying! Also did you manage to work part time during the program ? I always worked part time and went to school full time ( Cell Biology and Sociology double major...just graduated last week yay!) and balanced it out quite well.

fionas32 · Apr 23, 2013

Hi Kadc, I did chose Cerritos College over Citrus and I feel as though I made the right decision. I have 1 semester left to go before I'm done with nursing school. I can't really say much about Citrus College since I don't know any one who graduated from the program previously. I can give you examples what it's like being in the nursing program at Cerritos, but the best thing to do is to ask someone that has gone or is in the program at Citrus so you can get a comparison of the two.
Luckily my sister lives in Cerritos so I stayed with her during the weekday. I must say that the commuting time is a big hassle and wastes a lot of time and by the time you get home you will feel like you need a nap in order to attempt studying on clinical days. The last thing you want to do is to sit in traffic after being at the hospital all day. However, at Cerritos you usually have an option of AM or PM shift clinicals at the hospital. If you don't have any pre-commitments such as children, family, work then you should do the PM shifts since you will miss a lot of the traffic going and coming back (10am- 8pm). However, some of my classmates commute from huntington beach, inglewood, Glendale, Chino hills, and even from San Diego county and they've made nursing school work for them and are some of the more successful students in our class. It really all depends on your dedication.
The professors are helpful, they genuinely want you to do well in the program. I mean if you do well, it makes their program look good. You have clinicals 2 days a week and lecture the other 2 days. The lectures are usually powerpoints and you have to be a fast writer and a good listener to fill in the ppt notes and to jot down anything they say that would be important. The professors also have office hours as well if you have questions. Cerritos also has an open skills lab where you could study, practice any nursing skills, ask questions/get help with skills with the nursing instructor assigned for that day or with student workers. They also have a clinical lab tutor, so if you need tutoring on a subject you are stuggling with, you can sign up for tutoring for free.
All in all, I'm glad I chose Cerritos College. My class is very supportive of each other and we all push each other to do well by forming study groups and giving each other a heads up. Also I forgot to mention that Cerritos is an accredited nursing program, which is important if you will want to continue on with your education and to get a higher degree. I'm not sure what Citrus college has. I hope I answered some of your questions and helped you out a little. Shoot me another message if you have any other concerns. Good luck on your decision!

Thank you soooo much for this! It helped a lot. I currently am accepted into Rio Hondo Summer 2013 and Cerritos College Spring 2014. I am stuck in which school I will choose. There is not too much info about Rio like there is Cerritos. Any help or info on either school to help me in choosing which school. Is 6 months really a big difference? I have already waited a year to get in.

Osteph09 · May 4, 2015

How is the nursing program at Cerritos?(: please help! I'm stuck between Cerritos and elac!