CLC student 1st semester...any advice

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Any advice for someone who's starting the nursing program in August. Also, I still need Microbiology. Any suggestions for professors? Thanks

Hey, thanks for the info...I sure hope I get in!!! Being done with the pre-reqs, I just want to get it done, ya know? Nothing left but the nursing now!!! So please, keep your fingers crossed for me!!! Glad to hear that you got in!!! Congrats!! And I too have a baby...well, a toddler. My daughter Amelia is 21 months old and that adds a whole new twist to the whole college thing!!!

I have heard it called the college of Last chance as well, but I too have heard what a great college CLC is (and like I said, I've been there for 3 years, so been through quite a few teachers). I have heard wonderful things about the Nursing Program and because they are accredited with NLN, the students who graduate get jobs almost immediately I've heard. NLN accredidation is a good thing to have for sure! I know of a college in Wisconsin that may be easier to get into, but because they are not NLN accredited, I believe it is harder to get a job after graduation.

I do hope they change up the program to make it more "student" friendly and make it a much easier environment to learn in then!!! AAHHH!!!

Are you two ladies going through the day or at night?

I got in with an 89. So your chances are good Imm1019. I've heard Pareskh (sp??) is good but I may have a hard time with the accent. Hear anything else about Micro professors? I know the program will be tough. I also have a baby so it'll be extra crazy. I'm ready for the challenge I just like to be on my toes! So advice has been good from my original posting. klf73241 we used to call CLC the College of Last Chance back in 1990 when I graduated high school!!!! The truth is that it's one of the best community colleges in the nation. I just hope the nursing program is respected as well. I'm not in the health field so I don't have access to opinions as much. What kind of help do you need in interpreting the scores? Look at the AD Composite Percentile Score.
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Thanks for the 2 detailed responses. I was actually supposed to be with you guys (starting this past January) ... Any specific people to avoid? I'm also going to get into study groups with people already in the healthcare field.

So YOU were the person we never saw!?!?! Well, good luck as you begin your trek. On the plus side, you'll not have to worry about purgatory anymore when you die b/c you'll have already done about 2 years there when you graduate. Ask about the pass rates on the PE AND the NCLEX. The current pass rate was supposedly 80%, down from the high 80s last year according to a guy in the night program. As for profs, send a private msg if possible as I'd rather not post names in a public forum. Everyone has their own opinion though I know a few were better than others. There is also new faculty this sem. so I don't know where they'll be or what they're like. 2 things to remember:

Just practice the PE skills. It's really not tough stuff just stressful under the circumstances. #2--start a legal fund for yourself in case you need a lawyer (I only wish that was a joke).

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I have heard it called the college of Last chance as well, but I too have heard what a great college CLC is ...I have heard wonderful things about the Nursing Program and because they are accredited with NLN, the students who graduate get jobs almost immediately I've heard. NLN accredidation is a good thing to have for sure! I do hope they change up the program to make it more "student" friendly and make it a much easier environment to learn in then!!! AAHHH!!

Where did you hear the wondeful things from? In reality, they just had a consultant come this last semester b/c with such a high failure rate (according to the newspaper, a third of the students wash out and of the 2/3 left only 80% now pass the NCLEX, a figure supposedly from the nursing office but I don't know for sure) they could lose their accreditation? It was a big thing for the night program. As for changes, trust us, we hope they're better to us as well!

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Where did you hear the wondeful things from? In reality, they just had a consultant come this last semester b/c with such a high failure rate (according to the newspaper, a third of the students wash out and of the 2/3 left only 80% now pass the NCLEX, a figure supposedly from the nursing office but I don't know for sure) they could lose their accreditation? It was a big thing for the night program. As for changes, trust us, we hope they're better to us as well!

No, a few people who had actually graduated within the past year had said it was a good program.

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Well,

I guess we have to hope for the best and help each other out. I just talked to the Nursing department and I do have to retake my A&P class but she said I should be fine with a score of 90 to get into the program in January.

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Well,

I guess we have to hope for the best and help each other out. I just talked to the Nursing department and I do have to retake my A&P class but she said I should be fine with a score of 90 to get into the program in January.

90 is great...I wouldn't be having my "dilemma" if I had a 90!!! :trout:

Why do you have to take A&P again? Did you take it somewhere else and it doesn't count? That stinks!!! Well, good luck with that!! I think you are just fine too to get into the program...unfortunately she couldn't tell me the same thing. :o

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Actually, I took A&P last semester with Dr. Meyer....Her class was sooo difficult, plus my youngest was hospitalized around mid-terms and was out of school for quite awhile after that....no matter how much I studied I just couldn't focus on the tests. Her tests were so much hrader than they needed to be...essay questions that she expected a mini-book for!! Anyway I ended up with a 66.76% which is a "D"...so I have to retake it!!

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I graduated in Dec 2006 from the nursing program at CLC. I felt the same way a number of you do about the program at first. The first two semesters I felt like we didn't do anything clinically. And I have to admit that the PE is very stressful- I still feel sick to my stomach when anyone mentions that word. I had a good friend that failed the PE in first semester. She was an "A" student but would get really nervous during PE. However, she ended up challenging the semester and graduated this past May. My advice about the PE- practice, practice, practice. Ignore the horror stories that you will be sure to hear about how people have failed. They are not all true (but some are) and they will just make you more nervous. The majority do pass the PE if they put the time in to practice the scenarios.

But, now that I am working as a RN at a hospital I have to say that CLC did a good job preparing me for my first RN position. I get comments all the time about how effective I am under pressure, and I think that the PE had a lot to do with it. Also, the sim lab is great- the lab faculty are very knowledgable and helpful. My first day on orientation at my job I had to insert a NG tube and since I practiced it at least a hundred times in the sim lab I was able to get it in first try.

Honestly, things don't start to come together until about the 3rd semester. I don't think the program is for everybody- there is a lot of self-directed study and I don't think I would have survived if I didn't have a great study group. Also, your experiences in clinicals really depend on how proactive you are. I learned by the middle of 3rd semester to ask the RNs at clinicals for opportunities to practice skills because the instructors don't always pick the best patients that are relevant to what you are studying. I definitely agree that it helps to know the upper classmen. Experience is the best teacher and they can help answer a lot of questions.

As far as NCLEX pass rates, I know of only one person in my graduating class that did not pass the first time. Also, I did graduate with a majority of the students that I started with in first semester. We had a few fail but they struggled with the independent learning structure of the program. Overall, my personal experience with CLC was pretty positive. Don't get me wrong- it's a very challenging program. My friends and I joke that if we could survive that program we can survive anything.

Just wanted to share my experience.

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Thanks so much for your honest and informative response. I think we all just have to try to stay focused and do our best to get where we want to be!!

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Actually, I took A&P last semester with Dr. Meyer....Her class was sooo difficult, plus my youngest was hospitalized around mid-terms and was out of school for quite awhile after that....no matter how much I studied I just couldn't focus on the tests. Her tests were so much hrader than they needed to be...essay questions that she expected a mini-book for!! Anyway I ended up with a 66.76% which is a "D"...so I have to retake it!!

Take Shane Jones!!! All of the A&P instructors are hard but it's because of the material. After meeting several other students in that tiny study box in the basement of the library the consensus was that Shane is the best/fairest.

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So YOU were the person we never saw!?!?! Well, good luck as you begin your trek. On the plus side, you'll not have to worry about purgatory anymore when you die b/c you'll have already done about 2 years there when you graduate. Ask about the pass rates on the PE AND the NCLEX. The current pass rate was supposedly 80%, down from the high 80s last year according to a guy in the night program. As for profs, send a private msg if possible as I'd rather not post names in a public forum. Everyone has their own opinion though I know a few were better than others. There is also new faculty this sem. so I don't know where they'll be or what they're like. 2 things to remember:

Just practice the PE skills. It's really not tough stuff just stressful under the circumstances. #2--start a legal fund for yourself in case you need a lawyer (I only wish that was a joke).

I told them as soon as I got my acceptance letter that I needed to pass this semester. I will practice the PE skills and I plan on asking questions at the orientation. Keep coming on the board periodically so I can ask quick questions. :)

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OOOPPPSSS...I just got the last seat for Bob Remedi's class because I heard rave reviews about him....maybe I should switch..

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