Cochran school of Nursing vs. Montefiore School of Nursing

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I was accepted into Cochran and Montefiore School of Nursing. I wouldn't mind going to either school but now i have these two choices and i need some more point of views on which school is better to attend. I was accepted into Cochran before Montefiore and i didn't know if Montefiore would accept me so i went with Cochran. I am registered as a student at Cochran for the fall semester. My issue is whether or not Montefiore might be better. Which school in your opinion is better to attend? Which school has the better teachers? Where do i get better job placement? Which school has a better reputation? I have done research but its just opinions about scheduling conflicts and day versus night class. Please anyone's input would be helpful. Thank you and have a great day.

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Hey! I Heard cochran is great from a friend that is attending, can't really tell you about montefiore ! Congrats on getting into both schools! I will be taking the entrance exam in a couple of weeks ! Can u tell me ur score on the test so I have an idea!? I'm terrible with the teas. I hope the Keplan is a little better ! Thank you.

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Specializes in Behavioral health.

Congratulations. Two acceptances!

Don't worry about the job placement or reputation. Worry about if the school's culture is right for your learning style and temperament.

Somethings to consider:

Attrition rate & policy (Very important)

Grading-Is it by a few multiple choice exams or a variety of factors (term paper, exam, quizzes)

Clinical Site diversity, locations and times. It's good to see med/surg in a variety of places.

Support services (tutoring, skills lab, extracurriculars)

Student Body (adult career changers or HS grads)

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Hey, sorry for the late response. I was away on vacation and just recently got back. I got an 81 on the entrance exam for Cochran. The exam for Cochran is a lot more practical and applicable to what we will be doing in the nursing profession. The entrance exam for Cochran is a lot tougher than the TEAS. This is only my opinion and i have heard varying opinions that the TEAS is harder than the Kaplan test. The reason why i believe it is harder is because the TEAS asks basic science, math and literary questions. The Kaplan test goes slightly more in depth and you need to have an understanding of anatomy for the Kaplan test. The science section on the Kaplan test is far more advanced than the TEAS in my opinion. The kaplan exam consisted of 91 questions so if you make more than 6 mistakes, youre already in the 80's range. I made about 14 mistakes and ended up with an 81. Overall, i did well because in my opinion the Kaplan exam was alot tougher than the TEAS. Cochran also gives you an essay at the end. Do well on the essay and articulate yourself really well in essay form and you will get in. I hope this helped. Dont take everything i wrote as completely serious. Iam only one man and there are multiple opinions on the topic. Iam just sharing my experience. Thank you for reading this. Good luck!

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.
Don't worry about the job placement or reputation.

Actually, this is important to worry about right now, especially when you graduate you will be competing with many nurses that have BSNs and will be entering a market of medical facilities that prefer to hire BSN-educated RNs over associate degreed nurses. You need to find out from your schools how valuable your credentials without a BSN will be among hospital employers. And also whether you will be more marketable if you will have already started an RN-BSN program when you apply for jobs. Take a look at job postings at most hospitals. Most prefer BSN, and the market is oversaturated right now with fresh new grads holding that degree. Before you invest your money in Cochran or Montefiore, consider this. Insist that the schools give you a candid answer about this. Will it be realistic to find work in a hospital or will you be limited to LTCs or clinics? Not to discourage, but to make you aware that it is not as simple as passing NCLEX and getting your RN license to go for a job in the NYC metro area.

Sent from my iPad using allnurses

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Specializes in MedSurg, PACU, Maternal/Child Health.

Paco is right...with ASN you will have more difficulty in getting a job. Just because most health care facilities are requiring either BSN and/or years of experience. I think nowadays it will be cheaper and easier for people to bypass associates degrees. ASN nurses are having even more difficult time in getting a job than BSNs and often do not get a job until they have a BSN which means they had to go spend money on another school anyway. I would say its better if you do the BSN right off the bat...it will save you time and money. Either start in BSN as a freshman or do an Accelerated BSN if you have a bachelor's in something else. You can make $ and experience while in school by doing CNA or PCT in hospital or other health care facility until you graduate.

Affordable BSN programs (CUNYs): Hunter in Manhattan, Lehman in Bronx, NYC College of Technology in Brooklyn and a little more expensive but still cheaper compared to private schools: SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn.

People think doing a ASN first will save money as they can get a nurse job and then go for BSN...its not the case in most recent times. ASNs are competing with BSNs as well as with experienced RNs for limited jobs...and even nursing homes are giving priority to BSNs. The ASNs i heard of that are getting hired are those with years of experience or those with connections to a high ranking person in the hospital/health care facility.

I see you already went the ASN route: so try to get hands on work in healthcare setting while in school or make friends with high ranking people.

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Specializes in Neurosurgery, Neurology.

My hospital in NYC isn't really hiring anymore ADNs. Two people I know that got jobs as ADNs recently worked at our hospital for some time as PCAs/techs, and immediately went into the RN-BSN program after finishing the ADN. Who knows what it'll be like in 2 years though. This is why I decided to go for the BSN program, even though it is more expensive for me.

I personally also got into Montefiore (not going though), and it seems like a good program, and I especially liked its affiliation with the Montefiore Health System, which hopefully would help in finding a job if you can make connections. Not sure where Cochran does clinicals. Looking at previous threads about Montefiore/DH, it seems as if it's a somewhat small class, and you get a lot of personal attention. I've only heard good things about it.

So, if you're set on going to either ADN program, you should make sure that you get a PCA/PCT job in some hospital, and work through the program. This can be your "in" to getting a job with an ADN. Also, make sure you go directly into the RN-BSN program so you can state that you're in it when applying for jobs.

Hope that helps!

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Thank u so much for all the info, I'm taking the exam at the end of the month and I'm so stresses about it since this is my only possibility to continue nursing school! Would u consider exchange email with me ? I have a few question and would really appreciate your help! [email protected] thank u

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Hey, sorry for the late response. I was away on vacation and just recently got back. I got an 81 on the entrance exam for Cochran. The exam for Cochran is a lot more practical and applicable to what we will be doing in the nursing profession. The entrance exam for Cochran is a lot tougher than the TEAS. This is only my opinion and i have heard varying opinions that the TEAS is harder than the Kaplan test. The reason why i believe it is harder is because the TEAS asks basic science, math and literary questions. The Kaplan test goes slightly more in depth and you need to have an understanding of anatomy for the Kaplan test. The science section on the Kaplan test is far more advanced than the TEAS in my opinion. The kaplan exam consisted of 91 questions so if you make more than 6 mistakes, youre already in the 80's range. I made about 14 mistakes and ended up with an 81. Overall, i did well because in my opinion the Kaplan exam was alot tougher than the TEAS. Cochran also gives you an essay at the end. Do well on the essay and articulate yourself really well in essay form and you will get in. I hope this helped. Dont take everything i wrote as completely serious. Iam only one man and there are multiple opinions on the topic. Iam just sharing my experience. Thank you for reading this. Good luck!
Hi I came across this thread looking for information :) What was your Gpa for Cochran? I have a 3.4 in the prerequisites. Also, do you like Cochran? How is your experience so far?

Thanks :)

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Am a former graduate from Montefiore. It was small class size, MOST of the instructors were great. Learned a lot but there were also a few challenges in the end. The school went through a series of changes (hopefully for the best). The passing grade was 75 when I graduated last December, however I understood it is increasing the passing grade to 80. Now if you are going to chose Montefiore please donot base your decision because it is part of the Montefiore System thinking you will be hired right away or have an advantage over others in the job application process. This is definitely NOT the case. Out of 28 graduating students only 1 student was hired so far,(3 interviews only) the graduating class before ours 0 students hired. You get the point. Goodluck in Nursing school wherever you decide to go. Prepare yourself for a very LIMITED social life.

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I agree. I was just told that by year 2020 hospitals are pushed to enforce BSNs only.

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Am a former graduate from Montefiore. It was small class size, MOST of the instructors were great. Learned a lot but there were also a few challenges in the end. The school went through a series of changes (hopefully for the best). The passing grade was 75 when I graduated last December, however I understood it is increasing the passing grade to 80. Now if you are going to chose Montefiore please donot base your decision because it is part of the Montefiore System thinking you will be hired right away or have an advantage over others in the job application process. This is definitely NOT the case. Out of 28 graduating students only 1 student was hired so far,(3 interviews only) the graduating class before ours 0 students hired. You get the point. Goodluck in Nursing school wherever you decide to go. Prepare yourself for a very LIMITED social life.

Hey friendlyelse - Do you know how many people have continued on with RN - BSN from your Montefiore program? And, if so, what school did they continue towards?

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