Cost of Excelsior?

jksapphire · May 26, 2006

i, too, am looking to go from lpn to rn thru excelsior college. i met with a rep from the college network, who looked at my transcript and told me what classes i need before i can take the nursing classes.

excelsior college charges $65 to assess your transcript and tell you what classes you need, then $200+ per credit hour.

you can take the pre reqs anywhere, like at community college, online, thru the college network, etc. as long as they meet the criteria for excelsior college.

you might want to check with the college network and excelsior college and compare the two for the classes you need and the cost for each.

i'm finding college network study guides on ebay for a fraction of the $445/each that cn charges. you then pay each time you take a test, which average around $200 each.

you might also want to check other threads in this forum for experiences of people who have done it both ways.

hope i've helped.

traumahawk99 · May 26, 2006

i would take my prereqs through clep exams and community college. it is by far the cheapest way. i did 21 hours in one semester between classes and cleps at my community college.

then i'd go directly through excelsior for 7 exams and the cpne. i think the whole thing will run under $5000 for excelsior. better yet, call excelsior and speak to a rep. tell him you're only taking the nursing concepts exams and the cpne. figure the enrollment and graduation fee in as well. off the top of my head, it's currently at 4500 ish.

no matter how you do it, it'll cost you more if you fail the cpne and have to retake it or take longer than a year to finish. many people do it in a year, but you've got to study hard and long. you can take the first two nursing concepts exams before you enroll. that might help make it easier to finish in a year, so you don't get another annual student fee. i'd also have all my prereqs finished before i enroll in ec.

TashaLPN2006RN2012, ASN, RN · May 26, 2006

so what would be the cost if you have to take everything?

traumahawk99 · May 26, 2006

so what would be the cost if you have to take everything?

it depends on what classes you need and how much your community college charges. the cheapest credits, by far, are clep credits.

anticoagulationurse · May 29, 2006

You'll need to have EC evaluate your transcripts ($65 aplication fee) before you'll know what classes other than the Nursing Component and Info Literacy you'll need. I had an AAS and LPN certificate and they took all of my credits (except I wish they transferred at lease some of the LPN coursework). I bought just 2 texts (Med-surg fatty and Foundations) and that was it. Fresh enough out of LPN school to not have to study too much. Despite what they try to say, LPN stuff I learned was pretty much exactly the same as RN courses, with the exception of the nurse delegation and management curricula.

Excelsior will give you ALL THE INFO YOU NEED. I would advise you to stay far away from the other places who give you outlines to study and learning packages. If you need additional learning resources, EC does that too for a little extra per course. But if you study well, you won't need it. You'll spend un-necessary $ with those other outfits. The practice tests were all I needed. The cost is very reasonable, especially compared to some of the other online programs. EC is basically $215 per 4 credit exam/course, plus I spent the $75 for each practice test, which was worth $750 each.

Whatever you decide. GOod luck, it's not easy.

NeedingInfo · May 29, 2006

Hi I was wondering if someone could tell me the cost of excelsior and the length of the LPN to RN program? Thanks

Have you been able to find out information regarding excelsior students passing the nclex. I've recently spoke to a student who ended up switching schools and retaking the last semester of the nursing program because of excelsior problems.

deej · May 29, 2006

Have you been able to find out information regarding excelsior students passing the nclex. I've recently spoke to a student who ended up switching schools and retaking the last semester of the nursing program because of excelsior problems.

Huh?

In any event, EC's NCLEX pass rate for 2005 was 90.30%. The national average was 87.46%. Just to stir the pot some, the largest RN program in California (Fresno City College) had a 74.25% pass rate in 2005.

traumahawk99 · May 29, 2006

Huh?
In any event, EC's NCLEX pass rate for 2005 was 90.30%. The national average was 87.46%. Just to stir the pot some, the largest RN program in California (Fresno City College) had a 74.25% pass rate in 2005.

deej, where did you get those rates? the national average for 2006 is 83.8, per ncsbn.org. seems to have dropped a bit.

these stats show what a wonderful job california is doing educating nurses. only 16% beneath excelsior college! what an achievement. this only goes to show how much you can achieve when you've got leadership like the california board of nursing. :confused:

deej · May 29, 2006

deej, where did you get those rates? the national average for 2006 is 83.8, per ncsbn.org. seems to have dropped a bit.
these stats show what a wonderful job california is doing educating nurses. only 16% beneath excelsior college! what an achievement. this only goes to show how much you can achieve when you've got leadership like the california board of nursing.

Those numbers came from a page on EC's website for National Nurses Week. It's no longer available on EC's website but you can find it in Google's cache.

The Fresno City College numbers came from BRN's website.