Dorothea Hopfer VS BronxCC VS Hostos

cmmny · Jan 17, 2010

Hi..I was also very interested in attending Hopfer about 2 yrs ago and I took the LPN to RN transition course there and they told me that the course would be transferrable to any school in NY but that I was guaranteed a spot in their nursing program as long as I passed their entance test. So, I took the entrance test and did fairly well and then received a letter stating I wasn't accepted due to unavailability of seats!! I couldn't believe it! So, after spending nearly $700.00 there I was left with nothing..and when I transferred to another school they didn't even accept the course that Hopfer guaranteed!!

I don't want to burst your bubble this is my experience..a friend of mine who happened to get accepted did graduate from Hopfer last year and she said it was extrememly intense and that they had a low NCLEX pass rate (although she did pass). I also heard form her that the school was possibly shutting down!?

All I can say is do your research prior and know that every program is stressful..you just have to put the work in.

Good Luck!!

NurseDreamerNYC · Jan 18, 2010

I just started my first semester at Hopfer and I can tell you that the program is very intense. I was also accepted into BMCC with a 3.77 gpa but I wasn't called until 2 days before I was going to start at Hopfer, so I declined my seat. I am now regretting this decision because I keep hearing people saying that Mt. Vernon hospital may be closing. I was assured that even if the hospital was to close that the school would not since they are part of Sound Shore, but now I am skeptical about this. I would be devastated if the school was to shut down when I could've gone to BMCC. Can you tell me how your friend found out that they may be closing the school?

cmmny · Jan 18, 2010

I think that they told the students at the end of the semester that they might be the last graduating class because they may be closing. I think they were having an issue with funding due to poor pass rate, that's what I heard..don't quote me on it though. Hopefully you'll be able to get done and get out..I wish you the best of luck!

NurseDreamerNYC · Jan 18, 2010

Wow I am seriously stressed now. Our class for this semester is full and I see on the website that they are still accepting applicants for the day and evening semesters. This is terrible. Thanks for the heads up.

cmmny · Jan 18, 2010

I don't mean to get you upset or stress you out. I would hope that they would be honest if something was in the works, so it's probably not happening right now. Just relax and focus oon your studies!

honeydewnyc · Jan 19, 2010

hey missbronx, while i am worried about the school closing, can you perhaps tell me a little more about how you like it at hopfer? did you do all the prereq classes before you started hopfer? i have a few classes i haven't taken yet but i understand you can take them simultaneously at concordia right? also how often do you have classes? when i spoke with an advisor she said only 2 to 3 days a week for approx. 5 hours, on the site it says 4 days a week (i'm assuming thats including the prereqs?) i'm just wondering how the classes work there.

also where did u take your prereqs if you did take them and did you consider hostos or bx college? if so how come you didn't attend those. (i'm having trouble choosing)

thanks! :)

NurseDreamerNYC · Jan 19, 2010

Hopfer is a good school. The professors are great so far and they seem to genuinely care about the students. I did all of my pre-reqs before I started at BMCC. I am in the evening program and we had to take all of our pre-reqs before entering the program (except bioethics and pharmacology), which can be taken at concordia. I would advise against this though because the program is INTENSE. You have more work and reading assignments than there is time in the day to do it. This is our schedule: Tuesday lab from 4-6 (or 8-10 if you choose) lecture from 6-8, then Wednesday lecture from 6-10, and clinicals are on Saturdays from 7-4. I know people who do the day program go 4 days a week and a lot of them take their pre-reqs while they are in the program. For the evening students this is not really possible since most of us work during the day. I live in the BX but I did not consider BCC or Hostos because I was going to BMCC. I had a really bad experience with the CUNY system and many people will tell you the same thing. They like to give you the run around. Case and point they waited until 2 days before I was going to start Hopfer to tell me I got into their program. I hope I answered all of your questions. Please let me know if you have any more.

honeydewnyc · Jan 20, 2010

thanks missbronx. i'm going to speak with cathy on friday she said to stop by anytime during the day. i think since i commute and work full time, i won't be able to even get to concordia for the simultaneous prereq classes. that ill do my year of prereqs at BCC or Hostos and transfer to hopfer next year. do a lot of people do that?

NurseDreamerNYC · Jan 21, 2010

thanks missbronx. i'm going to speak with cathy on friday she said to stop by anytime during the day. i think since i commute and work full time, i won't be able to even get to concordia for the simultaneous prereq classes. that ill do my year of prereqs at BCC or Hostos and transfer to hopfer next year. do a lot of people do that?

You could also speak with Sandra Farrior. She is extremely helpful and is the "go to" person for any and every question you have about the program. Most of the people in my class went to CUNY schools because they are cheaper and did their pre-reqs before going into the program. I took every class but bioethics and I'm going to try to clep out during the summer rather than taking it at concordia because concordia is very expensive.

honeydewnyc · Jan 21, 2010

thank you missbronx! thats great. i'm sorry but what do you mean by clep out for bioethics class? concordia i saw the tuition it really is so expensive. i think i'm going to enroll at hostos for my prereqs.

NurseDreamerNYC · Jan 21, 2010

thank you missbronx! thats great. i'm sorry but what do you mean by clep out for bioethics class? concordia i saw the tuition it really is so expensive. i think i'm going to enroll at hostos for my prereqs.

It's a good idea to enroll in hostos. You should go to whichever school is most convenient for you because it doesn't really matter where you take your pre-reqs. Clep is an exam that you can take for a course and if you pass it you receive the credits. I believe Hopfer only allows you to clep out of bioethics even though you can pretty much clep out of any course. You take the exam through excelsior college. Basically they send you all the materials that you need and you teach yourself the course. You have 6 months to prepare for the exam and then if you pass, it gets put on your transcript as if you have taken the actual course.