Drexel ACE

charleybarley · Jan 25, 2005

ok thanks! i will try that!

ER1010 · Jan 25, 2005

I was at an info session, and the director of the program confirmed that for me.

ER1010 · Jan 25, 2005

I was at an info session, and the director of the program confirmed that for me.

charleybarley · Jan 26, 2005

I was at an info session, and the director of the program confirmed that for me.

Thanks for the reply, but could you clarify what the director confirmed? That you CAN replace speech for computer science???

Also, did you hear any more info on the program? Anything at all would be so helpful.

Did they say anything about taking online courses for the pre-reqs?

Anything about admissions (Gpa...) and waiting lists, amounts of people they are expecting to apply?

Costs of the program? Financial Aid/ Work Scholarships?

Also, when are you applying?

Thanks!!

ER1010 · Jan 27, 2005

Thanks for the reply, but could you clarify what the director confirmed? That you CAN replace speech for computer science???
Also, did you hear any more info on the program? Anything at all would be so helpful.
Did they say anything about taking online courses for the pre-reqs?
Anything about admissions (Gpa...) and waiting lists, amounts of people they are expecting to apply?
Costs of the program? Financial Aid/ Work Scholarships?
Also, when are you applying?
Thanks!!

Sure, The director said you can use speech instead of comp sci. I had only taken speech, so I was concerned, and luckily, it was good.

I applied in september, and wanted to get in for march. It was full so, they accepted me for September.

They didn't say anyhting about online classes, but I would think they would be fine if from a normal college or university.

They get a ton of applications, but it didn't strike me as competitive if you have good grades (prob at least a 3.3, i had a 3.6). They switched their process in september to be a bit more competitive...they used to take anyone who met their minimum requirements.

The program costs 25,000 for the one yeaR.

As far as the program goes, they seem to be pretty organized, and I liked everyone I met at the info session, including the director. However, I heard that the Drexel hospital, hanneman is so-so, and i don't like the fact that they didn't used to have higher standards, because the reputation may have suffered (i don't know). Also, they do a weird thing with clinicals where you don't stay with one specialty for a few weeks. You might have peds one day, the next day geriatrics, and another day the same week have med-surg.

I did my homework, so let me know if you have more questions. Did you look into Jefferson or villanova?

Liz

charleybarley · Jan 27, 2005

wow, thanks for all of that! I will definitely have more questions for you! :wink2: I am looking at Jefferson and Drexel as my top choices since they are in Philly.. which is close to home.. and I figure since I won't be able to work, it would be cheapest to live at home (that is, if my parents still want me there..lol)

I'm also looking at Maryland( which right now I feel is the only school I have a chance of getting into) and JHU (hah! even though they have minimum pre-reqs... I think they would laugh at my application).

Also, Duquesne and Pitt.. but ugh.. I do not want to live in Pittsburgh. No offense to the city.. but I really would hate being that far away.

Villanova is also an option.. but I applied there for undergrad and had a TERRIBLE interview (I wasn't prepared, didn't really want to go there, I am horrible at expressing myself and the religious vibe was freaking me out), so I don't know if they will remember that.

I'm leaning toward Jeff since they have that work-scholarship deal.. which would be nice... but they require the 2 Chem classes.. I'm taking Chem 1 now and it is just impossible.. I focus all my time on chem, ignoring my other 4 classes, and still get crappy grades in chem. arrghh! So just taking an ethics class sounds much better than another darn chem class/lab... but then theres the whole deal with the waiting lists??

Sorry I'm rambling so much- I've just been stressing about nursing school soooo much- its driving me insane! :banghead: Well over spring break I'll start visiting schools and see how it goes. :stone

targa · Jan 27, 2005

Charley, first... I responded to your private message. I hope you find the info to be helpful.

Second, you may want to consider Pitt. If you've never been to Pittsburgh, you would be shocked to find a quite beautiful, clean city with an economy based on medicine, high tech, and education. There are no steel mills anymore. There are abundant cultural opportunities, and the cost of living is extremely low. Also, since you are a PA resident and Pitt is a "state-related" school, the tuition will be lower than some of the other places you are considering.

Pitt itself has a highly regarded nursing program. The Pitt Medical Center is one of the finest in the country, with an internationally known transplant program. I suspect that student clinical opportunities are abundant and extremely valuable. So DO consider Pitt, and try to make a visit (I went to law school there). I would live in Pgh over Philly in a heartbeat.

charleybarley · Jan 27, 2005

Thank you! And you are right- I should at least visit the city and check out the schools and town. Who knows- maybe I'll like it so much and won't ever want to go back home! I will definitely look into it more!

piper_for_hire · Jan 28, 2005

Beware of first impressions. The ACE program is many things but one thing that it is not is organized. Be prepared for exactly the opposite. If you can deal with absolute chaos - then you'll be fine in the program. But if you are expecting the syllabus to match the actual course requirements or for the exams to be related to the stuff you learn in class, you're in for some surprises. The program is very doable though, despite the rampant chaos.

I'm not sure what you are saying about the clinicals. They don't vary from week to week. You'll have principals clinical in the first quarter; OB, med/surg and psych in the second; peds, med/surg and community in the third and critical care and gero in the 4th.

51 days to go ....

-S

As far as the program goes, they seem to be pretty organized, and I liked everyone I met at the info session, including the director. However, I heard that the drexel hospital, hanneman is so-so, and i don't like the fact that they didn't used to have higher standards, because the reputation may have suffered (i don't know). Also, they do a weird thing with clinicals where you don't stay with one specialty for a few weeks. You might have peds one day, the next day geriatrics, and another day the same week have med-surg.
Liz

ER1010 · Jan 29, 2005

Thanks for the clarification piper. I heard the rotating schedule thing from a student, not Drexel, so i should have been more clear.

nikegoddess · Feb 8, 2005

Hi PlanetCaroline!

I'm on the 2nd quarter of the ACE program at Drexel. It is not easy but it's doable. The first quarter was okay. A handful of people disappeared (dropped out by the 2nd week and then some had to wait for 6 months to repeat the course that they failed). I get frustrated oftentimes, but it seems to me that we are being prepared for the NCLEX. Drexel bought Hahnemann and they have a 100% NCLEX passing (better than Jefferson & UPenn). It's tough but it's only 11 months. If you're used to getting As & Bs, it is not impossible to get occasional Cs. So be prepared.

We only had to wear uniform during clinical. It's the typical white pants, plain white shoes (you can buy Nursing shoes but plain white sneakers are allowed), and yellow polo shirt with the blue dragon (and "Drexel ACE") embroidered on the right of the chest, plus a white coat (don't buy the long coat, you only need one coat!). Your stethoscope, sphygmo, & PDA are to be given to you on your orientation day. Save money! Don't expect your reimbursement check to arrive on time. They're almost always late.

I guess that's it for now. Good luck! :)

Long time lurker, first time poster here. Changing careers from nonprofit fundraising to nursing.
I've been interested in health and medicine since my first boyfriend (a med student) gave me The House of God. Kind of dated with its attitudes toward women, but I loved it. Since then I've read every medical & nursing memoir I could find--three times.
One day, I realized that instead of reading about this stuff, I could go back to school. :roll
I'm going into Drexel U's accelerated BSN program this fall. I'm looking for anyone with first or second-hand knowledge of the program. I have a bunch of questions & can't contain my excitement. We did have an info session in March, but I did not meet any current students so I didn't get the inside scoop. Besides I don't feel comfortable asking certain questions (eg. are the uniforms hideous? or are there any bad classes?)
Btw I love this forum. I don't know any other nursing students, so you have been my virtual community. Thanks.

piper_for_hire · Feb 8, 2005

Don't believe the hype. The ACE program does NOT have a 100% passing rate on the NCLEX. It's in the 90's but not 100.

39 days till graduation ....

-S