Drexel...what you should know before deciding to go here.

U.S.A. Pennsylvania

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Yes I am a current student and No I would not recommend the program.

You should know that the clinicals are not graded and 50% of your grade is on the final day of each course. 2 tests each - one on the computer. If you get lower than a 76 you will fail the course. If you fail a course you will need to wait 3 months before taking just that class over again, thus you are 6 months behind orig. grad date.

Be prepared that if you have 4 courses that your finals will be scheduled mon-thurs 2 tests a day for your final week. These exams may be one at 8 am and the other as late as 5pm each day. You could have an A going into the final and still fail the course. A comprehensive course covering over 1000 slides, 50 chapters..comes down to 50 random questions on your final day. Nothing else matters...your care plans, etc are not graded. You will receive multiple math exams that if you don't pass on 2 attempts you fail the course.

I have over a 3.5 gpa currently and I wish someone told me how bad the program was and is. If the class has a high average on the midterm, then the Professors make the final that much harder in an attempt to bring the class average down. Once you are in this program, just remember you can not transfer anywhere, you are stuck. Drexel knows this, so it is to the schools financial benefit if you need to repeat a course. And if you need do not pass the final HESI be prepared to pay Drexel 4 thousand more to fix what they failed to teach you.

I wish someone had told me this....

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Specializes in Couplet Care/Newborn Nursery.

Are you in the Drexel Ace program?

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Quote"Once you are in this program, just remember you can not transfer anywhere, you are stuck."If your in the program, why can't u transfer????

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Interesting food for thought. Thanks for that.

Is it more because of the bad professors, or the program itself? If you're in ACE do you think it would be better or easier if they lengthen the program?

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My husband just finished paramedic school, and his clinicals weren't graded either. His school also required a 76 as a minimum to pass. The test weight was different, basically because instead of separate courses for subjects it was units within 1 class. But if you failed the final exam, you failed the course and would have to retake the entire program and pay the entire tuition again. I think health care programs just have much higher standards than regular ones.

You seem to be doing well though- do you feel like you are learning a lot?

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Thanks for providing your persective of this program.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatrics, Wound Care.

I'll be honest, the grading stuff is what I've read for most schools:

74-76% to pass a course (and 92-94 for an A).

Regular math tests (some schools require 100% to pass, with only one or two retakes allowed, ever)

Finals schedule seems like.. well, every other finals schedule I've had to deal with. Often back-to-back hard finals, or one final on the last day of finals (just to drag out the week).

Most schools are hard to transfer nursing courses out of.

Many schools require the Hesi before allowing the students to sit for the NCLEX. Probably one of the reasons that Drexel has the highest NCLEX pass rate in the state.

I haven't heard many people discuss the course gradings (care plans, clinicals, etc), so I don't know if it's different at Drexel than other places. But, the other stuff you mention definitely just sounds like everything else I've read about nursing school.

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In response to the above questions: Yes this is the Drexel ACE program. And I have no idea how this compares to paramedic school, this is the nursing program.

As far as professors go, I will just say the following. Courses are 12 weeks. Drexel commonly teaches more content after the midterm. Maybe 70-80 percent of the course material is being presented after midterm week 6-11. You have a final and a HESI on the last day of class worth 50 percent of your grade. This week we had finals and I know of students who had high B's fail the course. You have individual HESI's for each class and then a final HESI. You need an 87 on the final HESI in order to graduate.

The HESI for our individual courses did cover material that was not on our syllabus or in the course presentations. It is also common practice to take a test and then if the Professor decides that one of the questions should be thrown out, your score will no longer be out of 50 questions, now it will be out of 49. You do the math.

There are students that are passing that are deciding that they may not come back for next quarter.

I posted this information for people comparing nursing schools. I would have chosen to go to another school had I known the above information. Not all schools base your grades on your last day of class. There are other schools that grade you on clinicals.

I noticed that during my clinicals that when I meet former ACE students, not one has said what a great program. I am not going to say what I have heard. My suggestion is if you are looking at schools, please talk to former students at your local hospitals. Do not go by what former or current students say that are talking at the orientations.

No I do not think the courses need to longer, I think that they need to be organized. No you can not transfer your courses at Drexel to another nursing school.

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And I have no idea how this compares to paramedic school, this is the nursing program.

...

My suggestion is if you are looking at schools, please talk to former students at your local hospitals. Do not go by what former or current students say that are talking at the orientations.

Fair enough- just threw that out there for some comparison to other health care programs.

That is good advice. That's what I love about this site- there are several other near-graduate and graduate students from the ACE program who post here as well.

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I completely feel your frustration!! I just completed the ACE program. Thank God I passed all of my courses on schedule however, I got stuck at the end not "passing" the final HESI. I scored the recommended score HESI suggests students pass with but, Drexel wanted more--a higher score, more time, and more money at the tune of $2,500 to repeat seminar. I wish when I was looking at schools I understood that "100% NCLEX pass rate." You figure, those students who pass the HESI with a 950/87% are more than likely to pass the NCLEX. That 100% pass rate does NOT reflect how many times a student had to retake the HESI to get to be allowed to sit for the NCLEX. BTW, regardless if you are a straight A student with a 4.0, passed all of your clinicals with great recommendations, if you do not eventually pass the HESI you will NOT get your nursing degree. They will give you something else. Talking to students in a nursing program you're thinking about attending is really important because they can give you the inside scoop.:typing

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatrics, Wound Care.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Drexel's pass rate is there for a reason. I'm really hoping for a rigorous program where I learn a lot (which would probably happen in a program that isn't so rigorous). I'm so nervous about the HESI/NCLEX tests that I've already got a study guide (or two), and spent a while studying it. Not as much as I had hoped. But, I did do it for a while. I'm trying to get a 'feel' for the types of questions they'll ask.

I was joking with my boyfriend that I wanted to study the books so well that the classes seemed like refresher courses. Oddly, he doesn't think that will happen.

:clown: clown.gif

I'm hoping to get through on the first try, but I can't be sure. I can't find my 'notes' that I took during the orientation. I remember the attrition rate was a bit.. hefty.. I figure they're taking a chance on me (my GPA wasn't so high), so I fully expect to work my butt off to prove myself.

What "else" do they give you? And, if you fail the HESI, how do you go about retaking it? I'm also a bit confused about the HESI thing. There's 1 HESI for each class, then another HESI at the end?

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Yes, Loner there is a HESI for each class in which, you will take during finals. So for instance you may have a final worth 30% and a HESI worth 20%. The HESI you take for each class are approx 50 questions focused in the area you're studying. For example if you're taking a pediatrics final then your HESI will be only pediatric questions. As for the final HESI you take that at the end of finals week once you've gotten cleared that you passed all of your 4th quarter classes. It's comprehensive with approx 160 questions. If you do not pass it with a 950 or 87% then you get to take it again in two weeks without additional cost. If you do not pass it the 2nd time you must enroll in a "B" version of your senior seminar which last an entire quarter at the cost of approx $2,500. They attempt to "HESI remediate you." You will have 3 or 4 times to take it again. If you pass it on a try before the quarter ends--then you're done and do not have to return. If you do not pass it then (which A and B students have not), you will have to enroll in "C" version of senior seminar, pay additional money, redo labs and "check-outs" and you will have 2 additional times to take the HESI over. If you do not pass at this point they will not grant you your Nursing degree. They also do not round scores. For example an 86.9 is just that and won't be rounded to an 87. :no:I hope this helps. I wasn't sure how to answer, "what else do they give you?".

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