Drexel Nclex-rn Review Course

base16 · May 27, 2008

Hello! I'm Graduating This Week! Yeepee! We Just Took HESI Today (offered By Our Nursing School) And I Did Not Meet The Passing Grade Of 850...i Did Not Study For It As We Were Told Not To Stress About It Because It Will Not Stop Us From Graduating, But I Must Say That I Really Got Disappointed And I'm More Stressed! I Was Just Going To Do A Self Study Prior To Sitting In For The Nclex-rn Exam In June/july But Now I Feel Like I Need To Take Osme Kind Of Refresher Course To Increase My Chances Of Passing. I Would Like To Know If Any Of You Here Has Taken The Drexel Nclex-rn Live Course (this Is Being Offered At Our School And A Bit Pricey....$329.00 For A 5 Day Live Course)..some People Say Its Just A Waste If Money And Not Worth Taking It, Some Say It's Very Good....i'm Really Stuck At Deciding Because Of Money Issue And My Current Situation ( We're In The Process Of Moving From Ny To Ca)...can Someone Help Me Decide...i Really Want To Have A High Chance Of Passing The Nclex The First Time And I Would Like To Know What To Do...........your Suggestion Is Much Appreciated!

This is late, but thought all should know this. I am the SNA vice president for my N 4 class at the County College of Morris on NJ. I was in charge of bringing the various NCLEX review programs to our campus to speak to my classmates. On the request of another officer, we got Drexel on campus, mostly because the NSNA endorsed them and also because it was almost 1/2 the price of Kaplan. Forty two of our class member signed up, even though the SNA made it clear that we knew very little about this program except the NSNA endorsement. There were two groups, fifteen student started the 4 day program on 5/19/08, and another 27 were to start on 5/27/08. DREXEL TURNED OUT TO BE A TOTAL SHAM. They fulfilled NONE of their claims. The program did not meet the promised hour requirement, their was no pharmacology section, the students were issued text books from 2007 that had no rationals and no answers. The first teacher was not quailified, she knew no medical terminology and could not answer any questions. The second teacher was better, but actually told the class that this program would not help them pass the NCLEX and the students should ask for their money back! in a very organized fashion, that included outlining the various Pa, NJ and Federal authorities I would contact, I have managed to get all money back for all forty two students. That is almost $13,000 in refunds. Do you realize how bad this program must be and how many complaints they must already have to have EASILY refunded that much money. Now we have forty two students that we are trying to bounce into either Kaplan or Rutgers NCLEX Review programs. We graduate this Fri 5/30/08. Facing the NCLEX is stressful enough, with out having your confidence shaken by being taken in by a bogus NCLEX review program. As soon as all my classmates have written documentation that all their monies have been refunded into their various credit cards and bank accounts, I plan to file multiple complaints. Please beware!

berg13 · Jun 1, 2008

Hi I am so glad I actually found some input on the drexel program. I graduate this coming dec of 08 from a nursing school in jersey. Our school pretty much forces us to take the drexel review course and yeah they say they garentee a pass and if not they'll refund you but I dont want to fail the first time! I have been looking for opinions on it because just like everything you've said regarding the program I feared that, that would be the case and that it wouldn't be a great review at all and I would be stuck feeling less prepared then I wanted. If you do happen to look on here again please post anything you think about kaplan because thats the one I wanted to take, my sister took it 4 years ago and said she def. thought it was a great review so let me know.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jun 1, 2008

Moved to the NCLEX forum

base16 · Jun 1, 2008

Hi I am so glad I actually found some input on the drexel program. I graduate this coming dec of 08 from a nursing school in jersey. Our school pretty much forces us to take the drexel review course and yeah they say they garentee a pass and if not they'll refund you but I dont want to fail the first time! I have been looking for opinions on it because just like everything you've said regarding the program I feared that, that would be the case and that it wouldn't be a great review at all and I would be stuck feeling less prepared then I wanted. If you do happen to look on here again please post anything you think about kaplan because thats the one I wanted to take, my sister took it 4 years ago and said she def. thought it was a great review so let me know.

I am in Kaplan and love it! You do most of the content review on your own, with the book and on-line. In class you are taught an approach to breaking down the questions and answers. You practice this breakdown process on questions which also provides you with a review. It's a bit monotnous, but there are 5 steps to this breakdown process that you need to know and be able to implement in order to pass the NCLEX. A few of my fellow students are taking the Rutger's review. From what I'm told, it does teach you strategy, but there's more review. I decided on Kaplan for two reasons. They run a 4 hr class 2 X a week over aprox 8 weeks, and they are very well established as successful. Who cares if it's $100 more than Rutger's, I too want to pass the first time. Rutger's is 8 hrs for 5 days. I can not stay focused on the material for 8 hrs straight. I can not say enough, stay away from Drexel, they are a fraud! They paid NSNA to get their endorsement. Check out the general search on this web site with Drexel NCLEX Review as the key words and you'll find lots of unsatisfied people. Which Jersey college are you from?

Rn-08-NP10-ToBe · Jun 1, 2008

I don't know if I had a much better instructor, but I thought the Drexel course was beneficial. They focus more on content review then test taking strategies, although they are taught and applied. I thought it was good because it reminded me of a lot of topics that I learned about in nursing school that I forgot about. I thought it was a great refresher and it covered topics of nursing that weren't really stressed in my program. I took the live course and with that, I am enrolled in the online site, which I feel has a great Pharm section and a ton of practice questions. I read reviews before taking the course and the course was much better than I had anticipated.. I guess we'll see once I take the NCLEX... Just my 2 cents

heymansgirl · Jun 2, 2008

DON'T waste your money!!!! I took the course and it was horrible!! The insrtuctor just sat and read the stupid 2007 book and offered no insight on how to study or break down the questions. I ended up not even going the last 2 classes b/c I got more studying done at home than I did in that class!!! :banghead:

pinkprincessRN · Jul 13, 2008

wow...reading this post made me question some things i went through too.

my school invited someone who came up with this program called starting point.

she claims to have a 100% pass rate and most students go home with 75 questions....supposedly, she even taught this class at brown.

anyways...it was $150 for the course and i paid by check.

we never signed a contract or anything like that...maybe 6 people signed up for it in my class.

she said "do not use any sources except this program".

basically, she would email us all this nursing information (diseases, hiv, sample nclex questions) and emphasizes on "cardinal signs" because she says most of the nclex is to watch for cardinal signs. cardinal signs being "elevated esr, palpable lymph nodes for hodgekins"...like, recall questions basically......and the signs and symptoms.

on top of that...we did "phone conferences" and basically, she just read off the information on the emails!!!!

nothing was ever shown to us on how to break down the questions...no maslows....no priority...nothing. its as if we're supposed to remember all these "valuable" information on these emails and supposedly can pass????

so when i took the nclex...i almost threw up

i did not stop at 75 questions like she claimed

and on top of that...i dont know where this "cardinal signs" info came from...majority of my questions were drug calcs, select all that apply, priority and medication!!!!! the whole time...i was thinking...."where in the world was the cardinal signs!!!!!"

so after failing the nclex...i signed up for kaplan qbanks...did saunders in additon...and i passed with 75 questions.

obviously, if i did the kaplan initially...i would have passed coz i thought the nclex was pretty easy after taking the kaplan...

so i emailed the lady from starting point for a refund....

she told me that there was a written policy of "no refunds"

my thinking is..first of all...

we never signed a contract

second, we have never seen a "written policy" of no refunds!!!!!

so my question is...does she have every right not to give us a refund???

even if her classes did not teach anything to tackle the nclex?? no contracts??? or the fact we have never seen a written policy???

she is telling me about her "written policy" as an excuse....but if i wouldve known that there was a written policy about no refunds...i would never have signed up for it!!!!!!!! why would she bother not telling us, or show us or have us sign to acknowlege this????

kinda funny for a claimed 100% pass rate...4-5 people that took her course flunked the nclex..and yet, many who didnt take her course in my class passed!!!!

would appreciate some advice, pls.

base16 · Jul 14, 2008

Hi,

We had aprox 50 students that paid between $250-$280 for the Drexel course. Along with the sales pitch that they made in front of our entire class, Drexel gave a printed hand out that made all their claims about the specific approach they would take, the hours of the course, the qualifications of their teachers and their printed and online resources that would be included in the price. Because the amount Drexel was paid by my student body totalled over $10,000, and because they did not meet the terms of their written advertisement they handed out to us, this constituted fraud in the state of Penn, which is where Drexel is and where the individual student fee for this coures was paid. Drexel is a stationary university, this NCLEX review program they were running is considered part of the continuing education dept of Drexel. I was very aware of the rights of my fellow students when looked at as a GROUP. I contacted the people who ran the review course and Drexel U's dean of human development. I specificlly outlined the course of attack I would follow if all monies were not refunded. This included contacting the Better Business Bureau, the Penn Dept of Consumer Affairs, the Penn Board of College Accredidation, the NJ State Board of Nursing (Our school is in NJ) and the Penn State Board of Nursing. With in 4 hr Drexel agreed to refund everyone's money. As far as I know they did with in 1 week. There was one student that did their on-line course who did not get a refund, but to be honest, she did not follow the procedure I asked her to to be viewed as part of the group. I waited until after everyone got their money back, THEN I filed a complaint with the Penn board of Consumer Affairs. At this point there were multiple complaints listed with the Penn BBB against them so I didn't bother with that. I then spent the next week running my butt off to get eveyone into either a Kaplan or Rutger's review.

I'm not sure what state you're in, but check out your states Consumer Affairs web site to see if you have rights concerning fraud. The BBB is only to post the prior complaints a business has had filed against them so that info is available to the public. Contact your school in writing about the poor quaility of this review course so they're not invited back on your campus. Write letters and send them certified mail to Starting Point asking for your money back based on the various points of disatisfation you've mentioned. Be a polite, consistant pain in the butt until you get what you want.

I'm sorrry you had to go through failing the NCLEX once, but I am very glad you did pass. I also passed with 75 Q as of Fri, on my first try which I credit to Kaplan. Being ripped off by shiesters always suck, but with the stress we all went to to get through nursing school, and the stress even the best student faces approaching sitting for the NCLEX, it puts a deeper spin on the scummyness this rip off programs represent because somewhere in these programs are a nurse. Good luck!

pinkprincessRN · Jul 14, 2008

Hi,
We had aprox 50 students that paid between $250-$280 for the Drexel course. Along with the sales pitch that they made in front of our entire class, Drexel gave a printed hand out that made all their claims about the specific approach they would take, the hours of the course, the qualifications of their teachers and their printed and online resources that would be included in the price. Because the amount Drexel was paid by my student body totalled over $10,000, and because they did not meet the terms of their written advertisement they handed out to us, this constituted fraud in the state of Penn, which is where Drexel is and where the individual student fee for this coures was paid. Drexel is a stationary university, this NCLEX review program they were running is considered part of the continuing education dept of Drexel. I was very aware of the rights of my fellow students when looked at as a GROUP. I contacted the people who ran the review course and Drexel U's dean of human development. I specificlly outlined the course of attack I would follow if all monies were not refunded. This included contacting the Better Business Bureau, the Penn Dept of Consumer Affairs, the Penn Board of College Accredidation, the NJ State Board of Nursing (Our school is in NJ) and the Penn State Board of Nursing. With in 4 hr Drexel agreed to refund everyone's money. As far as I know they did with in 1 week. There was one student that did their on-line course who did not get a refund, but to be honest, she did not follow the procedure I asked her to to be viewed as part of the group. I waited until after everyone got their money back, THEN I filed a complaint with the Penn board of Consumer Affairs. At this point there were multiple complaints listed with the Penn BBB against them so I didn't bother with that. I then spent the next week running my butt off to get eveyone into either a Kaplan or Rutger's review.
I'm not sure what state you're in, but check out your states Consumer Affairs web site to see if you have rights concerning fraud. The BBB is only to post the prior complaints a business has had filed against them so that info is available to the public. Contact your school in writing about the poor quaility of this review course so they're not invited back on your campus. Write letters and send them certified mail to Starting Point asking for your money back based on the various points of disatisfation you've mentioned. Be a polite, consistant pain in the butt until you get what you want.
I'm sorrry you had to go through failing the NCLEX once, but I am very glad you did pass. I also passed with 75 Q as of Fri, on my first try which I credit to Kaplan. Being ripped off by shiesters always suck, but with the stress we all went to to get through nursing school, and the stress even the best student faces approaching sitting for the NCLEX, it puts a deeper spin on the scummyness this rip off programs represent because somewhere in these programs are a nurse. Good luck!

I'm getting kinda worried...looked for her program under the BBB and nothing...googled it...nothing....no internet address.....no physical address either..............

i tried to call my instructor and tell her about our situation and she just flat out says....'well most programs dont do refunds anyways'.....um...but this lady tells me about her "written policy about refunds"....yet we have never seen it, signed anything nor she mentioned in during her promotion of her program???

i think we have been duped :banghead: