Excelsior College- almost seems too easy

[SweettartRN]

I signed up for the payment plan program right before it expired at the end of September.

To me, that seemed to be the way to go.

So far, I have completed Health Safety, (skipped out of Health Differences due to LPN license) Reproductive Health, and will take Chronicity next week. My goal is to be on the CPNE wait list by January 1st. I plan to take Microbiology in January, and A&P in February through Excelsior.

I just can't help but feel sometimes that this is too easy almost. I am passing these classes with minimal studying and a majority of it seems as if it is a review of my practical nursing courses. I have read that they get more difficult, but I am wondering if the foundation has been laid already and I learned more than I originally thought I did in nursing school the first time around.?

Another part of me feels that this is the way that it should be; you learn what you need to learn, you quit wasting time in classrooms listening to an hour lecture for 16 weeks only to test out of the material anyway. A lot of my previous nursing school experience was self taught because I didn't understand the instructor, didn't care of the instructor's style, etc.

Anyway, I am pleased at how "do able" this actually is. I am trying to do an exam a week between now and Christmas, but I may space myself between the Lifespan classes because those seem a bit more in depth.

Just wanted to share my thoughts. YMMV.

[zebsmom2002]

If you went through a decent LVN/LPN program and particularly if you have acute care experience it's pretty easy, at least in MHO. (Except for stats that is :-) )

I passed boards on the 1st try with only 75 questions.

don't sweat it.

[cmbelton]

So, I have read this entire thread. VERY ENCOURAGING I must say. I'm an LPN living in CT. I aspire to be an RN. (Big plans in mind!) Did I waste my money going to CollegeNetwork route? If so (i'm over it), how do I get back on track and can I use the above mentioned "studygroup101" and CDs on ebay to prepare me for an exam? I need help...I "signed on" with the CollegeNetwork in April2007 and I think their modules are sloppy! Almost ALL of my prereq's are done at CommunityCollege. Where do I go from here? Any suggestions...

[caliotter3]

You can go on ebay and type in Excelsior College for the search and you will find the studygroup101 CDs/downloads for sale there as well as other study materials at a decent price. Also suggest you get the recommended texts for more indepth reading, the old-fashioned way. Good flashcard material can be found on http://www.flashcardexchange.com. That should be enough for starters. Just sign up for your next test and get to studying! Good luck.

[agldragonRN]

although i learn stuff reading posts, some replys are very discouraging for me. how do you go so fast??do you have kids, work full-time, have sickness yourself, aging parents that have to have assistance with things, 1 parent wound ^ dying after 1 1/2 yr. ca illness? i also had surgery myself few months ago. i keep @ it, but has took me already close to year & half & i haven't got to the nursing courses yet!some of you must have more opportunities than me & the girls i know @ work that have went through the excelsior program. only 1 i know went very fast-less than a year to finish but she had prior credits.maybe it's cause i'm 45+???

it depends what kind of a learner you are. i work full-time, no kids. i try to test every 2-3 weeks because i want to finish fast. i don't aim for an a (would love to) but b or c is fine with me. i am not afraid to fail because i know it does not reflect how smart i am. it just means that i did not give enough time towards studying. i am always confident when i am at pearson even though i don't know 100% of the materials. don't get me wrong, i do study and use several sources but i really think that being confident during the exam helps because my nerves do not interfere with how i answer the questions.

well, i have 4 more exams left and hopefully i knock all those exams out without any failures.

good luck,

angel

[cmbelton]

You can go on ebay and type in Excelsior College for the search and you will find the studygroup101 CDs/downloads for sale there as well as other study materials at a decent price. Also suggest you get the recommended texts for more indepth reading, the old-fashioned way. Good flashcard material can be found on www.flashcardexchange.com. That should be enough for starters. Just sign up for your next test and get to studying! Good luck.

Thanx....one more question....whenever I go to the EC bookstore website, it never shows me the recommended texts. How do I find this out!

[Grapenut]

I just finished EC's course and passed my NCLEX last week. It took me 2 years, but that was due to a money shortage (you know - LPN: Low Paid Nurse). I had to become a travel nurse to make enough to pay EC. I spent 2 years and traveled 3400 miles and I'm finally DONE!!! And you're right about already knowing the material. I mean, body systems are body systems, medications are medications, assessments are assessments - they don't teach us something different in LPN school. When it comes to the CPNE, I don't know anybody in any school that has a more stringent clinical exam, so passing it is something to be proud of. But even their clinical is all stuff that you know because you're already a nurse and you've done it. And ditto on the xanax. I had some with me but was afraid to take it, afraid my mind wouldn't be as clear. The first night I failed 2 labs, not because I didn't know them forward and backwards, but because I just got so nervous I froze. So after realizing that my NERVES were making my mind unclear, you better believe the next day I took a minimal dose of xanax and my mind was JUST FINE because my nerves were in check. But whatever works for you. There are lots of EC Alumni on here ready to encourage you. You'll be fine.

[sarajasmine]

I am a 1984 graduate of Excelsior(formerly NY Regents College). I earned my LPN in 1982. I worked along new BSN grads that never even inserted a catheter! I am in the process of going back to college at age 50! Excelsior has a very high passage rate on RN state boards. Yes, your LPN experience is extremely important. The clinical tests are not as easy as you might think! A tip I would give you is to study the guide carefully because there are no shortcuts-as Nurses; LPN or RN we learn shortcuts...even if the end result is the same! Don't assume your evaluator knows what your thinking-you have to speak it out, almost as if you had a new nurse following you! Be VERY careful about your careplans!! I forgot to put an outcome for one of my interventions and had to repeat 1 clinical eval!

I agree alot of the testing is easy-, but we are already experienced Nurses. Alot comes from practice.

Best of luck to you! If you want to contact me as a former Excelsior Grad feel free! I'd love to encourage you in any way!

Jane Scribner, RN

[sarajasmine]

Excelsior offers the option of testing vs courses. I'm a 1984 Grad of the A.S.N. program. I was an LPN prior to that. I realized that I was doing almost everything that the RN's were doing except hanging blood and TPN, but they were making almost twice my salary! I then went back to school to get my RN!

All of the tests you take have available study guides. Follow them to the 'T'! I couldn't afford buying all of the textbooks-so, I spent time at the library.

I never took a Chronicity test or course to be able to advise you. I know that Statistics is required for the BSN program-not much looking forward to that.

Good Luck!

Jane

[Soozul]

I use Chancelor study guides & CLEP test books purchased from Amazon. com. So far that's all I needed, also c Taber's book & work resources.I don't get to study too much some weeks- depends on what is going on @ home.

[Soozul]

Thanks!! I just wanna pass, don't care if it's a C.I test about every 6 weeks - 2 months x when I had surgery to remove tumor & my Dad died- I had to stop a while to get my mind right to continue.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Thanx....one more question....whenever I go to the EC bookstore website, it never shows me the recommended texts. How do I find this out!

The free exam content guides list the recommended texts. You can download the exam content guides (and you should!) from the publications page. These guides are basically your syllabi -- they outline what's on each exam. Good luck!

[WEST1014, RN,BSN]

although i learn stuff reading posts, some replys are very discouraging for me. how do you go so fast??do you have kids, work full-time, have sickness yourself, aging parents that have to have assistance with things, 1 parent wound ^ dying after 1 1/2 yr. ca illness? i also had surgery myself few months ago. i keep @ it, but has took me already close to year & half & i haven't got to the nursing courses yet!some of you must have more opportunities than me & the girls i know @ work that have went through the excelsior program. only 1 i know went very fast-less than a year to finish but she had prior credits.maybe it's cause i'm 45+???

it's tough. my children are 2 and 3; and trust me- they are more than a handfull. i also work full-time. now...my prereqs are done (except for information literacy). you have to work at your own pace and do what's best for you. i've been out of high school almost 20 years, so i doubt your age has anything to do with it (lol). life happens. adversity happens. lately i've had to study after 10pm (when my children are asleep) on the days that i'm not working. on sundays, i try to study the entire day. i worked with a lady last year that took 3 years to finish; but she did it- and i commend her. she was a single mother of 4 school-age children...working full time. one of her children suffered from a chronic illness. i found her situation encouraging.