Excelsior college- LPN to RN

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Hello everyone,

I was recently accepted into Excelsiors LPN to associates RN program. I am a bit confused because of mixed reviews about this program. I have a few questions if anyone is available to answer.

1. How long did it take you to complete?

2. Do you just take the 'exams' or do you have to take the 'course'?

3. IF you just take the 'exams' is there a study guide or helpful way to study? Is it organized in which you need to know?

thank you!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Hi, there! I moved your post to the Excelsior College forum where, hopefully, other graduates of the program will asnwer your questions on how things are run. I do know that changes will be made to the program starting next year.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

Study Group 101 study guides and EC free content guide. There are also resources on eBay. I took the exams only using a cd that I purchased off eBay. For A&P and Micro, I used the study group 101 material (I didn't know about them while I was taking the nursing theory exams. Here is the link: MyStudyGroup101 LLC.

There are are changes to the nursing theory exams coming soon (July 2015). While you are enrolled in EC, be sure to click on and read all of the links that pertain to the ASN degree path regularly for current updates. They will be posted on your MyEC home page after you log in.

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Specializes in Pediatric Oncology, Pediatric Neurology.

I, too am newly enrolled in the LPN-RN program. I decided to take the credit-by-exam route because I am transferring all the pre-req classes required in order to start the nursing core exams. I felt this was the best route for me due to a number of reasons. Each exam costs $325 versus $1395 for the course based program and it gives me the independence of learning on my own schedule. You must be a highly motivated individual to go this route though because already I am feeling the urge to slack off, lol. I relocated from sunny Florida and am now living in New Hampshire and am looking forward to the harsh winters so the temptation to go out and do things is gone for me...now I have no excuse but to study :sarcastic:

To answer your questions, I've done quite a bit of research on how long each exam takes to study for and the average is about 4-6 weeks for each exam. It's really up to you how quickly you want to complete the program. A big push for me right now is the changes Excelsior will be making in July 2015. Those changes apply to the credit by exam program...instead of self-study the college is requiring a 16-week course to be taken before you can be eligible to take each exam. I'd like to get the majority of the exams (preferably all) out of the way before that time. If you're able to start the nursing core exams within the next month or so and you plan to devote the majority of your day to studying then I would say it's definitely a possibility to be finished with the program (minus the CPNE) within 7-8 months. However, it is up to you and your study regimen.

Excelsior does provide content guides for each exam which is similar to a syllabus or outline. If you purchase the recommended test books, the content guide breaks down which chapters you will need to study as well as each section in the chapter and the number of hours you will need to commit to learn each area you will be tested on. If you have similar books as the recommended texts, you can navigate each chapter and find the content. Virtually every nursing text book is set up the same with the same content, it just may be broken up into different chapters. Keep in mind however that you will want to make sure the text book you're using is relevant as in only a couple of years old or newer.

Excelsior also offers Practice Exams for each exam which cost $75 and from what I hear they are well worth the money. What I have heard is it's best to take the first Practice Exam before you begin studying from the content guide so you know where you stand as far as what information you do or do not know going in. This will provide a good gauge to what you will need to focus the majority of your study time on. After you feel you have studied the material and are ready to take the actual exam, you can take Practice Exam B (included in the initial $75 for the practice exam purchase). If you score 70% or higher, more than likely you are ready for the actual exam which you will schedule for at a Pearson Vue center. I've also read that StudyGroup101 is an invaluable resource for study material.

If you decide to take the course option, that's an entirely different animal and hopefully someone reading this with experience with it will chime in and enlighten you...

Good luck to you, I, along with you am learning as I go and have found allnurses.com to be the best resource for information regarding Excelsior. :up:

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Specializes in Occupational Health/Legal Nurse Consulting.
I, too am newly enrolled in the LPN-RN program. I decided to take the credit-by-exam route because I am transferring all the pre-req classes required in order to start the nursing core exams. I felt this was the best route for me due to a number of reasons. Each exam costs $325 versus $1395 for the course based program and it gives me the independence of learning on my own schedule. You must be a highly motivated individual to go this route though because already I am feeling the urge to slack off, lol. I relocated from sunny Florida and am now living in New Hampshire and am looking forward to the harsh winters so the temptation to go out and do things is gone for me...now I have no excuse but to study :sarcastic:

To answer your questions, I've done quite a bit of research on how long each exam takes to study for and the average is about 4-6 weeks for each exam. It's really up to you how quickly you want to complete the program. A big push for me right now is the changes Excelsior will be making in July 2015. Those changes apply to the credit by exam program...instead of self-study the college is requiring a 16-week course to be taken before you can be eligible to take each exam. I'd like to get the majority of the exams (preferably all) out of the way before that time. If you're able to start the nursing core exams within the next month or so and you plan to devote the majority of your day to studying then I would say it's definitely a possibility to be finished with the program (minus the CPNE) within 7-8 months. However, it is up to you and your study regimen.

Excelsior does provide content guides for each exam which is similar to a syllabus or outline. If you purchase the recommended test books, the content guide breaks down which chapters you will need to study as well as each section in the chapter and the number of hours you will need to commit to learn each area you will be tested on. If you have similar books as the recommended texts, you can navigate each chapter and find the content. Virtually every nursing text book is set up the same with the same content, it just may be broken up into different chapters. Keep in mind however that you will want to make sure the text book you're using is relevant as in only a couple of years old or newer.

Excelsior also offers Practice Exams for each exam which cost $75 and from what I hear they are well worth the money. What I have heard is it's best to take the first Practice Exam before you begin studying from the content guide so you know where you stand as far as what information you do or do not know going in. This will provide a good gauge to what you will need to focus the majority of your study time on. After you feel you have studied the material and are ready to take the actual exam, you can take Practice Exam B (included in the initial $75 for the practice exam purchase). If you score 70% or higher, more than likely you are ready for the actual exam which you will schedule for at a Pearson Vue center. I've also read that StudyGroup101 is an invaluable resource for study material.

If you decide to take the course option, that's an entirely different animal and hopefully someone reading this with experience with it will chime in and enlighten you...

Good luck to you, I, along with you am learning as I go and have found allnurses.com to be the best resource for information regarding Excelsior. :up:

What a great little write up. Thanks!

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Awesome! Thank you so much for this information! I will be signing up this week and I am ready to continue my education! :)

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

You may find the following articles to be helpful:

https://allnurses.com/excelsior-college-online/excelsior-college-distance-808335.html

https://allnurses.com/excelsior-college-online/clinical-performance-nursing-884109.html

Good luck! :)

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