Applying to MDC RN Generic Prgm for Fall 08

SouthFLRN · Apr 28, 2008

Well..if u have the resources and option to go to other schools like BCC, run away from MDC ASAP!

The RN program at MDC is one of the hardest to get in, stay in and to get out..

I totally do not recommend the school at all. If you are ready to be tortured like no other, then go ahead.

I stopped recommending the school to family and friends because of what I went through there..

sooo good luck

akspudus · Apr 28, 2008

Wow SouthFLRN. I see you have sought out both recent MDC threads. I notice you do this at the end of the semester. Something must have not gone your way.

I have to pipe up in defense of my school. MDC is a nursing school! It is NOT easy. YOU have to work to get through it. I am just finishing up my second semester. I am working my ASS off to get through it. But, I am getting through it and doing quite well. I feel challenged by nursing school but in no way tortured.

I could go on and comment as to why almost one third of those that started out last fall are not going to be with the class this summer....but I will refrain.

May I ask why you have such ill feelings for the school? Can you elaborate on why you feel MDC is just soo torturous?

Akspudus

Jessica1024 · May 9, 2008

You know I have always heard that Miami Dade College is one of the best out there when it comes to nursing. My father also went through the nursing program in the 80's, and he is one of the best nurses I know. He believes Miami Dade College is one of the best, and I believe him.

Nursing is not supposed to be a walk in the park. In the future you might have someone's life on your hands. Also nursing is not an easy thing to do. If you can't do nursing school.......in MDC which is one of the best......perhaps that person should consider another carreer.

Jessica1024 · May 9, 2008

ALSO Mdc is not a hard school to get into. All you need is a good GPA. I mean they don't ask for a test, or even an interview or an essay. I mean come on it really is not impossible to keep your GPA above a 3.5. Most of the pre reqs are so easy anyway. The ones you really need to work on are classes like A&P and Chemistry. Other then that all other classes are EASY.

labrador4122, RN · May 11, 2008

Well..if u have the resources and option to go to other schools like BCC, run away from MDC ASAP!
The RN program at MDC is one of the hardest to get in, stay in and to get out..
I totally do not recommend the school at all. If you are ready to be tortured like no other, then go ahead.
I stopped recommending the school to family and friends because of what I went through there..
sooo good luck

I agree with you SouthFLRN 100%

I live in miami, and MDC is only 15minutes away from me, and I was rejected from there 5x's!!!

I sent them a letter explaining how much I wanted to be a student at MDC and no luck.

I ended up at BCC and it was tough. But I am so so so thankful that they gave me the opportunity to even be a student in the RN program.

I don't know why people claim that MDC is the best, when their NCLEX-RN scores are lower than BCC students. You can see that for yourself at myflorida.com.

And that is that BCC does not have exit exams after each semester like MDC, BCC accepted people on a wait list with min. GPA of 2.0

BCC-wins when it comes to NCLEX-RN (and we have better uniforms! blue scrubs with BCC logos, unlike MDC with the white blouse with teal green collar-yuck!)

All nursing schools are very challenging.

But actually getting into MDC is a challenge. Some of us started out with other majors, and therefore do not have a 3.5 that MDC requires to get in their program.

But those who are lucky enough to start their GPA's from scratch are aware of keeping that GPA up to par.

I have a belief that everything happens for a reason, and there is a reason why I was not accepted to MDC.

BCC ended up being a good school for me.

(OH and BTW even when I was in nursing school at BCC, I wanted to transfer after the first semester for MDC program, so I didn't have to drive up to broward.... and they still wouldn't take me in. they told me that they did not have space, that all the classes were full.... go figure)

Jessica1024 · May 11, 2008

I think it is just some schools are a bit more competative than othets, but I believe a good nurse needs to be good at heart, and that has nothing to do with GPA. As for MDC, there nursing program might not be the best, but they are still good. And go figure it turns out UM has one of the worst nursing programs out there. In all honesty I also have a friend who is smart and compassionate. She attends FIU and wants to be a nurse, but she has a 3.3 GPA amd has no chance of getting in.I know she would make the greatest nurse if she had a chance. It's not that schools do not want to accept the students ,it is actually the shortage of faculty and staff. There are no funds and there are no nurses to teach. No one should take it to heart. It does not mean anything anyway. Actually believe it or not MDC is not even half as hard to get into like other schools. They should have more faculty so that more students could get in. I believe we are missing out on a lot of wonderful nurses, because of the shortage of faculty.

Jessica1024 · May 11, 2008

BTW Patty RN I believe you should have applied to BCCfrom the beggining, because all I have seen are comments that MDC sucks bla bla bla and how BCC is better. Yet it seems like you would be willing to sacrifice for a short commute to go to sucky little MDC . If it was so much worse why did you not go to BCC from the beggining? And then you tried to transfer to MDC after you were already in a better program AND after five rejection letters. Don't tell me the short commute, because a lot of people are even willing to move so that they can attend the school of their choice. Aside from the scores which is a valid reason to go to BCC it sound like you really wanted tob get into MDC and never could. Now you put down the school and the students. You make no sense.

labrador4122, RN · May 11, 2008

BTW Patty RN I believe you should have applied to BCC from the beggining, because all I have seen are comments that MDC sucks bla bla bla and how BCC is better. Yet it seems like you would be willing to sacrifice for a short commute to go to sucky little MDC . If it was so much worse why did you not go to BCC from the beggining? And then you tried to transfer to MDC after you were already in a better program AND after five rejection letters. Don't tell me the short commute, because a lot of people are even willing to move so that they can attend the school of their choice. Aside from the scores which is a valid reason to go to BCC it sound like you really wanted tob get into MDC and never could. Now you put down the school and the students. You make no sense.

I live in miami, so it would make sense that I went to school down here 15 mins away from my house.

I was hoping to get in to MDC from the beginning.

After the second rejection letter I applied at BCC and got on their wait list.

I did not know many people at the time who went to MDC nor BCC. So I knew nothing of people's experiences at either programs.

"a lot of people are willing to move" ... when you make $8/hr working as a CNA and have a husband and have parents to take care of moving to another city is not an option to attend the school of choice.

Of course I wanted to attend MDC, it's 15 minutes away from home! I tried and tried without success. I used to leave my house at 7:00am to beat the morning traffic, I would get there at 8:00am and class started at 9:00am. On test days I would leave at 6:45am just in case if there were any accidents, and of course from time to time there were plenty and I would get to class right on time.

Getting home from work was even worse, 2 hours on the road, bumper to bumper traffic....

People really drive crazy but God was there for me protecting me every those two years I went to school, and I went up to school until a week before I gave birth. a week after that, I was driving up to the hospital to start my OB/GYN semester.... (I still had lochia and recuperating from the episiotomy) So yes at the time I would of rather gone to what you called "sucky MDC" that was 15 minutes away.

Other people told me to give up on my dreams and pick a different career. Other people told me that I could never make it with a new born.

RN is the only thing I wanted to do in my life.

Now that I know more people who went or go to MDC, I know a little bit on what I missed out on. And I am glad I did.

BCC is not the greatest program, it doesn't have greatest instructors, but I was one of the 80 people who passed boards the first time, when I started working as an RN I felt comfortable where I was, and how I was doing things; SO I am very happy I went there. and like I wrote earlier, everything happens for a reason.

labrador4122, RN · May 11, 2008

BTW Patty RN I believe you should have applied to BCC from the beggining, because all I have seen are comments that MDC sucks bla bla bla and how BCC is better. Yet it seems like you would be willing to sacrifice for a short commute to go to sucky little MDC . If it was so much worse why did you not go to BCC from the beggining? And then you tried to transfer to MDC after you were already in a better program AND after five rejection letters. Don't tell me the short commute, because a lot of people are even willing to move so that they can attend the school of their choice. Aside from the scores which is a valid reason to go to BCC it sound like you really wanted tob get into MDC and never could. Now you put down the school and the students. You make no sense.

BTW, I don't understand where you are getting the idea that I am putting down the students......... I am just sharing my experiences on what I experienced at MDC.

I cannot put down the school nor the students because I was NEVER in their program.

YOU are the one who makes no sense. You think that all my posts relate to you when they are not.

AGAIN, they are G E N E R A L O P I N I ON S of my personal experience with the school.

Jessica1024 · May 11, 2008

Hey I am sorry I bashed you. We really are alike in a lot of ways. I gave birth to two children. One after the other. They are a year apart. A lot of people told me the same thing too. That I would not make it thru school with two children. I think I got to offensive. I really do want to be a nurse, and I am going through a lot to get there. My hubby works full time, and I work par time. We barely have enough for the bills. When I gave birth to my second baby, a baby girl, I gave birth on Sunday and Wednesday I was taking a test. I have had a lot of people bring me down, and as a result I have turned to offensive at times. I to had been cut down there. We are too much alike and we are engaging in a battle of word which are needless. So just for short I am sorry if perhaps I became to offensive. I mean really Happy Mother's Day. Let's make peace. Perhaps you can give some tips on passing nursing and the exam. We should start on the right foot. I really am not a bad or nasty person.

SouthFLRN · May 11, 2008

I agree with you SouthFLRN 100%
I live in miami, and MDC is only 15minutes away from me, and I was rejected from there 5x's!!!
I sent them a letter explaining how much I wanted to be a student at MDC and no luck.
I ended up at BCC and it was tough. But I am so so so thankful that they gave me the opportunity to even be a student in the RN program.
I don't know why people claim that MDC is the best, when their NCLEX-RN scores are lower than BCC students. You can see that for yourself at myflorida.com.
And that is that BCC does not have exit exams after each semester like MDC, BCC accepted people on a wait list with min. GPA of 2.0
BCC-wins when it comes to NCLEX-RN (and we have better uniforms! blue scrubs with BCC logos, unlike MDC with the white blouse with teal green collar-yuck!)
All nursing schools are very challenging.
But actually getting into MDC is a challenge. Some of us started out with other majors, and therefore do not have a 3.5 that MDC requires to get in their program.
But those who are lucky enough to start their GPA's from scratch are aware of keeping that GPA up to par.
I have a belief that everything happens for a reason, and there is a reason why I was not accepted to MDC.
BCC ended up being a good school for me.
(OH and BTW even when I was in nursing school at BCC, I wanted to transfer after the first semester for MDC program, so I didn't have to drive up to broward.... and they still wouldn't take me in. they told me that they did not have space, that all the classes were full.... go figure)

BINGO! BULLSEYE! You took the words out of my mouth. Thank you so much!

MDC has lower NCLEX passing rate compared to BCC.

I don't know why we had to take all these extra exam that we could have used those times to study for the boards? MDC is the only school that have critical thinking/careplan and Pharm (not just 10 questions) exams. And if someone failed the test for the 2nd time, they cannot move on. They had to repeat the class, obviously.

I had friends who got Incomplete grades with the Leadership class because they failed to get a passing score in the exit exam. Not just 2 or 3 but more than 20 students! It means they have to take remedial class, with their own money (it's like reviewing for NCLEX) and take the exit exam again. They could have been reviewing for the real NCLEX not for some BS exit exam! FIU has an exit exam but their passing is much lower, at MDC it's 90%, FIU is 65% to get out.

I don't understand what MDC is trying to prove? It's all about competition and reputation :stone

akspudus · May 12, 2008

I don't understand what MDC is trying to prove? It's all about competition and reputation :stone

They aren't out to prove anything. They are trying to get their NCLEX pass rate up. Historically they had one of the highest pass rates. In the past two years their rates have crashed. We were told about the ATI exit exam during orientation...so it should not be a surprise to anybody what the graduation requirements are.

Look...Kets cut the curd about ATI. I studied over the weekend before taking the ATI Pharm exam last semester. I got a level three on it. Only two of us in the whole class pulled that off. I actually opened that box of ATI books up and read the Pharm book cover to cover. Funny.....the ATI exam was pretty eady after reading the book. Two days later I took the Pharm lecture final. I missed one question on the whole exam.

If you go check NCLEX exam results. You would see that at end of year 2007 BCC graduated 295 students of which 263 passed the NCLEX (89.15% pass rate). MDC graduated 557 students of which 425 passed the NCLEX (pass rate of 76.30%). NOw...we could look at that in many many ways. MDC with a higher pass rate...or MDC making more that twice as many RN's. Or we could just say...wow! BCC and MDC made nearly 1000 new RN in 2007.

Yeah...I go to MDC...but I would rather say the latter.

Bottom line is. Nursing school is TOUGH. In the end we are all RN's. We don't wear our GPA's nor our school colors on our scrubs.

ok...I'm off the soap box.

akspudus

PS....First quarter numbers are out for 2008. Pass rate for MDC is up!!! to 90% AND for BCC!!! to 94%. That's a whole lot of success in my book. Good luck to all those new nurses.