What to do???

Go now then. Find out what the passing score on boards is for the college you are investigating. If it is a very good percentage, then that's a good one. Go by the school & talk to the Director of the nursing program. Talk to some students & see what kind of loyalty they have for the course. If it's a good course & the instructors are respectful, then they will be loyal. Find out what kinds of grants & low interest loans are available through the student services. The ADN will take you 3 years in course work, even though they CALL it a 2 year course. You'll need to go to summer school too. Get your prerequisite courses out of the way before you start the nursing program: that will better tell them what kind of student you are going to be & let you know if you can put the kind of commitment to the program that you are going to have to do. Remember: if you miss 3 clinicals, you will be dropped from the program. So get your child care (sick child care too) out of the way first.

I would be careful of Sanford Brown. Someone else on the board was talking about them recently and said that it is not an accredited school, so if you ever want to finish with a Bachelor's or even transfer to somewhere else, your SB credits are NO GOOD. I've never checked into there personally, but if you are considering going there, be sure you ask about that and be sure you get the full story. Good luck!

I would be careful of Sanford Brown. Someone else on the board was talking about them recently and said that it is not an accredited school, so if you ever want to finish with a Bachelor's or even transfer to somewhere else, your SB credits are NO GOOD. I've never checked into there personally, but if you are considering going there, be sure you ask about that and be sure you get the full story. Good luck!

:yeahthat: Also, check the better business bureau and maybe talk to any nurses you might know....the cost of their education is outrageous compared to the community colleges....the St. Louis Community Colleges do not have that long of a wait compared to some I've read about (1 - 2 years depending on which campus you're interested in)...if you still need to take prereqs, you'd probably be better served to put the time in and do it the more traditional way...

The most important thing is what's mentioned above...from what I understand, any credits you take there will NOT be transferable if you someday want to move on to a BSN or MSN program...that'd be a huge waste of time and $$ also!! Maybe call UMSL or SLU or whatever program you might someday be interested in and ask if they take their credits....do NOT ask Sanford Brown these questions as they will tell you whatever it takes to get you to sign on their dotted line....please be very careful with this decision and do your homework!!!

If you plan on doing pre-reqs, take them at a community college. It's cheaper that way. Just make sure the nursing school you plan on attending will accept those credits towards your degree. Just call the nursing school and ask who they accept transfer of credits from. They should be able to help you with that info. Good Luck!:wink2:

ASN usually = BSN salarywise (from what I've read)...or if there's a difference it's minimal....that'll get you out working and making money and then you can get the hospital where you are working help financially with tuition for the advanced degree when you decide you want it.

When I was leaning toward health careers, I talked to SB about their respiratory tech program....I had so much negative feedback from others outside of the school once I started checking around that I am so thankful that I didn't pursue it....and now that I am in a nursing program, I am even more grateful that the gal I had worked with there wasn't a more persistent salesperson....I don't think you'll be unhappy to go in any other direction....

The most important thing is to talk to the campuses you're interested in...they're busy and sometimes hard to pin down, but be persistent and patient...you'll get all the answers you need...just don't give up....they're not as much in a position to need to "sell" their school as SB is.

Here's pass rates for the state of MO nursing schools, BTW:

http://pr.mo.gov/nursing-schools.asp

Click on the link that says "Pass Rates", then look for the heading of "Associate Degree Nursing Programs". You can find the % of pass rates for any colleges in the State of MO. SB is listed as an approved program in this state, but that does not mean they're fully accredited....or that their classes will ever be transferable.

Best wishes!!

I agree. With four children, it will make much more sense financially to go the ADN route through a community college. Sanford Brown is going to cost you so much money, and the credits at Sanford Brown will most likely NOT transfer so if you ever want a BSN, you'll have to take courses over or not get the degree at all.

I can't seem to locate the old thread regarding Sanford Brown (I was going to put a link here to it), but I remember some SB grads stated on that thread that not only will credits not transfer, but some hospitals in St. Louis will not hire SB grads. I'm not sure if you are in St. Louis or Kansas City, but please do your research before deciding on this school (or any school for that matter). It's a decision that has the potential to affect you for a long time after graduation, and I completely agree with wpwpixie that you should not ask an admissions person from Sanford Brown. It is a for-profit school and admissions personnel will be looking to "make the sale."

Best of luck with your decision. If you are interested in UMSL, I can give you plenty of info!

And I can give you pointers on St. Louis Community Colleges if you're in this area!! :)