General Ed courses through Excelsior...

Nursing Students Online Learning

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

Well, after hanging out on this board for a couple weeks and doing some more searching and a lot of thinking about wether to go through Rue or EC I have a couple questions for those of you who went directely through EC. I spoke with a rep this morning and she said it would not be a problem that i have no college credits, that they would help me with everything including all the study materials and books. I was under the impression from others that I have talked to that 1. EC didn't give you general education classes and 2. They didn't supply the study guides or books. These are 2 of the most important reasons that I was looking at Rue. I don't have ANY college credits and I don't want to take them at the community college. I want to be able to do everything at home. I am aware of online course through my Community college but I am not interested in that college at all!! She also said that they offer a pay as you go payment option. She gave me no specifics, i am just wondering if it will be like $400 or more per course or what?!?!? The financial arrangments that I can get will also influence which route I take. SO, to anyone who has experience going straight through EC did you have to take any of their General Ed classes and did they supply all the study materials?? ALso, if anyone did the pay as you go option how much were some of your payments??? Thanks for any info. I really want to make the best decision I can and am trying to get all the info I can to help me make a very informed decision. Thanks for anyone that can help!!

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FIRST I WOULD SAY GO TO EXCELSIOR COLLEGE WEB SITE www.excelsior.edu and set up free user account and look at info about courses & tests-if you decide you like rue,tcn,ect get their books from ebay aution dont sign contract-also search 4 study aids for general edu courses there-cheap. GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES THROUGH EXCELSIOR THAT ARE TAKEN ONLINE ARE EXPENSIVE $750-800 DOLLARS THE CHEAPEST IS INFORMATION LIT $250.TEST OUT OF THESE WITH CLEP OR DANTES TEST.EXCELSIOR COLLEGE HAVE CONTENT GUIDES FOR THEIR

TESTS AND STUDY PACKETS WITH THE BOOKS THEY SUGGEST YOU STUDY -TOTAL $412 NEW FOR ABOUT 6 BOOKS SOME OF WHICH YOU'LL USE FOR ALL THE NC TEST. PUBLISHING COMPANIES LIKE TCN,CHANCELLORS WILL MAKE YOU 1 COMPACT STUDYGUIDE CROSSREFERENCING THE BOOKS EXCELSIOR WANTS YOU TO STUDY AND CHARGE 400 PER GUIDE X 7 GUIDES -WHEREAS EXCELSIOR BOOKS ARE USED FOR ALL 7 TESTS YOU COVER DIFFERENT CHAPTERS PER DIFFRENT TEST

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Specializes in Mental Health, MI/CD, Neurology.

When did the EC exams get so expensive???

Yes, you can go EC for every single gen. ed. course you need. Another problem with publishing companies is that they can give you an idea of what generals you'll need, but it's not always completely accurate. They can tell you that you need courses you don't, and then you waste even more time and money taking things you didn't need to take. Or they can tell you that you don't need certain things, only to find out once you're with EC that you do indeed need them.

Luvmy2angels, even if you pay the money to go through a 3rd party publishing company for your study materials, you still have to pay to take EC's exam. You can either pay the 3rd party $350 (or whatever they cost now) for a study system plus whatever the exam costs, or you can get a free content guide from EC and use whatever books you want to study. That way you'll only pay for the books you buy, if you even buy any, and if you do you can get them used. EC recommends several for each course, but you don't have to use the ones they recommend. I took the EC A&P and I used my old LPN anatomy book and med surg book, so I only paid to take the exam.

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Spazzy,the Excelsior College Exams Are For Concepts Are 215 ,its There Online General Education Courses That Are Around 800 Bucks

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Specializes in Mental Health, MI/CD, Neurology.

Wow, that's too bad. They're losing out on students choosing to test with community and tech. colleges if EC's exams are that expensive.

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exactly,i wasnt comfortable testing out of english so i was going to take their online course but when i found out that it was 750 i ended up taking it at the community college instead

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Specializes in rehab; med/surg; l&d; peds/home care.

Yes, the COURSES are expensive. But you can get all the general ed credits through exams that are between 200-300 dollars per EXAM.

The courses are different than the exams. They run like regular college online courses. Taught by teachers, over a set period of weeks. Some are WEB-CT and others are CD-ROM, but they all are different than the exams.

I did all my general ed credits through ec. None of my courses cost more than 300 dollars. and i didn't sign with RUE, college network, chancellors, or any other publisher. I used my old LPN books, bought a few used ones (med-surg, peds) off half.com.

I wish you great luck with whatever you decide!!!

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Nursing.

Why not just study and CLEP out of the courses for around $60.00 each course and not have to pay the high course fees of community colleges or EC exams for general ed requirements?:

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/about.html

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Specializes in Mental Health, MI/CD, Neurology.

So the gen eds are now actual courses? They used to be content guides and an exam, like the NCs. No wonder they're so expensive.

And I second the CLEP suggestion for the courses that do have CLEPs available. Easier and cheaper.

Yes, the COURSES are expensive. But you can get all the general ed credits through exams that are between 200-300 dollars per EXAM.

The courses are different than the exams. They run like regular college online courses. Taught by teachers, over a set period of weeks. Some are WEB-CT and others are CD-ROM, but they all are different than the exams.

I did all my general ed credits through ec. None of my courses cost more than 300 dollars. and i didn't sign with RUE, college network, chancellors, or any other publisher. I used my old LPN books, bought a few used ones (med-surg, peds) off half.com.

I wish you great luck with whatever you decide!!!

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Specializes in LTAC, Telemetry, Thoracic Surgery, ED.

The only bad thing about the CLEPS vs. taking the actual exam is you just get exempt from having to take the course you don't get actual credits. I plan on going on for my BSN at a state college and I need the actual credits not just the exemption. But as previously said if you self study and just take the exam it's approx $200ish

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really,is that for all bsn programs because i took clep tests and i thought that passing these test gave you the credits for the courses and when i applied to a couple of traditional local colleges i was given 3 credits for the subjects i cleped out of now i dont know if there counted towards gpa since i decided to go to excelsior instead

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Specializes in rehab; med/surg; l&d; peds/home care.
So the gen eds are now actual courses? They used to be content guides and an exam, like the NCs. No wonder they're so expensive.

And I second the CLEP suggestion for the courses that do have CLEPs available. Easier and cheaper.

No, Spazzy, they have general eds that are exams (what everyone is most used to) and also some available as courses. The difference is in the set-up. You're right, the general ed exams are just like the NC exams. You have to study the content on your own, and take a test at Pearson Vue (used to be prometric/sylvan). But the COURSES are very expensive, around 800 dollars and up, and you follow a general semester schedule, and have homework, papers, etc. And a teacher that reviews things with you. It's all done online, but it's not the same as the EXAMS. It's all kind of confusing, esp for new people to EC. I know it took me a while to figure out everything.

You have the right idea Spazzy. They do have every general ed you need to finish the program available in EXAMS.

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