Westchester Community College

my friend graduated from their program back in 2001. at the time, they didn’t have a night/evening program and it was extremely difficult to get in. they allotted 15 or so seats out of the approx 40 they accept to lpns transitioning to rns. that's how she was able to get accepted.

she loved the program and from what i can tell, she’s a pretty good nurse. during her time there, the program was not nln accredited, not sure if that's change.

as far as living out there (westchester), it's pretty nice but some areas can get costly (white plains, scarsdale). it all really depends on if you have transportation. although they have the beeline bus system and metro north commuter trains, having a car would be more practical especially if you’re considering the night/evening program.

You will have better luck getting an answer if you post this in the NY program forum. As for somewhere to live Westchester is a family/residential area, its not comprable to manhattan or brooklyn interms of places being open at 2 AM.

Hellooo

I just graduated from WCC RN day program in May. It is highly competitive to get in....there are about 800 applicants a year and they accept about 40 in the day program and less in the evening program. I believe the night classes start at 5pm or so....I know they have three different clinicals to chose from....one fri nites 3-10, sat 7-3pm, or sun 7-3pm. for the first three semesters you do one clinical per week and your final semester you do 1 clinical per week.

I do not know too much about the nite program teachers, they seem okay, its a fairly new program so I don't think the teachers have as much experience, but most of the day program teachers were wonderful.

As far as living....I am in my mid 20's and I love about 10 minutes from WCC with my boyfriend...you are looking at atleast 1000$/month for a studio or one bedroom. Its pretty expensive I think but I love it here.

Goodluck to you...another piece of advice...try to take all the prereq's before entering the program, I took alot of the science/nutrition etc while in the program and it makes it that much harder.

The schools determines acceptance solely on the TEAS exam so try and do the best you can on that.

No acrred....hmmm I would ask why and investigate, whats their pass rate and course work like?

Hello All:

I intend on applying to WCC, I am currently taking my pre-reqs there now. I wanted to know if you could shed any light on the TEAS exam. I have been studying out of the ATI book (the creators of the TEAS) but have heard that the science section is so vast that the ATI book is not a good source. Did you find this to be true? Any advice on the TEAS? If I do not get accepted into their RN program, I think I may just start an LPN program.

Anyone recently complete the LPN program at WCC? How was it? I will have fulfilled all of my liberal arts credits, I'll just be doing the science/nursing aspects of the program. How would you compare it to BOCES? How long is the program, wen does it run? Does it follow the same school calendar n regards to semesters and winter break, or is it straight through?

Thanks for your help!

I graduated from the RN program in May...I remember the science section on the TEAS being harder than the other sections but it is not my strongest subject...there are questions about geology, physics, you name it..nothing really related to nursing. Thankfully I am better at Anatomy and Physiology because those are the courses one must take with the program. I did the worst on the science and got almost perfect scores on the other three sections and still received a high grade on the exam. The ATI book is an excellent resource; I would just concentrate on studying that.

The program is not accredited but the professors said only one person had a problem finding a job and it was because they wanted to join the army...it turns out you really need a bachelors degree anyway. Many people I have spoken to tell me they love to hire WCC grads because we are well trained in the clinical area and the competition to get in the program is huge, thus a "smarter" nurse. The only problem now is that many hospitals are able to be more picky and are requiring that one has a Bachelors degree. I am working in a SNF and have started to take classes at Mercy College for my BSN-MS (I have a BA in another field). The program was no picnic, but I really felt well trained when I graduated and saved a lot of money by attending WCC-did not have to take out any student loans and received two scholarships....apply for the scholarships, everyone who applies will basically get one! :)

As far as the LPN program, it is two semesters long and I believe the one must attend two clinical days per week and two classroom days. I've heard from others it is good...and cheaper than going to BOCES.

Thanks so much for your reply Black Pants, I appreciate it. I will go in there and try my best. I too score highly on the other 3 subject area of the TEAS when I take the practice exams, so I am hoping that be sufficient to get in. Did you do the day or evening program while in the RN program? Does it follow the Fall/Spring semesters or does it run straight through? I was also wondering the same about the LPN program, is it 10 months straight, or do we have a winter break?

Both the RN and LPN program run in semesters. The LPN program consists of a fall and spring semester where you have a winter break and then you would graduate in May. The RN program is the same except it is two years long and you have winter breaks and the summer break. I took one class during the summer break, microbiology, because it was only five weeks long and I had heard the third semester was tough (which it was). I believe in the LPN program, one attends clinicals twice per week and attends classes twice per week. In the RN program, clinical is once per week, except in the final semester when it is twice per week, and usually there is one day of lecture (four hours) and one day of skills lab (four hours). Then of course one must take the other classes like nutrition and a&p if not taken before hand.

I believe if one doesn't score high enough to get in to the RN program they are offered a place in the LPN program. I think you will do okay like I did where I totally messed up he science section but did well in the other sections.