George Brown College

jamiestrome · May 19, 2010

I just graduated from the RPN program there.

There are a handful of really good profs, but overall the college was terrible. The school is terrible (bad admin, terrible student service, ect), a lot of the profs awful, and they really screw you around with clinical placements.

So, good luck!

cinnybun · May 19, 2010

Hi there, I went to George Brown college for Hotel Management last year and really enjoyed it there. I don't know about the other posters experiences but I have had nothing but positive experiences there. As far as administration goes, any inquiries I had were answered very quickly and when I withdrew from the program it was a very easy process and everything was done correctly. Make sure you take advantage of the fact that it is primarly a chef training school! There is a little shop called "On the Run" in the B building I think? (behind the main building where your nursing classes will probably be) that sells the food that the chef training students make in class...for cheeeap! The food is really really good and there is a different menu everyday and it will cost you no more than $3 or so for an entree...the desserts are really good too. Also, take a long walk through all of the buildings on campus. There are so many amazing hidden study spots in that school. The 5th floor in the main building is my favorite because theres lots of tables and chairs and it is where all the hearing impaired students hang out so its always quiet. Goodluck and enjoy :)

RPN_2012 · May 20, 2010

Thanks for your replies guys :)

I've spent the past year in the Pre-Health Science program at GBC, so I know my way around the place now :)

I don't think that school is bad at all, I didn't have problems with administration, and as for the student services/campus life, I couldn't care less... but I didn't start the nursing program yet, so I can't say what that will be like. But the Pre-health program was good, and the profs amazing! I hope the nursing program goes well.

mr47 · May 28, 2010

MIA13!!!! i dont mean to sound so creepy but your posts caught my attention bcus the path where you went to get into pn school is what exactly i wanna do...

well it wasnt before, i went through so many crisis. i got accepted to the centennial/ryerson bscn last year when i graduated from HS.. but it was a conditional offer, i had a 76% and they required a 75%... they accepted me after midterms and i knew that my mark was gonna go down during finals no matter how hard i tried to do well on the final exams... so my overall avg went down to a 73 something % and so they revoked my offer. i was SOOOOOO depressed, but i decided to take a year off and upgrade my avg. i took 2 night school courses, and i got my avg to go up to an 82.3%... but behold i didnt know that this year the competition increased EVEN MOREEEEE and so they increased the requirement avg as well. for the ryerson 4 site it was like an 85% at least u needed and for the other colabs, a lot of ppl had between 83%+, so now im waitlisted on the georgebrown/centennial collabs.. and i don't think i have much of a chance getting accepted from the waitlists.

so im now taking the route of where you are going... i searched some local colleges for rpn.. seneca, centennial and george brown. the thing is with seneca king city, its kind of far and in the middle of no where(literally!!) and centennial, i talked to a few ppl i know that went there and they said that the teachers there are mean and they don't teach you shiz. i heard more than half of the students in anatomy fail. so im not even gonna consider centennial. so my 1st choice is george brown , ive heard great reviews about the rpn program there. but im scared for the admission test, ive done well in bio but i dont recall much of the things i learned since its been like a year and also, my friend didnt do well on her admission test, she said most of the stuff on bio are things we havent really learned in HS.

so i wanna get into the pre-health program.. i just wanna know how you found the program? how was ur gpa? and i read somwhere u did an admission exam? is that the same thing as the admission test when u apply for rpn entry? or was that a different exam connected from your pre-health program?

cinnybun · May 28, 2010

I might be able to help answer you question. I was accepted into the rpn program at George Brown and I was required to take a test to see if they would accept me. I was told that they would look at the scores from the test and my GPA for entrance. So I took the test and I was scared as hell because at the time I was only at midterms in college taking Biology and Chemistry 1...so I knew that the test would cover alot of stuff that I hadnt learned yet. Low and behold when I sat down to write the science component of the test I was completely devastated. I didnt know the answers to ALOT of the questions, but I used my knowledge from Bio 1 and Chem 1 to make educated guesses. I ended up reviewing the test 3 times just to make sure my guessing were rational. You are also required to write an essay in an hour, which was no problem for me but can be difficult for some, and take a hearing test. Overall, be prepared to spend at least 4 hours there, as it can take a long time. I ended up leaving certain that I failed and wouldnt get accepted but 2 days later I got an email saying that I had been accepted into the program (they told me this would take at least a month)...I couldnt believe it! Since then I have decided to go to Durham College instead as it is way closer, but I have been to GB before and LOVED it (just didnt like the commute). Goodluck with eveything and I hope you get in!!

RPN_2012 · May 30, 2010

Hi rielle!

The admissions test for the PN program is not easy, but I found that the Pre-Health program REALLY helped me. I attempted the test once in 2008 (before the Pre-Health program) and failed (the thing with me is that I only took the mandatory Gr. 9&10 sciences in HS, and nothing more, so I was totally unprepared...). So in the '09-'10 I took the Pre-Health program and in the middle of the second semester took the admissions test for PN. this was my only way to get into the PN program. The other way is through the GPA list (the top 20 GPA's get into the PN program without having to do the PN admissions test, that's 20 people out of the entire program, and that's like 4-5 classes making the lowest of the 20 GPAs that cam possible get into the PN program a 3.5 - 3.8!!! I don't know the exact GPA, i varies every semester.) So the more sure way of getting into the PN program is through the admissions test. For me, it was necessary to take the Pre-Health Science program to succeed in the PN admission test. A lot of the Semester 1 Math, Bio, and a little Chem is on the test. There was also a lot of Anatomy from semester 2. Don't ask me for the exact questions, because I wouldn't give them to you, and I don't remember most of them, but even if I did I wouldn't give them, because it would compromise the integrity of the test, and wouldn't be fair! As for the GPA mine was good in the first semester, and in the second semester after I got into the PN I got lazy, and it wet down, technically after you get into the PN trough the admission test you don't have to complete the Pre-Health program, but I just wanted to so I dragged myself the rest of the program, passed all courses, but my GPA sucked. :uhoh3:

As far as I remember the admission test consists of:

English.

-An essay component.

-A listening component.

-A editing component, where you have to correct some sentences for grammar and spelling.

If English is not your first language, or you're just having difficulty with it, work on your spelling, grammar and essay structure and composition skills. They use a special software for the essay where you won't have access to spell check or the internet. A dictionary will be provided for the essay part.

Math.

-Mostly Pre-Algebra stuff. A basic windows calculator will be provided.

Science.

-Basic human biology, anatomy and a bit of physiology.

Here's the link to a some very helpful practice material. scroll to find the list of stuff under S121-Practical Nursing. George Brown College - Educational Resources - Assessment Centre

More test info: George Brown College - Educational Resources - Assessment Centre

Good luck, if you have any more question ask away! :)

shre_sh · Oct 6, 2010

Thanks for your replies guys :)
I've spent the past year in the Pre-Health Science program at GBC, so I know my way around the place now :)
I don't think that school is bad at all, I didn't have problems with administration, and as for the student services/campus life, I couldn't care less... but I didn't start the nursing program yet, so I can't say what that will be like. But the Pre-health program was good, and the profs amazing! I hope the nursing program goes well.

Hi,

I am planning to go practical nursing but not sure which collage. Cent. or Geor Brown? also will you give more information of Pre-Health Science program at GBC

like is course easy to do or its tough to do? what kind of question they ask for maths and science? is maths is grade 11 & 12 or basic maths?

Thanks in advance.

RPN_2012 · Oct 27, 2010

Hi,
I am planning to go practical nursing but not sure which collage. Cent. or Geor Brown? also will you give more information of Pre-Health Science program at GBC
like is course easy to do or its tough to do? what kind of question they ask for maths and science? is maths is grade 11 & 12 or basic maths?
Thanks in advance.

Honestly, I heard that Cent. PN program is harder than GBC... some people say the math passing mark is higher, and therefore math is harder to pass... I don't know if anything else is harder.

I found the Pre-health program was not easy, and useful (for me, I didn't take sciences past gr.10, so I found it very useful, I did take math all the way to gr.12, but still found it useful because the break between high school grad and pre-health was 5 years for me, so I needed the review. Taking the pre-health program definitely helped (me) do well on the assessment test, and helped me get into the PN program, so I would recommend it.

There a link to everything you need to know about the test George Brown College Assessment Centre (the PN program is S121) The math test is mostly on pre-algebra + some basic hs math. The science was mostly biology with some a&p, the English was 1 essay, 1 listening test with question to answer, and some proofreading sentence structure type test... it wasn't too bad overall, but you should definably visit that link, and read up/do some practice stuff. Good luck! :)

Sorry I took so long to answer, my password resetting thingy was messed up, and I could log in for a few weeks.

Karen1256025 · Jan 10, 2011

Hi,

I was a student at centennial college for the practical nursing course. I would never EVER advise anyone to go to centennial college. The prof's are HORRIBLE, the administration is NOT organized, and the work is craaaaaaazzzzy hard. I heard that out of the the 300 students that applied one year, only 23 graduated. More then half of my Anatomy class, including myself failed. Centennial also has a probation period that suspends you from school for a full year if you fail 2 subjects. However, no other community college has this probation period, and no other course at centennial college has it either. And you're not even guaranteed a spot in the program once you come back after that year! you have to reapply just like everyone else. I had previously took the General Arts and Science course to get into the program. IT WAS A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. Nothing that I learned was any great help to me in the PN course. So now i'm planning on applying to George Brown for the PN program. I have done the assessments once before. The English and Math aspects weren't that hard, however the Science was difficult. You really have to study for it. I was thinking about doing to the Pre Health Course at GB and then applying for the PN course. Do you still have to do the assessments for the PN course if you do really well in the Pre Health course? Is it hard to get into the Pre Health Course?

RPN_2012 · Jan 11, 2011

Hi,
I was thinking about doing to the Pre Health Course at GB and then applying for the PN course. Do you still have to do the assessments for the PN course if you do really well in the Pre Health course? Is it hard to get into the Pre Health Course?

Hi Karen,

I took pre-health and found it mostly useful. If you take pre-health and get a really high GPA like 3.5 and above, you're practically guaranteed entrance into the PN program without having to do the Admission Assesment... The GPA thing varies every intake though. Every intake the PN program takes the top 20 people from pre-health, so one semester a gpa of 3.3 might be enough and semester a 3.5 might be on the low end, it all depend on though other's GPAs are if you make it in the top 20 people then you get into the PN program withough having to do the assesment test, so aim very high.

It's really not hard to get into the pre-health program, just apply! Honestly though I thing taking the PSW program (2 semesters) and then the pathway (1 semester) would better prepare you for the "realities" of nursing school clinicals, the hands on stuff. For the theoretical stuff I found that Biology and A&P classes were the most usefull, and if you go the Pre-Health route you will not have to take the College english, compuers, and the elective in semester 1 of the PN prgram, and also the elective in semester 2. That's a nice thing getting all those exemptions. :)

As fot the Admission Assesment test, I've done it (my GPA wasn't in the top 20 in Pre-Health, but I got in via the Admission Assesment test, and I found that the pre-health semester 1 bio, math, english and the sem 2 A&P were the most usefull classes to prepare me for the admissision assesment test. Hope this helps!

bluer · Jan 27, 2011

Hi,
I was a student at centennial college for the practical nursing course. I would never EVER advise anyone to go to centennial college. The prof's are HORRIBLE, the administration is NOT organized, and the work is craaaaaaazzzzy hard. I heard that out of the the 300 students that applied one year, only 23 graduated. More then half of my Anatomy class, including myself failed. Centennial also has a probation period that suspends you from school for a full year if you fail 2 subjects. However, no other community college has this probation period, and no other course at centennial college has it either. And you're not even guaranteed a spot in the program once you come back after that year! you have to reapply just like everyone else. I had previously took the General Arts and Science course to get into the program. IT WAS A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. Nothing that I learned was any great help to me in the PN course. So now i'm planning on applying to George Brown for the PN program. I have done the assessments once before. The English and Math aspects weren't that hard, however the Science was difficult. You really have to study for it. I was thinking about doing to the Pre Health Course at GB and then applying for the PN course. Do you still have to do the assessments for the PN course if you do really well in the Pre Health course? Is it hard to get into the Pre Health Course?

I think you may have been misinformed. I actually know someone from George Brown College that has been put on probation. And after repeating a failed course, a guy from GBC was told that they couldn't guarantee him a spot for the next semester. Apparently, many of them have also complained about the awful prof's. I'm guessing the grass isn't greener on the other side. If you're looking for a school that doesn't have that rule, I suggest you talk to someone at Seneca. I've never heard a student from Seneca mention it. I also heard the RPN program at Seneca is the easiest, but I'm really not sure how anyone would know that unless they've attended all the other schools. Perhaps they compared notes:confused: I have no idea! Well, good luck with whatever decision you make. No matter what school you choose, the nursing curriculum can be very tough.