Published
I've been an LPN for 2 years now and also work agency with General Healthcare Resources. I want to get my RN but my husband is in school also for his RN so I have little choice but to do it online if I'm going to do it at all. I went to EC's website and created my EC account. Now what do I do
? How do I know what and how many classes/courses I must take to get my degree? Do I have to pay the $75 fee to apply just to find out if I have to take too many courses? I took a lot of prerequisites at local community college for the RN already.
Also, I cannot find out on my state board of nursing (PA) if they even accept EC degrees- do you know if they do?? I don't want to get into anything I cannot get out of (ie: TCN). Thanks
Kelly
Thanks for the info., your experience with EC is very helpful. I've already started "clepping" and plan to enroll when I've completed all the clep exams that will apply.
Can someone elaborate on this, please? I am trying to figure out how this program works. Will my existing college credits transfer directly or will I have to take Clep exams to place out of these courses?
i was so confused when i was first looking into this program, but it's not so bad once you jump in! the easiest and most reliable advice i could give on your classes is to log into excelsior.edu and create a user name for the site. this gives you access to the publications and it's free. you'll need to do that as a student anyway. then, send them your official transcripts, pay the $75 and get your evaluation done. that way, you know exactly, first hand, what classes you will need. if you are already an lpn, you will need the 7 nursing classes (8 if you're not an lpn), the assessment class (fcca), and the clinical weekend (cpne). your evaluation will let you know what gen eds you will need. the advisors can tell you if you are able to clep the class or if you'll have to take it as a class, or if you'll be able to test out of it...anatomy, for instance, i could take at the local community college or take the test at excelsior. it costs about the same either way for me. they accepted many of my previous credits, so the only things i need are anatomy and microbiology. you can go to your local cc or university for the clep tests, which excelsior will provide you a list of comparable tests to cover a class. if you have a question, just call them before you do it. over all, they seem very helpful, the boards here are awesome, the classes are not nearly as hard as i thought they would be, and all of the information i need is there. i print the study guide for the class i'm going to take, read the material it tells me, take the practice tests, and then go take the test. i'll graduate in about the same amount of time as if i had went the "traditional" route. good luck, and don't hesitate to ask questions here, there are a few absolute gems around here that keep me going the right direction lunah...sue...thanks a bunch!!)
www.college-network.net can help get you started. They specialize in helping you CLEP out of general education courses then help you transition to Indiana State University (BSN), or to Excelsior for Associates RN or BSN. I graduate in January and after taking the NCLEX-PN I plan on starting up with them. They guarantee that if you don't pass your CLEP exam the second time they will provide tutor free of charge. They provide the study guide to ehlp you pass the exam. It is at your own pace.
TCN will cost you thousands of extra dollars buying those modules. Something like $495 each. Try looking on ebay or amazon for the modules that you need first. I never signed with TCN but bought the microbiology module($20) and four Excelsior College nursing modules on ebay for $35 each and sold them back for $50. Do your homework before you sign the dotted line. TCN is not necessary and several on this board did it without them and so can you. Just food for thought. Either way, Congrats on your upcoming graduation!
I am SO confused!!! I got my evaluation back and the first thing I did was enroll and pay the $875. Was that wrong? I've been paying it in monthly payments and now that that's payed off, I was going to start a class/exam. Do I order the books and start studying? Do I need all the books it says I do? I'm so confused???
Thanks ladies.
jch5119
2 Posts
You will not have to pay another $75. I enrolled in Excelsior about 1 1/2 years ago and then took my Gen Ed classes else where. I am now starting the actual nursing classes. Good luck