Good Samaritan vs. University of Cincinnati

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I have applied for the nursing program at Good Samaritan but they are not reviewing applications until Fall and the advisor told me today that the chances are slim for acceptance January 2006 and if accepted will be August of 2006. The University of Cincinnati has an associate program at a branch college (Raymond Walters College) but has a two year waiting list. I am planning on starting at UC in the fall working on my prerequisites. My question is does it matter if you get your degree from a private school versus a univerisity. Is it eaiser to get a job with a degree from one college over another.

Another concern is that the advisor at Good Samaritan suggested I take Intro to Psychology I & II and Intro to Sociology I & II at another school so if I am acceptable I have those classes out of the way. The probably with that is if I don't get accepted to Good Samaritan then taking those classes aren't necessary for the Univerisity of Cincinnati since I have taken Psychology & Sociology classes that are not Intro classes but classes that are part of their nursing cirriculum.

I'm kinda hoping for Good Samaritan due to the fact that if I am accepted I can finish in 3 years versus 4 years at University of Cincinnati.

Anyone have experience with either of these programs? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Edited! Sorry.

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I did call Christ and requested a packet of information but they I was told that they were in the process of printing new packet and they took my address and said they would mail one this month.

My concern about taking the classes that the advisor at Good Sam recommended is that if I end up not getting in and pursuing my degree at UC then the courses will be a waste of time. I'm starting to wonder if I should just stick with UC and work on the prereqs. that I need there and hope for the best.

Thanks for the advice and response. I definitely want to make a decision prior to fall so I can start school in the fall. I have two kids and a husband and want to start and finish in the shortest amount of time as possible due to medical insurance reason.

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.
I did call Christ and requested a packet of information but they I was told that they were in the process of printing new packet and they took my address and said they would mail one this month.

My concern about taking the classes that the advisor at Good Sam recommended is that if I end up not getting in and pursuing my degree at UC then the courses will be a waste of time. I'm starting to wonder if I should just stick with UC and work on the prereqs. that I need there and hope for the best.

Thanks for the advice and response. I definitely want to make a decision prior to fall so I can start school in the fall. I have two kids and a husband and want to start and finish in the shortest amount of time as possible due to medical insurance reason.

One question, do you have an undergrad degree? I know of a lot of direct entry programs as well as these if you already have a bachelors in anything...

The problem you are having will be the same with Christ...they are done accepting for this fall and wont accept again until next fall (06) and thats if you get in, they have tons of applicants. Although a good program, Christ is a diploma program as of now and according to their adm office they will be going to an ADN program starting next year....the only problem is that they wont be accredited by the NNCA (i think thats what the abr is, stands for the national nurses associations of colleges or something)..sooo transferring credits from there will be difficult if you ever wish to go on...also you are gaurenteed a job when you graduate but for christ to pay for your school you must agree to work for them for a certain amount of time, 3 years i think...if you break that contract you will owe them 20k...that is what they quote the cost of their program is....

if you are just taking pre req classes my suggestion is to look into cincinati state...its soooo much cheaper than UC...Cstate has a nursing program of their own so they will have all the pre req classes you need...they cost 71/credit hour which means you can prob get out around 1k a quarter rather than UC's 3k. As for Cstates nursing program the waitlist is 18 months for clinical..so scratch that one...

Xavier has a BSN program but its 4 year...

Mount St. Joe has 2 BSN programs and an MN program(yay thats what im doing), one of their BSN programs is aimed at adults and is avail in the evening..they are accepting students for the fall....dont let the sticker price scare you as they have HUGE fin. aid packages...being a private school they can offer larger aid packs. worth looking into.

NKU also has a nursing program and they would be starting this upcoming spring....they are still accepting students...

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The problem you are having will be the same with Christ...they are done accepting for this fall and wont accept again until next fall (06) and thats if you get in, they have tons of applicants. Although a good program, Christ is a diploma program as of now and according to their adm office they will be going to an ADN program starting next year....the only problem is that they wont be accredited by the NNCA (i think thats what the abr is, stands for the national nurses associations of colleges or something)..sooo transferring credits from there will be difficult if you ever wish to go on...also you are gaurenteed a job when you graduate but for christ to pay for your school you must agree to work for them for a certain amount of time, 3 years i think...if you break that contract you will owe them 20k...that is what they quote the cost of their program is....

Err not really. Yes Christ is currently a diploma program and I think the class of 08 will start recieving their ADNs. But if you wish to go on an pursue a BSN it is really easy with Christ. They help you and will actually pay for it (I think?) and I believe it's through UC.

They do have the tuition reimbursement thing, but they aren't going to be offering it much longer. You have to agree to work for any Health Alliance hospital (there's a large choice if you didn't know who was in the HA) for 2 years after you graduate. If you drop this, then you owe them $12k which is the estimated cost of the program. I think you are getting the $20k from Chist and the CState classes combined, but they don't help you wtih the CState classes whatsoever. I should know...I just shelled out $700 for the summer classes we have to take. :chuckle: Unless the price has gone up significantly from last year...that's what you'd be paying.

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tb6001 Hey I just graduated from Good Sam and I am not sure who you talked to up there but you only need 1 Psych & Sociology credit so I am not sure why she would tell you to take 2 unless you were going to go to a college that is on quaters where good sam is on semesters so it would take 2 of them to add up to one of good sams credits. To answer you ultimate question about a university and a private college it makes no difference at any of the local hospitals all they care about is that you have those two letters behind you name (RN) I would reccommend that you get on the waiting list at the school of your choice and get there prerequisites out of the way and just to make sure the prereqs will transfer all around take A&P, or Chemistry things ALL nursing programs require. As for the program at good sam you come out a well educated nurse you get ALOT of clinical time and the instructors there are the greatests:) the school is so small everyone knows everyone and there is always someone to help you if you need it, the program is rigorous but well worth the waiting list. I hope this help and I will try to check in on your reply soon and would be glad to answer any questions you may have about the program.

And as a side note I know UC (I am not sure about Raymound Walters) is being looked in to about having there nursing program taken away due to there low board passing rate which is ultimatley determines if you get to practice as a nurse all of the local colleges and there board passing rates can be found at the ohio board of nursing web site this may also help you in choosing and institute because like I said earilier most local hospitals don't realy look at where you went to school but weather or not you have RN behind your name or not.....

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Thanks for your response. My first choice is Good Sam and my second is UC. It's just difficult not knowing if I'm going to get accepted. When I talked to someone at Good Sam about a month ago, she seemed pretty positive about me getting in but being on the waiting list. She didn't say how long I would be on the waiting list. She said since UC is on quarters that I would need 2 quarters of Psychology and Sociology to equal 1 semester. So I am enrolled at UC in the fall taking Chemistry and Psychology. I plan on taking Psychology and Sociology in the winter and then finish up Sociology in the spring. She recommended that I take A&P at Good Sam. She said they are reviewing applications in August/September. How long did it take you to get into Good Sam? How long did it take you to graduate? I am also curious to what kind of schedule I will have if I attend full time as a have a 3 year old and a kindergartener this year? I am determined to make it work regardless of the schedule. Again, I appreicate your responses.

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I am not sure how hard it is to be accepted into good sam but as far as I know no one I have talked to had any trouble being accepted it is the waiting list that is the problem.....

As for her telling you to take A&P there I would find out why she said this, I took my A&P at NKU (which is on semesters like good sam) because I took A&PI at good sam and did not like the Instructor I think they may have a new one but I hear he is even harder than the one I had unless they do not accept A&P from UC I would deffinatley take it some where else but that was a personal issue........

It took me a total of 6 semesters & summers (full time) to finish. My first 2 semesters I took all prereqs, summers I took prereqs, and the last 4 semesters I took nursing by its self. I had a 2 year old when I started (she is now 5) and I managed but I had alot of family support and help. Nursing school will take over your whole life but it is well worth it in the end :)

To give you a sample/example of good sam's scheduale of classes you can go to there web site http://www.goodsamaritancollege.com click on the calander tab to the left and at the top choose the course layout schedule and this will pull up a small grid that has all the courses listed and the times they are offered if you have any questions about how to read it feel free to ask. I hope this helps and if you need anything else please let me know.

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I just finished my first set of clinicals at good sam and so far so good:) I really like the instructers and people there. The program is difficult but I just take it one day at time and go on b/c I know it will be worth in the end. There is alot of clinical time which is good but good sam is expensive and the parking stinks! Other than that I really like it. I was on the waiting list for 1 year I got in this past January and they did not tell me I was in until like 3 weeks before clinicals started! So I would hang in there I don't think it is a question of being accepted either it is just the wait, but the school is good.

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Got my acceptance letter from Good Sam on Friday so now I'm on the waiting list. Hopefully I will start August 2006 but possibly January 2007 depending on enrollments. I started some pre-reqs. at Raymond Walters College last week. Appreciate everyones post to this thread.

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Hi everybody,I am a Lebanese RN looking forward to know the conditions of Ohio state board and also about the medical centers especially in Akron and Cleveland?

What do you suggest for me?

Thank you

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