Greenville Tech vs. Midlands Tech vs. Clemson/MUSC?

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Hi everyone,

I've been considering changing careers to nursing (I have my BA in anthropology and currently work with non-human primates in the psychological well-being program of a lab, of all things!). I'm getting paid very little for what I do, and while I know nursing certainly isn't a career one chooses for the pay, I've been looking for something where I can still help out, be it animals or people, and get paid a little more - just about anything will be a step up from what I get paid now!

I also want something that gives a variety of opportunities, where I can continue my education, and where I may be able to do or participate in research someday. Nursing seems like it may be a good fit. :)

I grew up in SC, and my family is in Columbia. My boyfriend just moved to Greenville.

I was wondering if anyone might have some advice on choosing a program. I'll still need to do some of the science pre-reqs (hopefully my anthro and humanities courses will suit the others!), so I was thinking of Midlands for those, so I could live at home.

So I'm looking at Clemson, Greenville Tech, and Midlands Tech as my options. I was thinking of getting my LPN, then RN through one of the techs, then doing the BSN completion through Clemson.

Does anyone have experience with these programs or know if any are better? Are the schools pretty good about accepting transfer credits for pre-reqs? Do hospitals in either the Cola. or Greenville areas offer financial assistance for their employees once hired?

Thank you for your time - I'm really getting excited as I find out more about nursing, although I'm a little nervous too!

Edit: I didn't mean to put MUSC in the title - I had looked at their accelerated BSN program but Charleston is a little far away for me. :)

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).
(I have my BA in anthropology and currently work with non-human primates in the psychological well-being program of a lab, of all things!).

Wow, that's interesting. Non human primates. Monkeys, right? Did you feel prepared with a degree in "human" anthropology? Do monkeys really suffer from psychological issues?

Anyway, I would try to get into Greenville Tech or Spartanburg Tech's ADN programs. They are both excellent and competitive.

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Wow, that's interesting. Non human primates. Monkeys, right?

Yep, mostly monkeys, although I get to meet some chimps in a couple weeks!

Did you feel prepared with a degree in "human" anthropology? Do monkeys really suffer from psychological issues?[/]

I'd taken several primate behavior courses as part of my anthro major, as well as doing some field research on human-nonhuman primate interactions, so I wasn't totally thrown to the wolves. It's pretty rare for wild animals to get pysch problems, but in captivity its a common occurance, sadly.

Anyway, I would try to get into Greenville Tech or Spartanburg Tech's ADN programs. They are both excellent and competitive.

Thanks so much! I would really like a rigorous program.

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Specializes in general surgical, women's surgery.

Hey Mouse_42,

Where did you do your undergrad work?

I live in Lexington, SC but grew up in Greenville. I have a BS in Biology from 1977 and returned to Midlands Tech in 2003 to begin the ADN program. 'Had to re-take anatomy/physiology and micro courses b/c they were outdated (older than 5 years) before starting their nursing program. Was in 3rd semester of clinicals when I withdrew due to Mom's cancer diagnosis. 'Took care of Mom after her surgery and drove to Greenville weekly for her chemo treatments. Tried to return to MTC, but couldn't reclaim my place in the program due to so many hurdles, etc. Technical school programs are rigorous, but not "user-friendly" or personal.

I then looked at USC-Cola and USC-Aiken. Was accepted into both, but could immediately begin at USC-Aiken. The ADN course work wouldn't transfer to a university program unless one had completed and earned the ADN degree and become an RN. Therefore, I had to began all over again... 5 more full semesters... plus.. I had 3 general education courses that I took one summer at Midlands Tech. I joke that it took me 5 years to earn my 2nd BS and only 4 to earn my 1st one! LOL>>>I now have over 266 credit hours of college education!

The commute to Aiken only took me 50 minutes, since I live only 10 minutes from the interstate. The longer days involved driving into Augusta for clinicals at MCG. It was worth the commute, however, rather than return to a waiting list at MTC. The university program had a different atmosphere, also. ...much more caring. My went in and out of remission over the 2 years and I was on the road to Greenville frequently. Also had other family issues to deal with and my professors wanted to know about those things, were personally interested, involved with our lives. mother died 4 weeks after graduation. My professors were very supportive and understanding if I had to slip out of class to take a phone call from the hospital, etc. That wasn't allowed at MTC. MTC takes 120 students per semester where university programs only take ~40-50. MTC faculty can't possibly really get to know their students.

If you want more info, feel free to personally email or PM me. I'd be glad to talk with you. I'm presently working night shift at Lexington Medical Center. Hospital nursing is demanding and a lot different than I had expected. I think it would be different if I was younger.

good luck to you!

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Specializes in general surgical, women's surgery.

Mouse_42

PS......

'Just wanted to also mention that I work with some great nurses from both MTC and Clemson!!!! In fact..... I did the summer nurse fellows program with a couple of impressive Clemson students.

ALso... to mention other options: There are also students working at Lexington Med Center who are in the ADN program at Piedmont Tech. I know of others who have commuted from Columbia to Orangeburg-Tech, also. OT has a great NCLEX pass rate! Newberry College is also beginning a brand new BSN program. might be worth investigating. Their new Dean was recruited away from LAnder (another GREAT program).

Tidbit of info: Most tech programs in SC have lengthy waiting lists, but they move along faster than they tell you b/c of the high drop out rate. It's easier and quicker to get into MTC if you apply for the LPN program and then transfer into their ADN program.

ANYWAY>>>...You'll learn all you need to know, regardless of where you attend.... AND... no matter what nursing program you attend... ALL ARE going to be RIGOROUS! No one except another nursing student will understand your tears and struggles you're going to experience after you start. It's not college... it's NURSING!.. think boot camp.

My daughter graduated from Furman with a BS in psychology. I have a son who graduated from the Citadel with a Civil Engineering degree. Another son graduated from Clemson with a BS in Building Science. Our youngest son is a psych major in his 4th yr at Clemson now. NONE of my children could believe the hours I spent in clinical & lab, as well as all of the reading and studying I did for my nursing degree.. compared to their own college studies. I was pretty naive heading into this venture. I graduated cum laude with both degrees, but it took a lot more blood, sweat, and tears to do that with my nursing degree. (And I was pre-med with my biology degree.... taking organic chemistry, physics, etc...'was even accepted into medical school, but decided to not go.)

ALSO>>> do investigate scholarship opportunities through the hospitals, etc. Since you already have a 4 year degree, you're not allowed to apply for the Life scholarship, etc. However, hospitals will help pay for school, too.

FYI: USC-Aiken is actually a lot less $$ than USC-Cola... and the parking at USCA is cheap and convenient! Where you live in the Columbia area would make an impact on how difficult the commute would be for you, however.

I know lottery $ is available for the tech schools.

Lastly... USCA also has a BSN completion course available online, if you decide to get your ADN first.

enough from me. good luck as you investigate and make decision.

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Wow, thank you for all of the information! I did my undergrad at Notre Dame. I know nursing programs will be rigorous, and from what I hear there's quite a bit of "weeding" done through early classes at MTC.

I'll look into USC-Columbia and USC Aiken. Honestly technical colleges were my first choice because I already have student loans, and the tuition was so much cheaper...however, if I can get a scholarship to a university, that might not matter so much. :)

I've decided that for now, I'll just focus on moving and getting my prerequisites out of the way (did USC accept those from MTC?), shadowing several different types of nurses, and making sure that I'm on the right career path. As I'm doing that I can learn more about the different schools, too.

I'm sure as I learn more I'll have more questions!

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Specializes in general surgical, women's surgery.

Mouse_42,

In 1995, the General Assembly of SC, through the SC Commisison on Higher Education, mandated a college course transfer agreement between the state's technical schools and its 4 yr public instutions of higher education. They passed ACT 137 which lists ~74 specific courses that will transfer, and stipulates guidelines for transfer of other coruses that are not already on the list.

Be sure the only coursework you take at ANY technical college is pre-approved by the school to which you plan to transfer, or is on the list of courses already approved by the SC Commission on Higher Education for transfer . You should be able to do a search on any university web site for "Transfer credit equivalency" and find a list of courses from whatever state institution you wish to transfer credits along side of their university equivalent course numbers.

I often hear students complain about courses not transferring, but it's b/c they didn't do their homework and plan well. A couple of my boys took courses at MTC over the summer, (as did I ), and there was no trouble with transfer credits b/c we made sure that the courses they were planning to take were pre-approved..... were on the list! Often the problem for students is that they'll take a lower level course instead of the one necessary for the university level program (for ex: Chem 101 instead of 201).

I've seen the list posted on both Clemson and USCA's web sites, since we've worked with those 2 universities.

I think the best way to go is to at least take ALL of the pre-reqs at the local technical schools! Even after I began at USCA, I took a required American history course, speech class, and statistics course at MTC one summer... for ~ $1000. It would have cost me ~3,000 to have taken those equivalent courses at USCA.

The technical school route will be the most economical. Don't let MTC rumors frighten you. Getting through A&P and micro with good grades will be a good indicator that you'll do well in nursing courses. They are similar, except the test taking might be a bit different. One has to learn how to answer nursing test questions, for there's no one right answer... but you are often choosing the BEST answer. My husband, an MD, often disagreed with the answers on my tests... b/c he was thinking "medical" and not "nursing."

ANyway... MTC now has night courses for nurses that weren't available when I was there. They also take in more students each year b/c I think they now start a Fundamental group in the summer months. So you can get through faster if you also do summer clinicals, although the pace is horrific.... cramming 15 weeks into 10. The university programs don't run throughout the summer.

I will warn you that no 2 nursing programs in the state will transfer nursing course credit from one school to the other b/c EVERY program is different! That's one of my frustrations with nursing schools. Nothing is standardized except the number of hours one is required to spend in clinical each semester. The Nurse Practice Acts mandates a specific number of clinical hours necessary to earn a nursing degree that will allow you to then take the boards. (Without taking and passing the boards.. NCLEX... all you have is a degree... no license... so you don't become a Registered Nurse until you pass the boards.)

The world of nursing is pretty unique with its varying educational curriculum, different routes to becoming an RN, grading scales, etc. You'll learn that wherever you attend nursing school, the School of Nursing has a different grading scale from the rest of the institution. For most schools, it takes an 80 to pass a course... which makes it difficult to retain scholarships based on grade point average.

Overall, the general public hasn't a clue what nurses go through to obtain their degrees. When I began this journey, I was pretty naive about what I was getting myself into and had no idea the difference between an LPN, ADN, BSN, etc. I still see initials behind names at the hospital and get confused concerning advanced practice nurses.

The nursing world is complex. The job security is there, but many think the pay isn't enough for what we endure.

Good luck with your searching and decision making. Talk to a lot of different nurses.

Let me know if I can help.

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chose your school carefully and ask current students what they think.

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

Do look at the NCLEX pass rates. MTC is an excellent school and has a great pass rate. SCSU does not.

Where do you want to live? Gas is now 3.20 a gallon, and you need to consider that in when you consider what school costs. (I went to USC Columbia wayyyyyy back in the stone age when gas went UP to 47 cents a gallon and I thought that was horrendous.)

My daughter just discovered that when she re-enrolled in grad school (paying cash this time) her student loans were deferred....she was verrrrry happy!

I will say both my kids went to USC-A and there is not a prettier campus anywhere in the state. Good luck! You have received great advice from the posters above.

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Hello! A bit later than when you first posted, but just in case you haven't selected a school yet...

I go to Midlands Tech and before I started I couldn't tell you how many nurses and doctors have stated that they love MTC students, like my teacher said, "this is a technical school and we strongly believe in technical skills." I am in the 3rd semister (LPN) and will continue in the next 2 (for RN).

I started in the Summer of 07 and plan on going again for my 4th semister in a few weekds.

The program is very strenous and you must have your priorities in line. Studying comes FIRST, above all else (above food, above sleep, above family, above fun, basically, you have no life).

They make their test harder than the actual NCLEX and I feel that is why MTC has a 98-100% NCLEX pass rate as compared to USC (for which you pay a lot more money).

Again, it's hard, it's frustrating, it makes you want to quit, but it is worth it and it is a great program and I can't wait to graduate and say "I made it through MTC Nursing Program.":nuke:

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Thanks! That's very useful info. I haven't decided yet, but I'll be starting on some pre-reqs at Midlands next month. After looking at the BSN programs at Clemson and USC, I think I might eventually go for that. Between AP scores and previous coursework, it wouldn't take me much longer to get my BSN than to get my ADN.

However, things can change, so I'll see how things go! Glad to hear that the school in my backyard has an awesome program. :)

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