Help! New ccp, new to pa

lyssiaa · May 2, 2016

Hi, Siaravj!

First off, congrats on your commitment to go back to school to get your RN degree!

I was admitted to the program for this fall so I hope I can be of help.

Here's CCP's Nursing Program link if you haven't seen it already:

Nursing | Community College of Philadelphia

[h=4]"Prerequisites:[/h]

High school diploma or GED
Biology 106 (or one year of high school biology)*
Chemistry 110 (or one year of high school chemistry)*
Two years of college preparatory math with a C or better
Placement in MATH 118
Placement in ENGL 101
GPA of 2.75 or higher"

When did you graduate from high school? Did you take high school biology and chemistry? If you graduated before 2007 (or never took H.S. bio/chem) then you should sign up for BIO 106 and CHEM 110 (or only STS 101 to fulfill both those classes) for this Fall semester.

As for the AHT test, nursing program applicants will take the Kaplan nursing entrance exam. After your application is received by the department and you have completed their prerequisites, then they will give you a date and time for your Kaplan test. You do not need to register for it or anything.

I suggest you look into taking the placement tests for Math and English to see if you can get placement in MATH 118 and ENGL 101 so you don't waste time taking basic classes that are too basic for you: What Are Placement Tests? | Community College of Philadelphia

If you DO get placed in MATH 118 and ENGL 101, this is my recommended schedule

Summer 2016: MATH 118 and ENGL 101

Fall 2016: BIO 106, CHEM 110, and ENG 102 OR STS 101 and ENG 102

Spring 2017: BIO 109

Summer 2017: DIET 111 and BIO 110IF YOU DON'T NEED TO TAKE BIO 106 OR CHEM 110

Summer 2016: MATH 118 and ENGL 101

Fall 2016: BIO 109 and ENG 102

Spring 2017: BIO 110 and DIET 111 (take CIS 103 if your schedule can manage it)

Summer 2017: CIS 103 and SOC 101

My last advice is to get great grades in all your CCP courses and do well in the Kaplan test. These are the main factors that determine if you can get into the program or not. In the Fall (or ask the counselor), you will see dates for the nursing application session that occur during October-December. YOU CAN ONLY GET THE APPLICATION DURING THIS SESSION. For Fall 2017 admissions, please apply before January 15th, 2017.

I hope this information doesn't cause more harm than good. Also, don't go to just any counselor, but schedule an appointment with the Allied Health programs counselor. She will give you so much more help than I can! Get a meeting with her ASAP because Summer Session is right around the corner! There are also a lot of CCP students on this forum that can help you too. Let me know if you have any questions or need clarification!

SvSanchez · May 3, 2016

Awesome! I really appreciate this, it's nice coming from some one who has been through it recently. Congratulations to you! How long have you been at CCP? That is another concern I have I don't want to be in a community college for more than 2 years I do want to go for my bsn as well.

And ive heard some friends who have attended community college for almost two years and have not done any part of nursing. (Not at ccp in particular)

lyssiaa · May 3, 2016

No problem! I just finished my 2nd semester at CCP. Since the Nursing program is a 2-year program (if you do it full-time), you should expect to be at CCP for at least 3 years because you need to apply to the program before you start the actual nursing classes (there are 4 nursing classes in total that are taken in 4 sequential semesters). Deadline for Fall admission to the Nursing program is every January. So you would have to apply to the Nursing program before the January 2017 deadline to start the actual nursing classes Fall 2017 and eventually finish by the end of Spring 2019.

During the 1st year (which you are starting soon), you should try to take as many courses required for graduation (like Anatomy/Physiology, Nutrition, CIS 103, and etc.). I recommend that you apply to the program right after your Fall semester grades have been submitted so you have a good amount of classes and good GPA to show the department you are qualified for the program.

You seem to be like a motivated and determined student, so I think you will have no problem getting into the program and finishing 3 years from now. See the AH counselor, attend the information/application sessions, read the application booklet religiously and get everything in on time -- and you are golden!

One thing to keep in mind is that even though on the CCP Nursing website shows has "Nursing Course Sequence", most nursing students only take the Nursing course by itself (all the other courses are taken beforehand or the summer before the nursing course). For example, during the first semester of nursing school, you would only take Nursing I (and Anatomy, Nutrition, and English have already been taken the semester(s) before). This is because the 7 credit Nursing course is almost like 4 classes in itself. There is lab, lecture, seminar, and clinical hours all in those 7 credits. It is not recommended to take any other courses while taking a nursing course.

SvSanchez · May 3, 2016

thats perfect! And yes I am. It's been a long time coming. That's great advice thank you. I was thinking of taking all the classes I can before hand so that I can focus on the nursing part when it's time.

Its def going to be a bit pricey for me since I'm considered out of state student.

thank you so much for your time!

lyssiaa · May 3, 2016

Great!

I'm sure you may have seen this before-- once you live in Philly for at least 3 months and PA for at least 12 months, you can apply for Philadelphia residency status to get in-city tuition. Definitely fill out your FAFSA to see if you qualify for state/federal grants and such from your home state and if it can be transferred over to PA. I've had many people I know go to school for free because state/federal aid.

Stop by the Single Stop office in M1-21 if you need health insurance or screen for other benefits you may qualify for. The ladies there are super nice and helpful -- just tell them what you need!

Refer to these links for Residency requirements and Financial Planning Workshops:

Page not found | Community College of Philadelphia

Financial Planning Workshops Calendar | Community College of Philadelphia

SvSanchez · May 5, 2016

I did not see that. According to my enrollment profile I had to do a subsidized loan and that didn't even cover the two classes I'm taking for out of state resident. But I am gonna check it out asap. I'm a single parent of two and I really don't want to be having loans unless I really need them!

thanks for the heads up! I had no idea.

lyssiaa · May 5, 2016

Great! Definitely go to a financial planning workshop ASAP.