HELP! NVCC OR TRCC???

jan286 · Jan 17, 2014

I am at NVCC. They take 125. Last year there were close to 300, after eliminating those not eligible, still had around 250 I believe. I do like NVCC. Like every program, has its ups and downs. The graduating class of 2013 had the highest passing NCLEX rate (on the first try) in the state. NVCC graduates are highly respected in the Waterbury community. Also-there is a bridge program for BNS through WestConn and a lot of the classes are offered at NVCC. They also have an awesome job placement program for the nurses after graduation. They keep faculty letters of recommendation on file, so you just have to make one call to the school and tell them where to send your letters. I don't know anything about TRCC.

JBMmom, MSN, NP · Jan 20, 2014

I don't know anything about NVCC, so the first response will balance out my TRCC based response. I graduated from TRCC in spring 2012. We had 96 accepted, 48 start in the fall and 48 start in the spring. Over the course of the four semesters we lost a few, gained some from previous semesters and third semester the LPNs come into the program. I think we had between 35-40 graduate with us. As jan286 mentioned, each program has its ups and downs. Some semesters are a little more disorganized, and everyone will find potential personality conflicts with instructors/classmates/etc. But you'll find that anywhere. TRCC has an excellent reputation in the SECT area and most of my classmates found employment relatively quickly. I had one interview and the DON of my facility said, "we are always happy to have TRCC graduates and find they're very successful in our facility", there are now four nurses from my class on staff and we've all found ourselves prepared for the job with the nursing education we got at TRCC. Good luck with your decisions.

Just a thought, you're looking at programs that are very far apart, and the clinicals are generally within an hour of the campus. Depending upon where you live, getting to Rhode Island (for TRCC), or the Northwestern corner for NVCC, could be quite a challenging commute.

Kathy H · Feb 21, 2015

I am at NVCC. They take 125. Last year there were close to 300, after eliminating those not eligible, still had around 250 I believe. I do like NVCC. Like every program, has its ups and downs. The graduating class of 2013 had the highest passing NCLEX rate (on the first try) in the state. NVCC graduates are highly respected in the Waterbury community. Also-there is a bridge program for BNS through WestConn and a lot of the classes are offered at NVCC. They also have an awesome job placement program for the nurses after graduation. They keep faculty letters of recommendation on file, so you just have to make one call to the school and tell them where to send your letters. I don't know anything about TRCC.

I went to NVCC way back when - graduated in "93. I really liked their program and they pretty much had a 99% or better NCLEX pass rate- that has always seemed to be their reputation and is a reflection on the quality of their program. Even many 4 year BSN programs do not have great NCLEX pass rates. I would definitely go there again if I had to do it over.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Feb 27, 2015

I. The graduating class of 2013 had the highest passing NCLEX rate (on the first try) in the state.

My friend was in that class. I wonder what happened for 2014. The State BON posted the pass rates for 2014 and NVCC is now down to 87%. Since 2010 they haven't been below 95% pass rate.

I don't know anything about TRCC but I do have many friends and family who went to NVCC over the years and all loved the program. Of course, with any program there are ups and downs and you'll find people who will bash the school and the program, but I've only heard good things about NVCC. I went there for pre-reqs for my LPN to RN and really liked it.