How long did Excelsior take you start to finish?

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Just curious how long it took everyone to complete the program. I have started my first general ed class and want to get an estimate of when I should finish. Thanks!!!

I am confused about Excelsior. Can someone explain?? I have been an LPN 13 years and would like to get my RN. The waiting list is to long at my local college. Is Excelsior the best way to go? I don't understand what the istudy guides are? Any help would be appreciated.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
I am confused about Excelsior. Can someone explain?? I have been an LPN 13 years and would like to get my RN. The waiting list is to long at my local college. Is Excelsior the best way to go? I don't understand what the istudy guides are? Any help would be appreciated.

Welcome to allnurses! I suggest you visit a couple of websites -- first, EC's website at http://www.excelsior.edu -- download the nursing catalog from their publications page. Also, this page: https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/School_Of_Nursing/Accreditation_and_Licensure/State_Board_Requirements -- to make sure that EC's degree/RN is recognized by your state board of nursing.

Next, there is a helpful "sticky" at the top of this forum with a lot of information: https://allnurses.com/distance-learning-nursing/excelsior-college-info-385571.html

istudysmart is a publishing company, similar to The College Network (TCN), neither of which are required to do Excelsior's ADN program. They can potentially add thousands to the cost of a degree. Excelsior provides a list of textbooks and suggested reading for each exam in the ADN program, and there are less expensive study resources available.

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Wow, that's awesome you guys. Did most of you work while attending? I have heard of people finishing in 6 months...and they don't even necessarily have tons of credits going in. Is that realistic? Do you think it's possible?

I have not been accepted to Excelsior, yet, as I am trying to time things right. However, I would be entering as a brand new LPN. I literally do not have any work experience as a nurse...other than clinical rotations, of course-which really isn't much. Were any of you on that boat?

I decided against continuing at my current college, for the RN, as the education was subpar & the tuition bill was enough to give one a heart attack. ;) I have heard so many positive things about Excelsior.

Although I do not "attend" yet, per se, is it possible to start studying for exams ahead of time? With my life going the way it is right now, I can't see myself starting at Excelsior (after acceptance, etc.) until mid-October of this year. That's 4.5 months. However, I still would love to start studying in advance, if possible. This way, when I do "enter" the college, I can line up exams one after another & really just dive into it. Feedback? :)

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wow, that's awesome you guys. did most of you work while attending? i have heard of people finishing in 6 months...and they don't even necessarily have tons of credits going in. is that realistic? do you think it's possible?

i have not been accepted to excelsior, yet, as i am trying to time things right. however, i would be entering as a brand new lpn. i literally do not have any work experience as a nurse...other than clinical rotations, of course-which really isn't much. were any of you on that boat?

i decided against continuing at my current college, for the rn, as the education was subpar & the tuition bill was enough to give one a heart attack. ;) i have heard so many positive things about excelsior.

although i do not "attend" yet, per se, is it possible to start studying for exams ahead of time? with my life going the way it is right now, i can't see myself starting at excelsior (after acceptance, etc.) until mid-october of this year. that's 4.5 months. however, i still would love to start studying in advance, if possible. this way, when i do "enter" the college, i can line up exams one after another & really just dive into it. feedback? :)

i enrolled october 25th 2009; fcca january 11th; did cpne february 26th-28th 2010. i completed the program in a little over 4 months, while working with a 2 and 3 year old at home. i did stop working at the end of november. i just graduated april 16th. you don't necessarily graduate as soon as you finish the cpne; you have to wait until your "conferral" date comes around. so i guess you can say it took me 5.5 months to be completely finished with everything. it's a very doable program; and you can do it at your own pace. if you want to finish in 4-6 months you can. if you want to finish in 4-6 years, you can. it's up to you. good luck with your studies.

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Specializes in Home Health, Podiatry, Neurology, Case Mgmt.

West- when you enrolled how many exams did you have left to finish? I've done H&S, working on A&P now, then i'm planning on doing Transitions, Micro, and CLEP growth & development and humanities all before the end of this year...that would leave just the 5 nursing exams, FCCA, and CPNE to finish up next year.

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West- when you enrolled how many exams did you have left to finish? I've done H&S, working on A&P now, then i'm planning on doing Transitions, Micro, and CLEP growth & development and humanities all before the end of this year...that would leave just the 5 nursing exams, FCCA, and CPNE to finish up next year.

Hi Tasha, when I enrolled, all of my prerequisite courses were done. I had to do the 7 nursing Theory exams, the FCCA, and the CPNE. When I completed my CPNE, I had to take information literacy through EC; but that class only took about 2 days.

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Wow, information keeps getting better :). I asked the EC counselor a LOT. They were nice, but I continue to learn more. BTW, re: conferral dates... Are there more than one of these? How does that work? I was under the impression that the instant you pass all of your classes/CPNE that you can apply for the NCLEX-RN immediately.

I know the CPNE is supposed to be scary. It is 2.5 days (8 hour ones) of a proctor watching your every move...am I right? I'm guessing it's on live patients.

What's this FCCA that I should be worried about? Initials scare me lol.

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wow, information keeps getting better :). i asked the ec counselor a lot. they were nice, but i continue to learn more. btw, re: conferral dates... are there more than one of these? how does that work? i was under the impression that the instant you pass all of your classes/cpne that you can apply for the nclex-rn immediately.

i know the cpne is supposed to be scary. it is 2.5 days (8 hour ones) of a proctor watching your every move...am i right? i'm guessing it's on live patients.

what's this fcca that i should be worried about? initials scare me lol.

the fcca is basically a careplanning course/exam. i cannot say much about it because it's against school policy. for your cpne, on the first day, you will be tested on your laboratory simulations (sorta like check-offs/skill validations). an examiner will watch you perform an iv push, hang and iv bag, pack a wound, and give and injection on dummies. on day 2, you begin to work with your real patients. you will have anywhere from 3-5 real patients during your clinical weekend. to get an idea of your conferral date, look on your myec page if you've already registered. find the tab that says something about "graduation parameters". it will have possible graduation dates listed. i think ec rolls out graduates every-other-month.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Pediatrics, Peds Psych, ect..

a year and half

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West's four months is the fastest I have heard of, previously it was about seven months. Then there are those who for some reason, never get started!

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How does one possibly finish those nursing exams in 4 months?! :) That's great. I'm guessing you were studying HOURS everyday right? :)

BTW, I really want to get started. I'm so excited you guys. I'm looking to purchase this material in advance: Excelsior College NURSING EXAMS 1-8 CD Study Guides - eBay (item 320543483376 end time Jun-07-10 08:09:46 PDT)

Does this look right? This is what you use for the nursing courses? I figured it wouldn't hurt for me to at least start studying for the required stuff. This way, when I am officially enrolled, I can just line up my exams and bam..bam..bam--get them out of the way! ;) LOL.

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West's four months is the fastest I have heard of, previously it was about seven months. Then there are those who for some reason, never get started!

Yeah, I tested every couple of weeks. I ended up getting 2 C's (Lifespan 2 and Chronicity); but at the end of the day, it didn't matter much. The biggest challenge was the CPNE. I had only 32 days to prepare for it. Extremely stressful! I do not recommend rushing as I did. I was in a terrible financial situation, and I could not find a descent paying job (in driving distance) as an LPN. We were barely getting by. Now that Nclex is over and I start my new job, maybe things will start to look up.

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