Howard Community College LPN-RN Pathway Program

So I finished the LPN-RN program at Howard CC in December. It was a very intense experience! If there are any LPNs out there looking to go to this program, I would advise you to give it a lot of thought. It depends where you come from. In my experience, those who took their LPN at a vocational school - rather than at a community college - will have a lot of catching up to do, so be prepared! I will say that HCC taught me a lot about being a nurse, stuff that I hadn't known I hadn't known. So that's a Big plus.

The negative though - and it's a Big negative - is that they don't prepare you well at all to sit for the NCLEX. Not to badmouth the school or anything - but there were no real attempts to teach us what to expect on the NCLEX, especially with the new format. I think that because it has such a good reputation, they seem to focus more on what makes you a "great" nurse (evidence-based practice and all that) but don't do a thing to prepare you for computerized testing. All our exams were multiple-choice on scantrons, for goodness' sake, until the exit HESI. While I was there, there was a rumor going round that the semester after the new format debuted, the school had a 56% pass rate. And what was worse, they didn't do anything to correct it in the following semester. The powerpoints were all the same. Many people pass, after exiting the program, by going to an exam review. But it seems to me that a good school should prepare you enough to take the exam without having to spend an extra $500 dollars to review what they taught you.

So, long story short - I don't regret going there, but I would hesitate to advise people to attend it. Good luck to all!

Were you a transfer student, accepted first try? Did you receive email or mailed letter first? Anxious