Hudson Valley Community College--Has anyone gone there???

My first-hand experience w/ HVCC...great program. Very thorough + demanding. That said, the 30 or so recent graduates were from classes that were originally 175+ when they began. I know of two recent almost grads who missed by 1 and 2 points! 2 years of very hard work to not make it by 1 point....A very high drop out rate...do not even attempt this program if you intend to work or have other time consuming issues. Try Ellis/Samaritan/Memorial/Sage before you try HVCC....just my .02

Im sorry what Hudson are u guys talking about the one in jersey city...Hudson communty college...on 70 sip street..thats that has no valley included...

Sorry for the delay in responding...and sorry, I have no idea about Jersey City, this is regarding Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. I went from HVCC to Samaritan and loved Samaritan. Much smaller classes and a faculty that encourages you instead of looking for a way to get rid of you. That said, the program was demanding, no slouch in any decent program, I suppose. Once again, just my .02! Only know of 1 RN who went to Sage, supposedly good program but very expensive. I also know of a few who went to Ellis and were happy with that program...also found jobs w/ Ellis right out of school. As far as other Albany area schools, I know of a few who went to Maria College and they all strongly advised against that program. Good luck to you carrie42!

Hi,

Gin Gin can you elaborate on why student's didn't like the Maria College program? They had a 90% NCLEX pass rate in '08. I am hoping to have a seat in their program for fall 2010 which is why I just wanted whatever information I could get from others. Thanks

I'm not sure that I can help you with this one bananabubbletea....I don't have any first-hand knowledge of the Maria program, just have heard from co-workers who went to Maria. They said that they spent a lot of $ there and that they thought that there are better programs in the Albany area. What other schools are you considering?

Hi Gin Gin, I am looking into D'youville College in Buffalo, Daeman College in Amherst, and I am now researching ABSN programs. Unfortunately there is very little information on allnurses about all of these schools.

Hi GinGin,

I am looking to go to either HVCC or Samaritan. If you don't mind me asking, what were the main differences between the 2 programs? Does Samaritan have the "dreaded" CPEs that I have heard associated with HVCC? Also - how are Samaritan's class schedules? I was leaning toward HVCC because the have evening programs but I have heard a lot of positive things about Samaritan.

Thanks!

Hey Stella Star! In addition to what I've already posted, I would say the differences for me boiled down to this:

1. Samaritan faculty truly care about you and your goal of becoming a nurse. Much smaller classes and close relationships with everyone, students,faculty & support staff all know one another. While there were very competent faculty at HVCC, there were much larger classes and a very impersonal feel to the whole program. If you don;t succeed, there are 1,000 other people waiting for your slot (this statement was actually stated by one faculty member to our class!). This might help to explain the 80+% attrition rate!

2. Other differences:

- On "Lab" days at HVCC, there were 6-7 of us standing around each bed trying to learn new hands-on skills; at Samaritan 1-2

- registering for & paying for courses was always a nightmare at HVCC; long lines, indifferent staff, and you were lucky if you actaually got the class that you wanted and a correct tuition bill. At Samaritan, you knock on one office door and it was all done.

- Though I went to the day program @ Samaritan, they have a night and weekend program; Another advantage over HVCC is that they start courses throughout the year (i.e., you don't have to wait a whole year until a certain class begins again like you have to at HVCC)

- For what its worth, no CPE's @ Samaritan

- No matter which program you decide upon, all of the pre-req's are taken at HVCC, so why don;t you take some of those to get a feel for the 2 school's?

Good Luck StellaStar!

I am currently a student at HVCC, and many of us are not happy with the 'training' we are receiving. The skill exams are very difficult because we a re expected to learn most of them by reading and watching the dumb videos. There isn't enough lab time to go around for 200+ students. I am seriously considering applying to one of the hospital programs. Are there really no CPE's at Samaritan? Thanks!