I'm new here; I'm having a hard time choosing nursing colleges to apply to

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Specializes in Lvn.

Hi I live in California and I am taking my pre requisites at my local college. I have two more semesters left and I don't know if I am interested in the California wait into the programs which are a year at the minimum and most are two years. I have started to look into colleges outside of California and I came across chamberlain college In Phoenix AZ, and I was interested in starting in September .

Does anyone have any advice on this school? Can you get hired in California after receiving a diploma from this college? Is it worth it? Can you recommend any colleges that I will not have to wait a long time before entering the nursing program? As I am interested in community colleges and University's I'm just not so interested in the long process of a wait that comes with it.

Any information would be so helpful for me. Thanks All. ;)

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Specializes in Lvn.

Hi I live in California, I am currently doing my pre requisites at my local community college. I am interested in colleges in California and outside of California. I prefer those without a long wait. What are some good colleges to apply to? How long did you wait to start the nursing program after applying? Is the program hard? Any information would be great. Thank you.

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Most schools have changed to point system so basically try and have a 4.0 GPA in your pre reward and score well on the TEAS.

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Specializes in Rehab, Ortho-Spine, Med-Surg, & Psych.

Hello Ms.Frank,

Just a couple of things to clarify...

1) The school institution does not give you a license to practice as a nurse. Schools educate and prepare you to take the state's licensing board examination that grants you a license upon passing their exam... known as NCLEX-RN.

2) You may take the NCLEX-RN once you have your Associate's degree (ASN) or Bachelor's degree (BSN). Many people just pursue the ASN to then take their NCLEX-RN.

3) You can get your degree in any state, but typically, each state issue their own license. For instance, if you graduate from Phoenix, Arizona... you should take the NCLEX-RN in California if that is where you live and plan on working at.

4) Some states will accept RN licenses from other states in order to let you practice. However, I am not familiar with which states reciprocate. You'll need to do some research about that.

Having said all this... I think the most important thing you need to keep in mind when selecting a school, is to look for their accreditations. I highly recommend to look for both CCNE and NLNAC accreditations. You can save a lot of time by visiting their websites and pulling up the schools they have accredited.

You will also notice that community colleges and public universities will be the most competitive ones to get in... mostly because they are the most affordable and they are accredited by the above mentioned agencies. Private schools are a lot more expensive, but you would get into their programs quicker. Beware of start-up schools (= no accrediation = credits won't transfer anywhere).

American Association of Colleges of Nursing | Find Accredited Programs

NLNAC Accredited Nursing Programs

Hope this helps! :)

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Specializes in Home health.

Hi,

The long wait is over in most of the community colleges at least in LA county. I don't know where in CA you are. Many of the schools have moved to lottery/point based systems as someone mentioned above. When I was applying 5 out of 6 schools was lottery/point based. To find all the schools that are accredited and approved by CA BRN go to rn.ca.gov and look under their school listings. Community colleges will be a cheaper way to go, but they grant AS in nursing.

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Specializes in Lvn.

Thank you very much

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Specializes in Lvn.
Hello Ms.Frank,

Just a couple of things to clarify...

1) The school institution does not give you a license to practice as a nurse. Schools educate and prepare you to take the state's licensing board examination that grants you a license upon passing their exam... known as NCLEX-RN.

2) You may take the NCLEX-RN once you have your Associate's degree (ASN) or Bachelor's degree (BSN). Many people just pursue the ASN to then take their NCLEX-RN.

3) You can get your degree in any state, but typically, each state issue their own license. For instance, if you graduate from Phoenix, Arizona... you should take the NCLEX-RN in California if that is where you live and plan on working at.

4) Some states will accept RN licenses from other states in order to let you practice. However, I am not familiar with which states reciprocate. You'll need to do some research about that.

Having said all this... I think the most important thing you need to keep in mind when selecting a school, is to look for their accreditations. I highly recommend to look for both CCNE and NLNAC accreditations. You can save a lot of time by visiting their websites and pulling up the schools they have accredited.

You will also notice that community colleges and public universities will be the most competitive ones to get in... mostly because they are the most affordable and they are accredited by the above mentioned agencies. Private schools are a lot more expensive, but you would get into their programs quicker. Beware of start-up schools (= no accrediation = credits won't transfer anywhere).

American Association of Colleges of Nursing | Find Accredited Programs

NLNAC Accredited Nursing Programs

Hope this helps! :)

This really helps , thank you so much
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Specializes in Lvn.
Hi,

The long wait is over in most of the community colleges at least in LA county. I don't know where in CA you are. Many of the schools have moved to lottery/point based systems as someone mentioned above. When I was applying 5 out of 6 schools was lottery/point based. To find all the schools that are accredited and approved by CA BRN go to rn.ca.gov and look under their school listings. Community colleges will be a cheaper way to go, but they grant AS in nursing.

I am in the bay area, there is also point based systems out here.Are you in a nursing program?
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Specializes in Home health.
I am in the bay area there is also point based systems out here.Are you in a nursing program?[/quote']

I just graduated in December from a community college, and just passed my nclex :-) I have applied to 6 schools (5 community colleges and 1 cal state university). Only one of those colleges had me wait, but too long. I was through my first semester of nursing school when that school sent me acceptance letter. The other 4 schools admitted me right away.

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Specializes in Lvn.

Congratulations Veronika!! Was the nclex hard? May I ask which schools did you apply to? I am so interested in traveling just to get into a program.

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Specializes in Home health.
Congratulations Veronika!! Was the nclex hard? May I ask which schools did you apply to? I am so interested in traveling just to get into a program.

I don't think nclex was hard, I feel my school prepared me well as I did very little reviewing before taking it. I applied to LA valley college, LA city college, LA harbor college, moorpark city college, Pasadena city college, college of the canyons, and cal state long beach. Moorpark was the only school that took about 6 months or more to offer admission

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Specializes in Lvn.

Really that is good the nclex was not hard for you. They had you well prepared. Have you started applying to jobs yet? Thanks I am going to look into those schools. I am so happy for you :) makes me know what I have to look forward to

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