I am a pre-nursing student trying to gather as much information and opinions as I can. I have already taken my HESI, submitted transcripts and GPA to a school that is a 3 year, pre-reqs included Accelerated BSN that costs $87K.
About me: 27 YOF, single, self-reliant. I have been a medical esthetician for 10 years in Southern CA and burnt out on my career and lack of advancement opportunities. My current company may also be acquired in the next few years and I am concerned about job opportunities in the future as I was laid off in Aug. 2013 and it took me 8+ months to find full time work in my industry that would pay me what I could survive on in Southern CA. My school is located in NV - so I would be relocating alone, for cheaper cost of living.
So my question is... is it worth it to take out $87K+ in loans for a quick way to obtain my BSN and start working sooner rather than later? I am concerned about this financially however my future is uncertain in my industry if I were to decide to take 2-3 years for my pre-reqs at a community college, get on a wait list for other programs and then take 2 years to complete those nursing programs.
83.27% is a really low pass rate for a program. I personally wouldn't be comfortable with a 90% pass rate either, but that's me. I looked on the NV Board of Nursing website and it looks like the Las Vegas campus has provisional approval (nothing wrong with that) but hasn't had a class pass/take the NCLEX yet. That to me would be a red flag. Now, all programs need to start somewhere, but I wouldn't even think about spending $87K on a school that doesn't have anything to back itself up on with NCLEX pass rates. If I'm going to pay that kind of money I want a guarantee I'm going to pass the NCLEX. The thing with Chamberlain is that each campus is different. There are some with decent pass rates, and others with abysmal rates, etc.
My program is an extremely respected private program that recently boasted a 100% pass rate but cost NO WHERE near $87K (I think it's $7K a semester), especially because I get grants, etc. I think I pay $2K out of pocket a semester, and my next two (last!) semesters I will be paying $0 out of pocket towards my education.
Just remember this is a debt that you CANNOT discharge, ever. The only way to get rid of it is by paying off the $87K in addition to all the interest you will be charged. Also, that amount may sky rocket if you ever manage to fail a course. Failure is common in nursing school and can be financially devastating, especially with tuition at a hefty $675 a credit...
Thank you for doing some research on this subject yourself. Would you mind showing me where you saw that info. on the Las Vegas provisional approval? This is something I am unfamiliar with.
And may I ask which school you are attending? Thank you again.
Provisional Approval: "Schools that have provisional approval meet the initial requirements of Nevada laws and regulations to offer a program ofnursing education in Nevada. To obtain full approval, they must gain national accreditation (which they cannot do until aftertheir first class is graduated), and they must achieve a first-time pass rate of 80 percent or higher on the NCLEX (an annualaverage).If you graduate from a school that has provisional rather than full approval, you will be eligible for Nevada licensure. Ifyou are contemplating getting licensed in other states, you will have to check with those states regarding their licensurerequirements." So, if you graduate from this program you will be able to sit for the NCLEX in Nevada, but possibly not in another state. It's also just stating that they have not been able to move out of provisional approval for the time being, but only for a lack of first class NCLEX results. If their first class NCLEX results were below 80% I believe they would move to conditional approval versus full approval.
You'll notice that Chamberlain isn't on there for 2015 or 2014. I am assuming that they have not yet had a class sit for the NCLEX, supported by the fact that they are still in provisional approval status. I think from my research they opened the Las Vegas campus in 2014, but didn't admit nursing students until the Spring 2015 semester? So you may not see NCLEX results until 2018 if it's a 36 month program. I would be wary of attending a new campus because they are probably still trying to find what works for them. If you still want to spend the $87K and go to Chamberlain, I would at least wait until their first class takes the NCLEX.
Like I said, there is nothing inherently wrong with a school on provisional status. I just would not put that much money at stake until I knew for certain I had a decent chance at passing the NCLEX upon graduation since I really don't care about the BSN, I care about being able to practice as an RN after all that work.
It depends on your financial situation as well. If you are going to have 87K in loans you will end up paying probably around 115K. You really need to know EXACLTY what your payments will be and for how long.
Wow Beachy, thank you so much for your provided links and in depth explanation. I really appreciate it. I am curious about the other Chamberlain campuses located in other parts of the country. I know they have a few in FL, IL, NC and more.
How is it accelerated if it takes 3 years? At that length of time you might as well save yourself the money and either take pre-reqs separately at a community college and apply to a truly accelerated BSN program (12-15 months), or look into traditional 3 and 4 year BSN programs. Either option will probably run you less than half of the amount quoted for this program.
These are my thoughts exactly. I was recently admitted into an accelerated program that is 15 months long. And I thought my costs were insane at about $30,000 in loans I'll need to take out but this takes the cake!
Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.
It is accelerated because it includes the pre-reqs in the program. So each student begins with what pre-reqs they need (they do transfer in any classes you have taken so you do not need to repeat) which are completed in 4 week terms. After that you go into the nursing curriculum with clinicals. It may be a little less than 3 years, depending on what you start with I guess.
My question again is how is that accelerated? The traditional BSN program at my university is 3 years (36 months) including pre-req courses. Program cost is about 20K. An accelerated (15 month) degree is about 40K. The accelerated program is truly acclerated and still costs less than half of what you are looking at. I could get the ABSN degree + a MSN degree for the same cost and amount of time you would spend on the BSN you are currently looking at. So no, I don't think paying 87K for an ABSN makes any sense at all.
If the draw of this course is that it includes the pre-req courses then it far overcharges for pre-reqs, and there are other ways, more affordable ways to get them done and still apply to an Accelerated BSN program. Or apply for a traditional BSN (which includes pre-reqs) and spend less than half the cost for the same education.
You can find out a lot of information about prospective schools through the Board of Nursing, as that is the minimum accreditation a nursing school needs in order for its students to sit for the NCLEX.
Illinois: Accredited but with an 83% NCLEX pass rate in 2015
North Carolina: Initial approval with state BON, but no NCLEX pass rates as of yet. Just accepted their first class in January 2016.
Texas: Full approval with warning for Irving and Pearland campuses, 66.99% (probably why they are on warning, but in the three years they've has students take the NCLEX the highest they ever got was 87%)
Georgia: Full accreditation, 93.3% in 2014, 79.4% in 2015.
Virginia: Accredited, 88% in 2012, 77% in 2013, 76.7 in 2015, 84.26% in 2015, 78.95% pass rate so far in 2016.
California: Accredited, no pass rates listed.
Arizona: Full approval, pass rates are 88.64% in 2015, 85.71% in so far in 2016
Ohio: Full approval, pass rates are 75% in 2015 and 71.43% so far in 2016
Indiana: Initial accreditation, no pass rates. Program is probably too new to have students taking the NCLEX.
Michigan: Approved, can't seem to find any NCLEX pass rates for the state at all.
Missouri: Full approval, pass rate in 2014 is 85.33% and 2015 is 86.32%.
Thank you for your feedback. Maybe I made a mistake in saying that it accelerated, sorry. I guess compared to the 2-3 years or more spent doing my pre reqs at nightin community college, plus a 2 year wait list for a 2 year ADN program... the $87K BSN is more accelerated than that.
I am not sure if I can apply to a traditional BSN program actually. I think it is highly competitive in CA and I am 27 years old, so I am unsure of that as an option in general because I thought 4 year BSN were for people who were out of high school, have taken SATs or whatever. (Totally clueless about this option.)
I have a friend who did pre reqs at community colleges in CA, then went to a 15 month Accelerated BSN in Las Vegas. Her tuition for those 15 months alone were $70K. But she had a job immediately after graduating, before she took her NCLEX in cardiac ICU and they are building a trauma 1 in a year, which she wants to get into ED nursing.
I guess I feel as if I am in a jam, and I am sure others out there may feel the same as me. I have no family that I can live with for free while in school (this was suggested to me in another post) I have to work full time to barely live check to check currently, my job is unstable so I do not want to get stuck doing PT pre reqs at a community college only to lose my job, look for another one and it may not align with my class schedule and I may not be able to afford my rent for a bedroom (San Diego,CA) is $1000 alone. So I am not sure if this maybe helps people understand why I am even considering doing the $87K school option. It is 36 months only, cheaper than living in CA if I have to take more loans out to live, I can do my profession in Las Vegas and I feel like the sooner I can get a degree, the sooner I can start to pay it back instead of waiting up to possibly 7 years for an associates even....
Beachy, thank you SO much! You have been very, very helpful! I know a few of those campuses are new. CA just opened their first session May 2 of this year. I want to assume that if most of their campuses have full approval, then so will NV. This may be a blind wish on my behalf.
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
I am not sure if I can apply to a traditional BSN program actually. I think it is highly competitive in CA and I am 27 years old, so I am unsure of that as an option in general because I thought 4 year BSN were for people who were out of high school, have taken SATs or whatever. (Totally clueless about this option.)
It is indeed possible for "nontraditional" (those not straight out of high school) to attend your every day run of the mill college/university. If you haven't looked into that route, you definitely need to. $87K for any pre-licensure nursing program is absurd.
WookieeRN, BSN, MSN, RN
1,050 Posts
83.27% is a really low pass rate for a program. I personally wouldn't be comfortable with a 90% pass rate either, but that's me. I looked on the NV Board of Nursing website and it looks like the Las Vegas campus has provisional approval (nothing wrong with that) but hasn't had a class pass/take the NCLEX yet. That to me would be a red flag. Now, all programs need to start somewhere, but I wouldn't even think about spending $87K on a school that doesn't have anything to back itself up on with NCLEX pass rates. If I'm going to pay that kind of money I want a guarantee I'm going to pass the NCLEX. The thing with Chamberlain is that each campus is different. There are some with decent pass rates, and others with abysmal rates, etc.
My program is an extremely respected private program that recently boasted a 100% pass rate but cost NO WHERE near $87K (I think it's $7K a semester), especially because I get grants, etc. I think I pay $2K out of pocket a semester, and my next two (last!) semesters I will be paying $0 out of pocket towards my education.
Just remember this is a debt that you CANNOT discharge, ever. The only way to get rid of it is by paying off the $87K in addition to all the interest you will be charged. Also, that amount may sky rocket if you ever manage to fail a course. Failure is common in nursing school and can be financially devastating, especially with tuition at a hefty $675 a credit...