Is ISU too good to be true?

[missycrowell]

Is ISU a scam? My class is graduating in December from LPN school and several of us are wanting to bridge over online.... ISU seemed hopeful.... They accept community college credits which is really awesome because I have all of them done except micro.... It's accredited, So is this school a scam, too good to be true... Someone add some insight to if this is something realistic.....

And yes. I've already read some posts in the ISU forum

[MbellLPN]

Hi SoonSurgery-RN-BSN,

How long did it take you to complete the program? And if you don't mind could you possibly email me the sequence of what classes you took together? Hopefully I will be starting in the spring and I'm contemplating on what class to take together. I know some of the classes have pre and corequisites but just curious as to what classes you took together. í ½í¸Š

[SoonSurgery-RN-BSN, BSN, RN]

Hi MbellLPN,

I was able to finish the program in less than 3 years. I took all the pre-req courses including pathophysiology at a local junior college prior to applying. I also had a previous bachelors degree, so I mainly took the nursing core courses at ISU. When I went to ISU, there was 10 core nursing classes (not including the CM courses prior to entering the program). I think there might be 11 now as I believe that just added a NCLEX prep course to the program.

In regards to the order of classes, I went in order of the courses offered to the students. Most semesters, I took two courses at a time. The ISU counselor is really good about communicating with the students about what classes to take, so I essentially followed the recommendation of the counselor and followed the list of course (here is a link to the order of courses Nursing: LPN / LVN to BS | DegreeLink | Indiana State University)

I do not believe that there was a course that was already filled prior to me registering. Things may have changed a bit, but overall registering for classes was never an issue when I attended ISU.

Good luck!

[MbellLPN]

Thanks for responding. I too have taken all classes and only need to take the 11 core nursing courses and I was hoping by taking 2 classes at a time and then the last semester take final 3 that I would be done in under 2 years. But that's only if they offer classes over the summer. We're you able to attend summer courses or this wasn't an option?

[SoonSurgery-RN-BSN, BSN, RN]

Yes, ISU did offer summer courses; however, my state regulations would only let students take one clinic course per semester. Check your state regulations to verify how many clinical courses you can take per semester. My first semester I only took one course, but thereafter, I took 2 courses until graduation.

[MbellLPN]

Oh I see. So I will check with the state of Florida. Thank you for responding so quickly! í ½í¸€

[KristyRunge]

hey there! Thank you for all your info! is it 2 or 3 semesters a year? also, the nursing courses themselves took you 3 years or was that including the pre reqs?

[SoonSurgery-RN-BSN, BSN, RN]

Hey Kristy, I did 3 semesters a year (Spring, Summer, Fall) with approximately 2 classes per semester. I was able to finish a little under 3 years (all nursing core classes) once admitted into the program; however, this did not take into account the CM modules ISU requires prior to the start of the program or any of my pre-reqs. I took all my pre-reqs including pathophysiology at a local junior college. I also had a previous bachelors in another field, which helped with my general studies credits that are required to obtain your bachelors from ISU.

Best of luck. Let me know if you have any further questions.

[Sweet&Petite, RN]

Indiana is a credible school. I was an LPN for 8 years and was skeptical before I applied because I did not know anyone who had been through the program. I applied, was accepted, and now have graduated. I feel like I was adequately prepared for boards and passed my nclex first go round with the minimum amount of questions.

The course work can be challenging especially if you have been out of school for a while. I worked full time at the beginning of the program, dropped to part time work by the middle and stopped working for my last semester. The last semester was tough because it is hard core nclex preparation. The most difficult thing about the entire program is finding your own preceptors since you are responsible for locating your own for each clinical course. That can be quite difficult especially if you don't already work in the hospital and know some nurses. I worked in an outpatient clinic so did not have many connections with the inpatient world. Fortunately, I work near a teaching hospital so they were very helpful.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM or send me an email at [email protected]. I don't mind sharing my experience with you in more detail.

[xoCrash]

Can you only take two classes per semester or can you take more..?

[SoonSurgery-RN-BSN, BSN, RN]

You can take more than 2 classes; however, half of the classes have a clinical component, which in certain states you can only take one clinical course per semester. You would have to check with your state requirements in regards to how many clinical courses can be taken per semester. Best of luck!