ISU LPN to BSN ..RN Graduate in Washington State.. letter of guidance to such students

Nursing Students Indiana (ISU)

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Hello!

I am a recent graduate of an online LPN-BSN program, have successfully passed my NCLEX and am registered now in two states. The program I attended was Indiana State University and it took me a little of 2 years at a mix of PT and FT courses. I worked while attending, and have a family. I made the mistake of getting mixed up with TCN bc thought I needed to, in order to get the challenge exam study material.. they have since eliminated that and are no longer contracted with TCN.. thank goodness! TCN is a waste of money. However, while there were hurdles to over come, if you have the self motivation to stay ontop of tight deadlines, and ability to work with students all over the US and sometimes oversees(military) then this is a FANTASTIC program! I am happy to be a resource for a local Washington LPN should anyone need guidance in their application process or just need someone to vent to that is already in the program:) I want to assist in the success of this program bc that is how much I believe in it! I have seen a lot of questions about ISU on this forum and thought it easiest to set up a new topic thread instead of answering everyone's posts..

I live in Illinois as well, did you ever get an answer to this question?

I just got accepted into ISU, but still have 2 classes to take. ( Chem and College algebra) So as of right now i'm Pre LVN-BSN. I know it's competitive. I'm just wondering how they choose who gets in. Is there a points system? If so, what were the average points needed? Thanks ! Sorry if this was already asked.

Hello! Thank you so much for all info. I'm glad to hear about someone from the same state actually completed the program. I recently just got accepted into this fall semester. I also live in WA. So excited and nervous in the same time. Also, just learned about it is going to be the first clinical for NURS304. May I ask how did you find the clinical site? Thank you very much.

Hi Cleealto,

I just found your post regarding ISU. Hopefully you are still active on this site. I'm an LPN in WA state, have all required pre-reqs done, and considering applying to ISU for the LPN to BSN. I just sent you a friend request. I would love to chat via message if you're still willing to offer advice?

Thank you!

Hey, I know I am very late to the party, but can I ask a few questions about the LPN-BSN program?

1) How hard, on a scale of 1-10 (har), were the classes?
2) How much did the program, in total, cost?
3) Was it difficult to juggle school, work, and life?

I'll probably think of more late.

Hi! I start the ISU program in a couple of weeks. I currently work at St. Joe's in Tacoma, and I see that most of my clinical sites can be at St. Joe's hospital. How did you find your preceptors? How would you rate job placement after this? How would you compare your knowledge gained vs. people who went the traditional RN route in class?

Sorry for all the questions, I am just super excited to see someone in my state go through the same process as myself!

1 Votes
Specializes in Clinical Research.

Hi Vivika!

Congratulations! You'll probably get the best responses by joining the ISU LPN to BSN FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/isubsn/

Specializes in ENT and ER.

hello @https://allnurses.com/profile/749827-cleealto/

how was the process for clinical sites and how many different clinical did you have to complete ?

Specializes in Cardiology and General.

The process of finding a clinical site was very challenging.I won't lie. I spent months reaching out to clinical sites on my own behalf to see if anyone was willing to start a contract or those that had contracts if they had a space for me. I was fortunate to get into a large hospital organization on a trial basis and they ended up extending the contract to accommodate me for the whole program and all my sites.. CC/TELE/MED/SURG-GERIATRIC FLOOR/ Public Health at their offsite OP AIDS/HIV center. This was with Virginia Mason in Seattle if you are in that area. They were wonderful. It is easiest if you can get your own employer to start a contract since you have connections on who to contact in the education department... hope this helps! ISU helps only with the writing of the contract not with finding one for you.

Specializes in Clinical Research.

It's been a great program! I am set to graduate in December. It's had it's ups and downs just like any nursing program, but overall, I've really enjoyed it and have felt it is very fair. You must, must, must be an organized and self-motivated student, though. If you don't do well with online courses or in the distance education environment, you won't do well in this program. Otherwise, it's pretty awesome.

Finding clinical sites is the most painful part, but, it can be done. You will need to be your own advocate and do the footwork in order to secure a site, but once you do or at least talk with someone at a hospital who says they're at least willing to consider you, you can connect them to ISU and they will work on things from there. You may need to find your own preceptor too, which can be a real pain. But, like I said, it's not impossible. It just takes patience and determination. I ended up creating a spreadsheet of every hospital where I live and called each and every one and then made notes of who I spoke with and when, what they said, etc. Lastly, be willing to travel a few hours to your site. You may not be able to find a hospital willing to take you closeby. I traveled an hour in one course and 30 minutes in this semester's course. I'm still not sure what will happen in the Fall when I completely my last clinical rotation.

I live in Washington state and interested in applying to the LPN-BSN program through ISU. Anyone have any advice/comments on the program? How is the material delivered and how are their tests done? Is it only testing or is there a lot of paper-type assignments? I have a family and work and wanted to make sure it would be a right fit for my life.
Thank you in advance!

Specializes in OB/GYN.

Can anyone share your prerequisite grades and Kaplan score? I’m so nervous.

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