ISU VS. Excelsior

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I am thinking about going back and getting my RN. I have looked into Excelsior alot and the Clinicals scare the poo out of me. I have for the last 4 yrs worked in an office behind a desk. I have not been in a hospital in years so the thougth of it scares me. I do however like the idea of the self paced and I love the idea of paying as I go so I do not have to take out student loans.

I have just started researching LSU at the suggestion of a co-worker. I like the idea of having a preceptor who is an RN I think I could learn alot.

I still have to look at the cost of each program, the amount of time it takes to complete and which of my pre-requs will transfer over.

What are your opinions on the two?

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Mindy, if you want clinicals the place to go is not Excelsior. And you MUST find out what your state BON says about each school. Neither is accepted everywhere.

Excelsior is faster and cheaper.

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I am sorry I should of stated I am in Florida and both programs are accepted here.

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That's okay. :)

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Ok I keep reading on here and get more confused. It says you dont have to apply to Excelsior until you get the pre-requs done, is this correct? I have registered and could take NC1 without applying but can I take the pre-reqs too?

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I'm in FL too :-)

The deciding factor for me was the cost of the program since I was paying per test ect.. If Excelsior did not exist, I would have done ISU because I don't have the time to go to classes at a college (I'd have to make time for the clinical part).

I too was scared of the CPNE at Excelsior but I decided to just do it. Excelsior is NOT for everyone and you need to know your strengths and weaknesses. I just graduated from EC and got my RN license a few weeks ago so it can be done :-) It took me less than 1 year to complete and I'm going back for my Bachelor's in May.

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ChangeofPace thanks for the upbeat words. I appreciate it. I still have some research to do. I am finding it difficult to find the fees for ISU.

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Hi, I am thinking of finishing my schooling at Excelsior; I have one semester left and know very little about EC. What are their clinicals like? WHat do you do in them?

TIA

MrsM

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Also investigate the availability of clinical sites and preceptors with ISU. You are responsible for getting your own if there are no site contracts already in place in your area.

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Hi, I am thinking of finishing my schooling at Excelsior; I have one semester left and know very little about EC. What are their clinicals like? WHat do you do in them?

TIA

MrsM

The website for EC is http://www.excelsior.edu. The Excelsior College nursing program is an evaluative program. The clinical evaluation is called the CPNE, and is taken over three days on a weekend (usually). It costs (now) $1900 plus the cost of travel and hotel. If you don't pass, you have a total of three attempts or you are dismissed from the program and must wait five years to reapply. You can get most of your questions answered by looking at their website. Same with the ISU website.

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Specializes in Psych, LTC, Acute Care.
Ok I keep reading on here and get more confused. It says you dont have to apply to Excelsior until you get the pre-requs done, is this correct? I have registered and could take NC1 without applying but can I take the pre-reqs too?

You pay $75 to apply and send your transcripts. EC will then evaluate our classes and tell you what you need to take. You are not gonna take the NC1-7(Thats the old curriculum). You will take Essentials of Health saftey. Call EC or go to their website and download the Nursing Catalog. It will tell you what you have to take. You can take Essentials of Healthcare saftey before you pay the $895 enrollment fee. I suggest if you have alot of prerequisites to take them first but only after EC evaluates your transcripts.

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I was reading the following on the Excelsior site---

Assess, perceive and understand the condition of assigned patients;

See, hear, smell, touch and detect subtle changes in colors;

Communicate (both verbally and in writing) with English speaking patients and/or family members/significant others as well as members of the health care team, including nurses, physicians, support staff and faculty;

Read and understand documents written in English;

Perform diagnostic and therapeutic functions necessary for the provision of general care and emergency treatment to the hospital patient

Stand, sit, move and tolerate the required physical exertion necessary to meet the demands of providing safe clinical care;

Solve problems involving measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis and synthesis; and

Perform nursing skills in the face of stressful conditions, exposure to infectious agents and blood-borne pathogens.

I'm not sure that I'm getting a full picture of what the three days entails--like, solve problems involving measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis and synthesis"--what exactly are they talking about? A written dose calc test? Are they asking about a physical stamina test with the 'physical exertion' bit?

If anyone who has been there could tell me exactly what they're talking about with some examples, I'd love to hear it. I'm not the best navigator on the computer and maybe I have missed something they have stated somewhere on their site?

I do appreciate the input from y'all very much, thanks.

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