Bellarmine ABSN May 2017

galaxy86 · Mar 21, 2017

PeachyBSN, they absolutely hire Bellarmine graduates, but keep in mind anyone in the Louisville area will hire basically any graduate from any program. When you talk to Bellarmine on the phone and during their orientation/information sessions, they make it seem like their graduates are the most desirable to hire, and some places might agree or favor Bellarmine more because they themselves went there, but you'll find that with absolutely any school. I know student nurses and new graduate nurses who have recently had no problem securing jobs and they are going to JCC, ITT tech, Spalding, UL, Galen and every other nursing school around here too. One of my classmates at Bellarmine was just hired a few weeks ago in the ICU along with 2 other students graduating from UL and Galen. So the Bellarmine name really does not mean much when it comes to securing a job. In this area completing nursing school = job. Even people who are graduating with their ADNs are having no problem getting jobs here even in the more highly sought after units like ICU, ED, Peds and so on.
As far as tuition, there is a program I know of called Norton Scholar which will pay part of your tuition as long as you maintain a certain GPA throughout school, and you owe them a certain amount of time after graduation. Most hospitals here are doing student loan payback after you sign on with them, but you will also owe them time in exchange for this. These programs are constantly changing and fluctuating though. I do know that all the programs in the area that help with tuition will pay a maximum of around $25k, and that is less than half of Bellarmine's tuition. A lot of people in my program had to do FAFSA, and a lot of them were not eligible for enough student loans to cover the entire tuition cost so they needed to take out private loans (which is unfortunate because the interest on them is so high). I feel bad because I know of several Bellarmine students who failed out and took out private loans, so they are in a very tough spot.

Hi, how does one privately message? I am following you and I went to check your profile but I cannot see an option to message you.

Thank you for all the information. I have few more questions.

Alaya0 · Mar 31, 2017

I have accepted my position in this program and I'm pretty excited!

Arichter9 · May 19, 2017

I would RUN, not walk, AWAY FROM THIS PROGRAM.

hopefulkim99 · Jul 13, 2017

anyone still lurking around and willing to answer a few questions regarding the program and the overall area?

whitle · Aug 20, 2017

Hi, I was planning on starting my absn at bellarmine may 2018. I would love to talk to you about the program. Is it truly that awful?

needhelpnow · Jul 11, 2018

Listen to ehan09 guys

I wish that I had known about your post prior to investing in this school.

As a former student, I can attest to everything said about this school. Do NOT waste your money nor time. This is NOT a teaching institution. As far as their reputation, few people have heard of Bellarmine outside of KY so no one cares. For such an expensive institution, no student should have to teach him/herself through Youtube, google, or any other materials. Many of the faculty members will tell you themselves that they couldn't complete this program themselves. There are several known issues with non-qualified professors and nothing is being done about it. For instance, there is a professor (TB) that teaches Health Assessment and OB who's well known to fail about 1/2 of her class every semester. I think she's also the one teaching MedSurg.

hopefulkim99 · Jul 11, 2018

Listen to ehan09 guys
I wish that I had known about your post prior to investing in this school.
As a former student, I can attest to everything said about this school. Do NOT waste your money nor time. This is NOT a teaching institution. As far as their reputation, few people have heard of Bellarmine outside of KY so no one cares. For such an expensive institution, no student should have to teach him/herself through Youtube, google, or any other materials. Many of the faculty members will tell you themselves that they couldn't complete this program themselves. There are several known issues with non-qualified professors and nothing is being done about it. For instance, there is a professor (TB) that teaches Health Assessment and OB who's well known to fail about 1/2 of her class every semester. I think she's also the one teaching MedSurg.

Wow! Were you able to complete the program? What other schools do you recommend?

needhelpnow · Jul 13, 2018

I would RUN, not walk, AWAY FROM THIS PROGRAM.

Agreed

Run as fast and as far as you can from Bellarmine U. This is a horrible institution. I bought into that "Christian Institution" thinking that they will be honest but trust me, they will lie through their teeth knowing that their program is not actually what they want people to believe. They often brag about their high NCLEX rate but don't tell you that the majority of students ended up taking a $1,000 Kaplan course prior to taking the NCLEX. Again, for such an expensive school, students should be prepared to take the NCLEX without having to spend additional money for exam prep. What does that tell you? I have a lot of friends that are nurses and none of them had to take Kaplan prep course.

needhelpnow · Jul 13, 2018

Wow! Were you able to complete the program? What other schools do you recommend?

God...NO. I quickly found out what Bellarmine was all about before it was too late. Smart students usually withdraw from the program within the first 2 semesters.

I'm not in a position to recommend any other schools, but know now to do my research before falling in the same trap as Bellarmine.

hopefulkim99 · Jul 13, 2018

thx for sharing, happy you got out of there! Unbelievable!!

jdaniel4 · Jul 14, 2018

I absolutely agree with ehan09 and hopefulkim99. They have stated almost everything on here that I wanted to mention so I won't repeat it other than to say, Do NOT attend this program unless it's your only option or you plan on staying and working in this state and even then look at other schools. It's poorly structured, and the support is lacking from the faculty. Absolutely a money hungry school and yes, it's a weeding out process. You will lose about half the cohort before the first term even ends and they will blame it on the students not trying hard enough. It's an un-healthy, disingenuous and discouraging environment. It doesn't matter who you try to communicate with they don't seem to care to make any changes after many complaints have been filed over the years which they will do their best to cover up. Everyone in my cohort were intelligent, worked hard, and will be more successful one day than the majority of the staff there no doubt. I just kept thinking, "I wish I had done more research or someone would have warned me." So, here I am trying to help whoever is considering attending this program. Do not waste your time or money here, one year may sound appealing, but many will end up doing at least two years here. You are better off exploring other programs and options and you will more than likely be happier for it.

needhelpnow · Jul 15, 2018

I absolutely agree with ehan09 and hopefulkim99. They have stated almost everything on here that I wanted to mention so I won't repeat it other than to say, Do NOT attend this program unless it's your only option or you plan on staying and working in this state and even then look at other schools. It's poorly structured, and the support is lacking from the faculty. Absolutely a money hungry school and yes, it's a weeding out process. You will lose about half the cohort before the first term even ends and they will blame it on the students not trying hard enough. It's an un-healthy, disingenuous and discouraging environment. It doesn't matter who you try to communicate with they don't seem to care to make any changes after many complaints have been filed over the years which they will do their best to cover up. Everyone in my cohort were intelligent, worked hard, and will be more successful one day than the majority of the staff there no doubt. I just kept thinking, "I wish I had done more research or someone would have warned me." So, here I am trying to help whoever is considering attending this program. Do not waste your time or money here, one year may sound appealing, but many will end up doing at least two years here. You are better off exploring other programs and options and you will more than likely be happier for it.

Totally agree

I'm determined to inform and warn students about Bellarmine so that they don't fall in the same trap as I did...even if it's your last and only option...Unless you're super rich and don't mind throwing away about $11,000 per 8-week semester. This school is a money trap with a price tag of about $3,000 per course.

Remember, you have to pay back student loans with interest!