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I have read many negative comments and positive comments on the International University of Nursing. A lot of the posts were old between 2006-2008. I still can't get an idea whether to go or not. I am eager to finish the schooling and start my career ASAP and don't want to wait for possible 2 years for the school application process.

IUON seems to be a good choice from this view point because they accept students both Spring and fall terms and no waiting list. I am self-motivated and disciplined. I just want to be able to get a BSN degree from IUON's partner school and pass the NCLEX, no matter how hard I have to do the study on my own. After all, most of my state college experiences are associated with lots of self study.

I will not seek employment in CA or FL. I know these 2 states have a stricter qualification for nursing education. My long term goal is to get a master's degree in nursing. I know I'll get a US state college degree from IUON's partner school. Is that true?

Could any one who attended and are attending IUON vote for the overall rating of this school despite the bad clinical facility and living expenses there? (I have to pay for rent and food any other school I attend anyway.)

Thanks a million! :)

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Have you heard anything back from anyone, maybe in you PM box?

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Let me know what specific questions you have about the school and the island.

I am a current student. I am in my second semester. I have one more semester here and plan on transfering to CSU.

Regarding rent. Most likely you will be placed at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel. The cost is somewhere between $775 and $1000 and rising each semester. You can find other places, but you never know what you are going to get. Its hard to find a deal unless if you are on the island itself.

Dan Carlton

PS- Feel free to email me at [email protected]

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Specializes in Pediatrics, OB/GYN, ER, Geriatrics.

Having been to St. Kitts for vacation, I would love to go to IUON, but I am married and the hubby says no. So, studying in "paradise" for 15 months is out for me...I have not heard one negative thing about the school though. When we were in St. Kitts, we went to the campus and they have state of the art equipment there, but the down fall is the housing costs and they do not take federal financial aid.

Best of luck to you on your decision.

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Specializes in Oncology, Medical/Surgical.

I may be of help as well. I went there from Fall 2008-Aug.2009 and went through the transfer process to the US schools. Send me a message anytime.

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My question is arent u basically paying IUON to take your pre-req's and then transferring to the accelerated nursing program at the US school??!

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Hey thanks for the offer in answering questions!

I am applying & and hope to be accepted & begin in may.

Did you find that the school is up technologically speaking?

Rent i understand is about 800-1100 us per month.

Are instructors helpful or are you pretty much self taught?

What about partner schools, are you only doing clinical rotations during this time?

Do you feel you are getting a quality education?

I understand it's expensive but when it's all said & done you got in, you complete the program & you move on with your new career.

Is it easy to get a roommate or just best to live on your own?

How about transportation to & from school? Public, bike, walk?

Food, is there a local grocery nearby? I'm sure prices are quite high?

Thanks for your time!

I really appreciate it.

Soon2bern2012

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What about books? Buy on Island or Buy in States and take with you?

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Hey thanks for the offer in answering questions!

I am applying & and hope to be accepted & begin in may.

Did you find that the school is up technologically speaking?

Rent i understand is about 800-1100 us per month.

Are instructors helpful or are you pretty much self taught?

What about partner schools, are you only doing clinical rotations during this time?

Do you feel you are getting a quality education?

I understand it's expensive but when it's all said & done you got in, you complete the program & you move on with your new career.

Is it easy to get a roommate or just best to live on your own?

How about transportation to & from school? Public, bike, walk?

Food, is there a local grocery nearby? I'm sure prices are quite high?

Thanks for your time!

I really appreciate it.

Soon2bern2012

Hello Everyone! I attended IUON around the time when the movie theater was opened and am currently a RN in CA. A family member of mine attended IUON is also a RN. PM me for any questions you might have.

Technologically: Most of the campus is Wi-Fi and the computer lab is good. The Nursing Simulation and Skills Laboratory is state of the art and supplies are abundant. Library is Wi-Fi and TONS of nursing and medical related textbooks. Also, there is access to many online scientific medical and nursing publication databases/journals.

Rent: When I attended, most rent was less than $800 USD and many units included utilities. You might want to get in touch with members of the student groups: The Student Nurses' Association (SNA) and/or Student Gov't Assoc (SGA). Or contact IUON and ask about contact info for "Welcome Committee" members.

Instructors: Same types of nursing textbooks as those used stateside. The professors are highly educated (MSN, PhD) and are generally helpful. Like any learning institution, it is individualized. Many times nursing clinical is led by nursing instructors (BSN and lots of experience) that don't usually lecture the theory. Instructors tend to have work experiences around the world but are native to the island and can help translate if having difficulty understanding the style of English being spoken.

Partner schools: Full course load and clinical. Once transferred to US partner school, integrated into that school's nursing program. (I attended during a time when I was several weeks from transferring and not knowing what partner school I would be attending. Problematic since 5 different programs have different requirements/pre-requisites). In addition, if IUON states a course is not equivalent, attempt to go directly to your partner school to verify. I and several others learned this the hard way.... taking pre-requisite courses at IUON even though we had fulfilled them prior. (Ex: Aced Statistics but instructed by IUON to take College Algebra since Stats was not equivalent.) Possible attempt to increase their revenue?... you decide.

Partner schools: Difficulty increases. About 25% nursing program failure rate. I've had a few classmates that were experienced LPNs and RTs (resp-ther) order/purchase their pins for our RN pinning ceremony and not graduate.

Quality Education: I felt it was definitely a quality education at the US partner school. Passed NCLEX-RN 1st attempt and annihilated the standardized HESI exams. The hands-on clinical experiences on the island were excellent and definitely different from US health care. Females don nursing caps and nurses are like handmaidens to physicians (subservient). It is mostly a ward style setting. No IV pumps, count the drops/minute manually, no screens on the windows, etc.

Roomie: Easy to get one and easy to live on own. A majority of students like to have a good time. Maybe check with IUON or the SNA/SGA or Welcoming groups for more info.

Transport: The school might offers transport at certain times of day at no charge. For example, studying late at the library or lounge? A bus/large mini-van will drop you and your fellow students (medical and nursing) to your residence for no cost. (It can be difficult to get a "bus" in the evening hours). The bus system is a large mini van and has a Green colored license plate... fee is less than $2. Regarding biking: much of the island is not flat and definitely NO bike lanes. Walking is great if you live close to the campus.

Walking/Crime: Try to walk in groups or on the main roads. During my time there, 1 male and 1 female IUON student were assaulted. The female was taking a back road to the "BestBuy" market. Apparently the male was boozing at the beach bars by himself on a weeknight. Both were unsolved when I was there. When a meeting was held with the local police and a student asked about pepper spray the response from the police was neither a simple "yes" or "no" but rather something about "registration" and notifying the police. A student's Moped scooter was stolen from his residence despite being locked and changed.

Food: Similar to an island like Hawaii or countries outside the US... lower quality, lower quantity and more costly. The university cafeteria serves breakfast items like sandwiches and a full course lunch. In contrast, were no food/snack options on the weekends (there was no vending for drinks nor snacks and cafeteria/store closed on weekends). Sometimes a vendor will sell fruits on campus similar to a small farmer's market. Local grocery close to campus is BestBuy and in town is Ram's. Both accepted credit card. The US supermarket that is not close to campus is IGA.

Books: Many can be purchased used from older students or the library has a few copies on hand. The bookstore didn't buyback books. Most of my IUON exams for nursing courses covered 10+ chapters and higher scores when studying the power points. The textbooks are good for learning.

The economy should pick up by the time you finish because there is definitely a staffing shortage and many hiring freezes.

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I know I'll get a US state college degree from IUON's partner school. Is that true?

Could any one who attended and are attending IUON vote for the overall rating of this school despite the bad clinical facility and living expenses there? (I have to pay for rent and food any other school I attend anyway.)

You will receive a degree from both US partner college (NLN or similarly accredited) and IUON. Since you would be a graduate of the accredited US partner school, you would be eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN.

Also, prior to transferring to the US school, fill out a FASFA since likely eligible for financial aid when attending the US partner school.

IUON alumni have a facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-University-of-Nursing-Alumni-Association/113815511969747

Attending IUON not was not I expected but in hindsight, I would likely be just starting a RN BSN program with 3 more years until graduation or on some other waiting list/lottery instead of being the RN I am today.

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Wow! Thank You so much for taking the time to answer my questions. Lots of people have had a lot of rants and rages for different reasons without a lot of specifics, which made me quite nervous. However, You have answer every one of my questions! Thank you so much. I know that every experience is different and not without issue whether stateside or on a small under developed island. I too do not have 3-5 years to sit around and wait to be accepted into a nursing program and all of your information is very valuable.

Have A Wonderful Holiday and Continued Success in Your Nursing Career !

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For iuon tell me something about these loans. Is it enough to live on? Or is it enough just for tuition and housing? How is that calculated? Thanks

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