looking into excelsior

michellezlpn · May 20, 2012

Keep in mind that you will need the gen ed requirements also. A&P, Micro, Life Span, Algebra, English, ect. Some people do some or all of the gen eds at a community college and then enroll at Excelsior for the nursing portion or Excelsior offers the gen eds also. Some people use Clep, Dantes or Ace test outs. So you will need to decide on that first. As far as how long it takes......that is up to you. Please do not go through a publishing company for study guides, you can get them on eBay for a fraction of the cost. Good luck to you.

RTsoonRN · May 20, 2012

Agreed. Not to mention getting completely ripped off by publishing companies like RueEd.

SweaterLoveRN · May 22, 2012

I got my RN through Excelsior, I finished LPN school and within a month of graduation I enrolled in Excelsior. I prefer reading the books through and taking the tests after. Some people prefer sitting in a classroom. If you do go to Excelsior you have to be ready to make yourself sit down and do the work.

I did all my pre-req and nursing classes through Excelsior, I never went to college before this. I was working full-time as an LPN when I completed the program. I started in July and finished taking all my classes in December 2010. I did my FCCA and then my CPNE in April in Syracuse, NY. I finished with a 3.41, BUT I literally had NO LIFE. I sat at home, when not working, reading through all the text books, studying, then taking tests. The actual courses I took for the BSn program through Excelsior were also as straight forward.

I will always recommend starting immediately after you finish LPN school when it is fresh in your mind. Everything you will have to know for your nursing classes will practically all be taught in your LPN classes. You are just going to be adding on some more details from prior knowledge.

On a side note, the CPNE was very hard and stressful. If you can manage your time appropriately and you show them you are confident and caring you will do great. Just remember assess from head to toe.

Good luck with your decision! Also any experience is better then no experience. Nursing homes are a great place to start, you get to practice your skills and there will also be some older, wiser nurses there to help you along.

brandy21000 · May 22, 2012

thank you,

i do have all my pre req courses done, so i am going to def sign up right when i am done,

can i ask you about the FCCA, what is that.

how long did you spend on each course, before you tested? also did you do the practice test first?

another question, how long did it take for you to get your test date for the cpne, I've noticed that some are saying it takes awhile to get a date.

thank you everyone for the help, i am sure i will be asking more questions.

SweaterLoveRN · May 22, 2012

The FCCA was a paper test that tests your clinical competancy by making your write a few care plans and delegate certain tasks. I took a few days to finish it and I spent alot of time writing and rewriting. They also allow you to ask questions about the test, which is great. I asked several questions just to be clear I was doing everything right. You have to complete the FCCA before you can schedule your CPNE, the FCCA and CPNE are both either pass/fail.

I didn't take courses before I took the test, I just read the text books. I either used my LPN textbooks or I bought them on amazon.com. Excelsior over charges for their books and the buyback price isn't great either. I didn't take the practice test on any of them, but in retrospect I would have taken the Transition to RN Role practice test. I went into that test really not knowing if what I had studied/read was really going to be on the test so I got a C.

It didn't take me long to get a CPNE date. They allow you to chose from a wide range of hospitals in many areas all over the country. I opened up the calender and made the availability totally open, so I scheduled my test date to be within a month after I got the ok to set it up. For that entire month I read the study guide from cover to cover, I wrote notes over and over to memorize the critical elements, and I also bought the DVD. The DVD was a MAJOR help, it shows you how it will really be done and the setting you'll be in, which really eased my stress. When I was doing my clinical I really was thankful that I had that DVD to reference.

It really depends on where you live in how long it takes to get an available test date. I do also recommend Syracuse, NY, the examiners were all very nice, very professional, and approachable. The hospital was beautiful and the patient's nurses that you get report from were also excellent and very helpful.

missnurse01, MSN, RN · May 22, 2012

hello my name is brandy
i am currently working on my lpn, and will graduate in December. My goal is to go right into the RN program at excelsior. So that i finish college within this lifetime. I am going to HACC, and their bridge program will not start till June, so that would be a 6 month wait, and i want to keep rolling through school.
So my question for everyone is how do i do this with excelsior, i live in pennsylvania so they except excelsior. I just wanted to know how the classes are, what others do, and how long it takes for each class.
I have a friend who went through the program and she said it was great, and you only have to take a weekend clinical to pass, but she recommends doing the week precourse before taking the final. Although she graduated in 2008 so i am not sure if anything has changed.
I also wanted to know if people bought the books to study or the cds, any and all advice will help.
Also, i know some might say hey work as an LPN first for awhile, but where i live they are starting to get rid of the lpn's in the hospital setting, and the only place that is currently hiring is doctors office's and nursing homes. And if i would stop i may not go back, so i want to keep trucking right along with schooling.

how long is the bridge transition program locally to you? You might finish faster if it is only a year or so. also you can not get financial aid/student loans thru excelsior, it is all out of pocket-so cost might limit how quickly you can get thru the program. there is no guarantee you will pass the cpne the first time, when i went the first time pass rate was only in the 60's%...you have to be dedicated and buckle down to study. the wait for my date was 6 months, and I chose all the sites on my half of the country.

good luck!