Los Angeles County School of Nursing

willowita, ADN, RN · May 1, 2012

You never know, you may get some. Tuition at County is like $2,500 a semester, I think. So every little bit helps.

LavenderButterfly · May 4, 2012

Minimum points for LVN's was 80.

lacishom · May 7, 2012

Anyone know the cut-off score for County generics yet?

willowita, ADN, RN · May 7, 2012

I don't think they've notified the generic ADN applicants yet. Right? But it's usually a higher cut off than the LVN points.

justinpark09, MSN, RN · May 7, 2012

I don't think they've notified the generic ADN applicants yet. Right? But it's usually a higher cut off than the LVN points.

hi willowita,

Did LAHC send u orientation day info yet?

lacishom · May 8, 2012

I don't think they'll start until May 15th, but was curious if they determine the score earlier... ohhhh, the wait- it's a killer!!

willowita, ADN, RN · May 8, 2012

hi willowita,
Did LAHC send u orientation day info yet?

They included the date with the acceptance offer but no additional info after that.

dezee06 · May 10, 2012

will reply shortly

Unsunghero · May 10, 2012

I currently go to County. I have so much to say about that school I don't even know where to start. Let me first say IT IS HARD!!!!!!! Harder than other ADN programs. I will first start off by describing what a typical week looks like:

Monday- you are in a Med/Surg class from 7-12pm. You literally sit through one whole day of lecture. Your Mondays stay the same EVERY week until the end of the semester in regards to lecture. However, about 6 weeks into the semester, you are go to the USC County hospital or your assigned clinical site after class and select your patient for the week ( Tues/Wed) that you will be working.

Tues- 7am-12pm you start off by having a pre-conference with your clinical group to introduce the pt. you will be taking care of. You then report to the clinical floor to take care of your patient ( doing everything from Vital Signs, Head to Toe Assessment, AM care (aka bedbath, brushing teeth [ everything a CNA does]). Each week you build up to another new skill until you take your competency.

Wed- same as above but after clinical you report to the same location to discuss your week in post-conference.

Thurs- you have either Nursing Role theory class from 7am-10am for the first 7 weeks of the semester, then you start Pharmacology the 2nd half of the semester (same day and time).

Friday- home free!! (unless you work or have studying which you will since most Med/Surg exams are on Mondays).

Okay.. so here are the professors who most students rave about: ----, ------- and ------. If you are placed at Oliveview Medical Ctr in Sylmar.. beware of --------!!!! She will make your semester SO hard and very painful if you are not on her favorites list from what friends have told me... actually from what friends have literally cried to me about. You are with the same clinical instructor from the start-end of semester. In my opinion, if you are assigned to the top 3 clinical instructors you are in GOOD hands!! Granted.. clinical instructors come off very tough and stern... supposedly their intent is to teach, but some instructors have taken it too far and have made students drop the program because of fear/intimidation/ or other reasons. I feel bad because we started with 50 students and are down to about 36 or so. Several have dropped bc of change of heart, failure, or fear of instructors.. which is just plain sad!!!!!

If you are able to have thick skin NOW and look past the instructors.. and really hold strong to your passion of nursing I think you will survive.

One thing to note, there are not that many students resources like tutoring, or EOPS, or any other financial assistance you are used to at other community colleges. If you have a learning disability you are pretty much on your own in finding resources to help you succeed in the school. It's really sad to know that many students have had to drop from the program this semester to start back up in Fall 2012 because of lack of resources to help them succeed.

In regards to the teaching, it is top notch depending on the lecturer. Please please drink lots of coffee when ------ and ------- lectures because their style of lecturing is dryer than death valley and ------ is hard to understand with her accent(just keeping it real). -----bhas a strong accent too but her wealth of knowledge keeps the students tuned in .-------( aka -----) is very knowledgeable but can come off as a bit cocky because she knows that she is smart and beautiful. However, you will learn from her. ---------- is such a nurturing instructor..but seriously she is the most direct, to the point in her test questions and lectures, you want to just give her a high-5. She is very fair with the students!!!

The first semester is VERRRRY intense and most students had part-time jobs and balanced school..but they worked on the weekends. If you are good about setting up a tight, structured schedule that details your studying, family and personal time I think you could do it. This is like no other program, but also know that just because you get into this program over others doesn't mean it could be the right program. In my opinion, I got into other programs but chose to come to county since it was the first school to accept me. I really wish I had the chance to start other programs because this program is too intense for just receiving an ADN. It's the same level as a BSN program in times of rigor and expectations but you will be walking away with an ADN.. if you don't mind that, then def. this is the place for you.

The cost to attend is $2400 each semester (the most expensive ADN programs in LA county!!), but they have this thing called the " Tuition Agreement" where you agreed to pay $700 bucks each semester upfront (monthly payments accepted) and at the end of the program, you defer paying back the $6800 ($1700 (remaining balance after paying $700) x 4 semesters= $6800 you owe) six months post grad. There is a perk that if you get to work for County 3 years.. your debt of $6800 is paid off.. but realistically, you can def. pay that off asap w/o having to work for county because it is a crazy place. The financial aid coordinator ----- is VERY nice and helpful in sending the students info about financial aid, scholarships, grants and school based scholarships (book scholarships, etc).

The avg cost for all the books on the list is about $600 each semester.

As far as the exams.. they are ALL multiple choice either 50 questions or 100 questions (cumulative) exam in Med/Surg ( the hardest class ever!!!!). you are given 6 exams total ( 2 cumulative exams and 4 comprehensive). You have to get a 70% in all classes in order to be considered "passing." Most students this semester avg'd about 75%-82% on their exams from the start of the semester until the end of the semester. The hardest exams are comprehensive because they cover more chapters.. also the exams in general are hard because they involve "wordy, long" questions in which can come across as tricky to the avg person ( me and all the other student body) so you have to get a book NOW on NCLEX test prep in order to get familiar with the types of questions, how they are structured and formatted so you have a better level of confidence during test taking. You are only able to miss about 7-8 questions to be in a "B" range on the 50 question exams, and 15-17 on the cumulative 100 question exam. THEY DO NOT ROUND up in grades.. and there are NO CURVES!!!!!! Each exam builds up to the next.. so my advice is if you are accepted, jump on getting the books ASAP and start peekin in them so that you can review comfortably now.. and then start the fall semester, you are ahead of the game.

Def. think about buying a recorder to record all lectures, buy color pens/markers and paper to make poster, signs, even flashcards so that the information sticks!!!! I use everything and anything to make the stuff stick in my head.. form study groups ( which can and can't be helpful, you decide) if necessary. What helped me is relistening to lectures and following along on the powerpoints slides and making flashcards to take with everywhere I go. I hope this helps out in making a decision to whether or not attend County Nursing program. :)

lovetosleep · May 10, 2012

Unsunghero,

Thanks for all of the information! I am starting the LVN-RN bridge this summer and have been wondering what students think of this school. What semester are you in? Do they let you use calculators in the drug calculation tests?

And the book list :eek: !!!!!! I read on their website that the total you would spend for all 4 semesters was 600-900 dollars. Then I got the required book list for summer and it was around $560 just for the summer. I remember thinking hmm, that 600-900 for all 4 semesters must be wrong.

willowita, ADN, RN · May 10, 2012

Thanks for all the info, UnsungHero!

I'm still waiting to hear from LA County for the generic ADN program. My biggest concern is cost. I don't qualify for grants or the financial perks you might find at a community college (like the board of governor's fee waiver). So I'm mostly relying on my savings and student loans. Still, a community college would cost even less than paying the $700 at County. But I'm glad to read in your post that they have a good financial aid staff since that is my biggest worry.

Can you provide a little more info about the tuition agreement? So you have to start paying back the deferred amount after 6 months of graduating. But they'll waive the fee if you work at a county hospital for 3 years. How does that work? Do they put the payback on hold while you work for those 3 years?

lovetosleep · May 10, 2012

Willowita,

I copied and pasted this from the Student Catalog on their website:

Tuition Agreement Contract Program

The County of Los Angeles makes available to all enrolled students, a deferred tuition

payment plan to help defray a portion of the educational expenses. A student may

defer over 40% of the tuition charges each semester throughout the program. Upon

graduation, the graduate has two options:

OPTION A—Service Payback: Become employed as a Registered Nurse at the

LAC+USC Medical Center or Olive View - UCLA Medical Center.

The Service Payback Option will reduce the entire amount deferred at a rate of

approximately $300.00 per month commencing with the 13th month of employment.

OPTION B—Loan Repayment: Pay the deferred amount over a period not to exceed

two years at a rate of 5% interest. Upon graduation, repayment begins immediately

following the expiration of a 4 months grace period.

NOTE: Students who do not complete the nursing program are not eligible to

participate in the Service Payback option. They are to repay any amount

deferred as stipulated in Option B.

Any student who wishes to participate in the deferred tuition plan may complete the

Tuition Agreement Contract packet during the orientation period.