LPN>ADN via Excelsior,advice?

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Aug 2, 2007

you can take nc 1 and then if you are a lpn/vn you are exempt from taking nc 2. you have to be enrolled before you can take nc 3 . visit the distance learning forum there are many threads on ec...

i'm >40 & eager to get going with my classes after having completed my prerequisites. i've now applied to excelsior & await my transcript review. (>30 credits) am told can take nsg. concepts 1-3 prior to enrollment. anyone done this? advice please.

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Aug 2, 2007

Go for it! In my experience, if people are going to procrastinate, they do it somewhere between the time they apply and the time that they take NC1. Go ahead and start studying so that you can get on a roll!

literati7 · Aug 2, 2007

Thanks for the encouragement. I am eager to get going because of that exact thing. Momentum & all that, ya know. So, after scanning the Excelsior site for more info on NC1 I downloaded their content outline & have already taken (& passed) the practice test. SO I wonder, ...whats next? [1] Do I have to take this test through Excelsior for my NC1 score to count toward their ADN program? I'm still enrolled at a local community college; [2] wondering if a CLEP exam is the same as this NC1 test? [3] If so, would it be quicker & cheaper to take a CLEP vs Excelsiors NC1 test? Since I've no personal experience with CLEP testing I dont know whats what. Excelsior wont talk to me about this stuff any more till they finish my transcript review in a few weeks & I can't help but think they will probably want me to test everything through Excelsior. Impressions? Thoughts?

Boston-RN, RN · Aug 2, 2007

NC 1 - NC7 are excelsior exams and cannot be clep'd....any other courses you may need MAY quality for clep or not. Each NC has several topics in it like a Med Surg 1 Med Surg 2...etc. Just like if you took med surg at one college it more than likely wouldn't be accepted at another college because it may or may not cover the same body systems/topics.

Information literacy is a waste of time/money but it is an excelsior online course that cannot really be substituted. At least there's no substitute I have heard.

Good luck in your adventure. There is a wealth of good information on here from others that have done it or are doing it. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions, I'm on the verge of finishing the program.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Aug 2, 2007

the free content guide is a good thing to obtain it contains everything on the concepts test...however, the practice test you took is not the real practice test. the real practice test cost $60 for two tries and you cannot take it until you have paid for the actual concept test. the little test in the back of the content guide does not even begin to cover the area this test will cover. in order to take nc 1 you have to pay ec the $235 then wait a day or two then schedule the test at pearson. the real test is 120 questions and covers 5 areas i believe. i just took the practice test several says ago and made a 76. you can clep your general education requirements, but there is no such thing as a concept clep...you an take all your requirements at a community college or clep some of them. my advise to you is to complete all your general education requirements before starting the nursing courses cause you have to pay that yearly fee and you want to be able to get your courses done in that one year or you will have to pay a fee again.

thanks for the encouragement. i am eager to get going because of that exact thing. momentum & all that, ya know. so, after scanning the excelsior site for more info on nc1 i downloaded their content outline & have already taken (& passed) the practice test. so i wonder, ...whats next? [1] do i have to take this test through excelsior for my nc1 score to count toward their adn program? i'm still enrolled at a local community college; [2] wondering if a clep exam is the same as this nc1 test? [3] if so, would it be quicker & cheaper to take a clep vs excelsiors nc1 test? since i've no personal experience with clep testing i don't know whats what. excelsior wont talk to me about this stuff any more till they finish my transcript review in a few weeks & i can't help but think they will probably want me to test everything through excelsior. impressions? thoughts?

literati7 · Aug 7, 2007

Hi. Wow, am I glad you posted about the practice tests for NC1. I really didnt understand how EC scheduling/practice tests worked. Thank you for the info. I really need to read up on the Nursing process since things have changed just enough to really mess me up in that area. I've been an LPN since birth too-floor work & pt. care are areas I feel okay about ~not 100% confident about anything until I see a textbook or two, or three. Was the pretest about anything unexpected? I read the outline for NC1 studyguide, so I have an idea of that. What areas are you focusing your studies on in prep for your next test? DId you take your first pretest cold without any prep or studying at all?

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Aug 9, 2007

well i don't know if this is recommended. but i am taking the practice test and if i pass it ..it's on to the real thing. i went to half.com and bought a good used med-surg and peds book. i also have purchased lisa arends concept 3 cd . it goes into great detail and seems like it will be of a great help. ill be ordering 4-7 if it helps like i think it will.

hi. wow, am i glad you posted about the practice tests for nc1. i really didnt understand how ec scheduling/practice tests worked. thank you for the info. i really need to read up on the nursing process since things have changed just enough to really mess me up in that area. i've been an lpn since birth too-floor work & pt. care are areas i feel okay about ~not 100% confident about anything until i see a textbook or two, or three. was the pretest about anything unexpected? i read the outline for nc1 studyguide, so i have an idea of that. what areas are you focusing your studies on in prep for your next test? did you take your first pretest cold without any prep or studying at all?

anticoagulationurse · Aug 9, 2007

Just wanted to add that this is how I did the NC exams too. I would take part 1 of the practice exam before I even started studying for each exam to see my weak areas. I did not so much focus on my strong areas when studying the content guides. Then I would study. Then I would take part 2 of the practice test and review my answers over and over for a few days and take the real test. Many of the questions in the practice exams were on the real thing, at least in one form or another.

Get crackiN! :)

erinp88 · Aug 9, 2007

Just wanted to add that this is how I did the NC exams too. I would take part 1 of the practice exam before I even started studying for each exam to see my weak areas. I did not so much focus on my strong areas when studying the content guides. Then I would study. Then I would take part 2 of the practice test and review my answers over and over for a few days and take the real test. Many of the questions in the practice exams were on the real thing, at least in one form or another.
Get crackiN! :)

Would this be part 1 of the $60 exam? Sorry, I am getting so confused with all these fees and material requirements. I do like the way of how you study - quite similar to my study methods. I'm looking to get started next week on NC1. I reviewed the study guide and a lot of looks quite familiar to LPN school so I'm hoping it'll be a giant review.

Thanks for any info.

Erin

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Aug 9, 2007

Go for it!

I'm doing it.

:)

anticoagulationurse · Aug 10, 2007

Yes, the practice exams I'm talking about are online via the Excelsior website. Each exam has it's own practice exam. There are two 100 question practice tests for the $60 fee, Form A and Form B. You can review them in detail at any time for 120 days after purchase. All the answers have rationales for correct and incorrect answers which is nice for deliniating possible re-phasingof the questions on the real exam.

I did find that much of the program was review from LPN school. Guess it depends on what LPN school you went to and how well you studied...