It is my first time posting something and not sure if I posted this on the right forum.
Anyways here is my question.
I am currently 19 years old and attending a community college here in San Diego, CA. I will be entering my 2nd year and will be finishing with my Prerequsites by Spring of 09. That is when I will be able to apply for all the RN Nursing Programs for the Community College in San Diego. I will apply to Southwestern, Grossmont and City. I have called all of these programs and was told the waitlist is about 2-3 years. Grossmont (3-4yrs wait), SWC (1.5,2), City (1.5, 2). The average number of people on the waitlist for all the programs in 200. And taking in 60 students a year. To every nursing student and current nurse out there my question will be if it is worth waiting the extra years or should I do Maric College. I understand Maric is expensive and that it is unaccreditted. I want my BSN so if I do Maric I can get that with Univ. of Phoniex or National. Maric is only 20 months and it starts this September. I was also wondering if any Maric graduates from the RN program has any trouble getting a job based on what school you have attended, If so where do you work? My goal is to work at UCSD Healthcare or Sharp or Scripps or Kasier. And would like to specialize in OR.
P.S. I am already a CNA and been working and learning alot.
I am also in the same boat...deciding whether to start Concorde in October, or finish my pre-req's and get on the wait list. From what I understand (and this is only my personal research) you can do the LVN program at Concorde or Maric and then transfer to a LVN-RN program as long as your pre-req and GE classes are done at an accredited school. For example, if you did all the science and english/psychology classes neccessary for the RN program at a CC then you could do the LVN program and then transfer wherever since those pre-req classes would be transferrable. I don't know if this is what I will do, but looking for some ideas along with the thousands of others out there trying to choose!
When I first looked into the schools for fast entry in San Diego, I turned to Maric. They give you an IQ test to see where they can place you I believe. They had just rolled out a new test, I took it and they said I was the first to score high enough to go straight into the RN program bypassing their other crap.
However, I turned it down because of these two reasons:
1) They are really expensive, around $50k for a ADN
2) Scheduling is really bad, you have to be open from 8-5 Mon-Fri. They say, "we are a private school and we set your hours, you have no choice."
I went to National University instead, took roughly 4-5 classes then applied to the BSN program and was accepted. NU is not a cheap school to attend, its roughly $12k a year. Although, the nursing program is more expensive, roughly 30k for the ADN (the nursing theory+clinical).
Don't be in a rush, if you are almost done with your pre-reqs, you have a world of possibilities! Put your name on all the wait lists and start working on upper division courses towards a BSN, doing that will help tie over the time a bit.
Hi, I am considering the RN program through Maric/Kaplan to avoid a 2 year wait list. I have heard mixed reviews about the ability to get a job after graduation. Can anyone respond to this? Are there any Maric/Kaplan grads that are working? I also heard that without a BSN there can be a significant pay differential. There must be a lot of grads out there. Haven't they been around for nearly 20 years? Help! No good choices out there. I was considering University of Oklahoma online but didn't want to take a 14 month online course for RN. It might work for some people but after a few online sciences classes it's just not for me, that's why I'm considering Maric/Kaplan.
I can only post my experience regarding transitioning from being a Kaplan/Maric student to joining the work force:
Started mass applying to nursing positions in San Diego, CA 2 to 3 months before graduation. All my applications were via online. I applied to Kaiser Permanente (all facilities), Sharp (all facilities), Alvarado Hospital, VA Hospital, UCSD Hospital, various nursing facilities, and various private practices.
Graduated 11 February 2008.
Took a mental break for the rest of February 2008.
Followed up on all my job applications all of March and April 2009.
Got disheartened hearing no reply at all until mid-April. Then received offers for hire from ALL facilities that I had applied to. In fact, all recruiters seemed to be very determined to hire me, constantly leaving me messages. Some of those messages were simply to say "hello" and to see how I was! Also, they all knew that I had not yet taken my NCLEX, yet they were all willing to hire me on the condition that I would keep my job upon passing the NCLEX. I even attended a job faire at a hospital and got hired on the spot. I didn't even know until I was called 3-days later by staffing asking about my availability. I politely asked them to wait so that I could make sure I was making the right decision before starting work. They were willing to accomodate me.
Made the final decision to work for Kaiser Permanente at the end of April 2008 (their benefits and pay packages were the best for me).
Started working 19 May 2008.
Took the NCLEX 24 May 2008.
Received official word that I passed the NCLEX the following Tuesday and kept my job. Also got a little congratulatory party from my (back-then) new coworkers.
Been working for Kaiser Permanente ever since.
It helped GREATLY that I started applying months before graduating and that I was open to work for any department. When I called Kaplan's/Maric's job counseling office to notify them that I no longer needed their services, I was congratulated then asked how I did it. I just told them that I start applying early, like they told us to do at the beginning of the last semester. "I wish all the other students followed that advice." was what was said, making me believe that although I took 3-months to find a job, it was still much quicker than average. Also, I was honest with all the recruiters by letting them all know that I had not taken my NCLEX, and the result was that they all accomodated to and negotiated with me.
As for pay differential between ADN and BSN, the difference is roughly $2.00/hour. But, but, BUT, if you already hold a bachelors of science in another field, you still may acquire the $2.00/hour differential. Just ask your manager if your bachelors applies. (Keep in mind, this information applies to Kaiser Permanente. I'm not sure of the other facilities.) Some students in my class were college graduates already established in the professional work force before we became nursing students. Had a couple of classmates with masters. We were just looking for a change of profession. And it seems that the same applies to Kaiser's past year's batch of new-grad hires (regardless of what school he/she graduated from). Especially now with the economy as it is, many are making the change to be a nurse. So you are more than likely to find more ADN graduates that hold bachelors in other fields.
creepycat
2 Posts
thank you curious me. i hadn't thought of that. it's been a while since i was in school so i forgot about all the worrying about credits/equivs, etc.
still learning on the outside though....