I am hoping someone can help me - I just received notification from Merritt College (NOT Samuel Merritt) that I "have been selected as an alternate for admission". When I called to find out exactly what this means, they were not clear. I asked what number I was on the lottery list so that I could get an idea as to how likely it would be that I could get in (e.g. 1 on the alternate list vs. 10) - they said they didn't use numbers.
When I asked how they decided which alternate would get in if a spot opened up, they could not answer at all.
Does anyone know how this works? Was anyone an alternate to Merritt who did or didn't get in?
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated - I've already been rejected from one school, am anxiously waiting to hear back from two, and just got this "alternate" letter, so am kindly teetering on the verge of insanity!!!
I got accepted into the ADN of merritt college for fall 2011, I am very excited and ready to start, however, I would very much appreciate your feedback. I heard all about the bad reviews, but those go back to 2008, since you were in the program just recently, please tell us what you think of it, anything you can share will be very much appreciated. It will not change my decision on attending the program, it will however, give me and others who will be attending an idea of what is to expect. Thank you.
Hi dreamnurse, this was posted on March 9, 2011 by lil bit country;
I am in the program now and it has not improved from what I can tell. The instructors are discouraging, belittling, and unapproachable. All of the classes are self-taught (with the exception, so far, of Psychiatric Nursing), with "lectures" consisting of instructors zipping through their power point presentations at lightning speed without any consideration to students attempting to take notes or ask questions.
Our "skills lab" is a joke. We weren't taught anything, only sat down in a classroom to re-watch videos that we were assigned to watch at home. Yet once you get to clinical rotations, you are responsible for being proficient at these same skills. (The skills lab is open 4:30-6:30 only during the weekday and you have to sign up for skills lab hours separately than the program --costing more money and prolonging hours on campus). Their "state of the art" SIM lab is off limits to students -- not a single person in my class has touched a single piece of equipment in that room. It was used as an alternate day for clinical rotation when there were too many students on the floor at the hospital. Take a wild guess what you do on your SIM lab day. Yup, watch videos.
Until our class, end-of-semester class evaluations were not anonymous, so no real opinions could be put forth without fear of retribution from the instructor when you have them again farther along in the program (the same instructors that teach the first class...teach the last class as well).
The system for filing a complaint is a joke, since the administration and the teaching staff are one and the same. For instance, if you'd like to complain about an instructor, somewhere along the chain of command that you are required to navigate in order to get to the dean, you will have to go through the very instructor you are filing a complaint about. No advocate for the students exist. It appears that the administrative staff are only in place to watch each other's back.
A side note of shady behavior: In order to be approved for funding from the Song-Brown Act of California, each health care program it is required to undergo a walk though evaluation site visit by a lawyer. Guess who the lawyer who did the check on Merritt was! None other than their own ***** Conflict of interest much? You can see the full report by clicking the link below.
wannabe an rn
185 Posts
Hi dreamnurse, this was posted on March 9, 2011 by lil bit country;
I am in the program now and it has not improved from what I can tell. The instructors are discouraging, belittling, and unapproachable. All of the classes are self-taught (with the exception, so far, of Psychiatric Nursing), with "lectures" consisting of instructors zipping through their power point presentations at lightning speed without any consideration to students attempting to take notes or ask questions.
Our "skills lab" is a joke. We weren't taught anything, only sat down in a classroom to re-watch videos that we were assigned to watch at home. Yet once you get to clinical rotations, you are responsible for being proficient at these same skills. (The skills lab is open 4:30-6:30 only during the weekday and you have to sign up for skills lab hours separately than the program --costing more money and prolonging hours on campus). Their "state of the art" SIM lab is off limits to students -- not a single person in my class has touched a single piece of equipment in that room. It was used as an alternate day for clinical rotation when there were too many students on the floor at the hospital. Take a wild guess what you do on your SIM lab day. Yup, watch videos.
Until our class, end-of-semester class evaluations were not anonymous, so no real opinions could be put forth without fear of retribution from the instructor when you have them again farther along in the program (the same instructors that teach the first class...teach the last class as well).
The system for filing a complaint is a joke, since the administration and the teaching staff are one and the same. For instance, if you'd like to complain about an instructor, somewhere along the chain of command that you are required to navigate in order to get to the dean, you will have to go through the very instructor you are filing a complaint about. No advocate for the students exist. It appears that the administrative staff are only in place to watch each other's back.
A side note of shady behavior: In order to be approved for funding from the Song-Brown Act of California, each health care program it is required to undergo a walk though evaluation site visit by a lawyer. Guess who the lawyer who did the check on Merritt was! None other than their own ***** Conflict of interest much? You can see the full report by clicking the link below.
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=...S0cPFBQV-Lb2Ug
Dreamnurse, I hope this info helps in preparing for the program. Wishing you much success.