Mountainside

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Anyone go there? I really would love to go to school and become a nurse, L&D, but Id just love to become a nurse. Has always been my dream. I didnt do well in HS and didnt take my SATs. I was thinking of going to a community college for my pre-reqs. My neighbor is a nurse and I talked to her today. She said Mountainside offers the courses you need, it can all be done there. But when I went to the site it said something about SAT scores and being ranked high in your class. And like I said I wasnt a good student and didnt take my SATs, but I know I can do this bc I REALLY want it. So Im wondering do some schools only accept you if you took your SATs and then there's some where it doesnt matter?

Also, she said I should go for my BSN? I was thinking RN? Id LOVE to be a L&D nurse, but I can also see myself in the ER or NICU.

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Nursing School's are VERY competitve. VERY. So, if you did not do well in High School, and you didn't take your SAT's then you do not meet the requirements of Most if not all Nursing schools in this area. So, what do you do now? Go to a Community college and prove yourself a worthy candidate. You have to give the schools something positive to look at on your transcripts. If you didn't do well in high school and you have no college, chances are they aren't even going to give you a second thought. If you get your pre-reqs done and get A's And B's (but mostly A's) on your coorifices then they will see that you are serious about becoming a nurse.

Yes, Moutainside and other 2 year dipolma RN schools do offer all the courses but that is if you have done well in high school or you have other college experience that you did well in.

BSn is a Bachlor's degree (RN) in nursing as compared to an associate (RN) or diploma degree

The difference is a BSN is a 4 year degree and an associates or dipolma is a two year. I believe the state of NJ gives you 10 years after getting your associates Rn or dipolma, to get your Bachlor's degree in Nursing. Nurses with Bachlor's degrees get paid more as well.

Why don't you call Mountainside school of nursing and speak with them there? They will tell you exactly what you need to do. Tell them about your academic history and see what they say.

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I start there this fall. They are the most cooperative faculty. They will listen to what you have to say and give you whatever information that you may need. I went to Essex County College for my prereqs. The Chemistry isnt equivalent unless you take 2 courses, so I just finished the chemistry at Passaic County College (they don't charge out of county tuition). See if the county college that you are near to has a program that will allow you to get your hs diploma or a GED while you take courses. Do as well as you can, use www.ratemyprofessors.com to help you choose the professors to take so that you don't stress yourself out. Its not impossible for you. Sometimes schools have alternatives (like for those with a GED and some college credits) that they don't post only because its not the "usual" situation. So call them and ask. Also, take your prereq courses at a community college. Mountainside is hooked up to Montclair State Univ and New Jersey City Univ and you will pay THE UNIVERSITY tuition although you will take the course on the Mountainside campus. Why pay $1200 for a class when you can pay that for 3 or 4 classes elsewhere and just transfer them? Good Luck to you!

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As far as I know, you can CLEP Sociology & Psychology, but you have to take actual English Comp I & II courses, and the other science classes.

For Chemistry Class, if you take College Chemistry I, they ask you to take College Chemistry II too, since the school wants some organic chemistry stuff. I'm not sure if you take General Chemistry I, will they take it?

I feel the school is much easier to get into than the community colleges around, probably because it is very expensive. Neverthless, it is a very very good school, with excellent faculty, and lots of clinical trainings that prepare you well for your job. Worth the money and investment.

I start there this fall. They are the most cooperative faculty. They will listen to what you have to say and give you whatever information that you may need. I went to Essex County College for my prereqs. The Chemistry isnt equivalent unless you take 2 courses, so I just finished the chemistry at Passaic County College (they don't charge out of county tuition). See if the county college that you are near to has a program that will allow you to get your hs diploma or a GED while you take courses. Do as well as you can, use www.ratemyprofessors.com to help you choose the professors to take so that you don't stress yourself out. Its not impossible for you. Sometimes schools have alternatives (like for those with a GED and some college credits) that they don't post only because its not the "usual" situation. So call them and ask. Also, take your prereq courses at a community college. Mountainside is hooked up to Montclair State Univ and New Jersey City Univ and you will pay THE UNIVERSITY tuition although you will take the course on the Mountainside campus. Why pay $1200 for a class when you can pay that for 3 or 4 classes elsewhere and just transfer them? Good Luck to you!
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If you take Chemistry at Essex CC, you will need to take 2 classes. Chemistry at Passaic CCC (Chemistry 103) and Middlesex CC (I believe) are equivalent (in just 1 class) because they have Organic, Inorganic and Biochemistry in the 1 class.

A friend of mine at Essex CC CLEP'ed the English 101 but now has to take it in Summer II because (since she's already registered for Eng 102 in the fall) they won't allow her to enter the Nursing Program without the actual class.

I think they are equally difficult to get into. MANY people who took the NET at Mountainside did not do well. They both give the same entrance exam, but Mountainside requires references and does not have a payment plan (although they definitely give scholarships). They both accept about the same amount of people, but in both cases there are MANY people wanting to fill those seats. Essex CC has just about the best CC nursing program in NJ, and yes Mountainside is a GREAT school. I agree with you on that.

Also, an RN-BSN gets about $1000 more yearly than an RN-ADN or RN-Diploma. Thats not much after taxes. I personally would rather go to Essex CC than to Rutgers. The PROGRAM is better and I hear that Essex nurses get hired before Rutgers graduates do. Other programs start clinicals from the beginning of the program, Rutgers does not. I've worked with managers who do not have a bachelor's (not saying that you should not go back to get it), so that "you need a BSN to be a manager" story that everyone tells is not always true. To me: a DEGREE is NOT equivalent to EDUCATION!

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There has to be a way around the SAT situation!

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As far as I know, you can CLEP Sociology & Psychology, but you have to take actual English Comp I & II courses, and the other science classes.

For Chemistry Class, if you take College Chemistry I, they ask you to take College Chemistry II too, since the school wants some organic chemistry stuff. I'm not sure if you take General Chemistry I, will they take it?

I feel the school is much easier to get into than the community colleges around, probably because it is very expensive. Neverthless, it is a very very good school, with excellent faculty, and lots of clinical trainings that prepare you well for your job. Worth the money and investment.

They want you to have Organic, Inorganic and Biochemistry. Most schools have the first 2 in one course and the Bio in a second course. I dont think that they take general chemistry unless the schools description of the course includes organic or inorganic. If so, you would still need to take biochemistry.

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I graduated from Mountainside this past June. I had been out of school for quite a number of years but it didn't seem to make that much of a difference to them. I did my pre-reqs at Sussex Community and although accepted, I declined the Sussex program in favor of Mountainside due to its reputation.

It's a tough program and the instructors are always on your back. Clinicals can last from 4pm - midnight at times but you'll get first rate hands-on experience.

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