Need Excelsior Clarification

NurseEllis · Mar 9, 2007

lol, yes ADPIE is a common accryomn or pnumonic that is used by many people. And yes to acquire any amount of knowledge you must make up memorization tecniques. Sounds like you are getting the knowlege you need to pass the test!

Chris

Diahni · Mar 9, 2007

What happens with excelsior is there are the general education requirements that you can complete without enrolling( I don't think you need to be enrolled, I did mine at a regular college). You go to EC's website and make a free account. This account will give you access to free study guide's that you can print out and follow along with the reading to prepare for the test. The otehr part is the nursing exams 1-7. You can take NC1 and NC2 without enrolling. NC 2 can be waived is you have a valid LPN lic. and they will evaluate that with your credits and your record will be credited. After you apply it takes about 2-3 weeks for them to send you all the enrollment stuff and your credit eval. Mine was about a week and a half (but I live in Albany were the school is). Once you enroll you can get the rest of the study guides from NC 3-7. As for notes and resources from other sources, I personally use NCLEX books and I bought Lisa Arends CD's from EBay and they are great and I have been passing with A's and B's. So, I hope this helps and I hope I included everything. Good Luck

Thanks, BigKenny: Great to know I can get started on 1 and 2. It's a good sign that you can use the NCLEX material. In my former school, teachers would test us on stuff they were interested in, for instance far more ekg stuff than is necessary for the NCLEX. Guess I had better get cracking!

Diahni

chriso · Mar 24, 2007

How soon can you apply for the CPNE??? Can you apply while completing the NC courses or must you be totally done before even trying?

Diahni · Mar 25, 2007

How soon can you apply for the CPNE??? Can you apply while completing the NC courses or must you be totally done before even trying?

Hi,

You have to do the 7 courses, plus have 21 or your required 31 general education credits. Their web site is really good at explaining most things, http://www.excelsior.edu. but it's also good to talk to people on allnurses.com too!

Diahni

chriso · Mar 25, 2007

Hi,
You have to do the 7 courses, plus have 21 or your required 31 general education credits. Their web site is really good at explaining most things, www.excelsior.edu. but it's also good to talk to people on allnurses.com too!
Diahni

Thanks for the info! I was just hoping to expedite it because I hear the wait for a date is about 6months from the time you apply...want to finish ASAP!!

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Mar 25, 2007

There are a couple of things you can do to expedite the CPNE wait when the time comes. Make sure on your CPNE application that you indicate that you'd like to be placed in a cancellation date if one becomes available. Also, simply taking care to follow the instructions in the CPNE packet (regarding the CPR, physical form, etc) will save time - sounds silly, but many people get tripped up simply because they forget a piece of documentation that should go with the application.

Diahni · Mar 25, 2007

Everybody on this Excelsior thread - worth mentioning that I wouldn't even be at Excelsior if I weren't an allnurses.com member because a fellow member told me about my online options after a dramatic departure in my last semester of an ADN program. Can anybody tell me if there's a specific thread for people right in the middle of Excelsior?, and if not, I'd like to start one. Now if only I can figure out where the "New Thread" icon is.

Diahni

P.S. Besides the wait for taking the CPNE, I suspect passing it is going to be my big hurdle. By all acounts, it's a serious challenge. On the other hand, many people in my school graduated without doing some really basic clinical stuff, like foleys, etc. As well, I hear the CPNE testers are great, and my clinical instructors for the most part were truly gruesome, the fodder for nightmares-for-life.

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Mar 25, 2007

I found tremendous help and support on this site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rnstudygroup.com

I graduated in 2000. It was the best thing I've ever done for myself. Go for it!!!

Diahni · Mar 30, 2007

I am trying to sort out the info for Excelsior & need a little help. Can I get study material from eBay, yahoo, etc & contact Pearson to schedule test dates prior to enrolling. Basically I am looking to do this for the core classes if possible. Also, do I have to pay the $190 (3 credit) $220 (4 credit) & $280 (6 credit) for each exam if I am not purchasing the guided learning material? Can someone please get me very clear cut answers to what I will be "required" to pay for other than the enrollment, application, student services, CPNE, grad fees? Thanks so much for helping me sort out all the options a little clearer! Have a blessed day.:smilecoffeecup:

LilD Kessler:

I thinking I should start an Excelsior info web page - I know so much of the process is complicated, but why reinvent the wheel when others have been through it? For the meantime, let me try to answer your questions, as I am about one step away from where you are (I've signed up to take the first test,) and am still waiting to be "officially" enrolled. If I understand your question, you are only going to take the Nursing Concepts (1-6) exams, then the CPNE. I did the math, and it comes to about 5,000. bucks. That's a few thousand less than doing the last year of an ADN program, assuming you have an LPN. The tests are about 200. bucks apiece, the CPNE about 1,700.

and will the various fees, this is what I came up with. (I'm assuming you will have all your non-nursing credits in science and general liberals done.)

Yes, you do have to pay for the exams, and the Examination Content Guides are free. You can take exam before you've enrolled, and waive the second one if you have an LPN. Factor in the mindless paperwork of an ADN program, along with many hours being a cna for free, it's a great deal. I just don't buy the reservations about online studies. Many students from my old ADN went through two years of clinicals without having ever done a Foley, set up an IV from scratch. I'd rather have the two-day hellish (I hear) CPNE exam, where I walk away knowing exactly what I know, and what I don't know.

About the books - I used a varied approach. I found some of the texts used online for quite cheap, including the login codes for the publishers web site, which have all kinds of handy practice tests, and so on. For some of them, I'm borrowing them from my local library network, where I can have them for six weeks at a time. I did a little table to show which books are needed for which exams, so I can juggle the ones I don't actually own. Fortunately, a handful I already owned, such as the Smeltzer Med-Surg tome.

Let me know if you want me to send a copy of this to you. Hope I answered your questions.

Diahni

matt622h · Apr 6, 2007

I am currently enrolled in Excelsior and just took NC1, NC2, Anatomy, and Sociology... wondering if anyone has any study tips for NC3 and NC4... I bought the Ebay Lisa Arends but was wondering if anyone has any other tips...

niceguyOH · Apr 7, 2007

RNSTUDYGROUP no longer exists

cheleb61 · Apr 16, 2007

I am currently enrolled in Excelsior and just took NC1, NC2, Anatomy, and Sociology... wondering if anyone has any study tips for NC3 and NC4... I bought the Ebay Lisa Arends but was wondering if anyone has any other tips...

Lisa's notes are one of the best resources out there. Are you a member of any of the yahoo groups? The group rnstudygroup (all lowercase) has subgroups for all of the NC. I just finished all of the NC courses and am getting ready to apply for the CPNE!!