Need Excelsior Clarification

Diahni · Oct 24, 2007

Thanks alot Diahni for this information,
I applied online today,I will be sending my transcripts to ECE soon so that they can evaluate my credentials and send it to Excelsior..
dont you think if I take Tofel exam is important for me,so that Excelsior wont require me to take the English and Humanities exam which costs 800$?
I would also like to buy the books needed..I heard about a book called fundamanetals of nursing by Kozier that is very useful...is it the best in your opinion?
my target is to be an RN since I am in need of money so I need to do it with the least cost and as soon as possible...I have to...
I am glad I am here taking your advice everybody

Skyhigh:

Not too much time right now - I can write later, but a couple of things briefly- I'm not aware that you can exchange the Tofel for the Excelsior exams in English, etc. - I'd say take which route costs less. Does Excelsior give you a choice? In general, make sure you do things "their way" - for instance, they are insisting I do a basic computer literacy course, although I have been working with computers since the late 80s. So I have to take the exam because they said I have to.

About books and studying - if you get books, by all means get the ones on the Excelsior list. There's another route - a former Excelsior student has some very thorough, typewritten notes that she sells for very little money on Ebay. I'll give you the info later. The outlines you get from Excelsior aren't detailed enough. Well, I have to go but there are all sorts of things important to know, such as you can practice taking the exams online, which I will do when I'm ready. The online Excelsior exams should give a very good idea of what's on the exams you need to take. I keep reminding myself that, in the long run, the online program works the best for me.

Diahni

NMB107 · Dec 10, 2007

Hi can anyone give me info or advice about pursuing excelsior. I have completed 3 semesters of nursing school the traditional way successfully and just finished my senior semester not successfully and I'm just extremely disappointed/heartbroken and at this point to afraid to go back next semester. I heard about excelsior and I'm kind of confused by all the info I've been reading. Can anyone break it down to me apporximately how long would it take to complete each exam if you've have already gone so far in school and have completed 100% of clinicals. Thanks in advance

Editorial Team / Moderator · Dec 10, 2007

You'd need to discuss it with Excelsior with regards to what they'll accept/transfer, but usually by virtue of finishing more than 50% of an RN program with clinicals, you should at least be accepted into the program. How many exams you'll have to take depends on which credits they'll accept -- I'm not sure if I've ever heard of them transferring nursing credits, only pre-reqs and other classes. Then again, I'm in the program as a paramedic, so it's not something that would have applied to me. I'd call EC admissions directly and go from there -- you can find contact information on the website at http://www.excelsior.edu. Sorry your nursing school didn't work out for you!

NMB107 · Dec 10, 2007

Thanks so much Luna I'm gonna give them a call. I'm still trying to decide if I wanna return to school or do the online classes/exams. I've just lost my confidence totally and am to afraid to face it again. But thanks so much for the information. Take care

JSEMTP · Dec 12, 2007

Hey I just finished a semester at the local CC and found that I am not eligible to apply to their ADN program due to my GPA from not dropping a few classes when I was younger. Anyway, I now have Human Growth, American Govt., Int. Algebra, and Eng Comp I out of the way. I am seriously looking into the Excelsior deal, but don't know how to find out what classes I can CLEP and DANTES if any. Can someone tell me a little more about how to test out rather than pay for the courses through Excelsior.

Diahni · Dec 12, 2007

Hey I just finished a semester at the local CC and found that I am not eligible to apply to their ADN program due to my GPA from not dropping a few classes when I was younger. Anyway, I now have Human Growth, American Govt., Int. Algebra, and Eng Comp I out of the way. I am seriously looking into the Excelsior deal, but don't know how to find out what classes I can CLEP and DANTES if any. Can someone tell me a little more about how to test out rather than pay for the courses through Excelsior.

The fly in the ointment is you have to go in to Excelsior with a certain amount of clinical experience. Check out their website. I think they require two semesters of clinical for a nursing student, but there are also other situations, such as EMTs applying. Best thing for you to do is talk to an Excelsior admissions counselor. I don't know what kind of experiences Excelsior will accept - a counselor can tell you - sometimes it takes a wait on the phone to get them. If you've already been an LPN, that would work. Would be nice is Excelsior could provide clinical experiences, but they don't.

Diahni

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2007

ec does not accept emt's anymore but this poster looks like a paramedic and they do accept that.....

the fly in the ointment is you have to go in to excelsior with a certain amount of clinical experience. check out their website. i think they require two semesters of clinical for a nursing student, but there are also other situations, such as emts applying. best thing for you to do is talk to an excelsior admissions counselor. i don't know what kind of experiences excelsior will accept - a counselor can tell you - sometimes it takes a wait on the phone to get them. if you've already been an lpn, that would work. would be nice is excelsior could provide clinical experiences, but they don't.
diahni

JSEMTP · Dec 12, 2007

I have already talked with Excelsior on the phone, but they only wanted to send me a packet to fill out and send back in which really didn't clarify anything for me. I am a paramedic and believe they are still accepting that, but my question is where do I go to take the tests without paying for the courses and without enrolling right now. My goal is to wait to enroll untill all I have left to complete is the NC3-7, hopefully saving some money by doing so. Thanks for any help you all can give me, I am hoping to get the ball rolling quickly.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2007

you can take the clep for the majority of your courses or excelsior has their own test you can take . i am almost certain you can take the ec pre-classes without having to be enrolled. i took all of mine at a cc .

here is the clep site http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/about.html

i have already talked with excelsior on the phone, but they only wanted to send me a packet to fill out and send back in which really didn't clarify anything for me. i am a paramedic and believe they are still accepting that, but my question is where do i go to take the tests without paying for the courses and without enrolling right now. my goal is to wait to enroll untill all i have left to complete is the nc3-7, hopefully saving some money by doing so. thanks for any help you all can give me, i am hoping to get the ball rolling quickly.

Diahni · Dec 12, 2007

I have already talked with Excelsior on the phone, but they only wanted to send me a packet to fill out and send back in which really didn't clarify anything for me. I am a paramedic and believe they are still accepting that, but my question is where do I go to take the tests without paying for the courses and without enrolling right now. My goal is to wait to enroll untill all I have left to complete is the NC3-7, hopefully saving some money by doing so. Thanks for any help you all can give me, I am hoping to get the ball rolling quickly.

That's a shame - like every other profession, admissions counselors can be great or not helpful at all.

Maybe our situations are similar - I am accepted, and will be able to take NUR1 without actually enrolling. As for NUR2, I can skip it because I'm an LPN. I'm not sure what your question is. Are you referring to the prerequisites like anatomy and micro? My solution to that was a local community college. The problem with taking these things as an online course (if in fact they are available) is they are courses that include a lab. Do you know which courses you still have to take. If you're avoiding beginning the NUR1-7 courses because of the enrollment fee, you'd have options.

Here's a thought (and I'm sorry they didn't give you good info)

You can do a "pay as you go" deal with the enrollment fee. Have you looked into that? The fee is a big chunk of change, isn't it? PM me if you want to get into the details. I should find out, as well, if a pay as you go thing will be available for the CPNE, as it's so expensive. Spreading it out does make it managable. Did you consider a college loan, as well? Generally, they are low interest and start after graduation. Let me know.

Diahni

JSEMTP · Dec 13, 2007

I have taken human growth and development, int. algebra, english comp 1, and american national government at a CC, and am wanting to know where these classes fit into the gen ed requirements for EC. I wish to finish the gen ed requirements by CLEP or EC, but do not want to take the wrong exams or something that I may already have credit for. Is this something EC will tell me when I enroll, or should I have this all taken care of before enrolling. My concern is that EC may not share with me any information on classes that I can CLEP or do EC exams and instead try to get me to take their courses. Any help would be appreciated, I feel dumb but am trying to do this cost effectively.

Diahni · Dec 13, 2007

I have taken human growth and development, int. algebra, english comp 1, and american national government at a CC, and am wanting to know where these classes fit into the gen ed requirements for EC. I wish to finish the gen ed requirements by CLEP or EC, but do not want to take the wrong exams or something that I may already have credit for. Is this something EC will tell me when I enroll, or should I have this all taken care of before enrolling. My concern is that EC may not share with me any information on classes that I can CLEP or do EC exams and instead try to get me to take their courses. Any help would be appreciated, I feel dumb but am trying to do this cost effectively.

Your first step is to find out exactly what courses you need to take besides the nursing concepts series 1-7 and the CPNE at Excelsior, which you must, obviously, do with Excelsior. You didn't mention anatomy and micro, for instance. I know you haven't actually enrolled, but have you been accepted? If so, they write out exactly what courses you need to have in order to finish the Excelsior program. If you have a login account, there are several links on the left hand side, I think, and one has an evalluation of your academic history thus far. Once you know these, you can proceed in taking the courses or CLEP them, one way or another. The only courses you MUST take at Excelsior is the NUR1-7 and CPNE. You can take some of these prerequisites online, for instance I noticed that Mayvillestate.edu is offering anatomy online. It doesn't matter if Excelsior will not tell you how to obtain these credits - that's what your computer is for! In my case, I have a degree in bio, so I had already done my bio courses, but I was surprised that I must take a basic computer literacy course, despite my computer background.

Once you are sure of what courses you need, then you go looking for the best way to do them. I can see why Excelsior would encourage you to go through them for your prerequisites, but you don't have to. Hope this helps!

Diahni