Need help deciding on a school

Christine2009 · Sep 21, 2010

I am going to attend Gurnick in Concord for the evening program. I am starting on April 4th because my husband and I are going on a cruise in February next year and do not want to hand write 8 pages of notes for each subject plus make up missed clinical days on the weekend...

I have looked into a lot of schools and so far Gurnick is the best I have found with a price that is reasonable. I do not know much about American, so I can not give you any suggestions on that...hope to see you though in the program, it would be nice to have a "friend" starting in the program ahead of time...let me know what you decide and if you want to get together to study before classes start...

Christine :nurse:

Christine2009 · Sep 21, 2010

Hello,
I live in Concord, CA..i am looking to either go to American college of nursing, or gurnick...can anyone who has been to either of these schools and is either in progress or have graduated please give me your opinion. 25-27k is alot of money to spend on a school and it turn out to be garbage. Thanks for the help in advance :)

Jen,

I just looked at the American College of Nursing website as well as the BVNT website and American College is still waiting for approval of their LVN program from the state. I would not go to this school because of this. You want a school that has been approved, has a pass rate on the NCLEX of at least 90% or higher ( Concord campus only has 65% because they were grouping this campus with the main campus in San Mateo which has a 100% pass rate) and is accredited by the Western Association of Colleges.

The last thing you need is to pay all that money and have your certificate invalid when you apply to take your NCLEX or try to bridge into an RN program.

HTH!

Jen23 · Sep 22, 2010

Christine, that would be awesome to study with someone :) im hoping to start in january :)...ya and i called them..they werent the nicest in the world..so gurnick it is probably if i have to do prereq's though i may be there in april as well...do you work as well as going to school? i work part time right now but not sure if i should be doing that as a nursing student..im thinking 100% should be put into school..i was scared at first because its a HUGE commitment..then after reading the board and people not being able to find a job..but in another 14 months hopefully it will be better!

Christine2009 · Sep 22, 2010

Jen,

I will be attending at night 5pm to 10pm. That is what fits into my work schedule. If you have to do the prereq's, I would be more than happy to study with you...I spent a year in a LVN program at Merritt College in Oakland and did not pass my second semester there by 1/10th of a point so I was dropped. That is why I do not have to take the prereq's because they transfered in.

Also, in Module One, I just need to take Nutrition, but have the books for the that module already so I am studying ahead of time because we are about to get SLAMMED with reading and HW when school starts (learned that from past exp.).

Right now, I work 30 - 35 hours a week doing home health care. I have a lot of down time so I concentrate on studying during that time. I plan to keep the same work schedule once schools starts, so that is another reason why I am trying to read ahead of time.

I also went to half.com to get my books and so I was able to cut the $900 for books and supplies out of the tuition costs which helped. I was able to get the fundamentals book for $10!!! Shoot me an email or PM so we can chat more about what you would like to do.

Christine

Smilin2005 · Oct 10, 2010

I've been looking into Gurnick, but in Modesto. Their upcomming class is full I heard but I'd like to try and do the next one. I just need to make an appointment for their exam. Anyone already taken it? Is it hard??