Puerto Rico school feedback?

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Anyone out there have info on the school in Arecibo, PR? It is a 24 month program that begins in August.

I'd love to hear anything, thanks.

zzzzzgirl

Get used to the hurdles people and stop complaining about them because they will continue for you the WHOLE time you are in PR and in the program.

I am finishing and I came to a point where I realized I just had to deal with it other than bang my head on the wall.

Yes, they are up for review in 2010. They will be evaluated in October.

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Get used to the hurdles people and stop complaining about them because they will continue for you the WHOLE time you are in PR and in the program.

I am finishing and I came to a point where I realized I just had to deal with it other than bang my head on the wall.

Yes, they are up for review in 2010. They will be evaluated in October.

Hey GradRN2010, how was your experience in the program? besides the hurdles that we have all seem be have dealt with. How well do they prepare you for the NCLEX? any advice?

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Get used to the hurdles people and stop complaining about them because they will continue for you the WHOLE time you are in PR and in the program.

I am finishing and I came to a point where I realized I just had to deal with it other than bang my head on the wall.

Yes, they are up for review in 2010. They will be evaluated in October.

Yeah that's understandible, but what would be super helpful would be for the people like you who actually are IN the program to dose us with a little reality regarding what happens in the application process as well as your overall experience. Ie. How/when you were informed of acceptance? What your next step was? How are clinicals arranged? If it really is 2 years or if that's "variable"? Actual cost of program including books etc? How much is the local rent?

An October evaluation is pretty awful timing for us guppies flopping around on the pier. I can just imagine being 3 months into a program only to find out that the accredidation gets revoked.

I'm sorry for sounding sarcastic. I don't expect others to do all our research for us, but any tidbit of actual facts helps exponentially more than whatever IAU website would.

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37,000 USD for over 2 years is too much. I plan on not spending over 20,000 total in tuition costs and I refuse to study more than 2 years and preferably less. I could not imagine spending 37,000 USD AND to top it off having to live in Fresno.

The school I applied to in New Orleans is Louisiana State University Health and Science Center CARE program. It is an ABSN that is about 18 months or so long. The tuition is about 15,000 USD for the 18 months as it is a state school. And fortunately Louisiana needs people in the state so the out of state per semester tuition is an extra 900 USD. That is most certainly an out of state tuition I can afford. It is a good program but it is really intense as the majority of accelerated programs are.

Also the admissions process is based on 4 things: 25% GPA, 25% personal statement, 25% interview, and I think the rest was life experience. All this is moot for you though as the deadline was Feb 1st.

By the way, my application for LSU was finally tracked down. ;-)

Wow Chanelcing, i like the way you think. It really make sense the way you put it. As for me, i myself would hate to paid for tuition that much, but i don't have any other way. Since i haven't finish my B.S. , i am unable to do the accelerate program like you. I was thinking of applying to CSU San bernardino, but i have a feeling there a numerous applicant. I also think nursing school over 40K is way too much, especially in this type of economy. So, what other school can you recommend to apply without the high cost of tuition? Have you heard anything back from Puerto RIco yet? Are you still going? When are you going to LSU?

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So, what other school can you recommend to apply without the high cost of tuition? Have you heard anything back from Puerto RIco yet? Are you still going? When are you going to LSU?

I am primarily looking at ABSN programs, which would not apply to you.

I should hear from LSU soon about an interview. And I just applied to PR this week. I did not send them 1500 pages of catalogs from 5 different schools dating back to 1988.

If they really want them I will do it but as I stated my BA was from the year 2000 and now 10 years later my major is nonexistent.

Good luck in your quest.

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I too have applied for the August trimester class and would appreciate if anyone attending can give soon to be students an idea of what to expect. I have a bachelors degree and from talking with people at the school it seems I qualify for the accelerated program. I'm excited but a bit nervous as I don't know what to expect. If any of you can paint a picture, I'd be sincerely grateful!

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I too have applied for the August trimester class and would appreciate if anyone attending can give soon to be students an idea of what to expect. I have a bachelors degree and from talking with people at the school it seems I qualify for the accelerated program. I'm excited but a bit nervous as I don't know what to expect. If any of you can paint a picture, I'd be sincerely grateful!

I'd say look at the previous feedback in this thread. If you speak Spanish well, call them. You can google the school with a search like "Metro english trimester program" or "iau metro campus" etc.. if you don't have the direct link. Good luck.

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Thanks for the google tips, I've already located the school and it's website, http://metro.inter.edu, which is the San Juan campus for the university, inter.edu is the main website. I've spoke with people at the school, just looking for feedback from students who've been through the program. I can speak conversational Spanish but I'm hoping to better my Spanish skills.

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Hi, i am a local here in Puerto Rico and a student in the interamerican university(not nursing),i may not be able to answer any question regarding the logistics of getting into nursing school here in PR,but i can help you guys in questions regarding the way of life here in PR and any other questions you may have about this place in general( i'm from here,i know)messege me if you need help..

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Specializes in Psych, Substance Abuse.

Hey guys! Maybe I can shed a bit of light on PR, La Inter, etc.

Both my husband and I are (hopefully) going to start the nursing trimester program in August. We have been living on the island for about 2 years now, and anytime I want to accomplish anything at IAUPR, I have to go down there because it is nearly impossible to get a hold of anyone other than the counselor in the English trimester office. I can't remember who e-mailed him and got the response that he was out of the office for a week, but it's true. He is the ONLY one that I go see when I go there, because he is extremely helpful. We went and saw him on a Monday, and he was just getting back in the office, showing pictures to everyone LOL He's so sweet. Anyway...

The people at IAUPR are extremely slow to get anything done. I actually could have started last August, but they took well over a month to evaluate my transcripts and catalog, so the classes had already started (sniff, sniff). The reason why they want the catalog for transfer students is to evaluate what you've already taken in order to determine what classes they will accept. They accepted about 1/4 of my classes from my previous AA degree. So, one of my biggest pieces of advice to you all is to start very, very early--like NOW. Do NOT wait until a few months before to start applying and getting your stuff over here, because it won't happen and then you'll have to wait a whole year to start. For that, you can just get on the wait list at a school in the U.S.!!!

As far as apartments, etc., go to http://www.clasificadosonline.com. That is basically our "Craigslist" over here. We do have a Craigslist section for PR, but not many people use it, which sucks for me because I loved that site! Most of what is on there is a scam LOL Clasificadosonline.com is in both English and Spanish, so you shouldn't have a problem navigating the site. As far as things being expensive here, it's all in the location. We live in Gurabo, which is probably about 30-35 minutes away from IAUPR Metro. Things are cheap in my town, but there isn't much at all here. We have to go to Caguas to do any major shopping. Caguas is an excellent area, and depending on what part of the city you live in, you might be only about 20 minutes from campus. If you're looking for apartments that are extremely close to campus, you're going to pay through the nose. The Metro campus is in Guaynabo/Rio Piedras, and it's expensive there. I highly suggest looking at the surrounding cities for cheaper rent. Who knows, some of you on this site may strike up a friendship and be able to go in on a house as roommates and pay next to nothing! Seriously, you can get a 3 bedroom house in a decent area for $500--just not in the Metro area LOL Sure, you'll need a car, but the public transportation here is a JOKE. You WILL need a car...period. Public transportation here is a "guagua publica," which is literally a huge Chevy passenger van from like 1985, no joke. Most of them don't have A/C, and it is scorching hot here most of the year, so you're sitting next to some sweaty guy and you all have to pile out of the van every time someone gets off to let them off LOL Sure, we have a train here, but it's very limited. If you can swing it, fine, but really...get a car. It will save you a lot of headache. You can look at cars on clasificadosonline.com too. Oh, and when you're in school, you can find good deals on used books there too ;-)

If there's anything I can do for you guys, just let me know. I don't think I can PM yet, but I'll just become more active here so I can do that. I hope I helped someone! It would be awesome if we keep this thread alive and all start in August. Then at least we'll kinda "know somebody" when we start! Take care everyone.

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Specializes in Psych, Substance Abuse.

Oh, a few more things...

Another reason to get things done early is because you'll need to get a certificate of good conduct from the police, CPR certification, etc.

And about getting a car, good news! We don't pay insurance here. We pay for a sticker called a marbete once a year--it's like renewing your registration. It's around $200, and that covers our insurance. Sure, it's really basic, but it's really nice not to have to pay $100-$200 extra per month just to drive a car! You can purchase private insurance if you want to, and I would imagine that you might have to do that if you are financing the car--not sure though. Our car is used, and we bought it outright, so I don't know about that. Oh yes, and one thing to be wary of when buying a used car--here the tickets aren't assigned to the person, they're assigned to the car. Crazy, isn't it? So, when buying a car, you need to make sure that it doesn't have $5,000 in tickets on it, or you will be responsible for that money when you transfer the car into your name. If possible, go with the person who is selling you the car to do the transfer. It's a hassle, but you have to CYA, right? Actually, I believe you HAVE to go with the person. I'm not sure. We bought our car from a friend, and he and my husband dealt with it.

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Specializes in Psych, Substance Abuse.

Hey PuertoRicoLocal! What part of the island are you in?

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