Nursing school with little wait list in Madison area?

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Hello,

I really want to start a nursing program as soon as I can. My youngest will be starting kindergarten in the fall, so I'm ready to get my career started. I am planning to work as a CNA while I'm waiting to start school and then while in school. My plan was to get my LPN and then work as an LPN while going to school for my RN. I do however have 121 semester hours of college, but it is mostly general education and sociology classes. I don't have chemistry or anatomy. My sciences were geology and environmental. So, I'm not sure if I decided to go the BSN route instead how long total it would take.

Are BSN programs faster to get into? Are there 4 years of clinicals, or just a couple? Would it be possible to finish a BSN in 2 years if I did have enough transfer credits from my prior college?

All of the RN programs I've looked into have massive wait lists. And after reading a previous post about Herzing's accredidation, not to mention outrageous tuition, I've decided against that route.

Any advice would be great! I wouldn't mind traveling a couple times a week w/in about an hour of Madison a couple times a week for classes, but would prefer to stay closer w/ gas prices the way they are!

Thanks,

Jes:p

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Jes,

While I cannot speak to wait times at the Madison Nursing programs, I can talk a bit about transferring credits.

I got my ADN at a technical school here in WI...I had previously attended a UW school for 3 years...ALL of my Gen Eds transferred to the program, so I only ended up taking the Chem, A&Ps and Micro before getting into the actual nursing classes. That sure was nice!!!

On the other hand, if you are looking at a BSN program, you may be surprised at how many of the classes transfer to cover all your Gen ed credits.

Another alternative would be to get your ADN, then go back for your BSN through the UW system in a RN to BSN program. I have also looked into this alternative---With my ADN classes, along with my previous 3 years at a UW school, I only need a Stats class and 10 Nursing classes to graduate with a BSN. AND I can do it all online! (considering I am hours from any campus-However, if you live closer, you can do these classes at the school, as well)

Lots of choices...hope my rambling helped you a little.

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the wait list at matc is CRAZY !! but the programs around here are all competive. Herzing would be your best bet of getting in fast but from the few people that i have talked to in the program it seem like a very poor program and i would not trust it. as well as the fact it cost 30,000 dollars to get an associate degree. uw have about 400 people apply for about 100 spots... and well its an academic town so your competition is stiff. Im definately in the same boat. my best advice is to get your pre-reqs done and get on the wait list asap. good luck..

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Specializes in bachelor's in Spanish seeking a BSN/MSN.

I agree--DON"T go to Herzing! It seems like they will never get accreditation and some graduates are suing Herzing for misleading them. It's hard to get hired if you graduate from a non-accreidted school. Get on the MATC Madison waitlist for sure, but it is long. UW-Madison and Edgewood are the only other nursing schools in town.

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I agree--DON"T go to Herzing! It seems like they will never get accreditation and some graduates are suing Herzing for misleading them. It's hard to get hired if you graduate from a non-accreidted school. Get on the MATC Madison waitlist for sure, but it is long. UW-Madison and Edgewood are the only other nursing schools in town.

I would be SHOCKED if they ever get accreditation.

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Specializes in assisted living.

Hi BookwormRN,

I would love to know what you decided on for school! I just applied to Moraine Park tech in Beaver Dam. The wait list there is MUCH shorter, something like 1 semester. I am also going to go to the Herzing info session in April. I have read the negative comments about the accreditation, but supposedly they are supposed to be done with the process this spring...who knows. I talked to a girl at church who started at edgewood and transferred to Herzing and is almost done and has loved it. So hard to know. :-)

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I heard from a nurse the accrediation issues are worked out from a nurse that works at one of their clinical sites she said they were very well trained. i am uneasy about their program from the people i talked to that are familiar with it as students. also with their bad rep around madison i wonder if it will be a hard stigma to overcome in getting hired?

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Specializes in assisted living.

Hi rn2bnwi,

hopefully they are getting things worked out. I also wonder how a schools rep affects your chance of getting a job. Are you in a program right now? Do you know if the hospitals in Madison hire new grads? just curious. i just finished my cna class so I am going to look for a job doing that for a while. I hope I can find a good one!

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I know that all 3 hospitals are still hiring new grads, i heard a rumor that uw is hiring cnas right now :) im never had much luck getting into the hospitals as a cna but i didn't try that hard as i work agency and that works really well for me to not have a set schedule. Im starting the accelerated oshkosh 2nd degree nursing program in a month. I also was accepted (but obviously am declining) into matc/reedsburg adn program for august. I was willing to drive the hour to get in sooner the wait is between 0-1 years depending where you fall on the lottery. Good Luck!!!

eta I took a few classes at Moraine technical college. I liked their format they are much more lax and accomodating than matc , but their nclex pass rates have struggled in past years. i would have applied there as well had i realized beaver dam was so close when i started the process. im just really excited i got my first choice.

I also went to the herzing meeting 2 or 3 years ago and i was annoyed that they didn't tell you ahead of time that its over 30,000 for their adn program. that is really questionable. anatomy and phyisology and all of the science classes will not transfer to any other college because they do not meet the requirements of other programs. (in person lab ect....) and they were not at all upfront about their accrediation at the time which makes me question their integrity on the other hand the nurse i worked with the other night LOVED the clinical group from there.

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Specializes in assisted living.

thanks for the info! and congrats on getting in at oshkosh. I would love to do an accelerated program, but I didn't even apply to any because I know that I couldn't put the time in with my kiddies still little and at home and then working some too. So...MPTC it is I guess! Do you know anyone that took A&P 2 or micro online? I think NWTC offers them both. I love A&P 1 online, but everyone I talk to seems shocked that these 2 are also offered online. I probably won't even go to the herzing meeting because of mixed reviews, the cost, and having to go full time. I like MPTCs schedule and option of going part time...or so I have heard :-)

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Specializes in Ophthalmology.

My advise no matter what program you choose is to start taking Chem, micro, ANP I & II now thru MATC they will transfer to almost any program you want to go to and you do not have to be enrolled in the nursing program to take them. This will lessen the number of courses you have to take once you find a program and will mean you don't have to take them and some of the more difficult nursing classes at the same time, which I have been told by people who had to do it, that it was horrible. In general I have found that with the MATC campuses if you go to one outside of Madison they are more understanding that you have a life outside of school. I took all four of these classes at Watertown.

I did graduate from Herzing in there 1st class of nurses and they do have a pretty bad rep going at the moment. I will be honest that the accrediation business was not a fun process to deal with, but we did get an excellent education and the NCLEX pass rate was very high. Still don't know if they got their accredidation but they were supposed to have their NLN site visit the 2nd half of 2008.

Now here is another pitfall they only have 1 or 2 of the original instructors that taught our class that still there and there is definately a learning curve to starting a new program. It is very expensive, there is no flexibilty to the schedule (courses are only offered once a year) and as previously noted I've heard it is not where you want to take ANP or Micro (you have to have Chem prior to admission). I don't have any first had information on this I took these at MATC.

As far as getting a job as a graduate of Herzing initally the area hospitals were a little apprehesive and I was told by one HR person, about a month ago, that with the class I graduated in they only hired nurses who already worked in their facility in some other capacity, but they have been quite happy with those people and are now considering other Herzing graduates.

Hope you find this information helpful

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Specializes in assisted living.

Hi em7008019!

I am excited to come across someone that went to Herzing! What was your day to day schedule like? Did it take 24 mo? Can you transfer in A&P and micro? I am finishing A&P 1 right now. It looks like there class is 4 credits like this one, but I didn't see a A&P 2 in Herzings schedule. Did you have to have one semester of chem or 2? Sorry about all the questions! This whole deciding where to go is tricky stuff! Thanks much! :-)

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