nursing school suggestions

[LPNMOM2B]

PLEASE HELP!!! I want to go to school to be an LPN. I first looked at Brown Mackie College in South Bend but after all the negative things I have heard and read ( not to mention the huge tuition) I decided against them. Then I looked into Ivy Tech (South Bend) while everyone seems to have positive things to say about the teachers and the cirriculum they also say how hard it is to get accepted into the nursing programs. I even read that one person had waited a couple of years!!! I am a stay at home mom with two young babies. I can't take the chance of getting my gen. ed. classes done and then having to wait that long before I might get accepted. Has anyone gone to any other schools in the Northern Indiana area besides Brown Mackie or Ivy Tech? These seem to be the two most popular. I am looking for a 1 to 2 year program that is not going to cost me a fortune and where I have to wait forever to just be accepted into the program. Am I just dreaming here? Any advice would be welcomed. Thank you!!

[mnj0105]

Those who went to Olympia College...where did you do your clinicals? I've never heard of this school and am now wondering if that isn't an option. I am able to get scholarships and loans so I am not worried about the cost. Thanks in advance...

[harishuga]

is any one going to harrison college? any suggestions regarding that college.

[taalyn_1, CNA]

This is my suggestion, go to Ivy Tech and go str8 into the RN program. Their program is really great, and the instructors are really good (I used to work @ IvyTech SB). Don't call them or email them, go in and talk to an admissions counselor then ask to talk to the Dean of the Nursing program. As for the wait to get in, this is a myth. Yes you will not be admitted in until all your gen ed courses are finished (and really you wouldnt want to take those AND the nursing classes at the same time). The way to get in is this: STR8 As on: Psych., Math 118(? - not sure the number now), ENG 111 (again, think they changed the #) and Anatomy1, a high score on the TEAS test (which is the actual entrance test into the program)- high 80's at least. Entrance is based on a point system and they only take around 50-100 people each semester so the higher your TEAS score the better chance you have on getting in (buy the study guide and practice the hell out of it).

This is how it used to break down:

A's: 25 pts.

B's: 15 pts.

C's: 10 pts

for your gen ed classes...

Whatever your avg total score on the TEAS is is your points...

EX: You had str8 A's in all the gen ed classes they include for admission: 4 X 25 = 100 pts

You got a 95 on the TEAS: 95 pts.

Total points: 195 pts

Extra pts if you live within the region: 3 pts

New total: 198 points

Cut-off to get in: 195

As long as you have the points above their cut-off, you will get in. The points for A's etc may have changed since then and they may include anp2 and sociology but the premise is still the same. Find out what classes they include in the process and do extremely well in those classes and on the TEAS and you should be fine.

Good Luck!!

[ErinRN2B]

Don't go to Brown Mackie. A lot of employers won't take you seriously and you'll go into a lot of debt.

It really confuses me when I read about all the "waiting" that Ivy Tech students have to do. I'm an Ivy Tech ASN student, and I didn't have to wait at all. Ivy Tech's program entry is merit-based not based on a wait list like some other schools. If you have As in your pre-req classes, and a good TEAS score, chances are pretty good that you'll get into Ivy's PN program. And the classes are extremely affordable.