Online RN school???

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I've been looking into going to school online. I live in a really small town and its nearly impossible to get into the one local program. So I've looked into chancellor, excelsior, and achieve test prep. For the Associates program I was quoted 2500 and for the bachelor's degree 5020 then enroll in Indiana State. I am torn on what choice to make it is actually cheaper for me to enroll in Achieve with the promotion they have going on then it would be enrolling in excelsior. Any advice.... please.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

Chancellor's, Achieve Test Prep & all those are just study guide companies & have no association with EC or ISU. They get you in a contract & you pay an arm & a leg for ridiculous study guides. If you want to go through ISU or EC, go directly through them. You can buy the study guides a lot cheaper elsewhere.

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It's actually cheaper for me to go through achieve test prep. Im a recently licensed LPN so I only have 8 classes total. Excelsior quoted me 10k. From what I was told achieve, rue,chancellor are publishing company that gives you the material to pass the classes,they also do a 5 day CPNE prep. You enroll with excelsior to take the nursing classes and you are also awarded your degree through them. Achieve has a pass rate of 94% while excelsior has 64%. Has anyone tried either of these programs with any success?

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

$10K isn't that bad. Those publishing companies will tell you anything you want to hear so will sign the dotted line then be stuck in a terrible, expensive contract. Then you will have those contracts ONTOP of going through EC. You can get study guides cheaper off of eBay.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Achieve has a pass rate of 94% while excelsior has 64%.
With all due respect, Achieve is not a school or a degree-granting entity. Achieve is a company that provides expensive study guides and test preparation materials.

Achieve cannot have an NCLEX pass rate of 94 percent because they cannot send anyone to state boards to take NCLEX since the entity is not a school. Any fees you pay Achieve will be in addition to the fees you'll be forced to pay Excelsior College. Don't do it.

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Specializes in PACU.
Achieve has a pass rate of 94% while excelsior has 64%. Has anyone tried either of these programs with any success?

A 94% pass rate on what?

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Achieve test prep cost is IN ADDITION to the costs from Excelsior College. So your cost would be ~$2500 for test prep PLUS $10,000 for excelsior total $12,500+. Plus ATP is neither authorized not qualified to advise you on admissions or academics at a Excelsior College. They are not affiliated with not as they endorsed by either Excelsior College not ISU. ATP cannot have an NCLEX pass rate as they are a publisher not a school of nursing.

Excelsior pass rate is 77%

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From Achieve's website:

* Achieve Test Prep is a college education consultant and test preparation center that helps you earn your degree faster. Achieve Test Prep is not a college and does not issue degrees or give college credit. The programs listed above and elsewhere on this website (e.g. BSN Bridge Programs) are test preparation programs offered by Achieve Test Prep to prepare you to take exams from an independent accredited college, or an independent testing center, to enable you to earn your degree (BSN or ASN as the case may be) from such college. While Achieve Test Prep is an expert on the policies and procedures of many colleges, nonetheless, we do not have any affiliation or agreement with those colleges and the final decisions about credits and degrees rests with the colleges. You must independently apply for, and be accepted into a college.

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Let me try and explain what I'm saying. I understand the achieve is a book publishing company. I would pay them 2k for my prerequisites and my nursing classes. When I test for those nursing classes those are actually done after I enroll with excelsior. Excelsior would be the one awarding the degree. The CPNE is a pass/fail clinical there pass rate is actually lover than 64%. Excelsior College | Nursing. The 10k I was quoted from excelsior included my prerequisites and my nursing courses and the CPNE which is 4k of that portion.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

If you want to add $2,000 to your bill, that's your decision. I wouldn't want to but that's your life. But I have a feeling that number will go up & up & up. Once you sign the contract there's nothing you can do about it.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
Let me try and explain what I'm saying. I understand the achieve is a book publishing company. I would pay them 2k for my prerequisites and my nursing classes. When I test for those nursing classes those are actually done after I enroll with excelsior. Excelsior would be the one awarding the degree. The CPNE is a pass/fail clinical there pass rate is actually lover than 64%. Excelsior College | Nursing. The 10k I was quoted from excelsior included my prerequisites and my nursing courses and the CPNE which is 4k of that portion.

You pay achieve test prep for the test prep AND excelsior the $10,000. You pay both. ATP does not offer classes or credits they offer tutoring to prepare you to take the challenge exams at Excelsior. You must pay the enrollment fee of ~$1200 plus $400-600 per exam plus a fee of ~$30 to take the exam in addition to the $2500 you pay Achieve Test Prep for their tutoring services. It's not in lieu of the cost of Excelsior but in addition to the costs of Excelsior for tuitions and exams. You seem to be missing this point.

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I talked to both schools and I want to pick the one that is best. For the BSN I would go directly to Indiana state but with my husband being in Afghanistan and having 2 little ones it's just really hard. We moved from our home and I don't have a lot of family support here so I thought it would be easier to get my ASN then my BSN when my husband's home. I do like both programs because they are both self paced. The military pays for 4k of the program. Which is why I considered doing the achieve test prep. My contract has every class I need broken with there fee and also with excelsior 4k fee for the CPNE. I have a price breakdown sheet. I'm not sure where you got your information but on my sheet it has both excelsiors fee which is 4k and that includes the enrollment and the CPNE, and there fee is 2k so total its 6k. Excelsior fee is 10k for everything not including the testing fees so the classes and the CPNE If I could upload it I would. Also the exams which are called ece are through excelsior and there about 325 a piece not 400-600.

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