Published Feb 14, 2015
franSchm
22 Posts
I am now studying for my 3rd Excelsior exam (health differences). I have passed my first 2 with B's . I only used the recommended text books and made my own study guides while going by the exam content guide. It is very time consuming but it did help me pass. I have heard of lots of people using lisa arrends study guides to study and they pass the exams. My only reason for wanting to use them is that it would keep me from having to type up my own notes (very time consuming when you work full time and are trying to complete it in a decent time frame) and possibly not having to spend extra money on textbooks, which are stupid expensive on top of paying for practice exams, the exam, and pearson vue fees. I am NOT looking to just memorize material , I actually want to learn it. So my question is, Are they good enough to study without having to buy the text books and will you actually learn the material?? I bought study group 101 for microbiology and hated it. It was so dry and didnt really match up with the content guide to me. I really appreciate honest opinions. Thanks!
caliotter3
38,333 Posts
I thought Lisa Arends had got out of the business. I read lots of comments of people being dissatisfied with her customer service and the quality of her material. Best reviews that I have read have been about SG101. I would not waste my money on TCN material, or would only pay, at most $15-$20 on ebay, certainly not the thousands of dollars that TCN wants for their material.
Thanks! I actually have someone that is going to give me their Lisa Arrends stuff. So the plus is that I dont have to pay for it. As far as TCN goes, I know to stay away from them. Its crazy how they rip people off! I will probably just keep doing what Ive been doing since it has been working for me. Why try to fix something thats not broken right? I was just curious as to how others felt about using it. I have heard good and bad things about her material.
Back when I did them, there were no 'systems' out there yet. I obtained each of the references in the study guide and studied the hard way! Just getting my hands on the references was a task in itself. I either bought the texts or checked them out of libraries using the interlibrary loan service. Then I took however long it took to study them. Talk about inventing the mouse trap!
Nibbles1
556 Posts
I used StudyGroup 101 along with the recommended books. Someone posted a few months ago that they ordered Lisa's study guide and it was a blank disc. And they never returned the students call.
ipraz4him
13 Posts
What is SG101?
sueall
151 Posts
SG101 = MyStudyGroup101 LLC
I love their audio CDs. I listen to them in the car while making my daily sitting-in-Houston-traffic ventures.