Pace ABSN Fall 2015 vs LIU ABSN Summer 2015

ACW2015 · Mar 18, 2015

Hi DreamNurse21, I'm having the same dilemma but my acceptances were for LIU and CNR (Both ABSN's starting this summer)...I would love to hear of other's input of why they chose one school over the other. LIU is only giving us 2 weeks for acceptance, I only have till Friday to make my decision.

DreamNurse21 · Mar 19, 2015

@ACW2015 which school are you leaning towards? I think I'm leaning more towards Pace. Which school would you choose between LIU and CNR?

ACW2015 · Mar 19, 2015

I'm leaning towards CNR. I went there for an open house info session tonight for second degree nursing students and love their holistic approach. The campus is beautiful and my commute will be a bit better.

ACW2015 · Mar 19, 2015

I went through my pros and cons...

CNR

Pros: Better commute, easier parking, slightly lower tuition than LIU

Con: Have to pay toll for the Throgs Neck bridge everyday; no scholarship/grants;18 months vs LIU 15 months)...but I kind of feel this is a pro too, LIU's program requires 62 credits and it is squeezed into 4 straight semesters (14, 15, 16, and 17 credits)...CNR's program requires 59 credits and it is split into 5 semesters (8, 12, 12, 12, 15 credits). I think I will do better with CNR's curriculum. A lot of people fail out of LIU, and I kind of think the 16-17 credits of extremely challenging classes can be a bit much for me to handle, and may lead to lower grades.

LIU

Pro: 15 months = finishing faster; although many nurses fail out of their program, those who do make it, always say they are well prepared for the Nclex and nursing world; they gave me an $11k scholarship/grant...but even after deducting that, this program will still cost me about $2,500 more per year than CNR.

Con: Commute to Brooklyn can be horrific, parking is hard to come by

lykantrophy · Mar 19, 2015

I'm in the exact same dilemma, but I picked the two year Pace program. I'm scared though, I read the BEWARE Pace CDP topic that went on for 15 something pages, but they disbanded the CDP program and changed things up. I liked the LIU campus but to comment on what ACW2015 said about a lot of nurses failing out. What I heard from the nursing department when I asked them the completion rate, they said "we only had one or two students failing out due to personal/financial reasons". Now, I'm not saying I don't believe ACW2015, that's not what bothers me at all. What bothers me is the inconsistency of information I get from LIU. It strikes me as a disorganized program. What helped me make my decision is LIU's trend in NCLEX passing rates, they have been decreasing over the last few years, which explains why they switched from HESI to TEAS. I guess they want different tests to gauge applicants, IDK.

If any current Pace students would like to shed some light on how efficient the program has become/not become. Please help us!

DreamNurse21- out of curiosity when did you have your interview for pace? I had mine on 3/9 @12:45pm.

Here is the beware topic: https://allnurses.com/new-york-nursing/beware-pace-university-360550.html

Here is the NCLEX info on NYS nursing schools:

2008-2012 - http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/nurse/nurseprogs-nclexrn2008-12.htm

2013 - http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/nurse/nurseprogs-nclexrn2013-17.htm

DreamNurse21 · Mar 19, 2015

@lykantrophy thanks so much! that's a good idea, looking at NCLEX scores. I'm a little confused with the 2013 link though, why does it say 1/1 100% pass rate, and 2/2 100% pass rate. I thought there were around 60 students in the program? Also, I had my interview the same day as you.

and @ACW2015 it seems like you've made your decision! Lol :) I am sure CNR will be good for you as long as you work hard. It seems to be the better program too from the pro/con list you've shown

lykantrophy · Mar 21, 2015

Yea the nclex numbers for Pace worry me. Did 1 student take the test? Lol I don't know what to make of it.

ElleWoods · Mar 28, 2015

I recently looked at Pace's ABSN course and it seems beginning September 1st, 2014, students no longer have to maintain a 3.0 cumulative gpa in order to progress in the course, instead it seems the administration has changed it to a 2.75 cumulative gpa. I too have read all those reviews which stated that the grading system was horrible because of the 77% rule but 3.0 gpa but it seems they've changed it.

Anyway, I wish you all luck! I'm not a ABSN student but I have been accepted into Pace's RN-4 Program in Westchester :)

DreamNurse21 · Mar 30, 2015

I recently looked at Pace's ABSN course and it seems beginning September 1st, 2014, students no longer have to maintain a 3.0 cumulative gpa in order to progress in the course, instead it seems the administration has changed it to a 2.75 cumulative gpa. I too have read all those reviews which stated that the grading system was horrible because of the 77% rule but 3.0 gpa but it seems they've changed it.
Anyway, I wish you all luck! I'm not a ABSN student but I have been accepted into Pace's RN-4 Program in Westchester :)

Thank you so much! That was very helpful :) good luck in your program!!!

ElleWoods · Mar 31, 2015

Thank you so much! That was very helpful :) good luck in your program!!!

you're welcome! I thought it was funny how they changed it but it seems the administration has finally decided to listen to the bad reviews and changed their system so that more students can stay. :up:

zoeyt · May 26, 2015

Hello all,

PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR- STAY AWAY FROM PACE.

I just came across this thread and feel inclined to tell everyone about my horrible experience with Pace University. I was in the 1-year program that started in the Fall 2014 semester. I completed the first two semesters and it was the worst 8 months of my life. I'll start off by saying this: Yes, the GPA requirement has dropped from a 3.0 to a 2.75, but it has not helped much- the Fall 2014 class started with approximately 60 1-years; only about 15 of those students are starting their third and last semester tomorrow.

Try asking the school about their retention rate. During orientation last year, the chair of the department would not answer the question when one of the students asked about it. They already know that a majority of the students accepted, sitting in that orientation room WOULD FAIL OUT. I wish I took this hint and all the reviews online more seriously.

The faculty are cold and heartless, with the exception of one or two professors. There are no curbs, the professors are vague about what you need to know for a test, and there's a ridiculous policy about test questions: If a professor puts a 'bad' question (in his/her opinion) on a test, they will completely remove it (whether you got it wrong or right), making all other questions count more. Almost every test I took had at least one question removed. A majority of the time, my grade would go down because of it. Every class in the Lienhard School of Nursing follows this policy.

One of the classes in the first semester, Evidence Based Practice, was completely online (with the exception of 3 in-class meetings). Every week we were supposed to receive feedback about the weekly assignments due- My group's professor stopped answering us after one month and did not give any feedback/grades until DECEMBER 24th- 1.5 WEEKS AFTER THE SEMESTER WAS OVER. We had no communication with this professor, she would not answer our emails or calls, and therefore we had no idea how we were progressing in the class. This is just another example of how the professors really do not care about their students here.

Good luck if you need to reach out to the chair or director of the program. Their response will be nasty, angry and completely unprofessional. I have plenty of snide emails if anyone wants to see. I can go on and on about how terrible every part of this school is. You can even find lawsuits against the program- Matter of Capasso v. Pace Univ., 2009 and Matter of Engel v Pace Univ., 2011. It never ends.

I wish I could go back in time and do things differently. I really really hope to save someone's life by posting this. I wish someone advised me not to go here. Don't waste your time and give this school more money that they can pocket; most nursing credits with a clinical component are not transferable to other schools. Feel free to ask me any more questions. And don't take this post lightly.