Pasadena City college OR East Los Angeles college?

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Hello, I am a stay-at-home mother who wants to be a nurse.

I am still thinking which school I have to apply...Pasadena city college or East Los Angeles college. They both are close to my place, but they require little bit different pre-req classes. (I haven't get started of taking any pre-req.)

PCC ; Fewer pre-peq classes, (only couple of online classes)no entrance exam. High pass rate of RN. Long waiting-list(at least 5 years), lottely.

ELAC; more pre-req classes than PCC, but most of them can be taken online. TEAS exam as an entrance exam, and lottely. Passing rate of RN is decreasing in those years(90 to 60%).

My child is still little, so online classes are very useful, but I do not know if I can transfer units taken at ELAC when I apply to PCC.

Could you tell me your opinion if you are in one of them? :redpinkhe

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Specializes in ICU.

Go to the one that you can get in first. If both at the same time, I'd choose PCC. I hear it is a good program and Pasadena is a better location.

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Thank you for your opinion. Today my friend, who just graduated with RN, also told me "do not go to ELAC, go streight to PCC". I do not know what wrong with ELAC...

I am thinking to get into LVN first, (RN seems very hard) but I still do not know which school is the best for me...

Anyone else has an information?:bow:

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Specializes in Operating Room, Med-Surg, Home Care.
:nurse: Hi- I am a graduate of PCC, about 14 years ago. I dont live in Pasadena or California anymore, so I dont know what is going on there now. However, I can tell you that PCC was the first AD rn program in the US. The instructors and the program had very high standards. All but 2 of our class passed the boards the first time. Hospitals in So Cal considered PCC grads to be good nurses to hire. Good luck!
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:nurse: Hi- I am a graduate of PCC, about 14 years ago. I dont live in Pasadena or California anymore, so I dont know what is going on there now. However, I can tell you that PCC was the first AD rn program in the US. The instructors and the program had very high standards. All but 2 of our class passed the boards the first time. Hospitals in So Cal considered PCC grads to be good nurses to hire. Good luck!

Thank you for the comment, very helpful.

I see. Mmmm...Now I understand why so many people want to get into PCC...I will see a nursing counselor to get more information about Pre-req.

Does anyone in ELAC? I want to hear from both side.

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I agree with your friend; do not go to ELAC. From what I heard, the program isn't great. The instructors are horrible. It's a complete waste of time because the instructors aren't serious. They would rather build a friendship with their students than prep them for what they've signed up for. Of course, I know that a lot of students chose ELAC because it's laid-back, and it's easy to pass. I would prefer a school that's serious, so that I wouldn't go to work feeling like an incompetent. Good luck to you!

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The wait for PCC is 5 years?? :smackingf

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I am a PCC grad from Dec 2007. It is my understanding there is, infact, an entrance test (new) and no, there is not a 5 year wait. I am a big fan of their program.

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I attended PCC and had a great experience. Our pass rate is high, campus is safe & teachers really know their stuff.

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I think if you have a competitive GPA, you wouldn't have to wait at all. I applied to PCC this past Oct.08 (can't remember if it's Oct. or Sept.) and I got my acceptance letter two weeks ago. It took them only around a month or so to make the decision. My GPA was around 3.7 when I applied, by the way. I don't know how they select students but you should just apply when you're ready. Don't listen to much into the waiting list stuff. Things change all the time and you might not even have to go through the waiting list.

PS: I've heard only good things about their program.

They use TEAS as the assessment exam.

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Hello kitten79 , I was wondering if you knew how many students PCC accepts in their program, and also if the selection criteria for students is based on a lottery or by gpa/grades. Because I was chosen as an alternate and I wanna know if I have any chances of getting in.

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I don't know where you're (carter1228) hearing this from, but I graduated from ELAC and I totally disagree with you that ELAC's program is horrible. The teachers are great. They are very helpful and professional. The only relationships I built with my instructors were on a professional level and never on some buddy/buddy thing that you're thinking of! It could be laid-back if you want to pass with the minimum, which is 76% to pass each class. But it was never laid-back for me and the majority of my class. I was successful to have A's in all my classes from my hard work and determination. Each school is different and I would never put down any school like how you did! But anyway, GOOD LUCK TO YOU pispis33!!

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