Please explain Baker College to me

jabraham99 · Jan 22, 2009

Hi Everyone,
Hope all is well. It has been a while since I have posted, just trying to keep my mind off waiting for the letters from Baker to arrive as I am sure everyone else is, also. I have read about the cutoff requirement for financial aid and I am starting to panic. I have 59 credits from Baker(just prereq's). I have not attended another college. I rely solely on stafford loans to pay tuition and the only grant I receive is the Michigan Tuition Grant. Will I still be able to get loans to pay for the nursing program? I already have to start paying for just my prereq's because my grace period is up. I also cannot afford the tuition out of pocket being that I am a stay at home mom. I really cannot afford to start repaying now, first payment is due Feb 6. HAHA. Any info would greatly be appreciated and good luck to you.

I am in the same boat as you are. Waiting for my Baker letter and repaying loans. My grace period was up and I already had to make a payment. I didn't qualify for any deferrments because I am not in school. I guess once we start the program we can defer the loan. I am going to try to talk with someone in the financial aid office at Baker and see if I can get some answers. Like you, I rely solely on loans. I can't imagine having to pay that tuition right now.

gemberly · Jan 22, 2009

That was why I took the extra classes, 6 last term, and 6 this term, so I could get my financial aid.

We are low income, so I can get a deferment thanks to that, but if I don't go to school, then I am going to have to attempt to find a job and that will make me not low income.

Fiskerbiscuits · Jan 22, 2009

Hello, I am in the nursing program in Owosso. I don't know if Owosso is way different than other campuses, but I have a 3.8 GPA and recieved an 87% on my HESI and I got in pretty easily. I don't know why it is so different at that campus but I got so psyched out hearing people talk about Baker on this website. You just need to do what is in your heart and try your best and you will do fine. Don't let things you hear psyche you out!

jabraham99 · Jan 22, 2009

Hello, I am in the nursing program in Owosso. I don't know if Owosso is way different than other campuses, but I have a 3.8 GPA and recieved an 87% on my HESI and I got in pretty easily. I don't know why it is so different at that campus but I got so psyched out hearing people talk about Baker on this website. You just need to do what is in your heart and try your best and you will do fine. Don't let things you hear psyche you out!

When did you start the program? I can't believe how different it can be at two different campuses. Clinton Twp. gives the NET.

Fiskerbiscuits · Jan 22, 2009

I know, I feel the same way. I just got accepted this semester (Winter) so I should be done by next spring. There were very few people with 4.0 (I think only 3) and my score on the HESI was pretty good in comparison to people I talked too. I think that some of the instructors here (one in particular) are pretty difficult and it is more challenging of a curriculum. The classes are the same but I think the level of difficulty might differ due to instructors. That is just my theory.

shannonmarie7 · Jan 22, 2009

That was why I took the extra classes, 6 last term, and 6 this term, so I could get my financial aid.
We are low income, so I can get a deferment thanks to that, but if I don't go to school, then I am going to have to attempt to find a job and that will make me not low income.

I have 1 four credit class left next semester that I have to take for my pre-reqs, so I will have to take at least 1 class more class to get my financial aid (6 hrs). I was thinking about taking Medical Terminology (4). Now, I can take the summer off without it counting towards the pay back time of 6 months on the financial aid right? I mean summer does not count because it is optional?

Then if I take 6-8 in the fall (if not in nursing program), take winter off, then hopefully be in Spring 2010 start for nursing and I will not have to make payments because I did not take 6 months off in a row right?

shannonmarie7 · Jan 22, 2009

I know, I feel the same way. I just got accepted this semester (Winter) so I should be done by next spring. There were very few people with 4.0 (I think only 3) and my score on the HESI was pretty good in comparison to people I talked too. I think that some of the instructors here (one in particular) are pretty difficult and it is more challenging of a curriculum. The classes are the same but I think the level of difficulty might differ due to instructors. That is just my theory.

I wish it was closer, I mapped it and the campus is 1 hr 32 min each way from me. I don't think I can handle driving 3 hours a day, especially in the winter. :cry:

gemberly · Jan 22, 2009

Yeah, you shouldn't have a problem, Shannon. You have to make sure that you have them add the additional classes onto your step plan when you register. I took Med Term this last time. I wish I would have taken that at the beginning it would have made a lot of sense. LOL I took a 4 credit class and a 2 credit online class this time around. 3 weeks and done with the 2 credit class!

Fiskerbiscuits- I wish our campus was like that. I wonder why they choose different tests at different campuses??

ToxicShock · Jan 23, 2009

Hello, I am in the nursing program in Owosso. I don't know if Owosso is way different than other campuses, but I have a 3.8 GPA and recieved an 87% on my HESI and I got in pretty easily. I don't know why it is so different at that campus but I got so psyched out hearing people talk about Baker on this website. You just need to do what is in your heart and try your best and you will do fine. Don't let things you hear psyche you out!

I agree.

I have had a bad experience at Baker, and the school does not work for me; that's not to say that it won't work for you though!

Do what you feel is best and weigh all of your options by listening to both sides; make an educated decision and try to not take a biased standpoint either way. I'm sure you will do awesome in whichever program you choose to shoot for :) Good luck!!

fotogrllt · Feb 28, 2010

Can somebody please explain Baker College to me? I really don't know much about it, except that you have to earn all these points to increase your chances of being accepted into their nursing program.
It just seems that Baker College has just popped up, but I know that can't be true. How long has it been around? Who owns it? Why is the tuition so HIDEOUSLY expensive there? What other programs do they have? How many nursing students do they accept a year? Do they accept transfer credits?
Why do you like it so much? What don't you like about it?

Do not bother with Baker. I spent $9500 taking their 11 required prerequisites before I was allowed to take their NET test. The catalogue says you need a B- in your courses & a 50 on the NET test to be considered for the program. There about 400 people a year who apply at the Clinton Twp Michigan campus & they only accept 80 people a year, which by the way is not mentioned in the catalouge. You find out before you take the NET test. You can only transfer in 25 credits from another college. You can only take the NET twice, at a community college you can take the test as many times as you need to get a good score. If you do not make it in after the second time you take the NET test, they might allow you to apply for a third time. You are not told what your ranking was. At a community college they will. Baker does not tell you upfront what the average GPA & NET score of the people who make the program is, a community college will. I talked to six people who made into the Baker program & they all had 80 on the NET & 4.0 GPA's. I had a 3.83 GPA & scored 74 on the NET. I though for sure I was going to make it because of what Baker required for the program. However, I did make it into a community college nursing program, which required my taking A&P, English & psychology. Also in 2009, I received a letter stating the Baker Clinton twp campus had lost their accredidation. In the Baker catalogue it says they are accredited. Additionally, Baker only allows a student to apply to just one campus. You cannot apply simutaneously to other campus's nursing programs. And if transfer the the 11 Baker prerequisites to a community college, 4 or 5 of the Baker classses are considered core classes, the rest of the courses are electives. Bottom line, save your money, & go to a community college, you have a better chance of getting in & that $9500.00 will pay for the two years.

fotogrllt · Feb 28, 2010

I agree.
I have had a bad experience at Baker, and the school does not work for me; that's not to say that it won't work for you though!
Do what you feel is best and weigh all of your options by listening to both sides; make an educated decision and try to not take a biased standpoint either way. I'm sure you will do awesome in whichever program you choose to shoot for :) Good luck!!

Read about my experience below.

tripp3horn · Mar 7, 2010

I may be a little late with this but as someone who is finishing up pre-req's at Baker, I feel I have a little insight. It's not the school that is bad, it is the students!! The Baker College student mentality drives me insane!

First of all, before I enrolled into the program I was told that I basically needed to get all A's. Yes, the minimum is a B- however, there are tons of students with higher grades who will be accepted first... they are your competition.

Secondly, the student mentality.... SO MANY of my classmates think that just memorizing the power point slides will ensure you a good grade. For some of the instructors, this is true. For others, I have to listen to students gripe and moan about how the quizzes were not identical to the power points. The power points ARE A STUDY GUIDE!!! If there is a physiological process noted in the power point, you need to know the WHOLE process, not just the key points that are listed there. This drives me crazy!! Are these people here to learn or do they just want an easy way to find a job that seems like a "sure thing"? I'm not saying that all the students here are like this. I have several classmates who work very hard and put 100% into their studies. But the ones that don't are sooo noisy!

Withdrawing, retaking, dropping classes is HORRIBLE and you mine-as-well kiss your nursing career @ Baker goodbye. The program here is strict and unforgiving. You have NO room for error. Get a good grade the first time, don't be absent a lot, participate in class, dress professionally, and keep your emails to your instructor short and sweet(they are forwarded to the Dean of Nursing... I was very upset when I learned about this from one of my instructors-- what an invasion of privacy!). All of these factors come into play and make a huge difference when being accepted. If the school has two or three people for the last open spot for clinicals, they will go to the instructors you had and find out what kind of student you were... this may just be the deciding factor on wether or not you get accepted into clinicals.

I believe I have a shot at getting in for fall 2009. I have a 4.0 and plan on doing well for the entrance exam. I have heard, although I've only heard it through the grapevine so I don't know how true it is, that the competing GPA for winter 2009 @ the Flint campus was 3.5. I hope so, for my sake, but I'm not letting that affect my personal goal of keeping my 4.0.

I like Baker College. Just know what you are getting into. Everything counts, your classes, your instructors(picking an instructor who is known for an easy A will not help you. The health science instructors all mingle and the ones choosing your acceptance are aware of the easy instructors and the more challenging ones. You're much better off to choose a difficult instructor than an easy one), the number of transfer credits you have(the higher the number the more points you will lose), the amount of times you take a class, your attendance, your dress, your attitude.

Best of luck to you. If you're up for it, it's worth it. If it sound too rigorous then community college may be the way to go.

Oh yeah, I was worried about the student loans too... but you're allowed like $53,000 in loans, unsubsidized of coorifice. That's the maximum given out for government loans (like Sally Mae).