NurseExplorer

I'd steer clear. Being an out of state student was a hassle for me. Perhaps your closer location to the campus will make for a better experience. Also, if you don't pay all of your tuition in one payment, you have to use this tuition card thingie. It's really a credit card administered via a partnership with some company. You will have similar terms and fees just like a regular credit card.

I'm very dissapointed with my Chamberlain Online ASN experience so far. Overall, I sense disorganization with the college administration and lack of critical thinking and planning with the instructors. Advisement/Registration provided erroneous information that was often given at the last minute. Staff was mostly non-communicative. These problems are most likely associated with the acquisition of the school by Devry (DV:NYSE) from Tenet. I'm almost certain staffing and budget changes were made that negatively impacted the quality of service received by students/customers. Instructional design could be improved by extending chat times to at least 1.5 hours per week. Given the number of students in chat, the volume of material to cover, and the complexity of some of the material, 1.0 hour each week is not sufficient. This one hour is usually reduced due to instructors shutting down the chat 5, 10, or 15 minutes before the allotted time. Instructional content be enhanced with instructors explaining the underlying logic of the material assigned. This experience feels like a self-directed program so I would not recommend it to someone with no background in healthcare. I have no plans to continue with the Chamberlain online program past the LVN portion. *back to the books*

OT: Why does the thread title keep changing? What is the subject of this thread? The title is confusing. (restored mistakenly edited post )

From reading various threads on Allnurses, it doesn't seem like BSN would pay enough to make the financial impact you need at this moment. I suggest going here: http://www.creditboards.com/forums/ Read until your eyeballs fall out then read some more. There are some very knowledgeable people on that board that will give you good advice. Also, try looking up debt snowball. Financial guru Dave Ramsey is most associated with this method of getting out of debt. There are variations of this method so read, read, read. You'll be ok! ETA: posted link to their forum

Ahhh. That makes sense.

I'm speechless. Congrats to all the EC students wishing to practice in California!

Total ditto to everything you stated I was just too lazy to type out the whole situation. Financial Aid gave me an estimate over the phone and was pretty confident about the figures. I budgeted based on that verbal estimate and went ahead and purchased all my books. My advisor says my schedule was submitted 2 weeks ago but I have no email or standard mail that lists my classes. I don't like handling things at the last minute. It's not even clear when classes start.

Anyone have all their classes scheduled yet? I'm still trying to sign up.

It looks like my first class will involve a clinical. I'll have to talk to my advisor Monday and have this clarified.

Classes start 10/30. I still do not have a clinical facility. I'm pissed. That is all.

LOL! :kiss CONGRATULATIONS! Your family seems very proud of you! Critical care is an area I'm very interested in. I'm hoping to inspire my friend to join the Navy and learn something in healthcare. He needs focus and opportunites he can't get in his small town. I'm adding you into the inspiration mix. CONGRATS AGAIN!

I read a post about a weekend program at TVCC.

After reading the website some more, I'm almost certain that Chamberlain is approved but I'm calling the Texas BNE to confirm. My information packet arrived. Here are questions it answered: Attendence is required all four days. My packet says we must find facilities in our area that preferably provide all nursing specialties (OB, Peds, Psych, Med/Surg, and Multi-systems), track down the student nurse coordinator for that facility and pass the contact info to the Chamberlain clinical coordinator who will pursue an agreement between the school and the facility. Once an agreement is reached, Chamberlain students, along with the facility contact, will coordinate clinical times with a preceptor. @ this researching of facilities and contacts I'll have to do. I feel like the the school should already have a database of contact information...at least for major metropolitan areas. Maybe by the time I have to start this process, they'll say "Oh, Nurse_Explorer, don't worry about researching suitable clinical sites. We'll just use the info we've gathered from previous students". And if you declare to pursue the PN option, you must sit out for 1 semester after completing the component. Why, I have no idea. This is a minor wrinkle to me. Okay, off to gather my health records and tuition deposit. :)

Del Mar's in Corpus Christi. I do remember some annoucement on their website about changes in their LVN program. How sucky to close the bridge program. Who knows. Maybe they didn't have enough instructors.

I asked the admissions rep about this. Chamberlain is not self-paced. I know Del Mar is though.

Uh-oh. Put the champagne on hold for a sec. I was misreading the information on BNE's site. If I find the correct info, I'll post the link to it. In the meantime, feel free to...:trout:

I just did some research on the TX BNE site. It's looks like the admissions rep is correct! "Deaconess College of Nursing - Online" is listed as an eligible program for initial Texas PN licensure. "Deaconess College of Nursing - Online - ADN" is listed as a program eligible for initial licensure as well! YES! http://www.bne.state.tx.us/exam-eligibility.htm You asked about the number of days we spend in MO for skills check off. I'm unclear about that myself but I'll find out soon and report back but yes, skills check off are at the end of the semesters. I've read other posts that said students are assisted with finding preceptors and I'm pretty sure about that but I'll have the details soon. The curriculum is available on the website. I can't recall the specifics right now but I know I only have a 4 hour nursing course my first semester. If students desire to obtain their PN, they must declare their intentions at the beginning of their studies. I intend to and I'm estimating I could sit for the NCLEX-PN Fall 2007. Classes are online. I don't know the details of the interface the school uses but I've taken an online course before with no problem. My class was scheduled to meet in a chatroom at specific times and discuss material assigned by our instructor. We could email the instructor anytime. I'm still on cloud nine about my acceptance!

I asked my admissions rep about this exact thing. I asked if I would have to endorse in Texas after being licensed in Missouri. The rep said no. Their program is recognized by Texas and I would be able to sit for the NCLEX in Texas and be licensed in Texas. I'm awaiting my admissions package to verify the verbal information. I'll let you know what it says.

I haven't yet decided on the commute for skills testing. It depends on how much time off I can get from my employer and when my actual skills test is (Is it Thurs - Sun or one day out of the four?). I'm thinking most likely I would fly because I'd probably be too worn out for my regular job from driving. We could definitely split a hotel and be study buddies! Keep in touch and GOOD LUCK on your nursing career!

let the church say amen 'cause babygirl is in there!!! (after finally handling up on her business) :thankya: i was considering del mar here in texas but my chemistry wouldn't transfer and i really didn't want to take another chemistry so...chamberlain/deaconess here i am! i think it's cool their online program has an lpn component. i'm thinking about sitting for nclex-pn while trotting right on through to rn. working as an lvn would give me valuable experience to succeed in the rn program. thank god for distance education! :bowingpur :w00t:

Congratulations everyone and a special congrats to my Asteroids rival, AriRN! :balloons:

me three.

No. Both programs are for Texas residents only. In addition, the ADN program (Del Mar) accepts only 10-14 students each semester - Spring, Summer, Fall. They expect more applicants than usual for the Summer 2005 semester if the Spring semester is closed due to the anticipated grant. *sigh* more waitlists

Ummm, I think the board is acting up. Yesterday, two posters had said that Del Mar only accepts Texas residents but I don't see those posts anymore. ETA: I see where Brian has posted about the technical difficulties. Shame too. I had the top score for Asteroids.