dawgmama

Congrats to all who passed your NCLEX!!! The Pearson Vue trick really does work! I took the test on June 16th, the fire alarm went off 5 times during the test, we had to leave the room the first 3 times, and my screen went blue after 75 questions! My jaw literally dropped till the words popped up on the screen that I was finished. Whew! My mom took me out for coffee, and when we got home, I tried the trick. As I waited for the 'pop up', my heart was nearly pounding out of my chest! It was the good one! In two days, I got the early results, and yep, I passed! My friends who just took the test also tried the trick, and it worked for them also. Good luck to all of you studying for the test! You can do it. When I sat down at the testing computer, I took a moment to write on the top of my white board, "Breathe" and "I can do this!", I also reminded myself that my ATI predictor gave me a 94% chance of passing NCLEX, and I hadn't studied for that, it tested my general knowledge after 4 years of school. So all of you guys can do it too!

Great post forchunet. I've saved those pointers for my son who is about to enter college for pre-vet. He is the king of procrastination! My daughter is a soon to graduate nursing student, and those hints would have really helped her during the last 4 years! High school really doesn't get you ready for nursing school! Hang in there Cristel. You sound a lot like my daughter. Those students that seem like they 'get' it, when you don't, they are just better at the 'fake it till you make it' routine. Don't let them get you down. Try to find a study buddy. I know nursing school is very clique-ie, worse than high school my daughter thought. She met her best friend in nursing school when she was crying over a bad grade in the school bathroom, and her classmate comforted her. :) After that, they started studying together, and both their grades improved. Cristel's suggestion to be a CNA is so true. My daughter didn't start work as a CNA till the summer of her junior year. Senior year clinicals were much less stressful because she was used to patient interaction and cares. I admire all of you nursing students so much! Hang in there! You can do it!

My daughter's community clinical consists of a big group project, and.... painting fluoride on kid's teeth. She does get a bit of down time to study but all in all, she's not learning much. Sigh.

I'm not aware of the offer to pay if you stay on at Bellin. My daughter was/is planning on coming home after graduation to save some cash on rent, and start paying off her considerable loans. Bellin is not in-expensive, but they get the BSN students out in 4 years. State schools take 5-5.5 years lately due to high numbers of students applying. Good luck when you start school. St. Norbert is a good school, so it should prepare you well for nursing school. As I'm sure you've read on this site, nursing school is hard! I'm so proud of my daughter for sticking it out! If you find out anything about tuition reimbursement please let us know here. I'll have my daughter look into it also.

My daughter is a senior at Bellin. In her class of 46, there is one guy. They had a few more I believe, but they dropped out of the program due to grades.

hey nickos, i think your mom's friend got her numbers mixed up. my daughter is a senior at bellin, and it it quite competitive to get in, and while it is challenging, she is getting a good education, with clinicals since 2nd semester freshman year, and out in 4 years unlike the state schools. here is a quote from their website with admission criteria : if an applicant is applying for entry directly after high school and has 11 or fewer transferable credits an act score of 23 (or higher) (or sat score of 1070 (verbal + math) and a high school grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 grade scale is required. act scores of 21 or 22 will be considered and reviewed individually by the admissions director. the gpa will be calculated at the time of application. the gpa requirements need to be maintained on final high school transcripts to remain a viable candidate. jellomadison, congrats on being accepted into bellin. my daughter lives near downtown, in a vintage appartment called grace manor on monroe ave. the rent for her studio apartment is $385 a month. green bay is an interesting city, with mixed neighborhoods, and rental houses right near high end historical owner occupied homes. she's lived there for almost 2 years, and has never felt unsafe. since bellin's new campus is in bellevue,on the east side of gb, check craigslist-green bay. here are a couple of listings. http://greenbay.craigslist.org/apa/1491977583.html http://greenbay.craigslist.org/apa/1491819019.html good luck in school and your career!

Thanks "luvbug", ( that sounds funny, but you know what I mean). MMC, duh, I don't know why I didn't get that right, my daughter has a friend of a friend who goes there, about to graduate. Good school! My daughter could have gone there and lived at home, but in the long run, I think it was good for her to get out on her own, and gain confidence by handling things without mommy and daddy there for sympathy. Cell phones are great for giving those "you CAN do it pep talks". I see why you didn't go to GB. You are right, I don't hear rave reviews about it, mostly neutral, but it sure is a pretty campus. I'm glad MMC was a good fit for you! You sound a lot like my daughter, and your clinical schedule is very similar to Bellin's. Next year she will have 4 days a week of clinicals I think. That is a lot of work for you guys, but.. that is what will make you so hire-able when you graduate! Lots of hands on experience. I had heard that some of the state schools weren't (for a while, may be changed now) giving their students enough clinical exposure, and that was really hard on the new graduates (and their patients). My daughter is similar to you in that she'll be 21 at graduation, and ready to take the NCLEX and look for a job! Then she can start paying off those loans! While the private schools may be more expensive, the fact that you are done in four years, probably saves money in the long run! Thanks again for the info, for even though my daughter decided to stay at Bellin , your good input will probably help others on this fine forum. Keep up the hard work! You sound like you'll make a great nurse. Dawgmama

Thanks for your reply. Hmmm... MMC, is that Milwaukee Medical College? CCON is that Columbia College of Nursing? Just guess' on my part. Is that a 4 year BSN program? Glad to hear that your friends liked BCON (they are changing the name to just Bellin College because now they are going to offer a radiology program). My daughter likes the small class sizes at Bellin, and most of the instructors. She had a heck of a time freshman year at GB in Biology because her professor was cramming 3 semesters into 1, and she was from another country, so she was hard to understand. Otherwise, she had no trouble at GB. Why didn't you want to go there? They have great dorm rooms, 2 girls, one bathroom! :) What year are you? Do you have a lot of clinicals? I have some friends whose kids may want to go into nursing, so maybe I can reccommend your school. We have a friend who goes to Carrol College, and she sounds like she is getting a good education too. My daughter liked BCON because if you were accepted to the school, you were in the nursing program. The state schools, you have to apply to the school of Nursing, and she didn't want to have the stress of hoping she was in the program, or having to go for 5-5.5 years. Good luck!

Thanks Kari! I really appreciate the input about Alverno. She ended up staying at Bellin, and with different instructors, has had very positive clinical experiences. She still gets nervous, but is gaining more confidence, as she learns the 'routine' on the unit. She will be a CNA at a LTC facility this summer, and I really think that will help. She ended up getting her own apartment, as opposed to having 3 moody roomates, so she has a calm, home base to unwind at the end of the day. Good luck at Madison, and I think your post will help others who are considering Alverno, it sounds like a great place!

Thanks Farmer Jane. We had heard that Alverno was unique. Now she is not sure that she will transfer. She would still like to save some $, (who wouldn't?), but she doesn't want to lose ground on the studies she has already done. Funny, but schools are so different in what they want for Gen Ed's. Bellin is a good school, she just had a rough semester of clinicals, really nervous the first day, quite competent the second. I think she was just worn out from exams, etc., so she was thinking of transfering. We too heard that Concordia and Mount Mary were good schools. I think the knowledge that the option of transfering was there helped ease some of the stress. Were you nervous during some of your first clinicals? Her hands actually shake, and anti-anxiety meds were recommended. The fact that she gets it together the second day makes me think she just needs more experience/exposure to the clinical setting. We are encouraging her to be a CNA this summer, to become more comfortable providing care.

Thanks Bree, we hadn't even thought of WCTC, but we will certainly look into it. Perhaps more of her gen ed credits from UWGB would transfer, and she would not lose much ground timewise from her transfer.

My daughter is a sophomore at Bellin College of Nursing in Green Bay, and is thinking of transfering to a Milwaukee area school to save some money and reduce the stress of living on her own. Does anyone have any knowledge of the nursing programs at Mount Mary, Concordia and Alverno? Which of these schools have the best clinicals? Which has the lowest number of instructors who teach through intimidation? Any help is much appreciated.