XLFord

I went through the program a few years ago, paid it via loans, savings, lived at home, and a scholarship (I was one of the lucky few).

Um...as far as I can remember...there is no financial aid from Drexel. The only thing you will get with FAFSA is the Stafford loans, and that is it. Unless, you were lucky enough to obtain a scholarship from somewhere... And there is a wealth of information on this site from past ACErs, though...the more I read, the more I wonder if I had attended the same program as some of them. Don't believe everything you read, and go in with an open mind. Ultimately, their goal is the same as yours, to get you to pass the HESI and sit for that NCLEX.

Don't forget to check the expiration date along the way. Very rare, but I did catch an expired drug a few times along my way as a student nurse and working on the floor.

1. When did you graduate? Sept. 2009 2. Do you have a BSN or ADN? BSN 3. Are you still looking for work? Thankfully, no. 4. If not, how long did it take you to find a job? Oh, about seven months. 5. If you don't mind my asking, those who are working, what type of job or floor do you work on. Med-Surg / Onc

During my job hunt, I seriously thought about joining the Navy Nurse Corps, and spoke to the recruiter. According to him, you spent the first year overseas in one of their bigger hospitals while they try to get you rotation in each of the clinical areas, THEN you are assigned an area. After one year, you MAY apply to switch specialties. Now, with that said...no guarantee you will actually see all specialties, and no guarantees you won't go in a warzone. You also may have to wait upwards of 6 months to begin training. I ended up finding a job that I enjoy, so...it's on the back burner. Maybe one of these days I'll think about the reserves.

Not to forget New Jersey, yes there are clinicals there too.

Here's the link to Stiles Hall's information. You can actually poke around the site, it will answer some of your questions. http://www.drexel.edu/dbs/universityHousing/centerCity/stilesRates/

Hospitals can be anywhere in the Philadelphia region, and that does include the surrounding counties and south Jersey. For the second third quarters you will have two FULL days of classes, and three days of clinicals. Those clinical days can be Wed, Thur, Fri, AND/OR Sat, days OR evenings. Nothing is tougher than coming back from an evening clinical at 10ish, and getting up at 5am to head to a clinical next morning. First quarter is one clinical, and last quarter is two clinicals and one lab day. Two sets of scrubs are definately plenty, and I honestly only used my lab coat for ONE clinical. Unless you feel the overwhelming urge to, don't buy the safety goggles, or the bandage scissors, if you need them, the clinical sites will have it. I don't know how many people on average apply to Drexel, the fall class usually begins with 180 people, and the spring class usually begins with 90. Drexel will take a look at last 60 hourse of course work, heavily focusing on science classes. If you did well on those, then you are going to be fine. Hope that answered some questions.

If you are talking about get dressed up, have slides, that kind of presentation, then no. There were MAYBE 4-5 presentations total, if memory serves.

Tradionally they accept somewhere around 160-180 for the fall class, and half of that for the spring semester. Good luck to everyone.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing a little over a week ago. My first couple of 12s were okay, but I learned a few things quick. Good shoes, breakfast, stay away from donuts and whatnots. I also get hypoglycemic at times, so I keep candy in my pocket. I know it's bad, but I've only had to reach for a couple of times. I keep them for emergencies, not because I like them. When I feel the dizzy spell coming on, I eat one. Try to take a little break every now and then, eat something if you need to. As my preceptor tells me, only when you take care of yourself can you take care of your patients. Look forward to little things. Say I'll take a break at around 11...(will I get to? Maybe not, but it's nice to look forward to that) When that comes around, look forward to lunch, then your afternoon break. Before you know it, it'll be time to give shift report and go home. I survived my first three 12 hour shifts, and you will too. Take it one day at a time, and you will find your second and third days gets easier as you get to know the same patients and their habits better. Clinicals are different for every school. When I was in school ours were about 7 hours long per clinical day, so...far cry from the 12 hours or 8 hours shift.

If you bought it because you want to use it to study for HESI (long term), it's a waste of money. You are better off buying the Review and Rationales by Mary Hogan. I personally loved it, and passed HESI and NCLEX the first time. (My school is one of the crazy ones that require 950 to pass) Now, if you are short on time, and you just want something to brush up on the important parts of Maternity, Peds, and Psych, by all means it's a decent book. As someone mentioned before, if you are doing the practice HESI questions, and you are hitting 70%, don't panic. We actually talked to one of our professors, who didn't outright say it, but if you are hitting above 70%, your chances are good. With that said, I would suggest you check out your school's library, they may have that EVOLVE book you can borrow. As long as you have the time, get the Hogan book. I personally found Saunders' questions a little too easy for my taste. As far as I know there is at least 6 versions of HESI. I had Version 6 for my final HESI.

Um...I think I spent about 38K of my own money plus the stafford loans of 12.5K. But then again, I did live at home, and that saved a lot. Don't forget they increase tuition, lab fees, etc etc every year. If I remember correctly, Drexel DOES send out a financial aid package, in it, it helps you budget how much you will need. They are pretty accurate on things, just make sure you leave about $1300 (or around there) for health insurance if you need it. I bought all my books online, that saved some. But, honestly you don't NEED to buy all of your books. I have all of them still, and I only have really used two on the list of the required books they had, Pharmacology and the one we had to buy to review for HESI. Do yourself a favor, and don't spend that much on books. I think all total I spent about $2000 on books that I could have saved. I really didn't read them, and bought the Reviews and Rationales series instead. Those helped me pass the program. Some of my classmates swears by Straight A's for (maternity, Pediatrics, Pharm...take your pick). You will discover what works for you.

First STOP freaking out!!! Speaking from experience (I graduated in fall 2009 in alloted time), it is NOT impossible. Yes, you need to study. Yes, you need to work hard. Yes, if you fail enough exams you will have to repeat the course. BUT, no student ever has to repeat a course because they failed ONE exam, unless of course the final grade wasn't above the passing level. Now, take a deep breath, you will all be fine. Yes, some students needed to decelerate, some students needed to repeat a course, some students stayed for an extra quarter because of HESI, some students drop out because they determined nursing isn't for them, and yes, some students fail out of Drexel. That shouldn't discourage you. There are a LOT of us who do finish and graduate. You all chose this program for a reason. None of you chose it because it was easy. Think about that. P.S. I don't know about most people, but I highly doubt you will need to study for 8 hours a night. With that said, two to three hours won't hurt you.

I can't answer the first one, I took out student loans, but mostly used savings. When you budget for tuition and living expenses, don't forget books, lab fees, transportation etc etc. Neighborhoods...the further away you get from center city, cheaper it is, but transportation may become an issue later on. Classes are at the center city campus, 15th and Vine St. There is a free shuttle that goes between there and Drexel's Main campus at University City, you WILL need a Dragon card to get on. Work load is Do-able. You will learn MASSIVE prioritization. Do NCLEX questions early and often. You will learn very quickly what class you need to study for and what class you can let go. If you can get As, wonderful. But remember, "C is for continue, until the fourth quarter, where C is for complete." I'm not trying to scare you, but just be prepared. You will hear about HESI, people will freak out over it, BUT half of my class did pass on the first try, and eventually so will everyone. People do bike in Philly, though how friendly is it depend on who you ask. As a Drexel student, you will (if no changes since Fall of 08) have free membership to SWEAT gym, it's about two to three blocks away from the center city campus, though I'm not sure you want to after 8-9 hours of classes, but you should during first and perhaps last quarters. I do know of someone who goes there everyday at lunch break. I hope I answered at least some of your questions. Drop me a PM, and I'll help if I can. I was in the fall 2008 class, and finished last September, and it was a wonderful feeling to complete it.