markindenver

I'm now 1/2 done with the RN program here at Concorde and I'm having a blast! The teachers are excellent, and all my classmates definitely feel we're being well-prepared to be awesome nurses! The program may be expensive, but it's definitely worth it considering the training we are receiving. As far as the NET, there is a math and a reading comprehension portion, and you have to score 70% or higher to even be considered, then they rank you on your highest composite score as to who gets in. I did a lot of research before I took it, and found somewhere that the higher NET scores are in the 85-90 range. I'd definitely study for it, bring a stopwatch to pace yourself, and remember that once the computer moves to the next page, that page disappears completely! As far as transferring in classes, for Concorde, you have to have taken the course within the last 10 years (for A+P to transfer in, you need to have taken both courses from the same school). You also have to have gotten at least a C in every course, as at Concorde, you have to pass EVERY class with at least a C or you will have to remediate or be dropped from the program (for Nursing classes, 80-84 = C; 85-94 = B; 95-100 = A!). Good luck to you, Hannah, in your nursing pursuit! :)

Wow. I've heard the wait-lists are awful here in Colorado. All in all, the points plan is good, to get the best and brightest to be RN's, though the "experience" part would knock me out of the running. I moved out here from Indiana, and my mother-in-law just became an RN there. There were only a couple of programs in the area, and if you didn't get an A in EVERY pre-requisite, you couldn't get into the Nursing program core, so the points scale here is still easy compared to that. National American University (www.national.edu) is starting a new ADN program soon, similar "points" style of admissions acceptance, combining pre-requisite grades and test scores. Denver School of Nursing (www.denverschoolofnursing.org) has primarily testing-based acceptance (you take the TEAS, and must score 70% or higher in each category). Concorde Career Institute (www.concorde.edu/denver) is the simplest program to get into in all of Colorado - take the NET (Nursing Entrance Test), and the highest 30 scores per semester have seats, so quite competitive. Of course, these programs are significantly more expensive, but waiting 6 months longer would cost the difference in lost RN wages. Oh, and SandDollar - http://www.frontrange.edu/FRCCTemplates/FRCC7.aspx?id=187 found this site... you've probably already seen it, but if not, it's FRCC's Westminster Nursing page (quite bare, don't you think?) Anywayz, hope this helps out... keep on keeping on!

LuckyKellyK and bannon03 - Welcome (in advance!) to Denver!!! It's a great place to live.... I got accepted to the ADN program at Concorde, considered DSN, but Concorde will be shorter to graduation, for me. I agree with rktkt2RN that Brighton is best for LuckyKellyK and your husband - although, I will warn you of the cookie cutter ridiculously crammed subdivisions. The drive south on US-36, I-76, which feed into I-25 is really slow in the morning and slow in the evening heading back north (I drive north in AM now, south in PM, and it's fine). If you're adverse to cookie-cutter, yuppie suburbia (as I am - does my bias show? lol), then the area south of downtown and a little east (Capitol Hill, and then heading south toward 6th, then the area around Washington Park "Wash Park", and then the sliver between Santa Fe and I-25) - those are the magnets for young urbanites. Rent can be relatively cheap - cheaper than buying, even. ($750 for a 2BR) If you're more adventurous, the areas just north and east of downtown are getting rehabbed up, young urbanites moving in. There you can get a nice house for a great price. Either way, anywhere you move, Denver's full of young, athletic, good-natured people... great restaurants & cafes, great bars, great local beer, hiking just in the foothills, skiing an hour and a half away (if you beat traffic!)... you'll probably want to stay! (except for the 3ft snowstorms) :) So yeah, right now I live in Littleton but have friends all over. If you have any questions at all or anything, PM me!

Oh, and if you have any of the following classes that you can transfer to Concorde, (10 years old or newer) you save $525.35 a credit hour. Anatomy & Physiology 1 - 3 hrs Anatomy & Physiology 2 - 2 hrs Chemistry - 3 hrs College Algebra - 3 hrs Elements of Human Communication (Speech) - 3 hrs English Composition - 3 hrs Introduction to Sociology - 3 hrs Introduction to Microbiology - 3 hrs Nutrition - 3 hrs Psychology of Growth and Development (Developmental Psych) - 3 hrs

I just got the latest info from the Financial Aid office this past Mon. (Feb. 1st)... The full cost for the May / November 2009 starts is: $42,519.20 Breakdown: $3,280.45 in fees $39238.75 tuition ($525.35/credit hour) If you don't have, I think it's a Masters, then you can qualify for Pell Grants For Academic Year #1 you can get $9000.00 in Stafford Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized), $10,500 for Academic Year #2, which if you ONLY get Stafford Loans, then you need $23,409.20 in self-funding. Wells Fargo has Collegiate Loans that are private loans that cover "up to cost of education" which means Room & Board, etc. www.wellsfargo.com/studentloans. Interest rates are based on your credit score, and a co-signer helps. If you can get in (since acceptance is based on NET score), and not have to wait 2-3 years to get into another program, figuring that working as an RN will pay $25,000 a year better than your current job, waiting 2 years to start would cost you the entire "expensive" cost of Concorde in lost earnings! Bottom line - if being an RN is a passion, then waiting actually costs way more money than borrowing a ton. Hope this helps, and good luck! :)

I'm sure this post is probably late, but this may help others... I just took the NET at Concorde in Aurora Colo to get into the RN program. It is 60 minutes and 60 questions on the Math, and 33 questions and 30 minutes for Reading Comprehension. You take the test on a computer, and the program is DOS-based, so once you give your final answer on an answer, you can't go back. This was ESPECIALLY nerve-wracking on the reading comprehension, as questions about the "entire passage" were on something you read quickly and could no longer refer back to! I brought a stopwatch to pace myself, which helped. Google "NET practice tests" http://www.testprepreview.com/net_test_breakdown.htm Google "reading comprehension tests" - those especially for SAT tests are great, like... http://www.majortests.com/sat/reading-comprehension.php Also, look up in your local Library, "Nursing Entrance Tests" - Kaplan's entrance test is great for tips and strategies, but for the NET just focus on Math and Reading Comprehension. Again, practice reading comprehension! For the Math section of the NET, the ONLY thing you need to know is basic... long division (example: 85/35863) long multiplication (example: 456*2351) long addition (.4523+34.32+.00345) or (34529+3482) long subtraction (7.2134-6.92538) complex fraction addition, subraction, multiplication and division (3/4 / 4/15, 2 3/9* 4 3/15) how decimals, percents, fractions and ratios translate (6:10 =?%, correct answer, 60%. Other questions, like "32 is what is 0.0625% of what number?) very basic algebra (Solve for x: 5(3x-4)-3(2x-20)=5x+23) If you can answer one question per minute effectively, you'll do well. Hope this helps, and good luck!

3aglecre, I have a friend who is currently in the RN-ADN program at Concorde Aurora. He said the program isnt' the greatest, but you get what you put into it, and he's enjoying it. I looked into the other programs in the area, and it would actually cost more to wait for a cheap public school than Concorde's really expensive program, since you start your career years earlier. I took the NET to get into the RN program for May this past Mon, Feb. 1 and they told me my score was good enough to get a spot. I hope you make it, cuz then we might be spending the next year and a half together! Good luck!