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Hi wishinguponastar! I don't know how long it will take to get your acceptance letter, but the night classes never fill up. You should be fine!

I also bought a lanyard for my name badge so that I wouldn't lose it. When I went to clinicals, I was told that I could not wear the lanyard. So you may want to consider that before you purchase one.

Yes they have the accreditation of the COE! The same accreditation that hair salon schools have! LOL If you go to the COE website, you can see what type of schools are accredited by them. The bottom line is that Galen is working to improve their program status and making connections with other schools, but they don't have the accreditation that most higher education institutions require for admission. If you just want to stay in the local area then Galen is fine, but if you want to go anywhere else in the U.S and further your education, you have to pay dearly. Your only option nationwide is University of Phoenix, which offers a RN to BSN program and has a relationship with Galen to accept it's credits. The only problem with that is that University of Phoenix is charging $486 a credit hour. If Galen would get better accreditation, then furthering your education would be much cheaper. There are a ton of schools nationwide and on-line that offer an RN to BSN program, but with an associate degree from Galen, you are not eligible to take advantage of them. It just really depends on what your future education goals are and if you plan on attending any schools outside of the local area.

Still selling the future accreditation! I was really not impressed with Galen at all! I still can't figure out why the tuition is so high. I am getting ready to move the the Miami/Hollywood, Fl area. I might look for a school there eventually!

I attended Galen college for one week and one day. I was not impressed! Yesterday we had major flooding going on in the Louisville area and people had to keep leaving class to move their cars, because they had water up past the tires, but they didn't cancel class until nearly the end of the day. There were students out in the parking lot with their pants rolled up and socks off. They were wading through water to get to their cars to move them and then had to come back into class. We were not even warned by the staff that there was flooding going on. We didn't know about it until we went on a break and saw it for ourselves. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL!!

Hi BBFRN! That makes sense to me. I have heard that during our pedicatric and delivery clinicals, we will be very limited to what we can do, hands-on. I guess that the hospitals have to be careful when it comes to children and babies. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hi Jsadler! I actually live in Sellersburg, so the location is great for me. My husband has his clinicals in Louisville, near Fern Valley Rd. So he has more travel time than me. They have a new rule that couples cannot go to clinicals together anymore, because one couple got in a horrible fight at a clinical. They ruined it for all of us! I would actually travel though and not go to Kindred! You can always make a request about your schedule or clinical location being close to home, but the registrar always says, "I can try, but I can't make any promises". Most of the people that I know in school are going to be traveling pretty far for clinicals. For right now though, the clinicals are only one day a week, about 8 weeks out of the 12 week quarter. So it' s only 8 times in 3 months. I don't know about the rest of the quarters. I hope that helps!

Thanks BBFRN! I'll let you know how it goes!

Thanks BBFRN! I have been really excited about getting started and I still am, but now I am a little concerned. We just found out our clinical sites today and I got the site that one of the current students told me was horrible, scary and nasty; on our Galen post. I am a little nervous about that, but hopefully it will be ok. Do you know anything about Kindred in Sellersburg, IN? I understand if you don't feel that it would be appropriate to say anything, but any information would help. Thanks!

Hi everyone! I just went to orientation and for the first quarter, we have clinicals on Thursdays. I don't know about future quarters though. Hi BBFRN, how are you doing?

Hi Jsadler! I don't know the exact details, but my husband owed $1500 and he was told to pay it all by July 15th, so we paid it by check yesterday at orientation. Later, the head of the financial aid department mentioned that they had a monthly payment option, that is set up and comes off of a credit card automatically each month. His financial aid person didn't tell him about the monthly option, so you may have to be pro-active and bring this up yourself. She had us stressed out and it may have been unnecessarily, but anyways we came up with it. Robin Isaacs, the public health nurse, is really good about getting you in quickly. It only took me a week to get started with her after I called. You will probably get her voicemail, but she will definitely call you back! Let me know how everything goes!

Hi again Jsadler827! Yes, you have to have records of 2 MMR immunizations and 2 Varicella immunizations. These are immunizations that we get when we are children, but if you don't have your records, you can get the shots again. We lost our records and had to get the shots again, it's no big deal. If you have your childhood records, that's great. Then 2 have to have 2 TB skin tests. You will have to go in twice for each test. Once to get the shot and once to get it read. Then you will need a physical and there are 3 optional Hepatitis B shots. The Hepatitis B shots are done in a series, the second is 4 weeks after the first and the last is about 4 months after the second shot. The health nurse that I am listing below is very good and she schedules you for all of the dates that you need to keep you on schedule. She is excellent! The TB skins tests are $5, the MMR and Varicella vaccines are $5 each and the Hepatitis B shots are $35 each. She was a lifesaver for us, because we could not afford what the doctor's office or take care clinic charged. Just to let you know, for the MMR and Varicella, you do have the option of getting a titer, which proves that you are immune, but the titers are over $100 each, so it is cheaper and easier to get the shots. You will have plenty of time to get everything done once you get your acceptance letter, but I guess if you get it all taken care of in advance that would be great too. I am just hesitant to recommend getting everything done too early, only because you really should get through your financial aid appointment first. Galen is not cheap and you should make sure that it all works out for you financially first. I was very fortunate, student loans and grants covered my entire tuition, but we just paid $1500 this morning at orientation for my husband's first quarter tuition. He also received grants and student loans, but he was a little short, so we had to pay the difference. The name of the nurse is Robin Isaacs and her phone number is 812 948-4726 at extension 623. This is the Floyd county health department, but don't worry it is not scary or anything. It is just like a regular doctor's office and it is located sort of behind the Floyd Memorial hospital. There are not any income restrictions or anything, her services are available to anyone, by appointment. She is a Galen grad and she is extremely nice. I can't remember the exact name of the place where we got our physicals. As soon as I find the phone number, I will post a thread for you. It is a walk in place, no appointment required and they only charge $15. It is located in Clarksville, Indiana; close to the Greentree Mall. I will get back to you with the exact details. Try and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hi again JSadler! Well the physical will be something that probably has to be maintained yearly or something. Once you get your acceptance letter, then you make your financial aid appointment to make sure student loans and grants will cover everything. My husband ended up owing $1500 for the first quarter and $500 for the second quarter, but that was manageable. He will be getting refunds for the last two quarters. I wish that they would have just made the whole year a wash, since he will be getting back more than he is paying up front, but they do everything by the quarter. Yes, we had to have 2 TB skin tests, a physical and 3 optional Hepatitis B boosters. They say that they are optional, but Hep B shots are highly recommended for healthcare workers. So, we are in the process of getting our Hep B series. You will have plenty of time once you get your acceptance letter to take care of everything. I do know that the physical has to be within the last year. As far as I've read, the Hep B series is good for around 10 years. The one thing that I do know for sure is that once you have proof of the 2 MMR and 2 Varicella boosters, you won't need to get those again. Also, I don't know if you have health insurance to help pay for your physical and other things, but I have found some extremely cheap places to get everything done. We found a nurse to do our immunizations and tb skin tests for $5 and the Hepatitis B boosters for $35 each, which is very cheap. We also found a doctor's office who did our physicals for $15. So, let me know if you would like specific details of where these places are, I'll be glad to give you the phone numbers and addresses. We are going in for orientation this morning at 8:30 am; I am really excited to be getting started! Let me know if you have any more questions or if you want the information for the medical stuff.

Hey Jsalder827! Yeah, it's alot of waiting, but once you get your acceptance letter, you'll be busy taking care of everything that you'll have to do. Especially all of the medical paperwork. Like I mentioned before, do yourself a favor and make sure that you have proof of 2 MMR boosters and 2 Varicella boosters. These are childhood immunizations, so hopefully you have your records. Jefferson county keeps immunization records with the high school transcripts, if you don't have them. I lost mine and I graduated so long ago, that JCPS didn't have them anymore. I had to get the shots again! I hate needles! Anyways, good luck to you and keep us posted on how things are going.

Good Job JSadler! As long as you pass, you are good!

Hi LaurenCarol! I meant the next class after October, I apologize. I was really sleepy when I wrote the last message. Maybe by some chance you might get in sooner, but if not at least you know it's only a 3 month wait. My husband and I considered doing the April evening part-time program, just to get in and get started. The lady that gave us the test told us that we could switch over to days, but that we would have to sit out a quarter. So, it would have actually taken 3 months longer to start nights and switch over to days than it took to wait and start the day program. I can't believe that they are already full for October though, they usually don't fill up until right around 3 months before the classes start. They must have alot of people who have been waiting. Let me know how everything goes for you and when you get in. Good luck to you!

Hi Jsadler! I am not sure exactly what you mean by a nurse kit, but we did have to purchase stethoscopes, penlights and bandage scissors; and of course, uniforms. I hope that this is the information that you were looking for. LaurenCarol, I understand your frustration. We tested back in the middle of February for the April class. We went in to take the test thinking that we were testing for April and came out of the test knowing that April was full. We were given the choice of April evenings, part-time or waiting until July. We chose to wait. What I found really funny was went I went back in a few weeks later to turn in a transcript at the front desk, I heard the receptionist telling people on the phone and all of the people coming in that they still had openings for the April day class. Then as I turned in my paperwork, I said to the receptionist ( who I know through a friend's mother) that I thought the April class was full, and she replied that it is! They just don't want to turn people away. The good thing is that at the least you will be in by October. If you don't have your childhood immunization records, go ahead and get that stuff in order. You will need proof of 2 MMR boosters and 2 Varicella boosters. There are other immunizations, but I'd wait on those until you get your acceptance letter and everything. Some of the things that you'll need to get will be re-ocurring over the years, so you'll want to wait on those to get the most time that you can out of them. With the MMR and Varicella though, they are one time things; once you've had the 2 boosters of each, you won't need them again in the future. If you don't have your immunization records and you went to school in Jefferson county, they are usually with your high school transcript at the Board of Education office on Bishop lane. That might save you a little trouble. Good luck to you both!

One thing I will say is that they do lie so that they can get more people interested. They tell people that they have openings to get you in there to take the test and to get you started in the process. Then later they tell you that they are on a waitlist and that you can either do part time nights or wait for the next class in 3 months; most people end up waiting 3 months. This is what happened to my husband and I and I know of others that this happened to. About 3 weeks after we found out that there really weren't any spots for the next class, I went in to drop off something at the front desk and the receptionist was still telling people that were scheduling the test that there were spots still open. I couldn't believe it! I guess they know that if they get you in there and get you interested, you'll probably end up waiting the 3 months for the next class. It's a good school, but it's also a business! Anyways, we are starting at the end of this month; it's been a long 3 month wait though.

Hi Jsadler! Books, uniforms, fees, CPR certification and all of the medical paperwork that we had to get done, all came out of our pockets! Some of us; very few; will get residual money, but not until about 8 weeks after the quarter begins. You would think that we would get a little more help with all of these expenses, but what can you do?

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we had to get a background check and we had to pay $100 for it. Thanks for your help and input!

Thanks BBFRN! We have all been through the process. We took an admissions test and waited for an acceptance letter. Then we went in for a financial aid appointment and had thorough medical paperwork to get done. The medical paperwork involved MMR and Varicella immunizations or titers, 2 TB skin tests, a physical and 3 optional Hepatitis B immunizations. I am surprised that with all we have had to do, that we were not drug tested. We have orientation July 11th. I have posted a question about this on another thread to previous Galen students. I have read that some nursing schools do drug tests for admission and that some don't do them, but that clinical sites do. I'll let you know if I get an answer from a previous Galen student. Thanks Alot!

Hi BBFRN! Some of us( July starting LPN Class at Galen) are really surprised that we were not drug tested. How can they allow students to go into hospitals and nursing homes without a drug test? Is this something that is done in clinicals? I have worked in casinos for the past 10 years and had to go through many drug tests, you would think that nursing would be more strict on this issue. Thanks!

Hi Everyone! I am curious if any of the past Galen student's can tell me what all they did at orientation? I am just curious what we are going to do for 4 hours. That seems like such a long time! Thanks

Hi Elizabeth K! NO you are not crazy! My husband and I have been working in a casino for the past ten years as Black Jack dealers and Floor Supervisors. We are the same as you, getting ready to start nursing school. I am 35 and my husband is 41! All of the people that we have met through this site that will be attending school with us are our age or older! Don't let your age stop you from doing anything! You are still young!

Hi KC9772! Thanks for your advice, it is nice coming from someone with experience. I purchased all of the required books for the first quarter; I didn't bother with the optional ones. If I end up needing them later, then I can't get them. I only spent $215 on half.com and my husband and I are going to share them. He will be going to school with me, so we didn't do too bad. I guess that I can always sell them if I don't need them. While I've got you here, do you mind if I ask a question? How did they divide you all into groups when you started Galen? Was it alphabetically or randomly? Also, do you know anything about the new campus? Thanks Alot!