claird22

Everyone who has posted information on LVN colleges to attend, I have noticed a few saying CNI, Concord, Stanbridge & Pacific College were their narrowed down options. I have been to all four of these colleges and have been inquiring about them for almost a year 1/2 now so I have done extensive research and from my personal experience, Pacific College seems to be the best out of the four and it has the best reviews. Good luck to everyone!

In reply to Irishpigtails, Good luck with finding a school that suits you. For me, it has been a long, frustrating process. First of all, DO NOT go to CNI. I have been going back & forth with CNI for a full year now. I just moved to CA a year ago from last month and I immediately was looking into schools, and CNI is the first I was able to pull up. It is all about the $ there and their program SUCKS and the instructors SUCK. Not only that, they fail to mention to a lot of their students that added on to thats 12 months of theory and clinicals, they require you stay an additional 3 months to study for the NCLEX before you can even take it. So along with the 12 months of HORRIBLE hours and clinicals that are all over the place and some of them, you don't even know the times until the week of so you can't plan anything else, you have to take an extra three months to study for the NCLEX. I could go on and on about this school. So after I realized CNI was a crock after hearing the same from several other people, I looked into Stanbridge. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was really fishy about Stanbridge. I'm sorry, but it really seemed like ******** to me, the way they were kissing my butt and sugarcoating everything. They were a really small facility and they are still pretty new and me personally, I would rather go somewhere that has been around for a long time and they are well known in the area. Everyone I ever mentioned Stanbridge to, didn't even know who they were. I understand that a lot of these private schools are basically business related, but they just seemed way too flaky to me and way too concerned of how they were going to receive their money before you started. I have been trying to become a nurse for 3 years now. Trust me, I have done my research. I have half my clinicals completed to go to Golden West for the RN program, but it's such a wait I would like to do something in the meantime while I work on my remaining clincals as well. So finally, I was in the doctor's office with one of my children and I was speaking to a Medical Assistant, because for a short while, I was interested in the possibility of becoming a medical assistant as well. She told me if I was interested in nursing, to just go for the nursing and don't settle with anything lower if that is what you want because as intimidating as it may seem, it is well worth it in the end to just go through with it and have it over with. She recommended Pacific College in Costa Mesa for their LVN program. I looked this place up and finally, it seemed like I found a good, accredited college with a lot of good reviews as well (which you could not find with CNI unless you did a ton of research). I called and they were really friendly and send me a packet in the mail, told me to look over the packet and then give them a call back to set up an appointment. I called and set up an appointment and actually went in today. I think I have finally found a good school, they really seem sincere and they don't beat around the bush and lie about their program. They admit it is a hard program and you have to stay very focused and study hard. I would rather have someone tell me straight up than to look me in the eyes and lie to me and say "oh you will do just fine, anyone could do it" when they don't even know me. They have been around for many years and I read lots of good reviews. So obviously, I would recommend them. They also offer PT hours which works great for me with 3 small kids. Good luck to you and I hope you find a school you are happy with! :) By the way, FT takes 12 months at Pacific College, with no added time for NCLEX and their hours stay within 7-3:30 M-F (including clincals). For PT, the days are Tues & Thurs 6-10:30PM and Sat/Sun from 7-3:30 (including clinicals).