SPG1975

I found a law site that talks about this. In english, (I'm translating the legal jargon) In NEW JERSEY...for a Township Ordinance Violation... if you can manage to keep out of trouble for 2 years since your conviction, you can file for the offense to be taken off your record. You will need a lawyer for this. I'll repeat, You Will Need a Lawyer For this. So you have about a year to save up. You should have no problem graduating from the program but I would wait until your record is clear before sitting for the board exams, because they WILL check again Before they hand over that license. And I believe you that you're sorry. But also be thankful, you really got cut a break. Best of luck on this. We all make mistakes....but now that you're trying for a job that involves having a professional license, you have FAR more to lose than when you were a crazy teenager.

I've heard a lot of good things about it, anything in particular you liked about it?

Actually, there is such a glut of nursing school applicants, that they are extremely choosy. The average GPA to even be eligible to apply can be as low as 2.75! But the rest of your application must be spectacular. Admins have told me frankly, "We take the top 10% of the applicants, right off the bat, and they have a GPA averaging 3.85. The rest, we scrutinize their academic and employment records. About 400 students are competing for 50 seats- we can afford to be very chosey. And that's not even including students who are looking to transfer in from other programs. " SO yes, unless you have years of CNA, LVN, EMT or paramedic job experience under your belt, I wouldn't bother applying if my GPA was not way above the required minimum.

1) Looking healthy and clean cut will help you in this profession more than looking like a pro wrestler or a strip club bouncer. I think you're on the right track with staying fit. Being strong looking should help also but keep in mind that being big can look intimidating also, and being able to evoke trust from your clients is the most important thing for establishing a professional relationship. 2)BSN to PA? I'm personally against that on so many levels.... but I'll focus on the one that supercedes them all= your GPA. With a GPA less than 3.2, for example, I wouldn't even call Nursing school a realistic goal. It's not "Doctor Lite" , it's a highly demanding career. I would also advise against going into Nursing as a "Jump Point" to any non-nursing related field. I've heard of people who want to BSN their way into Vet school, Dental School, Medical School, now having a health career license on your resume IS more attractive than working at Wal-Mart, but you will end up "UN-learning" so much theory of practice, you'd be better off keeping your job as a lab researcher or whatever it is one can do with a Bachelor's in Biology.

The people who told me that CCP had required online classes, were in the RN program. Maybe I misunderstood them or they themselves were mistaken. I definitely want my BSN, as soon as possible. Money is not really a factor but time is, I'm an older student going for a career change. Aria offers an ASN from Penn State along with the Diploma in Nursing. I will also already be getting an AS in CST from CCP at the end of this semester also. As for my career path, I want to work in Emergency and Acute care. I agree that I need to ask around, and well, that's why we're all here on this board. thanks!

I got accepted into both CCP, and into Aria Health Hospital School of Nursing. I've heard both good things and horror stories about both places and trying to decide. I'm leaning towards AHHSON right now, because I heard that CCP has a lot of online classes in it's curriculum, which I'm not good with...and AHHSON also takes the top % of the class and offers them 3-year employment contracts right after graduation. In this economy, that was a no brainer for me. Any thoughts?

About me: Older male student (30y.o) I'm decent academically, 3.7 cum. GPA. I live near Northern Liberties, to give you an idea of my location. I've been accepted to both Aria Health (Formally Frankfort) School of Nursing, and to the RN program at CCP. I cannot decide! Any Pro's and Con's of either one that you'd like to share? thanks!

Sounds like someone on the Burn-Out Boat to me. There's no reason to be that short with even a rude client. Don't take it personally, and at best, use such people as an ANTI-role model. "that's what I will NOT be like!".

Thank you, all!!!

If they're required for your classes, well then by all means buy them and use them.

I just received my appointment to sit for the TEAS test to complete my application to Aria Hospital School of Nursing (formally Frankfort) My question is,...WHERE do I take this test??? I went to the ATI homepage and they needed a student ID to be registered. I've sent a few emails to the test coordinator at AHSON but no reply yet. I feel like I'm asking a stupid question! I'm in PA...the site asked for my location and would only allow Kittanning, PA, which is 300+miles away!!!!

On the bright side... having that degree under your belt will look very good on a Nursing School application at a more competitive nursing school. But yeah, only a Nursing School can reserve a seat for you to sit for the NCLEX-RN. Nursing School is not comparable to any other curriculum... there's a heavy emphasis on nursing clinical skills, and application of nursing theory...both of which I'm pretty sure were not focused on in your curriculum. Go to a bookstore and flip through an NCLEX-RN study guide. It's sobering. One of my close friends is an ER physician for 11 years, and she took a practice test, got only 10 correct out of 120!

Waste of time and money. For passing a class, stick to the material given to you by the instructor. The coloring book has about 1000% more information than you'll need to know and it will just end up getting muddled. For actual application on the floor, again, useless, until the body part is warm and quivering right in front of you, you will not be able to identify it from a 2-dimensional picture. I will say that yes, coloring is fun, and if you photocopy the pictures and color them about 20 times each, you'll do well with Anatomy in terms of general locations. Beware of gimmicky study aids. In your nursing career there is no shortage of them.

Thanks for the great answers, all. I didn't know about the transferability of a Diploma into a BSN program, glad to know I was mistaken about that. I also didn't consider that it's more of a Job Application as WELL as a school application. I do know that some schools are even tougher to get into. I've heard of Nursing schools that won't even look at your app if you're not already a CNA or some other kind of health professional. I imagine that would save a lot of time in the 1st semester clinicals if everyone already knew patient care.

Good job, man! Well, I was accepted to CCP last week, also! Advice-wise, I'll just relay what I've gotten from RN's in my family about nursing school: Make no mistake: They don't let just anybody in...and they don't let just anybody finish, either. I suggest preparing for Sept of 2010 like you'd prepare for Boot Camp= work out, eat right, prepare for a real heavy demand on your time with the volume of the coursework. But you've gotten this far...the more momentum you have going into it, the better off you'll be.