OCstudent1

No problem, I really hope everything works out for you. I'm glad I could help, I know how nervous I was about making the right decision. Please let me know if you have any more questions.

Hi! So the $400 cost is to cover the price of the books they will be handing you once your orientation week is over. If your tuition is not going to be totally covered by grants or loans then I'm guessing you will be making monthly payments to the school, but yes this $400 is up front after the week of orientation, seperate from your monthly payment. There is no way around it unless your loan money gets to the school before the $400 is due, then they won't need it, but that generally only happens for those who get loans for the entire tuition. There have not been any other fees up front and I don't think there will be for the rest of the program, but if you know now about the $400 then hopefully you can start saving for it. I really enjoy the program and have learned a lot so far. No school is perfect, some of the teachers aren't the best at teaching but every single teacher I've had so far wants their students to do well and will do anything they can to help you. They offer free tutoring for theory and math if you need it and the overall attitude from the staff is that they want their students to succeed. The administration isn't perfect, sometimes I do feel as if we are treated like children and that kind of bugs everyone but that issue has never affected my ability to learn or my grades. They give you a lot of material, and the ATI books and programs are very helpful. Honestly, whether or not you succeed or how well you do really depends on your efforts as a student. You have to be very dedicated to get through the program, you have to put in your time to study for the tests. While some tests may be easier than others you should always study for each one as much as you can. For me personally, I am not paying $30,000 to get through nursing school barely passing with a C. And would you really want that kind of nurse working on you?? But yet somehow there are people that don't take it as seriously and barely skim by passing. But if you are SERIOUS about sacrificing, then I say the money is worth it and you will get out of it what you put in, they definitely provide you with what you need to succeed. Also, the "one sunday" a month is not entirely the truth. It is what they strive for, but there are a certain amount of hours the school must meet for state purposes and sometimes you will have 2 sundays a month. One month we had 3, and the whole class kind of went haywire over it but it is what it is. I know the past few months it's only been one saturday but just be prepared for that if babysitting is an issue. The good thing is you have your ENTIRE 2 year schedule available online so you can prepare well ahead of time. Sometimes the weekend schedule will change, but very rarely and only if the teacher is sick or something like that. The clinical sites are not always in Orange County as well. I know of one in Burbank and another in Torrance, and while they try to keep it local, circumstance sometimes don't allow for that so just be prepared for that as well. But for me I am very happy with my choice and I feel I am challenged in a good way at this school. Does everyone like it as much as me? No, but then again most of those who have complaint after complaint are doing the worst in their class and are (to be blunt) just lazy. I hope my really long reply helped! lol. Good luck, there are many single mothers in my class, and while it takes dedication, if you have motivation and a hard work ethic you will do well! :redbeathe

Hello! So I feel it's very important to share some information I learned from a student & former teacher at Pacific College. My clinical instructer last term continually would mention her first time intructing LVN students and how lucky we were to not be learning from that school, she never got too specific but when we went to our first clinical site one of the CNA's was her former student from that school & just let it all go when I asked him what was so wrong with Pacific college. He told me that he had graduated a YEAR and A HALF ago, but however was still not "allowed" to take the NCLEX according to Pacific, because when you go to Pacific you have to pay a certain percentage of your tuition before they allow you to take the boards. He said this information was not shared with him when he enrolled, and he said that he will always regret going to that school. I'm not here trying to advocate for other schools but from the sounds of his experience, I would avoid that school at all costs. I honestly believe that anyone writing here IN FAVOR of Pacific is an employee of that school because I still have yet to hear ANYTHING positive from anyone who went there. Just beware, there are too many other options to end up at Pacific. Not to mention how horrible their NCLEX Pass rate it is, on top of the fact that there is NO help once you graduate as far as preparing for the NCLEX. They only want their money. He had also mentioned, with our teacher agreeing with him (a doctor), that they make their tests overly difficult to the point where at times it is so impossible for even a top student to pass and that they did so on purpose, because if you fail a course you have to pay to take it over again and that was all they cared about, according to him. Just look at pacific's drop out rate, how many people actually graduate and their NCLEX pass rate, should speak for itself.

I'm enjoying it, as much as you can enjoy being in nursing school! I work full time so I'm in the part time program, still in term 1. Academic wise I enjoy it, it's challenging, you have good books to work with. Of course though be prepared, in any nursing program, it's always in your best interest to invest in as many nursing books that can be of help, and they will suggest ones to you as well (to buy on your own). It hasn't been totally smooth, but I'm pretty easy going and as long as their administration issues don't effect my studying or grades I'm fine. There are A LOT of people in my class however who complain A LOT. For instance, because I'm in the part time class our clinicals are Saturday and "one sunday" a month, however there have been times where it's 2 or 3 sundays a month, and everyone in my class pretty much freaks out over anything that strays even a little bit from our contract. Same situation with the ipod, some people were told that there will be an ipod. They stopped including an ipod and when they informed our class of that, again several students threw a fit. No school is perfect, so you can't expect everything to go smoothly, to me these things aren't the biggest deal. The only thing that has really annoyed me so far is the change of instructors. We had a great teacher to begin with and she "quit" over the weekend and we had two teachers the following week, trying to finish the material. We got another teacher, she left and now we're on our third. That's a little annoying because they all teach differently and once you get used to one, they leave (same with clinical). But I have talked to some full time people and none of them have had that happen to them so you might not experience that as much, or at all. Overall so far I'm happy with my decision to go there, I have an amazing clinical teacher right now, so despite people saying "all the good teachers left", it's not true. Obviously those people don't go to Stanbridge anymore so they have no idea what the teachers are like now, and for the most part they really want to help you (some more than others). I hear the full time course is tough, there's 1 test a week (where part time it's about 1 every two-three weeks). Sometimes there is 2 or 3 tests in a week if your teacher gets behind. I might end up switching to full time because part time moves really slow in my opinion, so def. do full time if you have the time to do it and study for tests weekly. Also, be prepared to buy your own stethoscope because the one they give you is pretty hard to hear from. Hope this helps, good luck!

Their clinical sites are located for the most part throughout Orange County, from La Mirada to Orange, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana. They keep it more local than other schools. They do NOT include the Ipod anymore, they may or may not provide you with the software for your Ipod though. Their entrance exam is basic math, conversions and english comprehension. They will give you a practice math test when you set your appointment for your test. Good luck!

I have to say, definitely DO NOT return. On your own accord at least. If your hospital says you must return it, then ask them to return it, and send another thank you note with an explanation of why you legally cannot accept it, or why the hospital had to send it back. Don't just send it back without some sort of serious explanation, otherwise it will seem way too dismissive of their efforts to show you their gratitude. Be grateful of their gratitude instead of playing the martyr role.

It is expensive, but ALL private schools for a BSN will be around the same price. It's the price you pay for a faster track. The only way to avoid the cost is go through a community college and transferring.

Thank you! I start tomorrow, I'm excited. I never heard about the ipod though so that's interesting. How is the program going for you so far? I'm guessing today was your first day out of orientation? Did you guys get your scrubs yet? I hope it goes well for you! Thank you for your input!

They did push mine back, which I thought was strange. They called the friday before and said they are pushing it to June 2, when we were supposed to start May 17. They said it was due to students not getting their financial aid in on time and the fact that we are supposed to have memorial weekend off. I don't know, it was weird but whatever. When you paid the $400 did they give you a receipt? And how did you pay; cash, check? Thanks :)

Did they push your start date back as well? Mine was pushed to June 2.

Understood, and congratulations on keep a job during these times. However to quote you- "Be aware that there are no LVN jobs for new grads in the Los Angeles area at the present time due to the sour economy." I understand it is being realistic to acknowledge that jobs today are much more scarce than before, but stating that there are "NO" LVN jobs for new grads in L.A. is a bit exaggerated. Stating that there are fewer opportunities than before is a realistic picture; stating that there are none at all is not.

You know I would really like to comment about everyone saying there are "no jobs" as a new LVN or RN grad. I personally feel it is projecting your own frustrations and attempting to ruin the outlook for newcomers in this world of new grads. I know MANY new grads that have already found jobs as an RN and LVN (not even 2 months after graduating). While it may be a bit harder to find a job as a new grad, it's not impossible and it's not like "there are no jobs". If you're not getting hired a year after looking then it really just might be YOU. Stop discouraging people on allnurses from finding a job as a new grad.

That's weird. I just spoke with the financial aid advisor yesterday and she reassured me that my $400 will be returned once she receives my Sallie Mae loan (around june). She said that because my entire tuition is covered by loans and grants , and I don't have an outstanding balance that I have to pay, the $400 will be returned in a check once they receive my fin. aid. I was weary about it so I asked her to please put it in writing, and yesterday she did put it in writing that I will receive the reimbursement around June, as soon as they receive my Sallie Mae. Prtygryl- Did you have an unpaid balance that you owed or did the fin. aid cover everything? Gudy8- you might want to double check, if your ENTIRE tuition is covered by loans and grants, then they should be able to reimburse you like they are me. Because it doesn't make sense to not refund it if you think about it. But that's only IF everything is covered. I start the part time program may 17! Good luck to you too :)

Hi, sorry I just realized you answered this qs for me in another post! Thank you though!!

I am extremely motivated so I think I can handle it...but can i ask you for an example of their admin problems?? Or your advice on this...... they told me I owe $400 the first day of intro class, which confused me because I have EVERYTHING covered by either grants or loans....nothing is out of pocket, so it's not like I have a balance owed. They said it was to cover the books and materials given to us that week until they receive our funds from the lenders/gov., which she said could take 30 days. She then said that because I don't owe anything out of pocket and it is all covered by fin.aid that they will RETURN the $400 to me in a check once they receive the funds from my fin.aid. I'm just weary of this....I emailed her and asked to put this in writing but they have yet to respond. Did they do this to you?? Thank you!