SaraSmile3

Nice, congrats! Are you doing the day or evening program? Regarding your previous classes, you would have to speak to the program coordinator directly. You may be able to skip a&p and/or micro, but don't hold me to that. They may require you to take the classes from this program exclusively. I'm sure you'll get a chance to speak to her during orientation...

I know of one poster on here (don't want to give his name w out permission) that went to mcvts and bridged to rn online. A few of the graduating seniors I talked to also were accepted to bridge programs. There are a couple routes available... Online, muhlenburgh school of nursing and Trinitas hospital are a few. It's definitely a good path to choose if you have to work in addition to going to school. I'm planning on muhlenburgh for my associates, then eventually going for my bsn. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask and I'll help the best I can!

Book and uniforms are not included in the tuition... So far I've paid about $600 for books (bought them brand new at the rutgers bookstore) and about $200 for uniforms and equipment. I bought 2 pairs of the total outfit since we have clinicals twice a week, but I'm going to buy 2 more for the upcoming year. If you go to a scrubs or uniform shop for nursing shoes or sneakers, tell them you're a student- I got 20% off. Some of the books on the list are optional, but helpful for studying, so you can save some money there as well. Most of my classmates bought used books, but if you buy them new at rutgers, tell them you go to middlesex and they will be tax exempt. You can also try amazon or barnes and noble online for a discount. Have you decided yet? We get our results for our finals tomorrow night!

Thankfully, I have had nothing to vent or complain about yet (I'm lucky, I know), but I think in the near future I will be changing my username to make myself more anonymous. You never know who may be reading, and what I think may be a minor vent could come back in bite me in the a** one day. You know the sayings...It's better to be safe than sorry, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, etc.

I found out that the program coordinator of my school is on allnurses. One day she came into our class and said "Thank you to whoever is posting helpful information about our school on allnurses.com". I'm pretty sure she knows it was me since I use my first name...good thing I didn't vent lol

Awesome, make sure you have everything in the packet that they ask for completed by the orientation date. The evening class is 5:30-10:00, but for the most part we are out when we are done with whatever chapter we are working on, so sometimes 9-9:30. For clinicals though, we don't usually get out early. I believe the day class is 8:30-3:30, and clinicals are 8-3. Day program is 15 months, and night is 2 years (it goes by so quickly though). You have to have a 75 to pass, and there is no rounding up, even if you have a 74.9. I think they have an exit exam too, I have to dig out and check in the handbook (which you will be getting at orientation). Let me know if you have any other questions, and if you decide on the day or night class! :)

Congrats!!! Did they send just the letter or the packet with information? IIRC, I was sent the packet with my approval letter and that included a paper that I had to send back letting them know of my class choice and a confirmation of my attendance. If you only got the letter, the packet should be following shortly. You could always call the East Brunswick office and ask what the next step is. Have you decided on definitely going here? Are you choosing the night class? We are almost officially halfway through... next week is our med surg 1 and pharm finals!!

No problem! A&P is on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the 1st semester; if your credits were within the past 5 years you may be able to skip taking it. You would have to speak to the program coordinator once you are accepted. It is definitely very intense, and you must keep ahead of the lessons if possible, once you fall behind it is hard to catch up. No one in our class travels from NY, the furthest I believe is south Jersey about 45 min away. Out of county tuition is just a little over $5000, so it is still the least expensive program in the area. Keep in mind that the school doesn't offer aid, but you can use 3rd party reimbursement or grants. The school does use ATI, we had to complete a couple of modules prior to moving on to the 2nd semester, and we take ATI tests periodically through the program. I would highly recommend this program, I love it and the class becomes your 2nd family :) I've also spoken to a few graduates and they said that all have found jobs right after graduating; the program is thought of highly by employers. Let me know what you decide, I hope to see you in September (I'll be a senior then, yay lol)!

Hi LadyTee, Congrats on taking the exam :) I made it through the first round of finals and am currently one month away from being halfway through the program. The course is very intense, especially the first semester. We lost almost half of our class after the funds and a&p finals Even though I'm looking forward to the summer break, I really enjoy the course and the school. For the 2nd semester, we take med surg 1 and pharm, and have clinicals twice a week and every other Saturday, so enjoy having a social life now while you can lol. The instructors are great and helpful, they will work with you one on one if you're having trouble with anything. The only thing that I'm hoping will improve is access to hospitals for clinical sites; we are in ltc centers now, but since hospitals in nj only hire RNs, we are having a hard time getting in, but I think that's the case with any LPN school. I don't know much about UTI, so I can't offer an opinion. How much is their tuition? I am in county, so the total program not including books and uniforms is $4350, which is a great price. Feel free to ask me anything, I will be more than happy to help if I can! :)

Hair303, are you in the program now? I'm in the night class, just passed finals and started the 2nd semester...

Good luck megh! I received my letter about a month after I took the test. Are you going for the day or night classes?

Omg, I hate to admit it, but I probably would have lost all professionalism and completely freaked out! I am PETRIFIED of spiders! Ew ew ew my skin is crawling... You're a braver person than I am!

Hi Gina, So sorry, I didn't see your post until now! Yes, the classes will be at the school where the testing was (Piscataway campus). Did you hear anything back yet? The wait felt like forever to me lol I'm still loving it, they start you out slow at clinicals with mostly CNA type work... feeding, dressing, vitals, etc. The tests are starting to get harder, and we're definitely getting more in depth with care plans and such. I feel like all I do is work, study and (barely) sleep lol

Thanks again everyone. She didn't approach me last night, which might have been because of my "don't even try it" face I had throughout class (rough day yesterday lol). I did find out though that she has already asked everyone else in my clinical group, and everyone told her that they couldn't. I'm guessing when she saw my hesitation Tuesday night, she figured she wouldn't bother following up last night, and made other arrangements. I do feel empathy for her, but like almost all of you have mentioned, I am going to school for ME, and I'm not going to go out of my way to change my very carefully made rearrangements to my life for the next 18 months.

Thanks everyone! I'm going to let her know that I cannot change due to my boss' accommodations, end of story. I agree about the child care issue...I do not have children, and someone else's child care really isn't my problem (really don't mean to cause any offense, but all the other mothers in class have made the appropriate arrangements). I really have to learn to not feel so bad about saying no lol...

Hi everyone, I am a 1st semester LPN student, and we are about to start clinicals in 2 weeks. Our class is separated into 2 groups of 9 for clinicals only (lecture we are all together), which we remain with for the remainder of our time in the program. The groups were chosen a couple of weeks ago, and since then, I have formed a good bond with my fellow group. Yesterday, another student in my class that is with the other clinical group begged me to switch with her. She has child care issues that just came up, and said that the site I am going to first is more convenient to her. I was put on the spot, and told her that I would have to both think about it, and discuss it with my day job boss (we came to a work arrangement based on when I have to leave to get to the clinical sites). I really don't want to make any enemies 2 months into school, but honestly, I really like my group as well as the clinical instructor I am assigned to for the 1st rotation. I have a hard time saying no, especially when put on the spot like that, so I told her I would have to let her know in a day. I have empathy for her situation, but I also have issues with my day job and have worked hard to plan everything out to my convenience. How can I tactfully tell her no? It was almost like she wasn't going to walk away yesterday until she got a "yes" out of me... I have a feeling that she is going to keep begging until I break down. Thanks in advance!

Hey Jenny, sorry it took me a while to get back to you, we're on vital signs and care plans and I've been studying like crazy What day did you go in? I saw the signs on the door to the school about the test and my classmates and I were laughing about how that was us 6 months ago lol. When you get the letter, it doesn't give any indication of how you scored, it's either "Congrats you're accepted!" or "Sorry, at this time we are not able to accept you". Don't panic too much, I didn't think I did well on the math either. What was on the 2nd part? I have a case of CRS lol. I think it does take a little while to get the letter. It was a rough wait, and you can't call the school for results as they are sent out to a 3rd party. Just have hope and believe that you did well. How many other people did you test with? Are you going for day or evening?

I've always wanted to go into the health care field. I love the caring aspect of it, and I am absolutely fascinated by the human body and it's various processes, ailments and diseases, and I love working with people. I was actually admitted to this same program about 8 years ago, but at the time, I had just gotten promoted in my current field, and was comfortable where I was. I decided this year it was time to go back to following my dream of becoming a nurse. I wish I had gone 8 years ago, as it is so much harder now with a mortgage and bills to pay, but like they say, hindsight is 20/20 right?

hi angel, thanks! yes, ms. p is still the coordinator. for a&p, i have ms. l, and for fundamentals, a different ms. p. the tuition did increase slightly; for in county it's $4350, which is still so affordable, especially compared to the cc's and trade schools. only thing that stinks is no financial aid (but i make payments every 2 months, so at least i'll graduate with no student loan debt). were you able to get a job right after graduation, if i may ask? -sara

The evening program I am in is 20 months-Sept to June, off for summer, then Sept to June again, graduating God willing in June 2012. Mon-Thurs 5:30-10 pm, and when we start clinicals in Nov, every other Saturday 8am-3pm. I don't have any prior healthcare experience, so I don't really know yet where I will prefer to be after graduation lol... I don't think I would mind LTC, and pysch sounds interesting :) Our class is 20 students, 17 female, 3 male. The class ranges from 20-60 years old. I would loooove to get 2nd or 3rd shift, I don't mind working overnight, weekends or holidays either. I cannot see myself starting at 7 am, I am the furthest thing from a morning person lol You sent in your paperwork for testing at Middlesex, or another votech?

Hi NJMedGuy, I'm in the evening LPN program at Middlesex Co Votech, and I love it so far. It is the most affordable program in the area, and has a VERY high NCLEX pass rate (100% for a few years running, 96% last year). That being said, it is a very tough and fast paced program. There are tests every single day, and you MUST dedicate time for studying. We've all heard about LPNs being phased out. In the hospital setting, yes, this is true. But there are many other options for LPNs... LTC, rehab, psych, correctional, SNF, etc. 2 students from last year's graduating class came by in our first week of school to give us hope- they both got hired at a LTC at $27.50/hr. My teacher said that as facilities tighten their pursestrings when it comes to hiring, they are more likely to hire LPNs than RNs since in NJ our scope of practice is pretty wide (though I do want to go for my RN eventually). If you need any more info about the school, please feel free to ask. I have nothing but good things to say about it (so far lol). Best of luck!

Hey Jenn, No need to be nervous! You'll do great, just brush up on your math :) The test is in a small group setting- it's in a classroom with about 25 people. Bring a couple of pencils and pens, they'll provide the scrap paper... no calculators allowed lol Thanks, I really love it so far, and I'm doing pretty well, averaging 93 in both classes (could do better, need to study more!) We're doing clinical simulation (bed baths tomorrow), and starting clinicals the 1st week of November. That's where I think I'm going to be a wreck! Let me know how it goes! Good Luck!

I start my LTC clinicals in 2 weeks, and this is exactly what I'm afraid of. I'm a very emotional person in the first place, but the elderly hold a special place in my heart. I hear the nursing home we are assigned to has a great reputation and really takes care of their patients though. Btw, love your user name :)

Thanks Gina! The entrance exam is pretty much basic math and reading/spelling. Brush up on fractions and decimals (adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing). Once you get the letter for the entrance testing date, there will be a page in there that gives examples of what to focus on. It is pretty easy, but it helps to practice a bit to ensure you do the best you can. They do accept by highest scores. When I applied, there were approx 350 people testing, and the highest scoring 50 got in (20 for evening class, and 30 for the day program). If you get an acceptance letter, you will attend an orientation and notify you of all of the steps and requirements to be met prior to the start of term. There's a physical, immunizations, background check, books to buy, a uniform fitting, etc. Good luck and let me know how it goes, feel free to PM me once you get your testing letter!

Hi Gina25, I'm in the evening program now, I started on September 7th. I LOVE it so far, and I'm doing great in my classes (Fundamentals and A&P), averaging 92 in both Did you send in an application? From what I've gathered from other students and the instructors, it's a great, but very intense and fast paced program. We started with 20 people in our class, and lost one already. From what I hear, by the end of the 1st semester, we will have lost a few more. The NCLEX-PN pass rate was 100% for the past few years until last year, it was 95%. We are doing clinical simulation through October, and start clinicals in the first week of November (2 sites for now, in Old Bridge, and Perth Amboy). Let me know if you have any questions, I'll answer the best I can!