gemini08

Hi, To the previous posters - FYI, the cost currently for the State Technical/Vocational LPN Programs is approx. $5800 total (I added books & uniforms in the figure). The next time there will be a class starting for the state run LPN programs will be Jan. 2010 and there are some very good programs in CT that I know of: Bullard Havens Tech. in Bpt., Abbott Tech. in Danbury, Eli Whitney Tech. in Hamden, and Wright Tech in Stamford. I have a good friend who is a student currently at Wright Tech. Please really consider the state schools because the private schools are just outrageously priced which is just a shame. There is absolutely no reason you should pay $30K++ for an LPN education. Why put yourself in such financial debt just because you want to start a program in Sept. 09' vs. 4 months later?? Remember this, you would be paying the private LPN school loans back for over 25 yrs. which doesn't make any wise financial sense. The rate for CNA's start at $13/hr. and can be much higher w/differentials added. I do know of 2 Nursing Homes in the Valley area that are looking for Temporary CNA's currently and are paying $20/hr. This is due to a labor disagreement w/the management and I believe some of the existing staff might be striking. Check out the Connecticut Post and you'll find the advertisements for these positions. Also, there is a huge need for live-in CNA's in Southern CT so that would be a great option too. Hope this helps!

Hi, There are a few choices for you to explore. First, I believe I just read on the HCC course selection page that they are offering a CNA course this summer. This is a new offering for HCC and the program would more than likely be at a lower fee but certainly won't be free. Also, NCC offers a CNA course too and they do have a scholarship linked to it if you are low-income. You can take the train to get to NCC if you don't want to hassle the traffic, definitely the best option there. Next, Naugatuck CC has a CNA training program in which you can inquire about financial assistance for it also. If you are low-income, the I believe the program is free or very reasonable and just need to provide documentation of your income status. I believe you can take the train there too, not sure though. Eli Whitney Technical School in Hamden has ongoing CNA classes just like Naugatuck and they also have excellent financial assistance to those who qualify. Lastly, you can inquire at the Jewish Home for the Elderly in Fairfield which does sponsor a CNA training course usually 2 or 3x's/yr where again I believe you need to provide your income status and I think if you do the training there you need to commit to work there afterwards for 1yr or so? I'm not totally sure of the Jewish Home's requirements so you'd need to call them. There are definitely opportunities out there. Definitely steer clear of private agencies that train you as a CNA because you will pay thru the roof for the course when you can choose an option I mentioned above instead. All the best to you. Any questions feel free to send me a message.

Hi Nancy, I am using the same A&P book by Tortora so I'd be really happy if we can help one another. I am very nervous about Chap. 3 and luckily my Prof. said we don't need to read Chap. 2 w/the Chem but we still need to know it very well for the entire duration of the 2 semesters. Yikes Please pm and we can talk about our studying more. Here is a really great site for Histology that I found earlier from another poster on Allnurses. It is www.histology-world.com/photo...ls.php?album=1 I think this site is tremendously good to help us prepare for our Lab practicals. Looking forward to talking to you again! Sue

Hi Msdeannah, I hope all is well, my hat goes off to you for taking an all-day A&P class. I know you must be so tired by the time you leave. I give you tremendous amounts of credit. My lecture is 1-2:25pm Mon & Wed. and my Lab is Mon. evenings from 6-9pm so I have some time between lecture & lab to digest everything and listen to the taped lecture over & over. Unfortunately I'll be at school for 9 hours on Mondays but that's ok, I am ready for it. How's Chem? I sure don't miss the mole problems! You'll do great. Wishing you all the best and looking forward to reading your posts in the future!

Hi ORNurse2Be, Firstly, congrats on a great grade for your 1st test! I know you worked hard to achieve it. Can you share your study tips more? Did you study every day or did you start reading right from the 1st day of your class? Did you start reading the book before or after your 1st class started? How long did you study for each day? I am a bit behind on my reading and have my 2nd lecture & 1st Lab Monday and I haven't even finished w/Chap. 1 yet!! I am determined to do well even w/a late start. I took A&P 19 yrs ago when I was in Dental Hygiene School and barely got a "C" then, so I am willing to do whatever it takes to get at least a B+ now. I am definitely going to get those bones you're all talking about. Do you think WalMart may have them? My Prof. announced she will have tutoring for 2hrs. every Thursday starting this week and I will definitely be going every week. I am so happy about that! I have a plan to study every day for 2-2+ hrs. during the week and possibly more on Sat & Sunday. I also have a great amount of work to do for my Religion class which is on Tues. so I have to balance my time. And, to really add to the fire I will be taking a Sociology Clep exam in 2+ wks so I'll need to fit that studying in also. I do work better under a tight schedule so I will get my act together starting this week for sure. I wish everyone all the best in A&P! Happy studying :D

Wishing both previous posters all the best on your quizzes & tests. I know you will both do great! I start my A&P 1 class tomorrow at 1pm , let GOD be w/us all in our efforts!!

I know this may be a stupid question, what is OneNote? How do I find it? I'd appreciate any help, thanks!

Hello! Just was wondering if there are any other new students at St. Vincent's College attending our orientation tomorrow? I am so very excited to finally be starting my educational experiences at St. Vincent's and have much to look forward to in the coming weeks esp. w/Anatomy class Would like to hear from any fellow classmates who are starting also. All the best to everyone starting classes next week!

Hi Regi, Thank you for this great info. I will tell my friend tomorrow. Hopefully she can go to the classes next week because she finishes her work this Friday. I'll tell her to call all over this week to inquire where she can take the classes. Wishing you all the best! Susan

Hi, My girlfriend is going to Wright Tech in 2 wks and she has a $0 EFC which would make her very eligible for a full Pell Grant as well as the "max" in financial aid. I have helped her w/a lot of things relating to her preparation for school and she is not assertive at all and thinks that Wright Tech is so wonderful. I totally disagree and am wondering how much in financial aid my friend is going to receive. She believes she will be all set but I have doubted that for many weeks and esp. after reading these posts. Can anyone tell me if they too had a $0 EFC and if they received most of the monies for the program?? I know it is an unusual occurrence to have such an EFC. My friend was also chosen for verification which I know complicates things further. Has anyone been in that situation (needing verification)? Regi - My friend has earned between $12-15/hr working at a YWCA for the past 7 months but she will not be working at all after Aug. 15th. Can you tell me if she would be eligible for the WIA's grant? She recently became divorced and has 2 children she is supporting w/her ex. From what I'm gathering, it seems if my friend did not receive the full amt. of $1350, then she'd need to pay the balance to Wright Tech. If it turns out my friend was eligible for the WIA grant, would she be able to get the monies refunded that she would have paid to the school? Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I did some further research about a bookseller I listed - A1books: DO NOT buy any books whatsoever from this company. They have a very poor track record and you will not receive a book that is purchased from them. I'm glad I did this research before the actual purchase because I was ready to buy 3 books from them (one was a set of 4 very expensive bks too) It does pay to really look into a bookseller before you buy. You may save $2 or $3 but in the end you'll have many more headaches than smiles. The bookseller, Ecampus is supposedly the same company as A1books so beware!!! Ok, well happy book buying, and any questions feel free to pm me.

Hi, Excellent suggestions esp. to purchase books online. Also, the rent a book option is good - you are going to pay a lower amount than if you bought the same book online whether used or new, but the drawback here is you can't sell the book to anyone else and then get your $$ back and sometimes you can get even more $$ back than what you originally paid. So the best option really is buying online. Below I will give you the best sites to compare prices. The key to buying books online is - research, research, research. It will take some quality time to compare books at each site, but you can save enormous amts of $$ w/the extra time you spend to do the research. Here are the websites: www.campusbooks.com - This is a spectacular site which will compare many different websites to buy books, and the best websites listed under this one main site are: a1books.com, phatcampus.com, biggerbooks.com, textbooksnow.com, and bookbyte.com www.cheapesttextbooks.com - This is also a really great site that too will compare different booksellers online such as: half.com, amazon.com, and textbooks.com Also, look for the online specials each bookseller has such as - Amazon gives free shipping if you buy the book (new) directly from their warehouse (understand that there are many private sellers on amazon which will charge shipping so that is the difference from buying direct from amazon, but there are plenty of excellent priced new books direct from amazon which I've bought recently). Another site, Textbooks.com gives free shipping for all books new or used over $25 (this is excellent and there is no limit of how many separate books you are alloowed to purchase w/free shipping , even if you buy 10+ !! Bookbyte.com will give you $5 off any $20 purchase - just put the code they have listed (this is great too). Biggerbooks.com has a special to get $5 off when spending $50 (here too you'll need to put a code in when you go to pay for the book) All in all, you can save hundreds of $$$ if you do research and buy from one of the trusted sites I've listed. Please, whatever you do - don't buy any books from your college bookstore unless it is a custom book that you must purchase. Best of luck to you and your schooling in the Fall

I did purchase the Olympus WS-110, and I want to extend much thanks to Esther2007 for mentioning Amazon because that is where they had a great deal. I paid a total of $54.91 w/free shipping for a brand-new recorder!! How great is that! I can't wait to start using it. Does anyone use the Olympus now? I'm wondering if I should buy the microphone and noise reduction piece for it? Let me know. Thanks.

It turns out the voice recorder is refurbished. I don't know about this, but I think I should just spend the $68 total for a new one. Any thoughts?? Has anyone ever ordered a voice recorder refurbished? Let me know. Thanks

Hi all, I will be starting A&P 1 in Sept. and will definitely be buying an Olympus WS-110 Digital Voice Recorder. The Professor who teaches the class talks really fast so a voice recorder is a must. A good small, compact voice recorder is what I want and I've heard nothing but great praises about the Olympus recorder. I've done lots of research trying to find the best price online and have found a great deal at ecost.com where the price is $41.99 plus $9.50 shipping. I know the shipping charge is outrageous but the end price I'd be paying would be $51.49, which is still the best deal online I've found so far. I was just wondering if anyone may have found the Olympus WS-110 for a lower total price anywhere else online? Let me know. Thank you for your help.