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.

Hi Msdeannah, If you want to retake Intermediate Algebra, the only place I would ever recommend you do this at would be Housatonic Community College and the only Professor to take the class w/is Arthur Cockerham who teaches this course only once per semester on Sat's from 9-11:30am. He is the ultimate Math Professor and you will love his teaching style. If you put the work into the class which really is not a whole lot you will get an A. I know he has all but a few spaces left in the class for the Fall so act quick if you do want to take the class. This class usually gets filled by the last week of July. Any other questions feel free to pm me. I would stay far away from an online Algebra course especially if you want to raise your GPA. Just my 2:twocents:

I would highly recommend considering St. Vincent's College ADN Program for many reasons. Firstly, it is the only program in all of the Southern CT area (or any area w/in a 75 mile radius from Norwalk) to offer a fully part-time schedule where you take all your Nursing courses only 1 course at a time w/the exception of your last semester when you take 2 Nursing courses (actually each course in the last semester is taught separately - NUR 123 is offered in the first half of the semester while NUR 270 is taught the second half or vice versa I don't have the schedule right here) How great that is for those who do need to work full-time. The beauty of St. Vincent's program is you can work during the day and still go to school at night (1-3 nights a week depending how far you are in the program) and your Clinicals are every Saturday, all day for the 3 yrs you are in the Nursing courses. I cannot tell you how great a program it is and please don't let the $$ deter you. St. Vincent's offers very good financial aid for those who qualify and have many institutional scholarships & grants every year even for those whose income is over the limit to receive grants. A very good academic record can reap rewards. The competition for acceptance is intense wherever you apply, but is much more intense in the community college programs. The part-time program is a total of 4 yrs at St. Vincent's because you take A&P there and not at the cc. Believe you me, A&P is definitely an extremly difficult course anyways, but I know many people who have taken A&P at St. Vincent's and it is definitely much more doable than taking the course at HCC or NCC. If you carefully plan your schedule accordingly, you can certainly avoid having to take A&P over if you do want to go to St. Vincent's. Four years would go by anyways taking A&P and other pre-req's at a cc. and then taking Nursing courses. I wish you all the best in your quest for a part-time program and being able to work full-time. If you have any other questions feel free to pm me.

Hi Carlos, Firstly, much congrats on achieving such a high grade for A&P 1!! I know you worked very hard to get the grade. I also want to thank you for all the info you have posted on the pre-nursing pages. You really are passionate about your studies and your future as an RN. I will keep your study tips in my notebook for when I start A&P 1 on Sept. 3rd. I am a 2nd degree & career student and will start at St. Vincent's College in Southern CT in Sept. I cannot wait!! Again, thank you for everything and all the best to you for A&P 2 and Micro. You will do great! Sue

Hi, A good friend of mine will be starting at Wright Tech's LPN Program starting in late Aug. and I was wondering if anyone who is in the program or who has recently graduated from it can tell me how much homework & studying time is needed each day? Or, anyone who is enrolled in the other state LPN programs (Bullard Havens, Eli Whitney, etc.) - if you can tell me how many hours you put into studying each day that would be great. My friend was told by someone that studying 1.5-2hrs a day will be enough, whereas I am thinking she will need to put in more time in order to do well. She also intends on working a few hours right after class each day then going home to cook, then study. My friend is thinking that the LPN course at Wright Tech will be easy. Any insight would be most appreciated. Thanks.

Attention....For anyone whose college bookstores are not releasing the ISBN #'s that is against the law. You have every right to ask for the Manager if you still have trouble w/any of the associates working at the store. The stores cannot hide the title or especially ISBN # of any book from any student because that store and management can be reported. Be the assertive one and stand your ground. Do not let the bookstores rip you off!! Certainly, you have every right to also email your Prof. and ask her/him for the title of the book and author and also ask if you can use the edition below thre one that is listed for the classs. Most times you can certainly use the edition below w/no problems. You will save up to 80% by purchasing the books online and getting the prior edition. I do hope you all will not let the bookstores control you as the student. Please take my advice seriously. Any other questions, just pm me. Sue

I'll be taking A&P 1 and either Lifespan Development online (I hear the Prof. gives very difficult essay questions on each quiz) or Intro to Religion (on campus class) Can anyone tell me which of the two would be a better choice for the Fall? I could also take Lifespan Develop. in the Spring which will be taught on campus by a different Prof. who I hear is very nice but can be tough. I did hear his class isn't all that difficult but is still challenging. I don't know which class to take w/A&P 1. Whichever class I don't take in the Fall I'll need to take in the Spring w/A&P 2. Any opinions?? I do know that A&P 1 will be difficult no matter what. I took A&P 1 and 2 19 yrs. ago when I was in school full-time studying Dental Hygiene. I just barely made a C in both classes then. I do have a 4.0 going into St. Vincent's and would love to keep my GPA strong so I can get into the Honor Society for the Spring 10'. We'll see!! Please guide me as to which class, Lifespan Development or Intro to Religion to take this coming Fall w/A&P 1. Thanks to all and best of luck to everyone! Sue

My friend was just accepted to Wright Tech's LPN program to start in Sept. and she didn't even pass all the 3 parts of the NET! They really wanted her even though the reading comp grade was not high enough. The most important thing tha they were looking at was her Math score. I know that they do not have a waiting list and that you could more than likely get in for Sept. I would give them a call next week and talk more w/the director of the program. Wright Tech is one of the schools that you'll not pay the outrageous tuition that the private schools charge. Wright Tech's program is $8K and is in Stamford. You may also have luck at Bullard Havens Tech. in Bridgeport. I am not sure if they have a waiting list but do know that both are still accepting qualified applicants. You will need to have taken College English 101 and Intermediate Algebra w/a grade of a C+ along w/the NET. That is what my friend said the requirements are. I wish you all the best.

For Nam210 & LilQueenCMA, As FutureNurse35 stated, definitely only take a total of 15 credits at Housatonic or Gateway CC. You only want to take A&P and Micro at St. Vincent's. I will give you sound advice as to what classes to take this summer, Fall 08' and Spring 09' to transfer to St. Vincent's. I highly recommend waiting until Jan. 09' to apply for the Fall 09' semester because you want to take your time getting the best grades you could to stay competitive in the application process. Strive to maintain at least a 3.2 GPA and you'll want to get your Biology, Intermed. Algebra, and Chemistry in the B range. The summer classes start in 2wks on June 2nd and classes are quickly filling up. You will need to take a placement exam either in the next week or sometime in early July to see where you place in English and Algebra. If you place in both Eng 101 and Mat 137 that is great. If not, then you'll need to take a developmental course first. I highly recommend to register asap to save your place in the summer classes. I know of many of the Professors at HCC and here is the best plan to follow for the Summer sessions: 1. World Religions (PHL 151) is offered only in session 2 and is most advised to be taken at Housatonic and also by itself. The Prof. is very good & she teaches at Fairfield too. This course will satisfy the Religion requirement. It's offered from 10:30am-12:30pm for 5wks. 2. Intro to Biology (Bio 105) is imperative to take during the summer because it requires less comprehensive work than when it's offered in the Fall or Spring semesters and also frees your sched. so you can take other classes. There are 2 excellent Professors teaching in Session 3 only: Prof. Mascola from 10am-2:45pm and Prof. Vital from 5pm-9:30pm. What is very good is that you will have 1 class each session to concentrate on and you will do well like that. I don't recomm. taking Bio in Session 2. For the Fall 08' semester you'll want to take: 1. Intermediate Algebra (Mat 137) on Sat's only w/Prof. Cockerham. He is the best Math Prof. you could ever have. He only teaches that 1 class and it fills up very quickly so you will want to register right after you take your placement test to ensure you will get a seat in the class. **Stay far away from Prof. Irod Lee who also teaches on Sat's** 2. Ceramics or Western Civilization as your Humanities Elective. The only Prof. to take West. Civ. w/is Prof. Koch. He is the best History Prof. you will ever have no doubt. Prof. Koch's classes aslso fill up very quickly so register early. 3. Psychology (PSY 111) w/Prof. Sopchak only!! I only recomm. him because he too is the best in his field and at HCC. His classes just like the others will be full by the end of July for the Fall 08' semester so please watch the calendar here too. **Stay far away from Prof. Salzman** For the Spring 09' semester you'll want to take: 1. Chemistry 111 w/Prof. Lloyd only. She is superb and will be teaching 2 regular classes and 1 hybrid. I don't recomm. the hybrid because of the complexity of the subject matter. Of all the Professors at HCC, her classes fill before any other because of her great teaching style. Be cognizant of registering early for this class. Prof. Hilli is good too, but her style is not as simplistic as Pof. Lloyd's. **I don't recomm. Prof. Steeves** 2. English 101 w/Prof. Kindilien only because he only requires you write 1-page essays where all other Prof. at HCC require 3-5 page essays. He also is very simplistic w/his style of teaching but you will still learn well from him. Just like all the other Professors at HCC, Prof. Kindilien's English class will fill quicker than most because he only teaches 1 Eng 101 class. If you don't take ceramics during the Fall semester you can take it in the Spring w/Chem. Then in the Fall, you can take English if you choose. You will want to take a class that is very easy when you take Chemistry because you will be studying endless hours. The only course I did not mention was Sociology which I highly recommend you both take as a CLEP exam which means you pay a fee just under $100 total and buy a study guide to review for a few weeks then take a test on the computer. If you score a 52 or so on the test, you will receive the 3 credits that would normally be granted if you took the course at Housatonic. You will save much valuable time and $$ if you take the Clep exam for Sociology. Once you pass the test then you will have attained the 18 credits you need to transfer to St. Vincent's. This is why both myself and FutureNurse35 stated to take 15 credits at HCC only. The other 3 will come from the Clep exam. I myself will be taking the Sociology Clep exam soon. Ok, well I've given excellent information for both of you and I hope that you plan your semesters wisely because the last thing you want to do is rush to apply to St. Vincent's. Focus, focus, focus on all your classes which is why I broke everything down as to what classes are the best to take w/others. Please let me know if I can be of any other assistance! :nuke:

Hi, Please look into other options of schools w/full evening & Saturday clinicals. I highly recommend you go to an info session for St. Vincent's College because they do have all of what you are looking for. Please read my long post I wrote in the "St. Vincent's Acceptances" and it will spell everything out. What Norwalk is trying to convey to prospective students is the fact that after you complete Nur 101 in your 1st semester, you then will have 2 Nursing courses each semester until graduating and it is most difficult to work 30+ hrs and maintain a good standing in the Nursing program. I'm not saying it cannot be done, but it is a huge challenge to put it lightly. I have a friend who is finishing his 2nd semester and he works just about 10 hrs/week and he tells me all the time it is a real struggle to keep up w/everything you need to get done and that is w/working so few hrs. Please don't give up. I have a friend who is finishing her 4th semester of Nursing courses at St. Vincent's and she works about 40hrs weekly and really is quite happy at the pace she is working at. Even with 1 Nursing course in a semester there is so much to do and be responsible for. When she finishes work at 3 or 3:30 then she rests a bit then goes in for class at 5:30 or 6:00pm depending on which class she is taking. The part-time students at St. Vincent's have clinicals all day every Saturday every semester. It really is the best program for those who need to work over 30hrs. Yes, you would have to take A&P and Micro over, but it is worth it if this is really what you want to do. The staff at NCC is just trying to lay it out before you make any solid commitments. The biggest drawback at any of the Community College RN programs or even BHSN is the fact that you must take 2 Nursing courses after your first semester. Sure, you'll get done faster but w/much greater stress added to your life that doesn't need to be. I'd be happy to tell you more, just pm me.

I just want to correct something I wrote in the 2nd paragraph of my last post. I stated that if you want to go part-time at St. Vincent's, your 6th semester of Nursing courses would include Nur 123 & Nur 232. Actually, the semester would include Nur 123 then Nur 270. Nursing 232 is taken in the 5th semester by itself. If you choose the full-time option, you'll be taking Nur 232 & Nur 270 in your 4th semester which would also be the last one too before graduating. Ok, hope this clarifies things.