owluhsin

I think CNA experience would be very valuable - it let's you see what nurses do on a day-to-day basis while learning basic nursing skills. Also, look into your state - my state (PA) requires long-term care facilities to reimburse CNAs the cost of their training if they are hired within 12 months of getting certified (so you get certified for free).

Do the arms of the wheelchair come off? If you position the chair perpendicular to the bed and take the arm next to the bed over, you may be able to more-so slide him over into the chair (or out of it). Since he has partial use of his arms, I would see how you can work that to your advantage.

It starts April 4th. From the information I've received from Drexel, it looks like everything (classes, immunizations, etc) are due mid-January. I would try to get into a Fall class if you want to start in the Spring.

I asked Drexel's financial aid office about getting federal loans for 2012-2013 and 2013-2014. Because the program falls over these two academic years, we are billed 1/2 the costs upfront, then the 2013-2014 1/2 will be billed later. The loans work the same way - if you got the maximum award ($12,500), you get 1/2 of that for 2012-2013, and half for 2013-2014. I was hoping that we'd be eligible for double loans (since we are spread over 2 academic years), but that isn't the way it works. They also said that most people have to get private loans in addition, and I know that will be the case for me too. Hope that helps!

I am currently a CNA and am taking prerequisites for nursing school. I am a career-changer, so I wanted to become a CNA to get experience in the nursing field and verify that it was what I truly wanted to do as a career before I made the investment in nursing school. Like others have said, it may not give you a great deal of RN skills (especially in LTC), but it will give you a good idea of what the roles nurses have. It has made me more confident in my decision to return to school for nursing. Becoming comfortable with being in a patient's personal space and dealing with bodily fluids is also a perk-I know now that I won't be gagging when I encounter blood/BM/urine/vomit.

Shawna23, yes I am worried about the cost too! I actually haven't accepted yet because I want to talk to them about financial aid first to get an idea of how much I'd be paying out of pocket. As far as I know, there are little to no scholarships that we are eligible for. Because of the short time-frame and non-traditional start dates, we wouldn't be eligible for most scholarships I've seen. Maybe there are some merit-based scholarships that I haven't seen? Also, we do not have to live on-campus. I think most people who do it live off-campus.

Hello! My situation is similar to your's...I graduated a few years ago with a B.S. and then went on to get my M.Ed. Nursing had always been in the back of my mind, but I didn't go for it (my undergrad didn't have a nursing program). Well, I finally decided to go for it, and now I am taking my prerequisites for an accelerated BSN program. There a quite a few ABSN programs in this area: Drexel, Jefferson, Villanova, West Chester, DeSales, & probably some ones I forgot. Most require bio, chem, A & P I and II, Microbio, and various psychology/ethics classes (depends on the school). Most also will not take science classes over 5 years (I had to retake Chem and take a Bio placement test because of this). You can definitely do it, it will just take time to do the prerequisites. I am taking mine at a community college, which is definitely the cheaper route. If this is something you really want to do, I would look up the area schools, see which pre-reqs you need to take, and sign up for classes in the Fall. Good luck to you!

I believe it starts April 1st. If you go to Drexel's website, you can look at their academic calendars. They have a few - you want the one for the quarter system. Good luck with your application!

Hey! I just found this post - I've also been accepted into the Spring 2013 ACE program. I haven't yet made a decision; I am waiting on the financial aid award to go through so I can see if I qualified for any loans. I live in the Philly suburbs, so if I went I would commute by train. Good luck to the rest of you waiting!

Thank you, nylady07. You've given me some new things to consider!

Congrats! I was also accepted to Drexel's ACE program (for Spring 2013). I also am unsure if I should accept (I haven't even applied anywhere else yet). When would you hear back from Jefferson? Will it be within the 60-day window you have to respond to Drexel? Drexel's program is only 11 months, which is nice because it means you would be able to sit for the NCLEX and possibly have a job sooner. Jefferson's FACT is only 1 month longer, but you get the 9 graduate credits as a bonus. Best of luck with your decision.

Hi all, This is my first allnurses post, but I've been reading all over this website for months. I am making a career change into nursing and was recently accepted into an 11-month accelerated BSN program (Drexel). This is the first school I've applied to, and my deadline to accept will occur before the other programs I'm interested in will even open up. I am debating on whether or not to attend, for several reasons. One, this program is $41,500, not including fees/books/etc. If I did this program, I would graduate in March 2014, which is 9-15 months before I would graduate from the other programs (assuming I was accepted). These programs average $20,000-$30,000, a potential savings of $10,000 to $20,000 over Drexel. I know the price difference is a lot, but theoretically I would be able to work 9-15 months sooner by attending this program. Do you all think that would make up for the price difference? My second reason is that my husband and I have wanted to move to another state for several years. Being that I would want to move immediately after nursing school, would it make more sense to decline Drexel and wait until I have relocated to attend nursing school (thus making my timeline for becoming a nurse even longer)? Thank you for any opinions/advice!