Anonymous83

Hi Everyone, I apologize for not being active on this for a long time. But I just wanted to update everyone that I graduate West Coast University with my BSN in January 2016, passed my NCLEX in March 2016, and actively working an RN in a hospital and clinic. The monthly payment I'm going to make for my student loans are less than $1,000 a month. I'm making way more than that working and paying the minimum. Going to do the 10 year loan forgiveness route. I'm happy with the results that WCU has helped me achieve and will be doing my MSN-FNP program in the near future. Good luck to everyone and I pray you achieve your dream.

Hi everyone, It's been 2 years since I 1st started this blog. I'm in my Advanced Med Surg rotation now and will be graduating in January 2016. It's been a long journey filled with stressful and happy times. I think this term will be my hardest term trying to learn critical care in my medical surgical class. There's no turning back now, I just have to hold the fort and power through. Wish me luck. If anyone has any questions feel free to contact me on this site. -Good luck to all future and current nurses everywhere. There is a place for all of us in this world who want to help others.

I'm not sure, but I think you can get your BSN online if you already have an ADN.

Classes for the core nursing classes are usually once a week per subject. The lecture core nursing classes (fundamentals, med surg, mental health, public health) have labs (clinical) once a week as well. The core classes are usually paired with other core nursing classes (e.g. leadership, intro to professional nursing, physical assessment, etc.) which means you will most likely have 3 classes per week. This can be any day of the week (MON-SUN). There are also Simulation Labs which can be once or twice a term (a term is about 9 weeks). So you basically have two classes per 9 weeks (doesn't include the clinical or sim lab). I do know LVN's who have flexible schedules at their work, so they were able to continue working while going to school.

Very fast probably within days or a week. Since there is no waiting list, they just need to verify that you have the financial capacity to pay for your tuition.

I'm currently finishing my OB term along with Natural Disaster and Medical Ethics. This coming Monday is my last final exam. My next term consist of Pediatrics, Epidemiology, and Research. My biggest advice is if you're taking some general education at WCU, try to overload (if they let you, because sometimes they don't) by taking a third class like medical ethics or epidemiology before you start your nursing core classes, so that you don't have to be like the most of us where we have to take 3 classes in a term (9 weeks = 1 term = 2 classes/term). It's doable to do 3 classes during nursing school, but it's more convenient and time efficient if you can focus on the important core classes. My current experience at WCU is a mix bag of good and bad. I feel like certain professors in WCU make it easier for you (not that the test are easy, but they teach you the material better) versus others who seem to just read off the lecture powerpoint slides. I think I most dislike the fact that WCU doesn't let you see your test after taking the test, therefore, there's no way you can find out what you got right or wrong. I feel like this is very important because it lets us know what we need to study more and what we're good at. On a positive note, WCU provides students various resources to help you pass your nursing classes such as tutoring, access to a library, and access to scholarly databases that you would regularly have to pay for. Furthermore, WCU offers volunteer and job opportunities in the community and LA County area while you are going to school.

In california, there a couple I know of. Western Governors National University

Just an FYI to those considering to join WCU. It's easy to get into, but if you fail 2 times you will be kicked out of the program and stuck with a huge loan if you took one out. There is a lot of self studying at this campus since it's only a 10 week program per 2 classes. Which basically means, professors don't have the luxury to teach you everything you need to know, SO IT IS UP TO THE STUDENT TO DO THEIR SELF STUDY, GO TO TUTORING, AND DO PRACTICE QUESTIONS to succeed in the program. IF YOU ARE NOT THE SELF STUDY AND FAST PACE TYPE OF PERSON, I HIGHLY DISCOURAGE YOU TO APPLY TO THIS SCHOOL. I'm currently in the Mental Health and Physical Assessment class. No drops or fails on any nursing core subjects. However, it gives me lots of anxiety knowing that if I fail twice I will owe lots of money without any RN license to show for it. So if I could do it over again, I would have tried to get my Associates in Nursing and waited to get into a program, at least then I wouldn't have to worry about a big loan if I failed.

Hi StephytobyBSN, You need to speak with your Dean and maintain a high GPA.

Hi Blahzx, For fundamentals the more important thing to do is to understand the rationales regarding why such things are priority or why such things are the answers the majority of the time. There's two types of questions you will run into, which is knowledge based and critical thinking, or both. That basically means, study the book or study the ATI, or both depending on what works for you the best. Then most importantly do as many practice questions so you can understand the rationales. Hope this helps.

Hi Everyone, Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Here is my update of my Spring Term II in WCU: This term was very challenging, after completing a few prerequisites, I finally started my 1st nursing core classes which are: Nursing Fundamentals (lecture, lab, & clinical) - you don't get to choose the day or time of your lab and clinical which is very annoying especially if you work. This class was very challenging because it requires lots of reading in a short amount of time (9 weeks) and the tests require lots of critical thinking. Introduction to Professional Nursing (lecture only) - very easy class My advice to everyone is to study, study, study and most importantly practice on your critical thinking test taking skills and time management. If you do that, then you are golden. Good luck to all of you. My next class are: Introduction to Med Surg (lecture, simulation lab, & clinical) Pharmacology (lecture only)

I wanted to add to all pre-nursing students that want to attend WCU. Once you start your Nursing Cohort you are required to have health insurance. That is very important because you won't be able to complete your nursing packet and go do your clinicals without health insurance.

Hi Sweet charm, I have a previous B.S. degree and they don't take that into account. They don't offer an accelerated BSN program. I would check with WCU if they will accept the classes you're taking at community college as transfer credit. Because it would be a waste of time if you took them at CC and have to redo them at WCU because they didn't deem it transferable.

Yeah I wouldn't worry about the negative feedback about WCU. Because I think those are students that thought they were going to get a BSN degree easily by just paying lots of money for it. That is not the case, WCU is definitely any other BSN program that offers competitive and great Nursing Program. The people that complain about it are the one's that slack off and didn't make the cut. WCU nurses are also getting good reputation from hospitals. My tuition with my 7 of my classes transferring over was 112k. You can also start paying off the interest rate on your loan monthly so all you have to worry about paying off is the capital once you're done with school. My actual nursing cohort starts in April 2014. I still need to take some prerequisites that didn't transfer over such as: Chem English Comp II Critical Thinking Cultural Pluralism Pathophysiology Statistics One thing I did notice is that these prerequisite classes in WCU all relate towards nursing. Which is a good thing =)

Hi smadriaga, Overall my personal experience as a first term student has been positive. The professors I've had this term have been excellent and very helpful. Although the professors give a lot of assignments and homework, they are course related and as long as you follow instructions and study you will do fine in the class. This is not a place where you think just because you're paying lots of money you're guaranteed a passing grade. You have to make sure you don't procrastinate because classes are only 10 weeks long and make sure you study. They also offer tutoring sessions, so if you don't get the subject matter, you can definitely get help from the tutor they have there. You can see your homework & grades online as well, so you're always up to date on your class.

To add extra information: 1st term: You don't have control over your schedule 2nd term and so forth: You can choose your own schedule, but must stay with the classes they told you to take per term. You can "Overload" meaning on your 2nd term and so forth you can take more than 2 classes per term for your General Education classes and pre-requisites. Each term = 2 classes that lasts for 10 weeks, but it really is 9 weeks. 2 terms = A semester You can also take online classes for some G.E. classes which is a nice option.

I will continue to update everyone each term about my experiences in this school.

I would like to provide an update on the current classes I'm taking on my 1st term I'm currently taking: WCU SPCH 142-Oral Communication (I'm currently retaking since this didn't transfer over from my university) WCU MATH 108-College Mathematics (I'm currently retaking since this didn't transfer over from my community college) It is currently Week 6 going to Week 7 of the 1st term and I'm getting the following grades: WCU SPCH 142-Oral Communication = 100% Oral Communication is not hard, but it's a lot of work. I had to do 4 speeches, a quiz every week, a midterm, and a final. WCU MATH 108-College Mathematics = 95% Math is math, if you're good in math you're to fine, if you're not so good, you'll still do fine because they have free tutoring twice a week. Professor Kim is super nice and explains the material very well. So the only reason you would be doing poorly in this class is if you're not studying and slacking off.

Here's another reply I made to someone who pm'd me: First of all I would like to apologize for the late response. How long did the process take? The process doesn’t take long. First you need to take a test: HESI Exam or TEAS V or your SAT score. Then the most important part is to qualify for financial aid. Once your financial aid is setup and ready to go, you will be given your classes for your 1st term, which you have no control over. However, on your 2nd term and so on, you can choose your own time and date of when to take the class that you’re assigned. If you have classes to transfer it will help you reduce the $132,000 tuition fee. I know some people, due to grants and transfer credits they were able to reduce their tuition to $70,000.

So to reply to the private messages I will reply based on the question, but not reveal the user who pm'd me. “I am getting my general Ed done at a community college and hoping to transfer there?” I think the best thing to do is attend an orientation session with WCU. Because this will give you a good idea of what pre-requisite courses you can take prior to transferring to WCU. You also have the choice (if you can afford $132,000 of student loan, or you can get this lower with government grants) to take all your pre-requisite courses at WCU, which will make you get your BSN in just 3 years. The one thing I must stress is, if you do plan on taking your classes at community college and transfer them over to WCU make sure before you take those classes that they will transfer to WCU. Because I had to repeat some pre-requisites like college math and chemistry since they didn’t transfer my classes over from the community college. So MAKE SURE the class you’re taking is transferable. You can call WCU or go to that link I posted to see for yourself. “I just wanted some insight on how classes will be is it really hard?” I can’t really say if it’s hard or easy. I think that depends on each student. For me I’m currently taking public speaking and college math and I must say it’s easy for me. I think the biggest thing is DON’T PROCRASTINATE on your homework and go to class all the time because there’s only 9 weeks of class so it goes by fast. So if you get behind homework it will be very hard to catch up. There’s lots of homework too, so it’s more tedious than hard in my opinion. As far as nursing goes, everyone is telling me that Nursing classes in general is just hard everywhere. “And is math really needed as an RN, I mean I am going to take it but is that math useful later on?” A certain level of math is needed for RN like dosage calculations, which is very easy once they teach you. As far as the other things you learn in math I wouldn’t say it’s important to know for an RN, but it might be important in real life like when you want to create a monthly expense budget or calculate your interest rate for your car or house. I hope my answers were helpful. Please feel free to contact me anytime if you have further questions. Best of luck to you.

For those that sent me a pm, I apologize for not being able to pm you back because of this issue as stated below: We apologize for the inconvenience but sending a Private Message is disabled for all members who have not actively participated on the site. Members are required to have a minimum of 15 quality topics in order to use our Private Messaging (PM) System. This change is required to decrease the likelihood of someone abusing our policy and soliciting members. If you get any private messages that are soliciting in nature, please report them using the Report button found in the message. Thank you for understanding.

You can't choose what schedule you get your first term. But on your 2nd term and so forth, you will be able to choose your schedule, but you will still have to choose the specific classes they told you to take. The only thing you can choose is the days and time you want to take the class based on the term schedule provided to you for your next term.

Hi Everyone, I got a 75% on my TEAS V test. I know I needed to get at least 85% on my Teas V score to be competitive on most BSN programs. I found out that West Coast University is now accepting Teas V scores with a minimum score of 58%. So with a 75% score on the Teas V, I was a qualified applicant and I didn't have to take their HESI exam. Once you're qualified based on taking their HESI or Teas V, the biggest qualifying factor you have is getting approved for Financial Aid or Private Student Loans. If you have all your finances straight, then that's when they secure your spot in their Nursing Program. However, my biggest gripe right now and most of the students that I have spoken with is that they have a weird system of transferring credits. Each student I spoke to had different experiences on what classes transferred to that school and what didn't. For example, WCU transfered all of my science classes that I took at Los Angeles Valley College: Anatomy Physiology Microbiology Psychology - Intro Psychology - LifeSpan BUT, they didn't transfer my General Chemistry. They transfered my CAL STATE LA: English 101/102 but they said that both my English 101/102 class that I took only transfers over to their English 140 Written Communication I, but not to their English 140 Written Communication II. They also didn't transfer the following G.E. classes that I took in CAL STATE LA: Philosophy College Mathematics Public Speaking Their reason is that CAL STATE LA is a Quarter system and WCU is a Semester system. This is how they calculate it: 1 quarter unit = 0.67 semester unit In addition, if they don't think your class is equivalent to their class they won't accept it as transfer credit. My biggest advice is to go to their transfer credit website: 4