jennifergrant034

Also, if you do a search here on AllNurses.com, you will find a number of people who post comments saying that the course materials from the College Network did not really fully prepare them for the exams that they had to take! The College Network basically purchased the materials from other companies, and then paraphrased them to crank out their own materials. They take advantage of people who have not done their due diligence and simply taken a few minutes to research the College Network in Google and see for themselves all of the bad comments posted about them. Tons and tons of posts. Countless people complaining how the College Network conned them and scammed them. Always perform your due diligence. Google makes that so easy!

Thank you for researching all of that information! Wow, quite a good job you did. I'm just about to start the application process with ISU. Do you know how much they charge for their exams? Just to clarify. ISU does not "recommend" the products from the College Network. It seems more likely that they have a reluctant relationship with them, because College Network is more of an aggressive marketing company that recruits and funnels students into the ISU programs. If you speak with ISU on the phone, sometimes they will be honest and tell you that the books from the College Network are not needed. And those books / online courses are extremely expensive. You can get a lot of the College Network courses on Ebay for around $35. You can go directly to CLEP, and get their ebooks for only $10. That beats paying $500 to $1000 to the College Network.

Theone40, did you ever use StraighterLine? I looked at their website briefly, and it looks interesting. Can you share any more details on that, or is it just something you remember hearing somewhere along the line?

Think of a battery! Depolarization means that the battery shoots out an electric charge. Repolarization means that battery is recharging so that it can shoot out another electric charge. Perhaps it would help if you can come up with a list of very specific questions and post it here? I know the concepts can be a bit extract and difficult to follow. I took an EKG class at the local votech. It really helped me a lot when we got to the cardiac chapters in nursing school.

Nursing schools are different today than they were 5 or 10 years ago. Seven years ago, one of our local nursing schools was offering a $5000 cash bonus to new students. Today, however, the list of applicants is so long, you feel like you need to hand them $5000 in cash just to get two minutes of their time. In the past they were begging for people to enroll in their nursing schools, and today it is common to have 900 to 1200 applicants each year. So, yes, you can enjoy benefits in getting certifications prior to applying to nursing school. The decision makers will see you as a student with a higher chance of being a successful student. Additionally, I definitely saw that those with any prior experience had a bit of an easier time adapting to nursing school. I had absolutely no medical experience, and I flunked out of the first semester of the RN program. In fact, 14 out of 60 of us flunked out. And all 14 of us had no prior experience at all. (That does not mean you cannot make it without any prior experience, it just means that you have a much more difficult time at some schools). So after flunking out, I went and took a few classes at the local votech. I took a medical assistant class, a CNA class, and an EKG class. Then I went and enrolled at an LPN program, and graduated as the #2 student. I was very proud of that, because I had come such a long, long way in my nursing education. But, now that I have the LPN, I am having trouble finding a job. The places I have gone to say they only hire nurses who have 1 to 3 years of experience. They dont want to hire a graduate without any prior experience. So I have to hunt around for a nursing home or a hospital willing to give me a chance and get that first break.

I have two daughters, and it can be very tough. I also struggle with chronic illness that makes me get more fatigued than other people. It is worth it, though. If you quit, you will always regret it. No matter how bad it gets, never quit, and never give up!

I felt exactly the same way, and to be honest, still do feel that way to some degree. I feel that I have more book smarts than I have clinical skills. I did not have any experience prior to going to nursing school, and I envy those nursing students who were CNAs for 2 to 4 years prior to becoming a nursing student. They seemed to have an easier time grasping the content. One good thing is that you will see that the instructors will try to pair up the inexperienced students with the more experienced students (such as the CNAs). This helps a lot, and you'll learn a lot from the students they pair you up with. Sometimes I felt I was learning more from those students then I was learning from the instructors.

I envy those students who already had a few years experience in the medical field, such as CNAs. It seems that most of the CNAs had a lot less difficulty when they finally got into nursing school. Despite straight A's, I flunked out of an RN program my first semester. No matter how hard I studied, I simply had a lot of difficulty understanding the content and memorizing all that was given to us. I went into a CNA program for a few months, and that really helped me a lot. I had difficulty getting into another RN program, and opted to enroll in an LPN program. I studied hard and worked hard. I was in a car wreck halfway through, and had to recover from several broken bones. Despite all of the obstacles and setbacks, I graduated from the nursing program as the #2 student. I was very proud of that, especially after flunking out of the RN program. Now after getting the LPN license, I am having trouble finding work where I live because they all want to hire someone with a year or two of experience. I wish that while going to school that I had at least worked 1 or 2 days a week as a CNA. I believe I would not be having so much trouble right now trying to land that first job out of nursing school.

If you are close to finishing your pre-requisite courses and have all A's, then you have more than 50 credits and your GPA is probably higher than 3.9? I've actually seen both sides of the fence. I was not accepted, and I had a 3.94 GPA. Yet, I know a student with a 3.82 GPA, and she was accepted. So there are other factors that they look at. You might inquire and ask how many applications they are getting each year. Our school was getting 1400 applications for those 60 seats each year. Competition was very heavy, and I felt compelled to get and keep straight A's. I'm not so sure that you'd get a full and complete answer by contacting the director(s) who run the nursing program. I attended an orientation that they put on, and the top man actually said they only looked for C's and above. Yet those of us in the know understood that you really needed to strive for straight A's, and get as close to a 4.0 as possible.

I was in my 40s when I started taking nursing pre-requisites. When I first started the RN nursing pre-requisites, I was getting D’s on each Anatomy exam. I found it overwhelming to attempt to absorb hundreds of facts each week. It seemed hopeless for me. I knew that if I could not get those grades up, my chances of getting accepted into the RN nursing program would be greatly diminished. I finally realized that I had to teach myself how to study. Eventually I was able to bring up my grades by keeping disciplined and focused. I finished the Anatomy I class with an A-, and had straight A's every semester. It can be done!

Hey LpntoBsn2015, wish you the best of luck on those exams. So, if I understand things right, you will have to take all four of these exams before being considered for the program? Hoping that your exam goes very well tomorrow! Thanks for listing the books you were using to study. I'll get the same books. How much does ISU charge for each exam? I just signed up with Excelsior College the other day. Looking to get a few of their courses under my belt. I'm not sure if I want to pursue ISU's BSN or Excelsior's RN. Maybe keep my foot in the door for both in case one or the other does not work out. Good luck tomorrow! Let us know how it goes for you! Thanks for writing back! Jenn

Hello LpntoBsn2015, So are you still in the ISU program? I was wondering about the four transitional courses. Did you take the exams for these? Some of the other threads here on AllNurses make it sound like those four exams are really difficult. Mental Health Aspects of Nursing Practice (2 SH) Nursing Care of Adults (5 SH) Nursing Care of the Child and the Family (4 SH) Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family (4 SH) What study materials did you use? Thanks, Jenn

Hi, I'm very interested in applying to the LPN to BSN program at Indiana State. I've looked into the College Network, and their fees are absolutely outrageous. Does anyone have the CN study materials for these four exams? Mental Health Aspects of Nursing Practice (2 SH) Nursing Care of Adults (5 SH) Nursing Care of the Child and the Family (4 SH) Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family (4 SH) You have to pass these four exams to get into ISU's LPN to BSN program. I checked Ebay, and nobody is selling them there. (But Ebay does have a ton of other CN materials that are for sale). I have read the various threads on the College Network, and on The ISU LPN to BSN program. I am grateful that people took the time to post their experiences with the College Network. Thank you. Jenn jennifergrant034 at gmail.com

There are other factors at play. I was in the same boat. No prior experience whatsoever. Another possibility is to bang out a CNA class. They had one at the local votech that was 8 weeks over the Summer, and it REALLY helped me a lot when I got into a nursing program. The RN programs are tough. A certain percentage drop out when it becomes overwhelming. I did notice that those with prior experience as CNAs seem to have an easier time than those of us with no prior experience whatsoever.

I went through the same thing at two different schools. At the first school, I turned the other cheek and tried to win them over with kindness. Eventually I realized that bullies perceive this as weakness, and it simply got worse and worse. I dropped out of the program because the harassment became so intense it was affecting my grades, my morale, etc. At the second school, I decided to try another approach. When I was hit with insults, I hit back harder. I hated doing it, but it worked, and they left me alone for awhile. Then one of the other bullies messed with me, and I had to hit back hard again. And then again they would leave me alone for while. The LPN programs are tougher with an influx of bullies because the standards for acceptance are so low. Most LPN programs are starving for money and they take just about anyone. I went to a prestigious nationally known university to get my LPN, and was shocked at the number of people in the class that really couldn't care less about being a good nurse but got into the field because they wanted a bigger paycheck. This prestigious university even allowed them all to pass, even though a third were flunking out most of the time. Sad. Hope this helps. Hope things get better for you.