palitocali

True, thanks caliotter3, I'm going to get more information about their RN to BSN program for non-MSMC applicants.

Thank you so much for your insight blondy2061h, MSN, RN. Both nursing programs are ADN programs, it's just that MSMC offers their own RN to BSN for the third year, making it much more like getting into a BSN program in the first place! Going to El Camino would mean saving money at first, but then I'd be applying and hoping to get into RN to BSN programs afterward. (I've heard mixed reviews about how hard it is to get into RN to BSN programs, so not sure about competitiveness, actually.) Affordability is a huge factor which would force me to lean toward El Co, however, I'm eager to find out what kind of financial aid package MSMC will offer me.

Hi! I got accepted to both Mount St. Mary's College (which, starting Jan 1, 2015, will change from a college to a university) and El Camino College for their nursing programs and I keep toggling between the two schools. I know that the Mount, is a great nursing school, but the cost is very expensive and has a lower NCLEX pass rate. El Co also has a great nursing program and I would probably save about 10k-15k (depending on how much I receive for financial aid from MSMC) if I decide to go with El Co, but what troubles me is that it is a community college. This is my list of pros and cons: MOUNT ST. MARY'S PROS: *Stereotype of private schools may come in handy when applying for jobs? Not sure if this applies to nursing... *Reputation of school and program is long-standing (however, I've read one negative review about how RNs perceive their nursing students to be prepared-wise) *Becoming a university soon *Hospital affiliations (UCLA, Children's Hospital of LA) *Contacts I've made there *Small school and program *Easier to get into their RN-BSN program afterward when you're already a student of theirs *Beautiful campus CONS: *Expensive (I know of students paying $600-$900 a month with fin aid!) *Consistently low NCLEX pass rate is a huge concern (they use Kaplan instead of ATI to prepare for NCLEX (ElCo uses ATI)...could this attribute to their scores?) *Commute (30/45/60 mins (depending on traffic) vs 15 mins to ElCo) *Networking further from home *Potentially unsafe location EL CAMINO PROS: *Rigorous program fully prepares students for NCLEX and jobs (from what I've heard) *Reputation of nursing program is strong among nursing students *Commute is very short (15 mins from home) *Hospital affiliations (Torrance Memorial, Providence Little Company of Mary) *Networking closer to home *Affordable, way less expensive than MSMC *Familiar with El Co since I went there for pre-nursing *Contacts I've made there (offices, depths, profs, stud, etc) *Small program *Potentially safe location CONS: *Stereotype of 2-yr schools when applying to jobs? Not sure if this applies to nursing... *No RN-BSN program connected to school to easily apply to afterward Right now, I'm having a hard time deciding on which nursing program to attend! I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts. Please let me know what you think!! Thanks!

Off to study for the TEAS V now...

The deadline was extended to Sept 12th, but I turned in my application this morning- so excited! Just a quick heads up: make sure to write in a zero on your printed application if your student ID number starts with a zero after the two eights like this, "88-0", or else the office won't know what your number is. For some reason, the application doesn't show the zero in the field even after you enter it online and print it out. Good luck!