franSchm

Im not sure how it works if you are enrolled in 2 different schools at the same time, but I don't see why it would be a problem if you aren't using financial aid at excelsior. I took micro through excelsior because mine had expired. It was difficult through excelsior. Maybe try doing your sciences at a community college and your social sciences through excelsior. Excelsior will accept credits from other schools as long as its a community college or university. I earned my LPN though a private trade school and nothing would transfer. Luckily I had been to a community college prior.

If anyone has taken both FCCA classes at the same time, how did you feel about it? Would anyone recommend taking them separately. I plan on taking them at the same time just want to make sure its a smart decision.

I don't want to know what's on it. I'm just curious as to how it is for instance. Are there exams you have to take or are there assignments to turn in. I just want to know what I'm getting in to.

Hmmm I see. Thanks for the info. How is the actual FCCA?

I took LS 1 about a week ago and passed with a B. I have made all B's and 1 A on the exams. Some people have told me that SG 101 is good to use but I just can read that and get a good understanding. I use the content guide and the recommend text book ( which I rent for about $30 for approx 4 months. If I have to extend my rental its usually about $15) I basically just type my own study guide and create my own cheat sheet to study for a day or two before the tests. The practice exams are amazing!

I have 2 more exams to take before I get to the FCCA. I read on excelsior website that you can take the 2- 8 week courses together which is what I plan on doing. I was wondering if the FCCA can be "completed" before the 8 weeks is over. And if it can be completed before the 8 week mark, can you schedule the CPNE even though you are technically still in that 8 week course? I know this sounds confusing but the website doesn't really specify. Also if anyone can give me some insight on how difficult the courses are would be great. Thanks!

You can take most, if not all the prereqs through excelsior. I had all of mine done prior to starting. My advice would be to take your prereqs at another school in your area only because it probably cheaper and probably not as difficult.

I just want to add to this. Yes its only 3 days and MOST people going through Excelsior are at least LPN's so they have a pretty good baseline as far as skills go. And you have to take into consideration that the clinical is testing you on NEW grad RN skills.

Thanks! I actually have someone that is going to give me their Lisa Arrends stuff. So the plus is that I dont have to pay for it. As far as TCN goes, I know to stay away from them. Its crazy how they rip people off! I will probably just keep doing what Ive been doing since it has been working for me. Why try to fix something thats not broken right? I was just curious as to how others felt about using it. I have heard good and bad things about her material.

I am actually doing Excelsior College online. I am an LPN earning my ADN-RN. They also have LPN to BSN-RN. Online nursing schools DO exist. You will have to check on their website to make sure your state accepts nursing degrees from them. Most do! There are only a few that do not. They are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) formerly known as the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, Inc. (NLNAC). They have 2 different routes for obtaining your degree. 1- test out of classes. Basically you teach yourself, going by a content guide given to you through the school by using the textbooks they recommend. Doing it this way you have to pay for everything out of pocket. Each exam is $325. 2- Online classes. They are 8 weeks long I believe and by taking the classes you qualify for financial aid. The class route is pretty expensive. When you finish the classes/exams, you have a 3 day clinical weekend where you are observed performing nursing care in a hospital. That ultimately determines if you have the skills of a entry level RN and will qualify you to take NCLEX. I am doing the test out exam route. I live in Louisiana and they accept Excelsior. I also know many RN's who went through excelsior and took their boards, passed, and now are practicing RN's. No issue getting a job! So far I like it. It takes motivation to do your degree online, but if you really want it, you can do it!

I am now studying for my 3rd Excelsior exam (health differences). I have passed my first 2 with B's . I only used the recommended text books and made my own study guides while going by the exam content guide. It is very time consuming but it did help me pass. I have heard of lots of people using lisa arrends study guides to study and they pass the exams. My only reason for wanting to use them is that it would keep me from having to type up my own notes (very time consuming when you work full time and are trying to complete it in a decent time frame) and possibly not having to spend extra money on textbooks, which are stupid expensive on top of paying for practice exams, the exam, and pearson vue fees. I am NOT looking to just memorize material , I actually want to learn it. So my question is, Are they good enough to study without having to buy the text books and will you actually learn the material?? I bought study group 101 for microbiology and hated it. It was so dry and didnt really match up with the content guide to me. I really appreciate honest opinions. Thanks!

I took the exam and made a B! Thank goodness for practice exams:yes:. Thanks for all the advice.

I did the sample questions that come with the content guide and missed 3. Which I didn't think was too bad. I've only been an LPN for a year. I am waiting for my books to arrive so I can take the practice exams and get this one over with.I tried study group 101 for micro and I felt like it was just a bunch of dry information packed together and i couldnt focus. I may try it again for this class depending on how the text books are. Thanks for the advice!

Geeze! For sure I will be buying those practice exams! By just reading the content guide it doesn't seem awful, but I could totally see questions on the test having multiple "right" answers and having to rack your brain to choose the "best" answer lol. Thanks!

Karen014 I got your message however since I don't have 15 posts it won't let me respond in a private message. If you want to private message me feel free. My email is [email protected]. I'm going through this alone so I'm always up for encouragement, study help, and to vent about all of this lol. The practice tests are really good to study.If it weren't for them I would have failed. Basically what I did was go through the ones I missed or even if I got it right and had no clue what it was talking about was type up my own little study guide. It was time consuming to do it that way but I knew it was the only way to study. Its gonna take a full day of dedication to sitting at your computer. The real test is very close to the practice exams and the sample questions at the end of the content guide. The questions did seem a little easier on the test though. Definitely know the parts on the content guide that is worth the most percentage wise. Trust me I felt like I had completely failed it. Every time I felt like I had missed one or had to guess I marked a tally down and at the end of the exam I had 33 tally's... It was a horrible feeling. But like I said I really only dedicated 3 full days of hard core studying and passed! You can do it! Best of luck!