Recent Excelsior Grads, I have a question

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Specializes in hospice, pediatrics, substance abuse.

I have a question for those who did the LPN to RN through Excelsior recently. I was planning on taking the courses however now I am wondering if I should. An LPN who works for the same company I do just told me NOT to take the brige program through them. She informed me that she went with them, finished all the course work & was waiting to take the clinicals at the end. She said she had been waiting for more than 13 months to get a date :crying2:. She finally "gave up" & signed up for the bridge program with a local college & NONE of her classes she took with Excelsior would transfer. I would really much prefer to do a distance learning course like Excelsior as I am a bit older & very tired of all the classroom drama & dynamics. My question is for those of you who did graduate recently (past year or two) did you have to wait that long for the clinical portion? What was your experience like with Excelsior, & would you recommend them? Thanks in advance for your replies.

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Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.

I would recommend Excelsior only if you're a motivated self starter. I finished a little over a year ago and only waited 3 months for the CPNE, I've never heard of 'having' to wait 13 months. There are tons of posts about Excelsior in students section under distance learning.

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Specializes in hospice, pediatrics, substance abuse.

Thanks. I am very motivated, disciplined, organized, etc. So that part doesn't bother me in the least. And like I said I don't want to do the classroom route if I can afford it (I went home with a headache almost every day due to all the drama and BS while in LPN school). I was only concerned about getting all the way through & then having to wait 13 months I felt that was more than excessive. I am glad to hear that wasn't the case for you. Thanks again.

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Specializes in Cardiac Care, Palliative Care.

Your friend was exaggerating when she said she had to wait 13 months for a test date. I only waited 3 weeks after I applied to get a test date. The longest wait I ever read from other students was no longer than 6 months but that was in certain test regions. There's more to your friend's story than she's telling. Don't let that discourage you from starting Excelsior's program. It took me about a year to finish the program, and I don't have any regrets! I avoided the waitlist and petitioning processess of most of these school's nursing programs, and saved myself from alot of stress.

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Specializes in ER.

I got an official test date 3 weeks after I applied. I had to wait 4 months waiting on that date to arrive but I didn't put my self on a cancellation list. The longet I have heard someone having to wait was 8-9 months because she only chose one specific site and not a whole region to go to. I completed the CPNE and am now waiting to take my state boards!

Melissa GN

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

I may be missing something, but seems to me that OP is asking about taking the clinical portion of the program, not taking a test...

"finished all the course work & was waiting to take the clinicals at the end. She said she had been waiting for more than 13 months to get a date"

Or does taking "clinicals" refer to taking a test?

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Specializes in Cardiac Care, Palliative Care.

The clinical portion is a test. It's a 2 1/2 day exam.

I may be missing something, but seems to me that OP is asking about taking the clinical portion of the program, not taking a test...

"finished all the course work & was waiting to take the clinicals at the end. She said she had been waiting for more than 13 months to get a date"

Or does taking "clinicals" refer to taking a test?

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I may be missing something, but seems to me that OP is asking about taking the clinical portion of the program, not taking a test...

"finished all the course work & was waiting to take the clinicals at the end. She said she had been waiting for more than 13 months to get a date"

Or does taking "clinicals" refer to taking a test?

The "clinical portion" of the EC program is a two and one half day exam called the CPNE that can not be taken until all of the other nursing exams have been completed. The Excelsior College ASN nursing program is an evaluative (testing) program, not a traditional teaching program.

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Specializes in ER.

I graduated in May 2009. I never heard of anyone having to wait more than 8-9months for their CPNE date. Usually you can get in quickly if you are flexible in what site you would like to go to. After putting myself on a cancelation list, I called them when I felt I was ready and I got a date within the week. I did not go to my preferred testing site, but flexibility is key to getting a date sooner. Good Luck to you.

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I waited about 2 months to get the date and then another 4 months I think for the date to arrive; but I really needed that time to prepare and was glad for it!

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I waited about a month to get a date and then had exactly one month to my test date. I took a cancellation date and called daily. I finished in Feb. '09 and graduated in April '09. Good luck!

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Specializes in hospice, pediatrics, substance abuse.

Thanks everyone.

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