Rio Salado Community College

It sounds like online is good for autodidacts (people with high motivation who self-teach). I consider myself an autodidact.

Regarding Excelsior, I don't even want to get into that(high spirited debates here) except to say that I personally would never choose it over the option of an accredited school like Rio Salado.

I wouldn't say that Rio has a shorter wait list than other schools. Part of the problem with Rio is they have close to no openings for each semester. Spring '06 they had either 5 or 10 openings for the public and 10 for employees of the VA or another hospital. They did open a couple of those right before school started, but still held some of the spots until it was too late. This run (Fall '07) I think they only had something like 10 slots total, with 5 going to employees. A lot of people may not put Rio down as an option, but even if only a few put it down it's going to be tough to get into. They also have a high drop-out/failure rate. I wasn't too concerned about that, I worked from home for 4.5 years so I'm used to time management, but still it just goes to show that it's a lot tougher than it seems. When I was looking into Rio I also heard that their NCLEX pass rate was lower than the rest of the district, but that may be because they'd only had maybe 10 graduates or something like that.

Wow! I didn't know that they had so few spots! Thank you for the info. I don't live in Maricopa County. If I were to move there for nursing school, and I put down every single CC in Maricopa County on my application, do you think that would shorten my wait considerably? Or do many people already do this? I live in AZ, just not in Maricopa County.

I have friend who has her name at a few schools, I believe that's kind of common practice?

But all of them? Is that common?

Multicollinarity- You can only put down five schools. If you really want a good shot at getting into a school, put down MCC Boswell as one of your choices. They have something like 35 slots available for employees that they'll release before school starts, if they're not filled by employees (which they usually aren't).

They did the run this morning and it looks like there are still 39 slots available for Scottsdale's accelerated program. That doesn't make sense. I would think that at least a couple of people would have applied for that program.

Keli

Thank you so much for the info! Are the waits still averaging 1-2 semesters, or has it increased?

Out of the 242 or so people who have not been placed yet, most of them have been in full status for less than 90 days. That means they applied probably last summer or this last fall. There are still 144 slots available, but a lot of those are being held for various employees. Remember though, if the employees don't fill those slots a majority of them are opened up to the general public. Also, when they did the Spring run last Fall, they did add several slots to a couple of the programs. It looks like the wait isn't as long as it used to be, they've opened up so many other slots for students, that it might still only be a one semester wait (or maybe even a no semester wait, for some lucky people)..

You mean it's getting better, not worse! :smackingf I didn't think of that! So nice to hear. :w00t: I'm so excited! Thank you!

You're welcome!!

That's what I've been able to figure out, it does look like it's getting better. Imagine that!!

Some personal thoughts on Rio, the MCCC system, etc. I did all of my science pre-reqs through Rio, since I was working full time (no longer) and my undergrad is in business. I am now taking one final class at SCC and I will tell you that, if given a choice, I really prefer the classroom experience. This is coming from an 'older' student and one that is use to working independently, without any need for the extra 'push' profs in classrooms provide. However I do believe Rio has geared its classes to be EXCESSIVELY difficult and more complex, in an attempt to insure the students are REALLY getting an education and validate their programs. :yeahthat: I will tell you I was suprised to realize this, that Rio was a lot harder than the classes at SCC but that is indeed my findings. I also found the isolation you get with the Rio education isn't for me. :stone I have found being able to verbally (and physically) share with other students that are on the same path as myself is very rewarding AND informative.

Just my !

DC

I can empathize.. Working full time as well, I need my salary to support my family but at the same time am trying to dedicate myself fully to my new career path.

That's wonderful that so many slots are being opened up, I was really worried I'd be pushed back further than I'd have liked to due to waiting.

I've heard about some hospitals picking up externs that are still in school, I wonder how soon they do so, what the jobs are that the nurses can do (given no license), and what the pay is like.

I can afford a small pay cut and would be willing to work extra hours, but I still need to be able to put food on the table. Sucks to be stuck between the stone like this, can't wait to find out more.

Thanks for the info!!