is RUE a mistake?

That depends on where you live ,the BON there and what school attend. :)

RUE is a publishing company that produces study guides to ASSIST you in studying for nursing exams through Excelsior College. As far as being able to take NCLEX if you graduate from Excelsior...currently Michigan does license Excelsior grads and I haven't heard anything about that changing. You should always check with your BON though. Michigan quickly returned my email.

Just use the EC study guides rather than pay an exorbitant amount of money for a study guide you can get for free from Excelsior.

You all have me worried, I signed up with rue publishing for my RN. Are you saying I might get all the way through and not be able to take the NCLEX? I live in MI

I am not sure what your requirements are for taking the NCLEX but I just wanted to say that Excelsiors program is a joke! My mother, an LPN for 30 years, just passed the online classes and went to take her clinicals. Unfortunately, she was failed out of the clinical after the first day for something extremely ridiculous! She had heard horror stories about the clinical and was very nervous going into it! It is amazing to me that a program can take someone with 30 years of hands on experience and fail them after 1 day! It is even more ridiculous that you would even be subjected to this so called clinical! If you are able to pass the classes and you have the experience license behind you already, I believe you should be able to take the NCLEX w/o going through these stupid clinicals!!!! I am currently in my final semester of nursing, RN degree, and I can't imagine having to take such a clinical. I hate that you have already signed a contract with them! I certainly hope that you have a better experience than my mother, and others that have previously been through this! I would suggest that you ask all previous students of any online degree programs for their advice as to how to go about passing their clinical test! I know for a fact that my mother wasn't the first person to fail and won't be the last. I wish you luck and please let me know the outcome of your experience!

:angryfire Signed,

VERY DISGUSTED WITH EXCELSIOR!!!!

I am not sure what your requirements are for taking the NCLEX but I just wanted to say that Excelsiors program is a joke! My mother, an LPN for 30 years, just passed the online classes and went to take her clinicals. Unfortunately, she was failed out of the clinical after the first day for something extremely ridiculous! She had heard horror stories about the clinical and was very nervous going into it! It is amazing to me that a program can take someone with 30 years of hands on experience and fail them after 1 day! It is even more ridiculous that you would even be subjected to this so called clinical! If you are able to pass the classes and you have the experience license behind you already, I believe you should be able to take the NCLEX w/o going through these stupid clinicals!!!! I am currently in my final semester of nursing, RN degree, and I can't imagine having to take such a clinical. I hate that you have already signed a contract with them! I certainly hope that you have a better experience than my mother, and others that have previously been through this! I would suggest that you ask all previous students of any online degree programs for their advice as to how to go about passing their clinical test! I know for a fact that my mother wasn't the first person to fail and won't be the last. I wish you luck and please let me know the outcome of your experience!

:angryfire Signed,

VERY DISGUSTED WITH EXCELSIOR!!!!

Wow I am sorry to hear about your mother's experience. Hopefully she will redo the clinical. All that money will be wasted if she doesn't. Since she knows it was her nerves maybe next time she'll be more relaxed. Congrats on your progress with your RN program. I wish your mom much success with whatever she chooses to do in the future to further her nursing career :)

I am not sure what your requirements are for taking the NCLEX but I just wanted to say that Excelsiors program is a joke! My mother, an LPN for 30 years, just passed the online classes and went to take her clinicals. Unfortunately, she was failed out of the clinical after the first day for something extremely ridiculous! She had heard horror stories about the clinical and was very nervous going into it! It is amazing to me that a program can take someone with 30 years of hands on experience and fail them after 1 day! It is even more ridiculous that you would even be subjected to this so called clinical! If you are able to pass the classes and you have the experience license behind you already, I believe you should be able to take the NCLEX w/o going through these stupid clinicals!!!! I am currently in my final semester of nursing, RN degree, and I can't imagine having to take such a clinical. I hate that you have already signed a contract with them! I certainly hope that you have a better experience than my mother, and others that have previously been through this! I would suggest that you ask all previous students of any online degree programs for their advice as to how to go about passing their clinical test! I know for a fact that my mother wasn't the first person to fail and won't be the last. I wish you luck and please let me know the outcome of your experience!

:angryfire Signed,

VERY DISGUSTED WITH EXCELSIOR!!!!

I'm sorry to hear of your mother's experience with Excelsior. On the other hand I feel it is very unfair of you to call Excelsior "a joke." If you have not been through the program or the clinical exam (CPNE) yourself then you do not know what it is like. Yes people fail, 3 failed out of my group of 6. The key is doing things the way Excelsior wants them done...which is by the book. I really don't think it matters how much experience you have. And in a way I think that having more experience could be deterimental to your success because you have picked up bad habits along the way. Like I said, Excelsior expects you to do things by the book. Their goal is to graduate safe, competent nurses. How are they to determine any sort of clinical competency without testing you in some way? I hope that your mom will consider taking the exam again as it is doable.

To Deegal ~ you already signed up, and there isn't much you can do about that now. I kicked myself shortly after signing with them too. Signing with RUE doesn't have anything to do with you being able to take the NCLEX.

Snking ~ I too am sorry to hear about your mom's weekend. I second everything that Medicrnohio says. We had 7 testers the weekend I took my CPNE, and 2 of us passed. 1 failed because she didn't prepare (she even admitted it), 1 failed because she wrote her careplans exactly like she does at work every day and not how EC wanted us to do them, 1 failed because she let her nerves get the best of her, and 2 failed because they had been practicing as nurses for years and years and years and didn't think they had to do things the EC way because they knew how to be good nurses.

For every 100 success stories you'll hear a negative one from a bitter person who didn't pass their CPNE because of untamed stress or not enough preparation. Snking, again I am sorry your mom didn't pass, but please don't come on this or any other message board to shoot off bad things about a program that you know absolutely nothing about. Good luck with the remainder of your schooling, and tell your mom to give it another shot.

I am not sure what your requirements are for taking the NCLEX but I just wanted to say that Excelsiors program is a joke! My mother, an LPN for 30 years, just passed the online classes and went to take her clinicals. Unfortunately, she was failed out of the clinical after the first day for something extremely ridiculous! She had heard horror stories about the clinical and was very nervous going into it! It is amazing to me that a program can take someone with 30 years of hands on experience and fail them after 1 day! It is even more ridiculous that you would even be subjected to this so called clinical! If you are able to pass the classes and you have the experience license behind you already, I believe you should be able to take the NCLEX w/o going through these stupid clinicals!!!! I am currently in my final semester of nursing, RN degree, and I can't imagine having to take such a clinical. I hate that you have already signed a contract with them! I certainly hope that you have a better experience than my mother, and others that have previously been through this! I would suggest that you ask all previous students of any online degree programs for their advice as to how to go about passing their clinical test! I know for a fact that my mother wasn't the first person to fail and won't be the last. I wish you luck and please let me know the outcome of your experience!

:angryfire Signed,

VERY DISGUSTED WITH EXCELSIOR!!!!

Deegale - I also signed with RUE and now wished I hadn't b/c the study materials ARE available for free from Excelsior. Nothing to do now except make the best of it. I read all of the replies and was sorry about snking's mom. Also a little nervous about 3/6 passing but I'll follow the advise and go by the book. SC BON is recongizing Excelsior and I haven't heard of any changes. I really need to "crack the whip"--I just have the NC courses and micro and that's it. Does anyone know of any way to get funding to help with the cost of the exams? As far as I know its an out of pocket expense -- I'm a single mom with three kids and a little worried about the cost holding me back.

nursewendy 2000 I'm in the same boat as you (single with 3 kids) I've looked but have found no other way to pay for tests except out of pocket, so it'll take me awhile to get nc1-7 done. Now that I have my materials I'm happy with rue.

Deegale - I also signed with RUE and now wished I hadn't b/c the study materials ARE available for free from Excelsior. Nothing to do now except make the best of it. I read all of the replies and was sorry about snking's mom. Also a little nervous about 3/6 passing but I'll follow the advise and go by the book. SC BON is recongizing Excelsior and I haven't heard of any changes. I really need to "crack the whip"--I just have the NC courses and micro and that's it. Does anyone know of any way to get funding to help with the cost of the exams? As far as I know its an out of pocket expense -- I'm a single mom with three kids and a little worried about the cost holding me back.

Just use the EC study guides rather than pay an exorbitant amount of money for a study guide you can get for free from Excelsior.

How are the test with excelsior, I am enrolled right now, I have been studying for the a & P test have you taken it and is it that bad

I am not sure what your requirements are for taking the NCLEX but I just wanted to say that Excelsiors program is a joke! My mother, an LPN for 30 years, just passed the online classes and went to take her clinicals. Unfortunately, she was failed out of the clinical after the first day for something extremely ridiculous! She had heard horror stories about the clinical and was very nervous going into it! It is amazing to me that a program can take someone with 30 years of hands on experience and fail them after 1 day! It is even more ridiculous that you would even be subjected to this so called clinical! If you are able to pass the classes and you have the experience license behind you already, I believe you should be able to take the NCLEX w/o going through these stupid clinicals!!!! I am currently in my final semester of nursing, RN degree, and I can't imagine having to take such a clinical. I hate that you have already signed a contract with them! I certainly hope that you have a better experience than my mother, and others that have previously been through this! I would suggest that you ask all previous students of any online degree programs for their advice as to how to go about passing their clinical test! I know for a fact that my mother wasn't the first person to fail and won't be the last. I wish you luck and please let me know the outcome of your experience!

:angryfire Signed,

VERY DISGUSTED WITH EXCELSIOR!!!!

No, Excelsior is definitely not a joke. I was extremely pleased with the college (& save your money, don't go thru Rue). I was a lowly EMT (in 2000 & 2001 they still allowed that) & went thru the BSN program in less than 2 years (& passed my CPNE on the first go). I went directly into the hospital setting in stepdown with a day orentation & within 6 months my job was as float for MNICU, SICU, burn unit & CICU (I enjoy that very much). Nothing but glowing recommendations from the hospital (granted it's not huge at 452 beds but it is a level 1 trauma center) & I worked agency at other ICUs in the area, I did a stint as a DON but hated that & am now working on my MSN. I can't say enough good things about Excelsior, the advisors were great, I could work & still complete my degree at the same time as I had responsibilites to my family. (forgot to add that I had completed a year's worth of clinicals in an ADN program)

I used Rue's materials 5 years ago for the nursing exams (i had to take 5 or 6). I found them very useful and even found some of the study guide questions to be on the test. The study guides really helped me organize what I needed to know for the test and kept me on track. I used excelsior's study guides for one test & it didn't help me at all. I think it all depends on your learning style. I got the nursing exams done in 5 months using Rue. They also had a great posting board (kind of like this one) for its customers. That helped me a lot as well. I made it through all my exams with all A's & 2 B's and I passed the CPNE on the first time (I failed one patient, but passed the rest). To pass the CPNE you just have to know what the examiners want and not do anything above or beyond or below what they want. I do not think Excelsior is a joke at all - you just have to know what they want. I found it a great (but hard) way to get my RN degree.