san diego kaplan

U.S.A. California

Published

i'm considering going there.

what is their reputation? do their grads get jobs as easily as anyone else?

btw, i know their credits don't transfer. pls dont bring it up, it's not an issue for me.

Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.

I've really enjoyed reading this whole thread. I'm an LVN and currently work at Paradise Valley Hospital in National City and we get Kaplan students doing clinical there. They are a smart bunch and the clinical instructors are great. PVH has hired many nurses from Kaplan and also when it was Maric. I have never heard anything bad about nurses from Maric/Kaplan.

I'm doing the LVN-RN at City College and they accept Kaplan LVN's. I've heard that Kaplan LVN is WASC accredited so if you are getting your LVN from Kaplan you can really save a lot of money by going to one of the community colleges. I applied to Grossmont and City and was accepted at City first so there I am. :)

City has recently revamped their curriculum to make it really hard. :( We have to take all the ATI's along with the class tests. We are all on edge with the amount of work we have to do (as well as the required community projects for each class) and if you fail a test you are thrown out of the program. But for the ATI's you can take it a second time. Must get a 75% to pass.

The community colleges do give you a really good education. The students just entering 1st semester tell me that they waited three years to get in. You do not have to wait that long if you are an LVN. You just join in the 2nd year and take the spot of whoever failed out during the 1st year. I applied in August and was contacted in February to come take the transition course which started in March. I started the program in August and will graduate in May 2010. :)

For those who posted that they already have a bachelor's in another field why don't you just take the accelerated 2nd degree program from OSU? They are WASC accredited and you get your BSN in only 14 months. They are affiliated with SHARP hospitals so that's where you do all your clinicals.

Good luck everyone and keep posting!

Specializes in Emergency.
Hello, I am a current Kaplan ADN student. I started in May and came in as a 2nd term student due to having pre-recs done. I had to have my background check and drug screen done by my March 14th deadline, so please confirm this with who ever you are working with. We all know that Kaplans credits do not transfer to all BSN programs but a few will take them, you have to look into it. However, we all take the same NCLEX!

Also, you will not speak with financial aid until you are accepted and have went through orientation.

Good luck with your application process!

Do you know of any other schools off hand that take the credits for the BSN other that Phoenix? I know they do, and they are WASC accredited, which is great. Just wondering what my other options might be. If you know, thanks!

Do you know of any other schools off hand that take the credits for the BSN other that Phoenix? I know they do, and they are WASC accredited, which is great. Just wondering what my other options might be. If you know, thanks!

hi Emilynn09,

Some CSU's accept students on a case by case basis. The only way to know if they will take you is to interview with them after attaining your RN license. If you are taking any GE's at Kaplan, you might be able to CLEP (many universities accept this) or just repeat the course at a community college. You will not receive credit for nursing courses, that is the major concern and primary reason that universities have with accepting a student from a school that is not regionally accredited. They have you take additional nursing courses to account for this. I've already looked into this myself. Some universities that have accepted Kaplan ADN graduates are CSU Chico and Dominguez Hills.

Specializes in Emergency.
hi Emilynn09,

Some CSU's accept students on a case by case basis. The only way to know if they will take you is to interview with them after attaining your RN license. If you are taking any GE's at Kaplan, you might be able to CLEP (many universities accept this) or just repeat the course at a community college. You will not receive credit for nursing courses, that is the major concern and primary reason that universities have with accepting a student from a school that is not regionally accredited. They have you take additional nursing courses to account for this. I've already looked into this myself. Some universities that have accepted Kaplan ADN graduates are CSU Chico and Dominguez Hills.

Hi Friend! hehe. Yeah, CLEP is awesome. I just looked at it, thinking I'd take the CLEP just to cover my buns after I finished a course, but they don't do CLEP exams for A&P or Microbio, which are the only courses I'm taking at Kaplan that aren't the actual Nursing courses. Everything else I had done in my degree. I tried for a year to get into A&P or Micro at Mira Costa and Palomar and couldn't get in, everything fills up to dang fast. Its almost impossible to get in, and since those are the only 3 I need for Nursing... totally frustrating. That's how I ended up looking into Kaplan instead to get my RN. You know especially being married to the military, I don't have all kinds of time to be waiting around to get classes... :/

Hi Friend! hehe. Yeah, CLEP is awesome. I just looked at it, thinking I'd take the CLEP just to cover my buns after I finished a course, but they don't do CLEP exams for A&P or Microbio, which are the only courses I'm taking at Kaplan that aren't the actual Nursing courses. Everything else I had done in my degree. I tried for a year to get into A&P or Micro at Mira Costa and Palomar and couldn't get in, everything fills up to dang fast. Its almost impossible to get in, and since those are the only 3 I need for Nursing... totally frustrating. That's how I ended up looking into Kaplan instead to get my RN. You know especially being married to the military, I don't have all kinds of time to be waiting around to get classes... :/

I had the same problem, so I ended up enrolling at National University to take the sciences I needed since my lower division sciences were done...about $1500 a class (not sure if they've raised it in the last 2 yrs) but I was able to complete all 3 courses within a short time frame (about the time of 1 semester or less; can't recall). The only reason I didn't apply to National for the nursing program was because I encountered some problems with financial aid. They never contacted me about some required paperwork that was needed and my financial aid never came through. I completed 3 classes without anyone every mentioning anything about this to me. When I completed the 3 courses they told me that I needed to pay them in order to continue to take classes, which I could not afford to do all at once. Then, they wouldn't even release my transcript, which I've been told now is illegal since I was trying to get into a community college and go the cheaper route since I was already an LVN.

If you can afford it, I would highly recommend taking that route if you are looking into retaking those 3 courses. And after having taken A&P I, A&P II, and Micro at both schools, I would have to say that Kaplan was actually more challanging than National. I would compare it to having someone hold your hand at National while having to go through boot camp at Kaplan. I didn't read for A&P at Kaplan. Just concentrate on really learning what is on those ppts. I would only study the ppts for about 1-2 hours before class started for exams, and I got A's. Make sure to print out copies of the slides and pictures for lab and bring a digital camera for items that aren't already on the lab powerpoints. The digital camera actually takes really good histology photos with the microscope.

One of the first things I'm going to do when I start working as an RN is to pay off National so that I can get my transcripts released. I'm probably going to finish off some of the GE's required for the BSN at the community college or National online courses. I was a business major before going into nursing and still have to complete about a years worth of classes. I'm probably going to enroll at multiple community colleges online to complete most of the GE's. The only advantage of going to Phoenix for me is that I wouldn't have to a speech class. But, I have a friend who just completed her BSN there and they let her start right into the nursing classes even though she had some GE's she still needed to complete. I have another friend that did Maric, then Phoenix, then on to complete her NP at USD.

Specializes in Emergency.

I was enrolled at National, and dropped out because I got into Kaplan. I was going to take the courses there, they are like $1800 or something for each course, and it doesn't include books. I was going to do their BSN program, but with the sciences and all the Nursing courses it actually costs more than Kaplan because they don't include books. It would have been over $50k from start to finish without the cost of Uniforms or books.

But, since I already have a BS in another field, I can go straight into an MSN program IF the school will take my units. Phoenix will so I may end up going that route. That being said, I have some student loans that I am paying from my degree and now I'm going to add on the one's from Kaplan, which isn't tooo too much since I have the GI Bill and another tuition assistance program for mil spouses, I am getting out of there for about $25k with my RN.

I was enrolled at National, and dropped out because I got into Kaplan. I was going to take the courses there, they are like $1800 or something for each course, and it doesn't include books. I was going to do their BSN program, but with the sciences and all the Nursing courses it actually costs more than Kaplan because they don't include books. It would have been over $50k from start to finish without the cost of Uniforms or books.

But, since I already have a BS in another field, I can go straight into an MSN program IF the school will take my units. Phoenix will so I may end up going that route. That being said, I have some student loans that I am paying from my degree and now I'm going to add on the one's from Kaplan, which isn't tooo too much since I have the GI Bill and another tuition assistance program for mil spouses, I am getting out of there for about $25k with my RN.

Look into Interamerican College also since you already have a BS...it isn't the prettiest school, but you go straight into a BSN for cheaper...it's in National City...it's up an coming since many aren't aware of the schools nursing program. They were just surveyed for regional accreditation. They are working on an MSN/NP program currently if you were interested in that and would cost substantially less than USD or Western University. The BSN program is generally for those that already hold a BS in another field. Just giving you another option that will also cut cost. You would generally be spending the same amount of time but with less money.

For books, I usually ordered mine online...international versions. Only difference would be the cover. All content would match exactly.

Specializes in Emergency.

I'll look into it. Thanks. The likelihood of us even staying in the San Diego area, much less even CA for much longer than the next 2 years is pretty slim. I'm pretty sure that they will send us away soon. We've already been here for 3 years so... I'm even taking a BIG chance and gambling with the fact that we might stay through the Kaplan program. Let's just say I'm not going to be surprised if my husband and I end up living in 2 different states while I finish my program here. LOL

I'll look into it. Thanks. The likelihood of us even staying in the San Diego area, much less even CA for much longer than the next 2 years is pretty slim. I'm pretty sure that they will send us away soon. We've already been here for 3 years so... I'm even taking a BIG chance and gambling with the fact that we might stay through the Kaplan program. Let's just say I'm not going to be surprised if my husband and I end up living in 2 different states while I finish my program here. LOL[/quot

Well good luck to you anyhow...i'm sure everything will work out...just think, at least there are multiple Kaplan ADN programs, so hopefully he gets transferred somewhere you can transfer also...at least you only have the husband to deal with and no kids. If there is anything that you may need throughout, just let me know..I'll most likely still be in SD..just email..i have study guides too

Specializes in Emergency.

Thanks!

I'm feeling desperate again, which means the Kaplan option is back on the table. Sigh~

I feel like Kaplan is the easy out, and generally the easy choice is usually not the right one. I don't know what to do. Going to Kaplan feels like selling my soul to the devil. But at age 30, carpet bombing community colleges with applications with little to no hope of getting in seems awful too. I'm terrified of going into massive debt for their degree. Pursuing nursing is like punching yourself in the face over and over again. And YES I'm feeling extra depressed about it today! :uhoh3:

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