School's NCLEX pass rates, PLEASE help!

[danielleshea2011]

hey! i'm new to the site and i really need advice!

ok so i'm a freshman beginning my second semester at a pretty small school. when i was applying for school, i thought i would be a biology major, so i didn't check into the nclex pass rates, etc. when i changed my major, i began to research and found that the school i'm at only has a pass rate of about 74% for the past few years. it is a very small school and only about 30 people are accepted into the nursing program each semester.

so, i did more research and discovered that the college in my hometown has had a nclex pass rate 95% and up the last 5 years. this past year it was 100%, can't beat that.

so..i have no clue what to do and i feel like i have no one to talk to about this decision (neither of my parents went to college & i don't have any siblings).

i also have heard that the program at the school i'm at has no pharmacology class and many people are unhappy with the program. but i don't know who i should approach for more information. i could go to the chair of the nursing program, but honestly, i wouldn't know how or what to say to her (& she's my professor for the intro to nursing class i'm in now..awkard)

please help! where should i go?

[shudva]

Hello there. I am at a community college and at my school we have selective admissions seminars that are scheduled by throughout the school year. It is a good idea to see if they have some type of information night for your program of interest. They should also have a list of pre-reqs and core-reqs that should at least be on their website or should be handed out by the nursing department or your student advisor, if not online. Just a side note, apply to as many programs as you can. Nursing acceptance is very competitive. I hope this helps.

[Raviepoo]

The nursing school that I left (I'm now at a school that I like much better) has an NCLEX passing rate of 100% most of the time. It's not because it's a good school. It's because it is very hard to graduate from there, and not because of academics. Anyone I know who went there was miserable the whole time and people dropped like flies. They ones who stuck around until graduation were VERY motivated, and studied their asses off before taking the boards.

[tas026]

I believe that the NCLEX pass rate really only half way reflects the program that you are in. You could be in an amazing school but just be getting by and then fail the NCLEX. Likewise, you could be studying really hard, but be in a crappy school and fail. You have made sure the school is accredited, correct? My school has a 93-100% pass rate, but we don't have a set pharmacology class. We learn it little by little throughout each semester. You could ask your instructor if this is the case in your school? Before jumping the gun and transferring (especially because any nursing classes most likely will not transfer with you), I would just do a little bit of research on your school's nursing program. You may be able to find that out here: American Association of Colleges of Nursing | CCNE Accreditation. If you know anyone who has graduated from the program, ask them what it was like trying to get a job for them and if they think going to your school had a negative effect on that. For the most part, I feel that if your school is able to get accredited then it is at least decent. No school can teach you EVERYTHING that will be on the NCLEX. You will have to study some stuff on your own before you take it.