Drexel University ACE Spring 2010

Do any of you know if Drexel will tell you which prerequisites you still need to complete after you received provisional acceptance? All I got was a big packet that said that I am provisionally accepted, but no clue as to which prereqs I still need....

Cali- you should get a transcript evaluation in the mail, but you can always email them if you need to be registering for any prerequisites you still need soon.

I have now taken the exit HESI four times as well and have received above a 900 each time with conversion scores of 85 mid, 84 high and my last two scores were 86.02 and 86.4. I cannot begin to tell you how frustrated I am. I do not know where to go from here either. It is extremely difficult for me to try and come up with another 3 grand not knowing if I will ever even get my degree in the end. You mention class action lawsuits, are they against Drexel? Something needs to be done in this situation. It is far from fair.

Hello Stuck,

I feel your pain and have seen my daughter go through the same frustration. She also has not passed four times! She has moved home because of no job, no money, no benefits and it is a nightmare to live with this test hanging over your head 24-7. Nursing is hard enough without putting this added pressure. I don't want to scare people on this board, but I would never recommend this program knowing you may be unlucky and never receive a degree after so much blood, sweat, tears and not to mention the financial investment to this university. I have never seen my daughter fail at anything-we never thought possible. Well, HESI made it possible. I don't know of anyone challenging Drexel, but there have been other actions taken against other universities. This test has been banned

in the state of New York. Although it is not illegal, it is unethical to withhold a degree based on one "high stake test". People on this board that have gone through the program and are defending Drexel have not seen the other side" of HESI. Someone mentioned an appeals process, are you aware of any? Only thing to do now is try to keep your head up and try to pas the test. It is so frustrating to know your livelihood is now in the hands of Drexel and HESI.

Hello Stuck,

I feel your pain and have seen my daughter go through the same frustration. She also has not passed four times! She has moved home because of no job, no money, no benefits and it is a nightmare to live with this test hanging over your head 24-7. Nursing is hard enough without putting this added pressure. I don't want to scare people on this board, but I would never recommend this program knowing you may be unlucky and never receive a degree after so much blood, sweat, tears and not to mention the financial investment to this university. I have never seen my daughter fail at anything-we never thought possible. Well, HESI made it possible. I don't know of anyone challenging Drexel, but there have been other actions taken against other universities. This test has been banned

in the state of New York. Although it is not illegal, it is unethical to withhold a degree based on one "high stake test". People on this board that have gone through the program and are defending Drexel have not seen the other side" of HESI. Someone mentioned an appeals process, are you aware of any? Only thing to do now is try to keep your head up and try to pas the test. It is so frustrating to know your livelihood is now in the hands of Drexel and HESI.

Wow this information is really scarey!!! You mean to tell me that all of the work and thousands of dollars you invest a Drexel nursing degree you can fail just just from tenths of a point....Wow...I am supposed to go to drexel this spring, but I am now giving it some serious consideration. there is no way possible can I afford to take out 50,000 in student loans work hard to pass my classes and not pass the hesi!...Yeah I really got some serious thinking to do!

I am about to enter this program and was concerned when I read all of these complaints regarding the HESI. My recommendation to anyone entering the program who is concerned...call the advisor of the ACE program and she will explain what exactly is going on. Drexel wants to make sure that you are prepared prior to taking the NCLEX. I can understand why students that have worked hard and have not passed would be upset, but is unfortunate that all of this negativity towards Drexel has ended up on this thread. At the risk of sounding insensitive, it seems like students that are bitter with Drexel should start a new thread where you can talk about lawsuits, fairness etc.

This is from the Drexel site: "In addition to technology, students are provided with a summative review course that prepares them to take a Comprehensive HESI Exit Exam and the NCLEX Exam. Also, we pride ourselves on our experienced faculty who are specialists in their respective fields." So they do everything they can to prepare you for the daunting task at hand.

One thing that the advisor made clear to me is that this is a VERY difficult program...they do not hide that in any way, shape, or form. This scenario with passing the HESI is similar to a lawyer that must pass the bar prior to practicing law...it is part of the deal. If you do not think you will do well on standardized tests or are not prepared to study so hard that you will pass that HESI with the high marks that Drexel requires, than this is probably not the program for you. However, think how prepared you are going to be for the NCLEX when you do pass! One thing the lady did tell me was that only a VERY small percentage of folks need to take additional class to pass the HESI, and to date, NOBODY has failed the HESI following this 2nd review class. Yes, it does cost additional money, but as someone pointed out in an earlier post...did you ever take a college class for free? Also, the required score on the HESI seems to prepare you for the NCLEX as they have a 100% pass rate. Part of what we are paying for is the prestige of going to a top university, academic standards are high, and the requirement of passing the HESI with a very high score allows Drexel to maintain those standards.

Hello All. I will be entering the ACE program Spring 2010 and am also slightly nervous about all of the talk about Hesi. If I am getting this correctly, the Hesi examination is a standardized exam which we need to pass to earn our degree. In essence, from what I have read, during the course of the quarters we are given hesi examinations relative to the current topic of study then at the end in senior seminar, we are given a comprehensive hesi exam. For those who know, how many questions is this exam? What grade do we need to pass? I thought that I read somewhere that the score was recently lowered. The idea of this exam makes me nervous, but I'm just not sure if my nervousness is valid since I know very little about the exam and its usage throughout the program. Stuck 11, do you feel as if you were ill-prepared for this exam? Are there an abundance of resources (or lack there of) in term of preparation for the hesi exam? Any clarifications will be greatly appreciated, because it's making me crazy just thinking about it...

I'm not 100% sure about what the HESI is all about, but it sounds to me like if you can't pass the HESI, then you won't be able to pass the NCLEX either. So I like the idea of it, it makes sense to me. They even have an entire course dedicated to getting you prepared for it. I don't think everyone needs to worry so much about it. It's going to be tough at any school, every school has it's own way of doing things.

there are mixed opinions on hesi, but the bottom line is, it’s a requirement. it’s essentially a quiz grade for the clinical courses (55 questions, no required passing score), and a final for senior seminar (165 questions, we needed a 950 to pass as of sept '09 graduation). figure that since most finals are a big percentage of your grade, it’s unlikely that you’d pass a class if you fail the final anyway…it made the hesi seem a little less intimidating for me.

i had a hard time with the principles hesi first quarter, but decided that since i couldn’t change it, i’d focus on improving my score instead. this is what worked for me, as well as for people i tutored:

resources

- reviews & rationales. great for regular class exams, as well as hesi. these questions are some of the more difficult ones, and rationales are provided for every question. i used these more than the practest. there is a comprehensive review book, as well as individual books for different subjects (they all have the same questions, just organized differently). the comprehensive book scared me first quarter, so i opted for the individual ones. the library has a copy of the comprehensive one, and my study group also shared one.

-kaplan’s test taking strategies for the nclex-rn.

-hesi book. if nothing else, read the “hesi hints.” also, since lab values differ by location, look at the charts to see what hesi considers normal values. buy the book first quarter, even though it’s not required yet.

strategy

-prioritize questions based on abcs, maslow, and safety. unless it’s a delegation question, assume there is no help available. when delegating, ask yourself “is there anyone else who could do this?” the leadership reviews & rationales book is really helpful for this, so even though you won’t take leadership until 4th quarter, it’s worth looking into earlier.

-read each question, then ask yourself what it’s asking you to do. before you look at the answer choices, come up with a rough idea in your head.

-don’t read into the question. if it’s not there, it’s not relevant.

-be confident in your choice. hesi is a computer exam, and you can’t go back. if you don’t know the answer right away, think through it and choose the best answer. there may be several decent answers, or they may all seem bad to you – make an educated decision, and don’t let your uncertainty follow you to the next question.

-focus on the difficulty level of the questions. on hesi, like nclex, not every question is weighted equally. i’ve gotten twenty-some questions wrong, but still scored in the 90s, because the ones i got wrong were the lowest level. reviews & rationales tells you what level each question is, so aim to score the highest on analysis.

-ask for help! if it’s second quarter, and you’re still getting low hesi grades, that’s the time to start adjusting your technique. i think most of us did horrible on the first hesi, but after that, you should start to see improvement.

-remember that it’s just a test. people have done it before you, and you can do it too.

obviously, you need to figure out what type of studying works best for you and stick with it. there’s a learning curve with hesi, but it’s absolutely something that can be done. if i can help anyone, feel free to let me know. good luck to those of you who are about to start!

AugustRain,

I can't believe you are still providing us with information and helping us out even though you are finished!! I'm pretty sure once I'm finished I will just breathe a sigh of relief and not ever want to look back!! Thank you so very much for all your input, I think I can speak for everyone when I say it is MUCH appreciated!!

I start in the Spring and have 3 months off right now.. Is there anything you would suggest I get started on while I have the time? I purchased the Anatomy & Physiology lecture DVD's from the Teaching Company just to learn the most I can learn about A&P (I know I am a total nerd) and I'm also going to study some pharmacology with my dad and sister's help (dad's a physician, sister's a pharm sales rep), just so that when I'm struggling with all the nursing stuff in school, knowing these things will hopefully allow me to focus on everything else.

Any other suggestions on just general topics to study? I'm not working right now, so I'm going to be pretty bored for the next few months.. I might as well get a head start!

I'm not too worried about HESI strategy.. I took an EMT course and I believe the tests were all in a similar format to the NCLEX, and boy did I learn a ton about multiple choice! I think I've got that mastered. If not mastered, then close to it. I think that's why I like the idea of all the HESI tests throughout the program, because you probably really get used to the types of questions and understand how they work so by the time you take the NCLEX, you're not even breaking a sweat.

Thanks again AugustRain!

You're quite welcome CocoBelly, glad I could help! I actually enjoyed nursing school...I was excited about what I was learning and made good friends in the process. We had some crazy-only-in-nursing-school experiences, but I knew it was only a temporary state of insanity, and then I'd finally be a nurse.

If you really, really want to study beforehand, stick with the A&P and focus on the normals. You can also look over dosage calculation (ACE uses Calculate with Confidence), since there will be lots of math quizzes and no math class. The most productive thing would probably be to get yourself very organized and relaxed, since you won't do much of either come the Spring :)

You seem to have a good perspective going in, I think that's half the battle of nursing school. Enjoy your last few months of freedom!

CocoBelly, just thought of something else - electrolytes! That's what I wish I'd looked over because it will follow you forever! As always, my vote is for the Reviews & Rationales book for Fluid & Electrolytes.

Don't get too specific, but look over general ranges, which electrolytes are opposites, and a little bit about what happens when they're off.

Thanks so much!!! I can't wait to get started on all this pre-studying! I definitely need to study electrolytes, I never learned much about them in my classes... which is another reason why I'm studying the A&P dvds, I don't trust that my professors at CCP taught us everything.. in fact I know my A&P-I prof did not and I struggled to catch up in A&P-II because of it. I will definitely be trying to learn everything I can before getting started, just to have better base knowledge. I will probably study all my old EMT stuff as well.. could possibly help with patient assessments!

Thanks again!