Well, after quite some time, I passed my CPNE!! Yes, it was difficult just as everyone else has already said. But I have to say that the College really does provide you with videos and audio content of what they are expecting of you. Hence, ALL of your critical elements! So what took me so long? I had to take a HUGE pause in life. My mother went through a terrible battle with cancer and subsequent treatment. And my life was literally put on hold. So for that reason I can say that the Excelsior program "worked for me". Had I been in a traditional program I would have had to withdraw due to my circumstances. So I figured a very important thing out about how this college is set up for any who want to apply: If you have the time and resources to go straight through your local nursing bridge program, then do it. But if you have a lot of responsibilities that have to be dealt with and you need more than a year to handle everything accordingly while attending school...then EC will work just fine for you.