The College Network LPN to RN program?

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Aug 14, 2013

It is not a college or program but a publishing company that creates (expensive ) customized study guides for distance education programs. They are not able to confer degrees They are neither affiliated with nor recommended by Excelsior College. They do have a 'partnership' relationship with Indiana State University LPN to BSN online program. You sign a contract for a private loan to finance the study guides (and sometimes the courses. & challenge exams ). You owe the money whether or not you complete the program and have no federal student loan protections (deferment , forbearance, fixed max interest rates) as this is a private personal loan not a student loan.

Some people do well with their study plan many do better by going directly through the school. There is no guaranteed acceptance at the college of nursing by going through the college network. The 'counselors' are sales people not college admissions reps.

You can google this company or do a search here on allnurses to see what information is out there.

Philly_LPN_Girl, LPN · Aug 14, 2013

They are not a college, just a company that is supposed to help you pass certain exams for Excelsior and Indiana State University.

thenursemandy · Aug 21, 2013

You can save a lot of money by skipping TCN and going straight through Excelsior College.

LPN2BSNRN · Aug 31, 2013

Hi, I have first hand experience with College Network. I got sucked into the whole getting your RN at your own pace. The problem is that with the LPN to RN, you pay for each module (which you study at your pace) and then test and you are awarded credit which is supposed to transfer to Indiana State University. You are financing the modules and the tests and it is costly. I already had a lot of classes but needed 12 plus 4 nsg modules you have to take before you can even apply to ISU. Once you apply to ISU, you have to pay to go there, with either financial aid (loans, etc). Also, like someone else said, you have to be accepted along with the traditional students and then it is 3 years of that program (which over time, the cost will change). The total of my fiancing was almost $10,000 for 12 pre-req courses and 4 nsg modules.. My monthly payment was $200.00 out of my own pocket. College Network does not finance it, they get the money from a Fiance company and then if you don't pay, the fiance company comes after you. I started with one module and found that it was going to take me forever to finish one course at my own pace and decided this was not for me. Couldn't get out of it. You only have 5 days to change your mind. I tried to talk to them and told them I didn't even do one course and couldn't they just give the money back to the Finance company. They said that if I paid it that I would always have a credit balance to use toward a degree in the future. Got no where with them. They also said I could pay $75.00 extra and they would switch me to the LPN to RN program through Excelsior College, and I checked with Excelsior and they didn't even accept the courses that I needed from TCN because they were A&P and Microbiology and TCN doesn't provide a lab, so Excelsior said they wouldn't accept them. To make a long story short, I didn't pay them anymore money and they quickly put it on my credit report. I was blessed that I now am in a LPN to BSN program at Breneu University and finsihed my first class (same one I started with TCN) last semester with an A and did it in 7 weeks, where I had been studying on my own for almost 3 months and had 3 more lessons to go. So I do not recommend the TCN.. I would suggest that you look directly in to Excelsior College and do their program directly from them, they provide all the materials you need. It is a LPN to RN program (Associate Degree) but you would be able to trust that you aren't throwing your money away. I have read that some people have been successful doing their program.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, but I caution you against TCN plan.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 2, 2013

I haven't had experience with TCN, but I'd seen a number of negative threads about it here at the forum, so I would be very wary of it.

Annesegaran · Sep 2, 2013

Thank you very much everyone....appreciate it!

tracylm40 · Sep 24, 2013

I still have to take the nursing challenge exams for ISU and when I called The College network-they said the study guides were over $600 a piece! I found all four study guides in the Amazon marketplace for $116 for all 4 guides. I imagine that ebay would also be a good place to look. I just couldn't see paying over $2000 for a 3 ring binder with photocopied paper.