The College Network?

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Hi can anyone tell me if The College Network is a great independent study program that works well w/ EC? I will like to start next month but want to make sure I know everything I will be getting into.

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Specializes in rehab; med/surg; l&d; peds/home care.

ok, i'll bite!

as an EC student who has done everything but the CPNE (5 weeks to go!), including all pre-reqs, i would recommend you research a bit before signing a contract. to tell you frankly, those thousands of dollars you will spend could be spent in other ways.

are you a good test-taker? everyone learns differently. some need to read alot more than others. if you can follow an outline and have the main book in the recommended reading list from excelsior, you could read the chapters, or skim them if it's stuff you know just for review, and just make notes. that's how i did it. i never used a publishing company. i did every course with the main book and just read what i needed to. excelsior has a course outline with the recommended books, and tells you exactly what you need to know for the exam.

there are lots of threads on this subject. try doing a search if you want more info from other people asking this same question.

just so you know, you DO NOT need any publishing company (rue, college network, chancellors, etc) to take these exams. they are a company wishing to sell study materials, nothing more. as a student of ec, you get that for free anyways. you can buy the required texts on ebay, try to locate older editions of the same text, go to half.com, etc. that's how i got all my books. i also used the saunders nclex-rn review book to go along. that is a great reference for ec's program. i used some of my LPN books as well, and those are 10 years old! the internet and google is a great way to search for subject matter you need additional help with. ebay also sells used college network guides, rue guides, etc from former students.

hope i helped you out a bit. i know it's kind of hard to figure out how to start ec's program. it took me a few exams to get into the groove of it. another wonderful resource for some of the exams is ec's practice exams. they are invaluable in knowing if you are prepared for a specific exam.

good luck! if you need any more help, feel free to PM me! i'll be glad to help you out any way i can!

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I used the College network and thought their books were great. I passed everything on the first try. I wanted all the information in one book. My advice to you is to get the books from ebay. Don't sign the expensive contract. Save your money for other things like the CPNE!!

Good Luck,

Tammy

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Another vote for exercising caution with publishing companies. Works for some people, but certainly not necessary for many.

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Specializes in home care and geriatrics.
I used the College network and thought their books were great. I passed everything on the first try. I wanted all the information in one book. My advice to you is to get the books from ebay. Don't sign the expensive contract. Save your money for other things like the CPNE!!

Good Luck,

Tammy

aexpensice contract? you mean with excelsior? I just spoke with a college network rep yesterday and it sounds pretty appealing

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Specializes in Emergency room, med/surg, UR/CSR.
aexpensice contract? you mean with excelsior? I just spoke with a college network rep yesterday and it sounds pretty appealing

Yes it is very expensive. I bought into the contract and recieved a bunch of study guides, all of which are collecting dust on the shelf in my room. They quoted me one price and then sent me a letter stating that I needed more courses than originally figured so they sent me more expensive study guides which they tacked onto the already highly expensive student loan they talked me into getting for these "study guides." Do what others have suggested, find the study guides on ebay and take the tests. Just a suggestion. Meanwhile, I think I will list my study guides on Ebay. Some haven't even been taken out of the plastic yet! Good luck!!

Pam

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Specializes in home care and geriatrics.

I did quite a bit more research last night. I am having some difficulty wrapping my head around some of it for some reason. Thus far it seam like a better plan to take the pre-req classes locally at a cc and then just do the excelsior testing. that is where i get confused. dont you have to pay to pay to enroll in excelsior and also pay tuition for their nursing classes??the local nursing program just doesn't relaly work for me since I have young kids. thanks!!

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Hi thanks for all that replyed. and I hope it also helped others. Well getting the guides off ebay sounds great. I will not sign w/ college network or no one else. I will either do everything w/ EC or my CC then go w/ EC. So thanks you don't know how much I found out from the help I got from this room.

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Specializes in Mental Health, MI/CD, Neurology.

Trustar, I am so glad you decided not to go with a 3rd party. I am yet another one who made that mistake, only to end up not using the materials and using only the EC content guide.

Movinup, the gen. ed. exams through EC are the same as the NC exams. You pay to enroll, and you pay to take the test. They have a (free) content guide that outlines exactly what is on the exam. You know that outline and everything about everything in it, you pay to take the exam, you pass. Simple as that. EC writes the exams, so I wouldn't trust anyone other than EC to tell you what you need to know for these exams. You can take the generals at another college, but make sure that before you do these classes will transfer to EC.

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Specializes in Home Health Case Mgr.

I wonder if anyone tried to send all the study guides back to them and quit paying the fees. Would they hire Guido to come and get you or sue?

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I am wondering,too. I was just informed that Excelsior College graduates will no longer be eligible to obtain initial licensure in Maryland if not enrolled in Excelsior before July 25th 2006. Now I have books I can not use. The College Network says they do not give refunds.

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Hi All. To those who are considering going thru The College Network, my advise is Don't do it! $2000 + and only 7 study guides with zero further help will get you all of the new (within the last edition or two) and thru the majority of the NC exams. Although many might find it quaint and old fashioned, I tend to use the EC study guides, read the texts (a great deal of ground to cover), yet feel like I've learned something for all of my trouble. Review guides? Great for review. Good luck!

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