Thoughts on Maric College?

[casualjim]

Hi

I threw my story out on another thread. I'm just finishing up 20 years in the Navy most of it was in Naval Special Warfare where I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to cross-train as a medic. As I was looking for a 2nd career I kept saying things like "I can do this, or I can do that." I finally came to realize that what I "wanted" to do was be an RN. It's a good way to take some of the lessons that I really didnt want to learn working for "Uncle Sucker" and put them to good use helping someone else.

but I digress

I'm starting my classwork as best I can prior to my actual retirement date but I'm getting a little frustrated when the people at the college I'm going to keep telling me how it'll be at least 2 years from the time I finish my pre-req stuff (A&P, chem & microbiology) before I can get into the "core" ADN program. In some things I can show quite a bit of patience, in things like this, not so much.

I'm posting because Maric College is boasting that they have no waiting list, and a better than 85% pass rate on NCLEX-RN. I just keep getting a intermittant alarm going off when I talk to anyone there. It has that slight scent of diploma mill. Not that I have anything against a diploma mill but will the diploma that I get from there do anything for me in the future if I decide to trade up to a BSN? Most importantly is the training that you get from there up to speed?

Just curious if anyone has any experiance with Maric?

Thanks in advance

Jim

[casualjim]

IMO, you are too smart for Maric and they knew it. With your education, science background and high scores, they knew they couldn't bully you.

.

So what you're saying is that us poor saps that are at Maric are a bunch of morons?

It's not Stanford that's for sure but on the other hand it's not some banana republic diploma mill either. This thread has been going on for a couple months short of two years now. I'm officially over it.

To those of you that decide to give Maric a try, go in with both eyes open.

To those of you that decide to go elsewhere, go in with both eyes open.

To all of us actively persuing that RN title, good luck. I'm now done with this thread.

aloha

Jim

[mstigerlily]

So what you're saying is that us poor saps that are at Maric are a bunch of morons?

It's not Stanford that's for sure but on the other hand it's not some banana republic diploma mill either. This thread has been going on for a couple months short of two years now. I'm officially over it.

To those of you that decide to give Maric a try, go in with both eyes open.

To those of you that decide to go elsewhere, go in with both eyes open.

To all of us actively persuing that RN title, good luck. I'm now done with this thread.

aloha

Jim

Gosh you seem a little touchy. I said poster is too smart to be fooled by the high pressure sales pitch at Maric, but of course that doesn't mean anyone else is stupid. Maybe the rest of you saw through the sales pitch too but had your other reasons for choosing Maric.

I'm haven't posted on this thread for ages, I just happened to see it again, but I see you've been very active in it. I don't like Maric for many reasons and would never refer anyone there but I can see how it would be the best option in certain situations. Glad it's working for you. Look obviously my negativity about Maric upsets you so I won't post in this thread again so you can get back to saying positive things about Maric. I'm sure people would like to hear from someone who actually goes to school there so you are a valuable resource to many here.

[cacori2006]

hi all,

i registered for this website just to be able to give my thoughts on Maric.

whew, it's been a ride.

just today, just now, i decided to go somewhere else, anywhere else but Maric. i did a yahoo search for "maric college bad" and found this post. after reading myriad pro and con posts, i saw enough to confirm my doubts.

since april i have been trying to get information and apply to maric. the counselor to whom i was assigned was ernesto perales. initially i was sceptical of the sales-pitch approach but i understood that private school=business and that i was paying big money to knock it out in 15 months. he told me that it would be about 36k for the nursing and add'l for any pre-req classes. but, after that initial conversation, i could not get him to return my emails, my phone calls. i let days and weeks go by to give the benefit of the doubt. i would call and ask the receptionist to give me to someone else and then would end up transfered to ernesto's voice mail. at the time i was living in northern california and going through an accelerated EMT program to fulfill the medical certification pre-req for Maric. i called, i emailed. no response.

i was a microbiologist, i had a fellowship in genetics, i had all of my pre-reqs completed save for two classes and i was anxious to know what to do next with my burning desire to be a nurse. i had been working in a bar for a year while i waited to get into public nursing schools in sacramento, but the waiting lists... so maric and 15 months sounded pretty good. pay the loan off after i get a RN job, right? and get to be in san diego!

so finally, i decided to fly down to san diego and take the CPAT and complete the essay and application. (the week before, i finally was able to catch ernesto and find out that testing was necessary before we could talk about the rest.) (no apologies or excuses for the unreturned calls/emails)

in september i flew from sac to sd and spent the hours for the above. ended up with a 197 on the CPAT. (basic aptitude test)

before testing, i talked with ernesto who was very discouraging about my chances of getting in as a one-quarter (of pre-req before the 15 months) student as there were few and sometimes no spots for students like me. preference was for students with no general education. after testing, i spoke with another counselor, carol, who treated my 197 like i had won the lottery- she said this was an 1 in 10,000 score. BS? i don't know. she was helpful and encouraging. my first positive in the six or so months i had been dealing with Maric. i flew back to sacramento with mixed feelings. am i great? am i getting in?

i know this is a long narrative, apologies... this is the abbreviated version.

i had all of my transcripts sent to Maric in september in advance of the september 30 cut-off date. ernesto said he received 1 of the 3 i sent. he had told me to send them to maric, attention to him.

i quit my job and moved to san diego in mid-october.

after more un-returned calls, i requested a counselor change. i figured a change would help. left unreturned voice mails for carol, then unreturned voice mails for the admissions director. 3 weeks go by. i get a call that carol is going on a leave of absence. new counselor, lucie. lucie called and said that she could not find my file. (at least she called!) but----no transcripts, no essay, no paperwork. but i had flown down from sac, i was one in ten thousand, i had been so patient! lucie said that ernesto recommends that transcripts be sent to the students' houses and then be brought in. and why were there none when once there had been one and should have been three? what? lies? why should it surprise me? after all of the shady dealings and crap customer service?

i called a friend to vent and they recommended checking the web for blogs on the experiences of maric students. and i found this.

do what you will with the info. i wish i would have found this site before this ordeal. i had such hope. 15 months was soooo seductive.

i think i'll be checking out CSU san marcos on monday.

cheers.

-jenny

p.s. i'm glad you have a better experience, jim. good luck!

Lucie is my admissions adviser and has returned all my emails phone calls and and when i took the trip to sd to test she was great and very straight forward with me! she told me about how i needed prior med experiance and i asked her her honest oppinion on me taking the cna course at my comm college or if i had a better chance of getting in if i took their cna course? she lowered her voice and said if it were me i would probly take the cna course back home if you didnt want to relocate right away. SHE WAS COMPLETLY HONEST and didnt seem like she was selling me anything. my parents have decided to send me down their for the cna course anyways because they want to see if i can hack it living on my own before i commit myself to the two year program. ( me living in san diego next to alot of my friends who go to college down there= i will def be able to hack it;) )

so sometimes the whole front office experiance isnt all that bad, dont let it discourage you. What i also like about the school is the facility is really nice compared to my city college...but i guess i should expect that since im paying all that money

[anbreen]

The poster who was offered 18 months to RN, after she got a stellar 197 on their test, but they lost her file was lucky.

I have an MA and three case management board certs, including a CCM. They offered me a 39 month RN program, including a mandatory CNA program. Mandatory year of gen. ed. (though I am credentialled to TEACH J.C.gen ed)

I got 190, out of a possible 205 on their test, BTW.

I'll be graduating from Concorde's LVN program. Then, I will re-approach Maric in S.D. about their bridge program. Hopefully, with a better counselor. Hopefully. my file hasn't been lost. :-(

Nothing wrong with Maric, I you can get past the sales people.

[Catfish RN]

Hi, I too graduated from Grossmont college. What year? I graduated in 2001.

Maybe we know eachother.

Cathi

[Catfish RN]

I have known several nurses who graduated from Maric. They passed the Boards too.

The cost is a factor. I think that they are a diploma Nurse so you do not earn an Associates degree. So you don't really need to worry about transferring credits.. just earn them somewhere else. It is an accelerated program so I think that it might be a bit more challenging actually. I agree go in with your eyes open but it is a viable option.

[heureuse21]

to all posters who replied/commented on my post, thank you. i have applied to csu san marcos and couldn't be happier even if it does take me twice as long. my advice now would be to deal with lucie as a counselor. she couldn't recover my lost file/essay, etc but she returned my phone calls, called me and checked up on me. good lady. good luck to all!

[aztecnurse14]

Hey all,

I'm not sure if anyone still peruses this thread. First, I'd like to thank everyone for their input. Very eye-opening. Secondly, I was wondering if anyone knew if Concorde required an essay, and if so, what the general idea of the prompt was. My sister has been on the wait-list at Grossmont for over 2 years and still has not gotten in. So...she has been forced to exercise other options... Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks! Katie

[anbreen]

Concorde does not yet offer an RN program in San Diego...though it's in the works.

No, an essay is not required. Just the NET. (Nurse Entrance Test). It's math up to simple algebra and reading comprehension. Some vocab, I think I remember.

I took the year-long LVN program at Concorde. I am nearly finished, and I have never regretted it for a minute. I decided on that course, because I had heard that it's easier to get into an RN bridge program. I also wanted some kind of nursing to practice while I waited.

Vocational schools are more expensive. But, the academic and personal support is really there. Also, everything is included in the tuition.

[aztecnurse14]

Thanks for your help. Yes, she too is looking toward the LVN. It is definitely good to hear about your lack of regret. There seem to be some very mixed feelings regarding vocational schools...

[aztecnurse14]

hey,again,..was wondering what the essay required by Maric is on..anyone know? thanks

[Ks mommy nurse]

Hi there, just wanted to let you know that I graduated from Concorde a few years ago and have no regrets other than I should have done it sooner.

Now the hard part is taking the first steps towards the RN. CC, West Coast, Excelsior, are my options.