To Excelsior or Not to Excelsior, that is the question....

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Hello all. Thanks in advance for reading. I'm an LPN, almost 2 years experience on a Med-Surg floor in a hopsital where LPN's are trained & utilized as much as the RN's. Great OJT. The situation I'm facing is this: I want to start back to school next year for the RN, but the question is: Excelsior or brick and mortar? I'm getting very close to making a decision, and I want bounce my thoughts off of others to make sure that I'm thinking straight. Here are the contingency factors:

1. the local cc nursing program is in disarray; not a good time to enroll

2. There is a local private college, very expensive, I'd graduate with large loan to pay back

3. There are other cc's in the next two counties, but I'd have to move, change jobs, etc. Not sure if I can even afford to move....

3. My mother lives in Virginia, age 85 but my son lives here in FL, not with me, but he's chronically ill and needs me from time to time (also has my granddaughter! :-). I'd like to stay flexible/be able to travel even while I'm in school, so I've been considering Excelsior HOWEVER

4. I am very concerned about the limitations states are putting on Excelsior grads; what if I want to move? what if I want to do travel nursing after graduating (oldest son lives in CO)?

5. ALSO: would like to get this (school) over with asap!

A friend of mine just passed the CPNE with Excelsior and only 2 out of 8 passed; they were the two with hospital experience, so I intend to continue at a hospital. Also, I DO need almost all pre-req's. Can you even do pre-req's with Excelsior???

Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions/feedback?

I'm older (54), smart, graduated at the top of my class, self-disciplined, blah blah blah. What do you other, more experienced people think? Thanks for reading! This forum is fantastic because of the fantastic people!

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Specializes in Rehab, Corrections, LTC, and Detox Nurse.

you can look at the other posts for these answers but prereqs can be clepped. You can also take them at your local college if you like.

you mentioned that moving would complicate things and going into the local program doesn't seem like a good idea. If you're self-disciplined then do Excelsior, it seems the logical thing to do.

I also like to think myself to be self-disciplined so I took most of my Pre-reqs online at my local school including my sciences(before I even considered Excelsior).

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I chose Walden over Excelsior; I thought it gives a better education and is less expensive. I am in the MSN for Educators. Check them out

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sounds like excelsior is just what you need. I have done all my pre-reqs with them, NC1 ,about to enroll and take nc3-7, CPNE worries me more than NCLEX. You can do it. i took my first test last june. I hope to finish june or july o7.

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Reason #4 is the biggest thing you should think about.

You never know where life is going to take you.

Some very alarming situations and decisions are being made at a number of different state boards right now.

If you are confident in knowing where you are going to work for your the rest of your working life and those states have no problems with EC, then go for it.

EC was the best decision I ever made besides going to LPN school in the first place, but it's easy for me to say because those new state board decisions will not affect me as an RN.

Something to think about.

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Question:

Once you have taken NCLEX and passed it, you are LICENCED and you simply transfer or articulate or whatever the word is...your license to the new state if you want to move, CORRECT??

So at that point, it doesn't matter one iota WHERE you went to school. It only matters WHERE you want to originally take NCLEX and get licensed. But its relatively easy to move your license. You just show the new BON your license and pay a fee and you are licenced in the new state.

Am I wrong about this????

Does your license say on it where you went to school?

I'm considering Excelsior and I REALLY want to do some travelling once I'm licensed. Anyone have expereince having trouble with travel agencies/jobs due to getting an Excelsior education??

thanks.

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Question:

Once you have taken NCLEX and passed it, you are LICENCED and you simply transfer or articulate or whatever the word is...your license to the new state if you want to move, CORRECT??

So at that point, it doesn't matter one iota WHERE you went to school. It only matters WHERE you want to originally take NCLEX and get licensed. But its relatively easy to move your license. You just show the new BON your license and pay a fee and you are licenced in the new state.

Am I wrong about this????

Does your license say on it where you went to school?

I'm considering Excelsior and I REALLY want to do some travelling once I'm licensed. Anyone have expereince having trouble with travel agencies/jobs due to getting an Excelsior education??

thanks.

No, you aren't.

All states will look at your education, period, either by having you send transcipts of via NURSYS. And not all states will accept Ecxelsior. I just answered this more fully where you asked it before.

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No, you aren't.

All states will look at your education, period, either by having you send transcipts of via NURSYS. And not all states will accept Ecxelsior. I just answered this more fully where you asked it before.

Yes, I understand. My state will let me SIT FOR the NCLEX with the Excelsior degree, but once that is done and passed, no one really cares where you received your degree from, right?

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How funny to see my old post resurrected! However, the answer is a resounding No, not all states accept Excelsior. Here is the link to the site that explains all that:

http://www.istudysmart.com/content.asp?cid=70

I think that nursing boards are concerned about the lack of clinical experience with an Excelsior degree, so they want to see that you have "X" number of hours as an RN in your home state before you can get endorsed in the new state.

Hope I said that right

Still haven't decided about Excelsior! ... ended up being offered a job in the next county, and I've moved there - nurse liaison for a home health agency; great salary. But I'm thinking now about a BSN or MSN... my oldest son has moved to Colorado, and Excelsior is restricted there. In the meantime I'm gonna CLEP pre-reqs and see where life takes me.

never a dull moment!

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Yes, I understand. My state will let me SIT FOR the NCLEX with the Excelsior degree, but once that is done and passed, no one really cares where you received your degree from, right?

You don't seem to be understanding what is being said about Excelsior. Although your actual, physical license doesn't have your school on it, any state you apply to in the future will be interested in where you went to school and whether that school meets their requirements for licensure, and some states have problems with Excelsior. For instance, California will not license people who got their original nursing education through EC, even if you've been licensed and working as an RN in another state for some time, even if you got an ADN from EC but then finished a BSN at another school -- if your original nursing education was through EC, you cannot be licensed in CA, period (at present -- that could change in the future). There are other states that set extra requirements for EC grads, but will license them.

We also have no idea what states may decide in the future that they need to put restrictions on EC graduates ...

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Yes, I understand. My state will let me SIT FOR the NCLEX with the Excelsior degree, but once that is done and passed, no one really cares where you received your degree from, right?

Wrong.

Some states do care and don't care if you passed NCLEX. They will require x clinical hours as an RN elsewhere before endorsing you in.

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Ya, So Doin The Excelsior, Looks Good For All The Pirate Nurses, Watch Out For Those "your Not A Real Nurse" Types When Your Workin, They Are Deadly And Will Make You Walk The Plank.

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