United States University (USU) FNP

Has anyone done this program? I'm looking into it and it seems great but there are hardly any updates reviews. Thanks!

7 hours ago, LJCecere said:

I am in the process of enrolling. I'm not 100% certain I will go through with this. I obtained my BSN from Capella not knowing it was a for-profit. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't look too deeply into it as it was very affordable and I feel I received a good education; equally as good as all my peers from the ADN program I was in who went $40k into debt for a well known University degree. At the end of the day, we all are employed.

As far as USU goes, I have called several recruiters in my area. None of them look at the University attended. They want to know the school is accredited and you passed your boards. They have all said it's the resume and interview that weight the heaviest.

I am no one to pursuade anyone in any direction. I know, as an older student with children at home, I have to be responsible to my family. I believe this is the direction I am supposed to go - the FNP, I mean. How I get there in the end, I'm not sure.

I did join a FB group for FNP students. I have run into a few USU students about to graduate. They all say the same thing: do not get behind in reading, take responsibility for your eduction, apply yourself 100%, and find preceptors early. I was accepted to Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Simmons, and Loyola. I really wanted to go to a well known school, but the price tag is unreal. What I want more is to be an FNP. So I will take the overarching advice of those I've spoken with who have attended USU, whether I decide to attend or not, and take responsibility for my own engagement in my education. Not meant to sound preachy, just something I need to hear myself.

The price is what is stated on the website. Administration is friendly and helpful. The quality of instructors leaves a lot to be desired as would be expected from the low cost of attendance. Honestly, I question where they find some of these "instructors." Its obvious that most don't have any teaching experience. If you are looking for the degree and can mostly self study, the program should be a good fit.

On 12/17/2019 at 1:18 PM, Firelilly said:

No regrets! The courses are tedious like any other Masters level program. Many may comment that they prefer to attend a more reputable institutes. Employers only care if you pass the boards. I work for a very large health network in PA and many of the FNPs graduated from various online colleges which I'm not familiar with. In the end, you are the one that will be stuck with the bill. Hopefully, you receive some type of tuition reimburstment from your employer to soften the blow.

I'm not sure I would consider these classes "Masters" level. Its pretty much 75% busy work (presentations and writing responses on the message boards) and 25% preparing for online exams for which the answers can be easily found by doing an online search.

7 hours ago, runnyeggs said:

Almost all of those FNP FB groups require current students to admit them into the group to ask them questions. This is my first for-profit school. I've gotten bachelors and masters from state universities, one from the UC system. The world of for-profit, especially the un-established ones can go bust. Any school that accepts you the next day before transcripts are even ordered deserves a probing eye. This school was a non-profit before it changed names and also became a for-profit. It started as a school to help immigrants transfer credits and become teachers. All its presidents have been from other no-name for profit schools (I mean Trident University International???). So, this is all new for me and why I am on the fence. Also, many of its students in the beginning of this thread did NOT have flattering things to say about the school. I am 50/50 on joining you this Jan or Mar.

If you want to get a FNP and don't care about the quality of instruction, this place would be fine. You'll get your degree (I have no doubt about that). Just be advised that its nothing like a masters from UC (I have one from UCLA). Its busy work (you'll get as much as you want to get out of it). You can BS your way through it and find answers online or actually read the material and learn (its up to you, instructors are mediocre at best)

Specializes in Pediatric Home Healthcare.
2 hours ago, perfectzero01 said:

If you want to get a FNP and don't care about the quality of instruction, this place would be fine. You'll get your degree (I have no doubt about that). Just be advised that its nothing like a masters from UC (I have one from UCLA). Its busy work (you'll get as much as you want to get out of it). You can BS your way through it and find answers online or actually read the material and learn (its up to you, instructors are mediocre at best)

Are you attending this University? I'm curious as it sounds like you have first hand knowledge.

Specializes in Pediatric Home Healthcare.
9 hours ago, perfectzero01 said:

yes, haha

I learned that some people have opinions and no experience, and some have experience and little opinion! ?

That's good of you to make assumptions. I hold a BS from UCI and a masters from UCLA before getting into medicine. My "opinions" come from my experience. If it doesn't suit you, then you are welcome to ignore it. This is my experience with USU. I'm sure that many of the online programs are similar. The gist of the program is making power point presentations, doing weekly message board posts and weekly online quizzes which have the answers word for word on quizlet. Instructors put minimal effort into the classroom (everyone so far has a outside full-time job and teaching this online USU class is just secondary supplemental income

Specializes in Pediatric Home Healthcare.
9 minutes ago, perfectzero01 said:

That's good of you to make assumptions. I hold a BS from UCI and a masters from UCLA before getting into medicine. My "opinions" come from my experience. If it doesn't suit you, then you are welcome to ignore it. This is my experience with USU. I'm sure that many of the online programs are similar. The gist of the program is making power point presentations, doing weekly message board posts and weekly online quizzes which have the answers word for word on quizlet. Instructors put minimal effort into the classroom (everyone so far has a outside full-time job and teaching this online USU class is just secondary supplemental income

Oh, that was not a negative comment directed at you or anyone. I have simply learned the hard way that when someone speaks with a sound of authority, it doesn't always mean they have the experience to back it up.

I am looking for honest reviews and I truly appreciate your opinion on this, particularly since you have first hand experience. If I caused an offense, it was completely unintentional.

I don't want a non-education education. I worry that my desire to get going and pay as little as possible is not going to result in a good outcome. I remember reading an article once called something like Cheap, Fast, Good. The author was talking about how you seldom can have all three. If it's cheap and fast, it's likely not good. If it's good and cheap, it's likely not fast, and so on. This has always stuck with me. I'm an older student and feel like I need to balance the payoff of the investment. These decisions would have been much easier 20 year ago.

no worries. the material is there for you to get the knowledge. I just wouldn't expect much support from the instructors. I think that USU isn't alone when it comes to low cost online classes. If you have the resilience to do the readings and take the exams without the help of google, you'll get more out of the class. The problem is that it is tempting to look up the answers online and doing the minimum to get by when you have a busy life. The one thing that will get you is the HESI exam since those are proctored.

Specializes in Pediatric Home Healthcare.
1 minute ago, perfectzero01 said:

no worries. the material is there for you to get the knowledge. I just wouldn't expect much support from the instructors. I think that USU isn't alone when it comes to low cost online classes. If you have the resilience to do the readings and take the exams without the help of google, you'll get more out of the class. The problem is that it is tempting to look up the answers online and doing the minimum to get by when you have a busy life. The one thing that will get you is the HESI exam since those are proctored.

Do you feel like the HESI exams help to assess where you are? I don't want to get lazy and look stuff up on Google. I really want a quality education and to be of service to others. I live in a rural community that is underserved and I really hope I am able to serve the community here.

Specializes in Pediatric Home Healthcare.
4 minutes ago, perfectzero01 said:

no worries. the material is there for you to get the knowledge. I just wouldn't expect much support from the instructors. I think that USU isn't alone when it comes to low cost online classes. If you have the resilience to do the readings and take the exams without the help of google, you'll get more out of the class. The problem is that it is tempting to look up the answers online and doing the minimum to get by when you have a busy life. The one thing that will get you is the HESI exam since those are proctored.

Do you have suggestions on other online affordable schools? If you're more comfortable, please feel free to message me privately. Though I have no idea how to do that on here.

Yeah, the HESI question format is different from the weekly quizes. You either know it or you don't. You definitely see a large discrepancy in grades from quizzes and HESI. If you are honest with yourself and perform the weekly quizzes on your own, you will ahead of the curve. Unfortunately, this is a drawback of using online format and using preexisting questions from a question bank.

Specializes in Pediatric Home Healthcare.
8 minutes ago, perfectzero01 said:

Yeah, the HESI question format is different from the weekly quizes. You either know it or you don't. You definitely see a large discrepancy in grades from quizzes and HESI. If you are honest with yourself and perform the weekly quizzes on your own, you will ahead of the curve. Unfortunately, this is a drawback of using online format and using preexisting questions from a question bank.

I don't know how to comment on here without always having your message quoted. That's probably getting annoying.

I so agree. The canned banks of questions make it hard to dertmine if you really know what you are being tested on. We used ATI back when I was working on my ADN. It was good the first time through to see my weak areas. But after remediation and getting the same questions over and over, it was impossible to tell if I really was gaining any knowledge.

I already purchased an FNP review guide I've seen recommended. I'm hoping to go through it little by little. And I'm beginning to think that, even though I have heard the live classes with Simmons are often just students broken up into discussion groups, maybe that's a better plan. Even at $52k, which hurts to type.

+ Join the Discussion