Upset and Confused At GCU

MassagetoRN · Oct 26, 2010

I hear ya!! I'm at the end of my 2nd class in the RN-BSN program. Fin Aide is TERRIBLE!! The only saving grace is my enrollment counslor whom I got to for everything! But ASU is riddled with fees, and don't do a wait list. You have to have high high grades, and do super well on the entrance exam, everyone is ranked by a score. It's really competative. I don't know about the quality of the program, but have heard poor things about the quality of ASU's and others BSN new grad nurses. I've heard that they focus more on paper writing for the BSN part than patient care. I graduated from MCC, and really like the community college route (most are pretty good and cheap!). However, the waitlist is about 2 years. The bright side is, maybe in 2 years, there will be RN jobs again!!!! Good luck!

inhibernation · Oct 26, 2010

I'm sorry you've had such a terrible experience, valadeybug. As a student currently enrolled in the 2nd semester of GCU's fast track program, I certainly understand where you are coming from, but hope you can stick with it.

I think the biggest issue here is doing the prereq's at Grand Canyon, which I don't think anyone would recommend. Since nearly all of those courses can be transferred in from community colleges, there is very little return on investment getting them from a 4-year school. Of course, there's the 'University Success' and other pointless courses only GCU offers. And yes, the financial department sucks! My money always shows up, but it takes 2-3 times longer than it should and I have to regularly call my counselor to ensure my paperwork is being pushed through.

However, I will say that I am enjoying GCU's St Jo's program and feel it has been a great decision. Clinicals are great and I feel like I'm learning a lot through both instruction and experience. The classroom instructors are definitely not students, though the teaching quality can be hit and miss. The 8-week courses are great for narrowing your focus to one or two subjects at a time. While I can't speak for the rest of Grand Canyon, I do take issue with accusing the nursing school of being a 'diploma mill.' As I'm sure you know, BSN programs nationwide are academically challenging and this one doesn't seem much different. You really have to hit the books hard and we have already had 4 students fail or opt out. My clinical nurse I was paired up with this last session graduated from GCU nearly 2 years ago and agrees with me that, while it may be easier to get into this school than most, the students who do graduate tend to be good nurses. St Jo's must agree, since they hire so many Grand Canyon grads.

As you can see, while some BS may carry over into the nursing program, I think you've already made it through the most unsatisfying part. I'm not sure what other help I can offer, but feel free to ask any other questions.

valadeybug · Oct 27, 2010

Thank you so much for your feedback. I feel a lot better about the program now thanks to your information. I just wanted to see how others felt about the school and the program itself. I'm going to stick with it and just do the very best I can.