Wanting to get started

I'm pretty sure that for the exams you are not eligible for financial aid but perhaps you could qualify for a pell grant?

lots of good info here by Lunah. https://allnurses.com/excelsior-college-online/excelsior-college-distance-808335.html

I had a 6 month wait for my cpne, but there is a lot of studying to do.

Your CPNE wait time depends on the area you select. The more popular areas understandably have a waiting list. I applied in December and got a date in January. But the fact that someone cancelled their appointment had a lot to do with that. Then I had to cancel due to a death but got another date for February, which I kept.

Another thing to consider, as you mentioned, is finances. The CPNE has to be paid out before they allow you to test, at least that was the policy when I went through, and it is not cheap. It was $1950 when I went and it is over 2 grand now. So, if you need to save up for it, your wait time shouldn't be an issue. (Don't quote me on the policy for paying out the CPNE. Now that I think about it, my brother gave his one and only baby sister (me;)) the money for the CPNE so that I could put a rush on graduating). I do know that your financial account has to be zeroed put before they will send you your dlploma and/or any documentation to your board of nursing. A friend of mine back then was in a panick because she had completed all of her require,ends for graduation BEFORE she completed paying for the yearly student fee. She had completely forgotten about that payment plan in effect...given the limelight that the CPNE had taken on.

So, if money is an issue, there's plenty of fees to keep you busy while you wait for a CPNE date. And the actual studying for it, as mentioned by reebokHCFR.