warning to all excelsior students- i want all potential and current students to know what happened to my girlfriend. take it for what its worth. my girlfriend was a california excelsior student for 6 long yrs (worked full time, supported and took care of her 3 kids) . she spent thousands & thousands of dollars for very expensive books, tests (about $200 per test). skills bags ($150), dvd ($130) , flashcards ($25), audio cd ($25), workshop ($700), and the outrageously expensive and outrageously easy to fail cpne (the 3 day clinical examination that must be passed to receive your rn degree). she failed the first cpne (as way more than half do). that meant another $1800 to retake that. of course, there were airline tickets (about $500 per trip x 2), hotels (about $450 per cpne) and car rentals ($250 per trip). all together she spent close to $20,000 to obtain what is essentially a worthless degree. not one of the 14 hospitals she contacted would hire her when she told them she was an excelsior graduate. are you hearing me? not one. so, when they tell you they're accredited, yada,yada,yada - remember it doesn't mean you can get a job. she tried to enroll in 3 regular, legit college programs. they all refused her because she already had her degree and rn license. so now, she can't even do that. excelsior knew years ago there was a problem. they had the opportunity to work with the ca board of registered nursing. they didn't. if you don't believe me - go to their site. type in 'excelsior' and see for yourself. also, go to georgia's nursing website. see the problems there. nurses are being denied jobs because they're excelsior graduates!!! don't let this happen to you. go to a respected and accepted college.
One of my biggest pet peeves is a minimalist attitude. Drives me up a wall. Choosing a program that meets your logistical needs isn't what I mean (ie. I'm not downing EC) but choosing one because you think you can use it to skate by? Lame.
Agreed. As I've said on this forum in the past, there are no shortcuts, and EC isn't easy for a reason. (chaxanmom, I know you're not downing EC, no worries. :))
Those EC tests are a royal PAIN IN THE BUTT!! Haha! I took a few of their tests for pre-reqs. Good lord. I got As on all but one (B on gerontology) but I was sweating and praying the whole time. LOL!
When I first started Excelsior, I was almost going to quit, due to some of the negative comments about the school. I started with 1 prereq and 1 nursing concept exam before I enrolled and passed both w/B's. None of Excelsior's exams are easy, it does require discipline and a good deal of studying. There are pros and cons with EVERY school. I believe the people who have negative things to say about Excelsior are the ones disappointed in their failure of one or more exams, and the ones who thought Excelsior was an "easy" school to get their RN.
I'm finished with all of my Nursing Concept exams-passing on the first try and now is waiting for my FCCA and the CPNE. If I don't pass the CPNE, I would not blame the school, I'll take responsibility for me not passing. I've read enough posts on different nursing forums, and Excelsior students basically said if you're 100% prepared for the CPNE, you'll pass. If people do enough research to find out if Excelsior's independent RN program is really the right choice for them, and if their state accepts Excelsior degrees, they will save themselves alot of time and money.
Ok enough of my rambling. LOL I just feel grateful that there is a program like Excelsior's that will allow me to work full-time and complete school at my own pace.
I'm having a reeeeeeeeeally hard time understanding why someone would choose a program based on thinking it would be the "easy way out." I'm concerned when I see nurses that aren't academically minded and just want to get school over with but I'm also really worried about how people plan on learning how to give the best nursing care they can if they just want to slide by. One of my biggest pet peeves is a minimalist attitude. Drives me up a wall. Choosing a program that meets your logistical needs isn't what I mean (ie. I'm not downing EC) but choosing one because you think you can use it to skate by? Lame.
Have to agree! If anyone out there thinks Excelsior is an easy way out, Boy are you in for a big surprise.
Excelsior was a great program and I recommend it to anyone who committed and driven. The only down side is all the states that have restrictions on the program or who flat out will not accept it. So definetly do your homework before enrolling. I have no regrets.
country Since you seem to have signed up with one of the publishing companies (Excelsior College does not employ salesmen), you are stuck with the contract. You could have cancelled in the beginning, but that time has passed. You can quit the Excelsior program, but you will still have to pay your debt to The College Network or whichever publishing company you signed up with. Your post does contain an inaccuracy. If you are with EC, you do not do a local clinical, but do the weekend CPNE at one of the testing sites. However, if you are in the Indiana State Univ. program, you would do a local clinical that you set up with your own preceptor and clinical site. Since you are started, why not give this program a chance so that you aren't out all that money for nothing? You can pass those tests and pass the CPNE just as well as anyone else.
Oh I know what you mean, yes, they did state that I would have to go to a clinical like in Ohio or Georgia for a weekend...I do know that much, but after I get done, I meant that I could do my precepting clinicals where I currently work and at a local hospital. I asked the sales rep during our initial interview about the precepting clinicals and he said that the hospital in my area is allowing EXCELSIOR students to do their clinicals here once they've passed the CPNE. I gave Kudos to your post. You have been helpful.
Excelsior's program definitely isn't an easy way out ... and I'm sorry you learned the hard way about signing contracts. Sounds like you signed up with The College Network. Which exam did you take that you failed?
LunahRN...I am learning that it's definitely not an easy way out but that is what I thought at first. I just wanted to get out of having to attend classes and boring lectures and long exhausting labs and the tiring clinicals plus trying to work at the same time. I do know that there are a lot of pros and cons about studying on my own and doing an online program like Excelsior. I also heard a bunch of rumors that this school is not accredited but they are accredited and by NLN. I took the first one on health and safety...it was a killer to me. I thought that I knew the material but it was nothing like what I studied. There was a lot about anxiety and maladaptive stuff and objective and subjective stuff. It just was like foreign to me even though I studied those things. I think it was the way the answers were worded and how the question was worded. I am also studying with the RN NCLEX review book by lippincott...what do you recommend? Some say lisa arends study guides. I don't know got any suggestions?
When I first started Excelsior, I was almost going to quit, due to some of the negative comments about the school. I started with 1 prereq and 1 nursing concept exam before I enrolled and passed both w/B's. None of Excelsior's exams are easy, it does require discipline and a good deal of studying. There are pros and cons with EVERY school. I believe the people who have negative things to say about Excelsior are the ones disappointed in their failure of one or more exams, and the ones who thought Excelsior was an "easy" school to get their RN.
I'm finished with all of my Nursing Concept exams-passing on the first try and now is waiting for my FCCA and the CPNE. If I don't pass the CPNE, I would not blame the school, I'll take responsibility for me not passing. I've read enough posts on different nursing forums, and Excelsior students basically said if you're 100% prepared for the CPNE, you'll pass. If people do enough research to find out if Excelsior's independent RN program is really the right choice for them, and if their state accepts Excelsior degrees, they will save themselves alot of time and money.
Ok enough of my rambling. LOL I just feel grateful that there is a program like Excelsior's that will allow me to work full-time and complete school at my own pace.
I am very very grateful too that I can still work and support my family and still go to school. You know, I did quit last year. I signed up last April 2008 and I started studying then I stopped payment. After I stopped payment, the finance company for College Network stated that it had to be paid no matter what...so I asked them if I can re-start in January of this year and they said yes. It is really a good thing that I have another chance and I can take all the time that I need. That is the biggest reason why I wanted to do this program. I was just so burned out of studying so much at one time when I was going to LPN school at a local college, yes, I finished it in a few months but it was so fast paced. I passed by the skin of my teeth. I just don't want to rush, but I do have to admit I want to be an RN so bad and I want it over with...I feel like a real failure because one thing I am getting older and should have done all of this when I was fresh out of high school instead waiting. I just don't think I could have done it then given my circumstances at the time...I just had too much on my plate (so to speak) :anbd:
Now I just resent not passing on the first time around when I was enrolled in RN school at the same college where I attended for LPN...I just couldn't pass the exams. I did fine on clinicals and pass the clinical skills in labs. What should I do? I have the TCN modules but the practice exam was not at all what the Excelsior exam is like...Yes, it's multiple choice and is sort of similar to the NCLEX but not like the Excelsior exam. I noticed too that on the exam that I failed this time there were some that were flagged at the end of the exam...why was that?
I am also studying with the RN NCLEX review book by lippincott...what do you recommend? Some say lisa arends study guides. I don't know got any suggestions?
Can't go wrong with some good textbooks ... a Fundamentals of Nursing book, at a minimum. Use the EC exam content guide (that you can download for free) as your syllabus, and make sure you tailor your learning to that guide, not to what's in the TCN guide. Also take the EC practice exams. Good luck!
Specializes in Case Management, Life Care Planning.
I graduated from EC in 2002 and can assure you it is not the easy way out. The tests were not easy and the CPNE was brutal. However, it is a great alternative especially if you work full time and can't navigate a regular classroom schedule. I finished up in about two years. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.
I graduated from EC in 2002 and can assure you it is not the easy way out. The tests were not easy and the CPNE was brutal. However, it is a great alternative especially if you work full time and can't navigate a regular classroom schedule. I finished up in about two years. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.
So explain to me by brutal...is it true that if you even forget to wash your hands that you can fail the CLINICAL?
Lunah, MSN, RN
14 Articles; 13,773 Posts
Agreed. As I've said on this forum in the past, there are no shortcuts, and EC isn't easy for a reason. (chaxanmom, I know you're not downing EC, no worries. :))