west coast university/other bsn programs

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i have heard of west coast university in southern california that offers the BSN in 3 years. i am actually considering this, but im predicting the price tag on that will not be pretty. does any one know about this program? are there other bsn or lvn-bsn programs out there that are not impacted, meaning no waiting lists, and no high competition. pretty much programs that you just meet the requirements and get in.

Hi savedo75,

np! I understand how you feel...I'm 26 and want to get my RN license before I turn 30, so it feels like a rush.

The Hesi exam was pretty simple, as long as you study the guide you'll be fine, especially since there is no science portion on WCU's entrance hesi exam.

make sure you know the conversation rates for the math portion - they let you use a calculator but they wont give you a conversion chart.

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thanks for the info rygu!!...by the way, which campus were you planning to attend?...if it's Ontario, hopefully we'll meet up...

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np!

I'll be attending the orange county campus...ontario is too far from where I live. Good luck with your classes!

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good luck to you too ok...

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Specializes in Family Practice, Emergency Nursing.

I was first attracted to the WCU program because there was NO wait-list and you could get your BSN within 39 months. I got into the program, I passed the HESI entrance exam (they give you the results right after you're done), and most of my credits from CC transferred over. Things started to seem a little fishy right after that. Once they pushed me into the FA office, I was immediately regretting my decision to ever give WCU a shot. They wanted all this money and it only included tuition. They did a credit check right then and there and stated that, "Like everyone else you're gonna have to get a co-signer." There are no scholarships allowed and I don't think they allow grant money/ FAFSA either, it's just straight up loans. They will honestly stalk you or hunt you down until you give them a "yes or no" answer on whether or not you want to go to their school. And if you tell them "yes" that's when they start asking for $moolah$

So here in lies the problem: The cost for this program is utterly outrageous. No scholarships. Even though you don't think most hospitals and nurses care where you went to school, when they find out that you went to WCU they immediately start forming judgments about you (trust me, I've asked plenty). You also have to look at the NCLEX pass rate and the retention rate. WCUs is pretty low. That's another thing that turned me away. Look at the bigger picture. I keep trying to convince myself and everyone else that WCU was for me and once I become an RN I would be able to pay off all my student loans...well I was totally wrong.

One more thing, if you want to maybe transfer to another school to get your MSN, pretty much all of the schools I've looked into won't accept WCU students.

Best of luck! You can always do what I did and move out of state, LOL

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How much do you save by doing prerequisites? And what classes are they?

Thank you

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Sarah10,

The pre-reqs are Anatomy, Physio, Micro, English Comp I & II, Intro to Psych, Life Span Psych, Intro to Sociology, Cultural Pluralism, College Math, Pathophysio, Speech, & Biochem.

I have all but 3 done, and it took 2 semesters off.

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Specializes in Family Practice, Emergency Nursing.

I think the starting amount that's owed is around $130,000 (maybe a little bit more). After they looked at all of my transferable classes I was only going to have to owe around $98,000. I was going to save $32,000, but that is still a TON of money. They weren't gonna take all of my classes so I had to petition it. They then gave in and accepted the classes. I felt like I was nothing but dollar signs to them. They tried to butter me up and make me feel good about myself for finally getting into a nursing program, but when they drop the money bomb on you, reality totally set in for me. I also got to tour the campus, and I felt really uncomfortable. They had security check points and you had to have card access to get in. It just didn't settle with me. When I was waiting to speak with someone in Financial Aid, I met a student who was also waiting to pay another check to the school. She looked miserable and told me (sarcastically) that the school was sucking her dry. It was food for thought with me.

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One should consider WGU. For two years to finish the nursing courses at $4250 every six months, the total is $17,000 for the WGU portion of a BSN program. Online University | Online Degree | Accredited Bachelor's and Master's Degrees

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hi polkadots34...which campus did you visit?...when i went to the info session in june, they did mention that FAFSA and scholarships were allowed......

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hi polkadots34...which campus did you visit?...when i went to the info session in june, they did mention that FAFSA and scholarships were allowed......

Oh it sounds like you are questioning the same as me Did you talk to anyone at GWC too? Are you an LVN? Do you have any prerequs done?

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hey sarah10...the school in question is WCU...lol....and no, i'm not an LVN....i have most of my pre-req's done except micro, bio-chem., cultural pluralism and pathophysiology.....i'm taking the HESI exam in two weeks...the campus i'm interested in is Ontario...

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