West Coast University, Info for a Pending Student Please

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Hello All,

I am in search of information that pre-, current, and post-students have of West Coast University. No need for opinions regarding the high cost of the BSN program, I've read through many of those posts and got my tour at West Coast in Ontario so I understand how expensive it is. I am an LVN looking to get into the BSN program.

Here are several questions on my mind before deciding to attend West Coast this year, please offer any info and advice if you have it, I'd really appreciate any help available :)

1. Has anyone entered the program with already all or almost all of the required prerequisite classes completed? Does the price of the program decrease considerably? I currently have about 7 prerequisites completed and am wavering whether to finish them all off at a community college and start the program next January, or to just go ahead and finish the rest of the prereqs at WCU and start right away in June. I'm not completely clear on how the breakdown of the $15,000+ per semester is in regards to the prereq's/units

2. When it comes to student loans, is a co-signer REQUIRED? I have never had a student loan before so the process is completely new to me. I am going in probably next week to talk about the financials but if there are any questions I should keep in mind to ask, please let me know

3. Has anyone that is currently in the program or finished the program have any complaints in regards to feeling like the quality of the education was not as expected or if you feel like WCU promised more but gave less? So far reading other threads I haven't seen any specific complaints regarding their education which is keeping my hopes up.

4. For anyone that has attended the Ontario campus, how far out were you required to travel for your clinicals and did you feel that the clinical experiences were decent?

5. Is the curriculum well structured and have your experiences with the instructors been pretty good? My cousin's sister in law was a physiology instructor at the ontario campus a year ago, and I was told that WCU caters well to the students but I would like to hear from a student's perspective

6. Does WCU help grauates with job placement? Is their staff readily available to help you with any questions and assistance if you need it?

I guess that is it for now. I can see the major issues with WCU according to other threads are the cost and somewhat WCU's reputation? Not sure what about the reputation but aside from the politics in it being a business as a private school, if there are any other facts or rumors about the school's quality or management, please spill the beans ;)

Again I beg to please spare opinions relating to how high the cost is since that part of the program won't change. I have no debt and no house and no kids so I'm thinking that when I am finished in 2 1/2 years, I can work full time while continuing live like a poor student off of top ramen and pay off all my student loans in maybe two years. Time seems to be the more valuable part of the issue when it comes to deciding whether going to WCU or waiting for an open spot at a Cal State or elsewhere.. What do the rest of you think?

Much appreciated, thanks! ~ Naomi

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Specializes in Emergency.

I never needed a co-signer for my student loans. I had a good score and a decent credit history when applying for them, and they were also federal loans. I don't go to your university, but don't think it matters... the loan process across the board should be similar.

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Another thing:

If you don't mind, can some of you tell me what % interest rate you received on your student loan if you got it set up through West Coast? Did some of you received FAFSA and how much of the tuition was covered? Has anyone attempted at scholarships?

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I can't speak for the school, but for the loans... depends on your age and your credit score. My first few loans, I had my dad co-sign. During the divorce, my dad refused so I signed on my own (at a higher %, though. Much higher, even though I have great credit). Then government changed and I was no longer allowed to sign without a co-signer. I don't remember exactly what changed, so it may not affect you. However, the big thing for me was finally being able to do FAFSA without my dad's income on it - it covered all of my tuition this year.

I go to a private university to obtain my BSN, so I have loans up the... Well, I have a lot of loans :clown: So if people give you crud about the cost - I am in the same boat as you. No house, no kids and the school fit me. I did have a scholarship from my school that covered a good portion of my tuition, which has helped. I did apply for a few scholarships otherwise, although I did not obtain any of them. I figure it never hurts to try :)

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Specializes in Home Health Nurse.

If you search for west coast university there are a ton of threads on this school.... I would say any degree that costs over 100,000 seems a little crazy!!! But you can read the threads for yourself

BTW as of right now they are not accredited! So if you graduate from there and you want to continue on for your msn down the road your credits won't transfer... of course the recruiters tell you they are trying to get accredited but they have been trying for awhile

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The answer to question 1 is best coming from WCU. Someone else's experience may be different since things may have changed.

The answer to question 2 is, it depends. No co-signer is required with federal loans, but they may be with private loans. Again, WCU can answer this better for your particular situation than anyone here.

Interest rates change daily, and the interest rate someone else got a year ago, or even one semester ago will be different than the rate you will get, so it wouldn't do any good for anyone to tell you the interest rates that they got.

As for the rest of your questions, I didn't go to WCU so I can't help you with those.

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So not WASC accredited yet, I was reading some other threads and the info on if andwhen they are going to get accredited is not accurate among people, anyone have an update on this? And can someone clarify, if I get a BSN at west coast and decide i want to go on to a MSN program at a cal state, will the BSN be recognized but the classes I take at WCU not be recognized? Does that mean that I only have to be concerned with the prerequisites or is there also an issue with the WCU nursing classes?

If it is only the prerequisites that are the issue then I guess I would just go the route of cc for prereq's before entering WCU

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Specializes in Emergency.
if I get a BSN at west coast and decide i want to go on to a MSN program at a cal state, will the BSN be recognized but the classes I take at WCU not be recognized?

If your school is not WASC accredited, that means that the state schools most likely will not accept the transfer units. This is best answered by contacting the school that you plan to go on with your MSN though and talking to an advisor there to see if they will accept WSUs units.

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If your school is not WASC accredited, that means that the state schools most likely will not accept the transfer units. This is best answered by contacting the school that you plan to go on with your MSN though and talking to an advisor there to see if they will accept WSUs units.

And it would be best to get their answer in writing. Seems I vaguely recall someone getting told something over the phone and then it turned out not be valid information when push came to shove.

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I am starting WCU-Ontario next month and so far, everyones been great. The loans were fairly easy to come by. I did need a cosigner and I went with Sallie Mae who gave me a 3.75 rate. It is a variable rate, however I'll be consolidating it with the 2nd set of loans when I'm done with the program anyway. (WCU has you get 2 loans. One for the 1st year and a 2nd loan for the nursing portion).

WASC will be on campus this september and issueing a decision early next year.

Met a few of the Prof's and they seem really nice and eager to help, although considering you actually only attend class 9 times, you do end up doing a lot of it on your own or within groups.

Will keep you posted if I learn anything new....

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awesome Nadi1515, thanks for your post!

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I'm also planning to start at WCU this coming June 2011, deciding between either the Anaheim or Ontario campus. I'm leaning toward Anaheim.

I've taken the Hesi A2 & am going through the financial aid process now. Any other options for aid besides Wells Fargo & Sallie Mae for private loans? Any recommendations?

FAFSA is covering about 45k in subsidized/unsubsidized loans, so the rest will have to be through private. Also hoping to test out of a few classes that I've taken during my first bachelors, but are slightly over the 5 year window -_-

Anyways, I'll be looking at this thread a little more carefully for some insight, etc. Thanks in advance!

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