West Coast University Nursing Program Questions, Please Help!

TCool774 · Apr 7, 2012

They got accredited in Nov-Dec of 2011. They have a problem with the AACRAO though. That could prevent you from transferring over to CSU for example.

RNpearls1908 · Apr 8, 2012

Yea I tried to look up my school but it isnt listed which is real odd since I went to University of Florida....and its an actual legit school

piinkk · Apr 11, 2012

Hello piinkk, how was west coast so far? I'm looking to go in for an interview. How hard was it to get in? How were the actual nursing classes - challenging and preparative for the nursing exam?
Hope you are doing well.

Getting in wasn't the hard part, but trying to pass the exams every week are. The nursing classes are super stressful and theres a TON of information you need to memorize and retain in less than 2 months, but keep in mind almost all nursing schools are like this given the amount of material we need to learn. Time management is very important because you have a bunch of things to get done in such little amount of time, so gotta keep organized. I haven't taken the schools exit exam yet, still have a few months for that but I'll keep you updated once thats done. SO NERVOUS!! :uhoh21: :eek:

msvyann · Apr 22, 2012

Hi I'm planning to go to this school. However, after reading all the review and retention, and grad % rate I am very scared and feel lost. I wanted to sign up for the Aug term however, with all the low rating and reviews it throw me off board. With the waiting list, lottery, and money getting into a Nursing program is so hard now. Can people that actually attend this school give me some advice? I really need some help. I'm planning to go to the campus near Disneyland.

Victor 3397 · Apr 23, 2012

I understand that many people want to get their BSN asap, but $130,000 is way excessive! I went to a career orientation at Torrance memorial last year. The speaker said that the average salary for nursing in 66k a year, of course that's assuming we can find a job. I read some where that your monthly loan payment will be around .01% of the total loan amount, so around $1,300. If you take home is around 4k that's more than 25% of your salary. Some people may want to rent the rest of their lives, some people will drive their car until it dies, and that's okay. I think most of us really want to make a difference in the health industry, but we are also going to school to better our lives. I don't know about you, but I would hate to put off buying a home, buying a car, or starting a family because I can't afford too. Plus if you want to continue your education (MSN) that also gonna be additional debt.

I probably sound really negative, but I can't justify the cost. My sister-in-law's sister went to National university which is 50k, still a lot, but it sounds more reasonable. She was able to work and get finacial aid, in the end she only owed 15k. A friend of mine is doing an ADN program at a CC and financial aid is covering 100% of her education.

Explore your options, Good luck!

TCool774 · Apr 23, 2012

Hi I'm planning to go to this school. However, after reading all the review and retention, and grad % rate I am very scared and feel lost. I wanted to sign up for the Aug term however, with all the low rating and reviews it throw me off board. With the waiting list, lottery, and money getting into a Nursing program is so hard now. Can people that actually attend this school give me some advice? I really need some help. I'm planning to go to the campus near Disneyland.

If you take all your prerequisites at a CC, you'll save yourself over $30,000 to $40,000. The North Hollywood campus has higher passing rates then the other campuses. Within the 80's is good IMO. St. Mary's college (which is a more known prestige private university) have a whooping 76% this passed year (162 takers). WCU N.H campus got 83% (228 takers) last year. Not bad.

If you go the ADN route, you'll be at risk of getting denied and feel heartbroken (usually they choose 20-30 people out of 150+ applications) and wasting time; waiting lists up to two years. A lot of these programs use the TEAS admissions test, but others use the Hesi or Kaplan test. I had to take the TEAS twice and the Hesi to get around that part of the application. It's stupid, they should make you take the test IF you're in, not if you're not guaranteed into the program. I was so irritated. My time is valuable so I decided to go to WCU, also since they got accredited even though they have an issue with the AACRAO...

At WCU you have to take the Hesi (with no sciences tested, but it's recommended you have a background on science because the pre-reqs if taken at WCU will be hard for you; it's at an accelerated pace). The Hesi was very easy.

angie0707 · Jun 2, 2012

hello i have a question. Im a college student right now and i want to know all the pre-req classes i need to take before transfering to west coast university can sum1 please help me!!!! thank u =]

Beru · Jun 22, 2012

Angie, the prereqs are:

Anatomy

Physiology

Written Comm I and II

Oral Comm

Intro to Sociology

College Math

Statistics

Intro to Psyc

Developmental Psyc

BioChem with lab

General Microbio

Cultural Pluralism

Pathophysiology

Epidemiology in Public Health

Medical Ethics and issues

I dont have the last four, so I will be taking them at WCU if I start this August. If you take them at another college, like I did, you'll need to speak with a counciler and fill out a "Application for Transfer of Credit" form.

Also, you'll need to take the TEAS V test, the "Wonderlic" test, and the KTP test. The last two tests are set-up/scheduled with the WCU councelor.

Hope this helps. I found out most of this information this week. I'm SO stressed from searching and applying to nursing schools.. I hope WCU works out.

Beru · Jun 26, 2012

CORRECTION: Sorry, I made a mistake in my last post (#139). The Wonderlic and KTP tests apply to another school. I have all of these schools mixed up in my head.

MusicEMT · Jul 26, 2012

Bringing up an old topic.. How easy is this Place to get into? and can you start at any time?

I calculated the Tuition and if you get all the Pre-reqs done you can knock it down to like 55-60K which isnt too bad for a Private BSN..

Im really Intrested in this School as my Grades arnt that great to make me competitive for CC or BSN programs in CA

LVN/RNBridge · Aug 28, 2012

Hello All,

Did any of you have any luck with WCU? Meaning, did they actually take most/all of your previous course work?

The only course that I do NOT have is micro. I get the feeling that they do not want to approve too many of my prior courses. I do hope that I am wrong, but they did not approve, but a few of the courses that I submitted for.

According to my calculations, I should only have 73 credits to take for the LVN-BSN program, which would make my program right at or under 24 months.

Any advice from current students is greatly appreciated :-)

piinkk · Aug 29, 2012

Hello All,
Did any of you have any luck with WCU? Meaning, did they actually take most/all of your previous course work?
The reason that I ask is that my advisor will not give me an answer. The only course that I do NOT have is micro. I get the feeling that they do everything in their power not to approve many of our prior courses. I do hope that I am wrong, but they are for profit. I met with the dean and he would not verify that all of my courses would transfer in (although they mirror their courses exactly) He basically asked me some questions, marked my transcripts and had them sent to the transcript dept.
I am a post 911 GI bill student with 24 months worth of benefit. According to my calculations, I should only have 73 credits to take for the LVN-BSN program, which would make my program right at or under 24 months.
Any advice from current students is greatly appreciated :-)

Yea they took most of my pre reqs but that was over 3 years ago. They don't only look at the class, but also the amount of units that class is worth. good luck