WGU BSN prelicensure inquiry

LoveJRenee, BSN, RN · Nov 15, 2016

The only classes they count GPAwise is Microbio, AP1 and AP2. They only accepted my Microbip (B), and the other 2 classes were too old so I had to re-take them! I took AP1 through Straighterline and got a 96%, then retook AP2 at a local CC and got a 95%. So B, A, A for that or 3.6GPA.

What did you think about Straigher line. WGU suggested that I take my missing Microbiology class with them but they have really bad reviews online and I don't want to waste my time.

(sorry I see this question was already answered)

JofAllTrades, BSN, RN · Nov 15, 2016

I think microbio would be a lot more difficult to take online than AP1.... My experience with aP1 for StraighterLine was good but I did get very annoyed that they didn't really give any feedback on the labs just a grade. The AP1 reviews were "ok" to "good" ... So I'd be weary if the reviews are all bad... Just my opinion thought you might get by just fine!

lake girl · Nov 15, 2016

The pass rate a school has on the NCLEX is high partially due to the school weeding out students that they aren't sure to pass and thereby tarnishing their name. You as a student might rather focus on other things about NS. I try to feel out the down to earth nature, or a reputation of customer service. Those things are hard to know but will make a big difference to you in the long haul that is your life in NS.

Abibby · Jan 28, 2017

Hello anyone/everyone! I have a serious predicament. I'm trying to decide between wgu prelic RN program in southern cal or a standard RN program at my local junior college. I'm already an attorney so I have my ba and jd degrees. I've completed the prerequisites for the junior college but it was about 8 years ago. I'm pretty much a single parent of 3 children (the youngest being only 2 years old) because my husband works in Northern California and is always traveling. If I wanted to start wgu the next cohort I can apply for won't begin till October. And assuming I get in the program will not finish till April of 2020. Whereas the other program would begin in Aug and I would be an RN in two years it is also local (within 10 min) for clinicals, labs, and classes but I do not get to select my schedule. Wgu the labs are 2 hours away and the clinicals will be at least 40 minutes away or maybe further depending on which one I get assigned to but I would graduate with a bsn.

Please help, I'm not sure which program would work best. I need some insight on the wgu program. How many days will I have to actually go to clinicals and labs? Because I will probably have to get a hotel every time and find someone to take care of my children, which feels much more complicated. Thanks!

kk80 · Feb 1, 2017

Hi Abibby,

Current WGU pre-licensure student here. I can't tell you which program is better for you. However, I will do my best to give you more information about the WGU program and my experience so far :)

The program is 2.5 years. It is flexible in the sense where you do not have a set schedule every week. Your theory is primarily online, so you need to be a strong independent learner and organized. That is not to say you do not have support, you will be assigned a student mentor who is a RN who checks in with you on a regular basis. I had a wonderful enrollment counselor and an AMAZING student mentor, so I have had very positive experiences.

If you are having difficulty with a course- you are always welcome to contact a course mentor or the tutoring center. You must successfully pass and complete all of the courses the first term, including the bootcamp. In addition, you must interview with the State Director near the end of the first term. The school will notify you of your acceptance or denial. It's my understanding that while there are students who do not move forward in the program, if you are successful in your courses, stay in contact with your mentor, interview well and pass bootcamp you will most likely move forward.

Once you are accepted into the 2nd term of the program, the labs will take place the 2 months prior to the clinical intensive. So the schedule might look like this

Term 2 Month 1: 1-2 # of Lab Day(s)

Term 2 Month 2: 2-3 # of Lab Day(s) & Skills Testing (if you do not pass skills testing, you will not move on to the Clinical Intensive)

Term 2 Month 3:- Clinical Intensive during a 2 week period +1 additional week for makeup if needed (i.e illness).

In regards to the Clinical Rotation/Intensive, they are scheduled around every 3 months. During a 2-3 week period, you will work with your preceptor around a minimum of 5 shifts (or more) depending on the clinical site schedule and the number of hours required. Varies based upon the class. You will have a general idea around which months you will have the "Clinical Intensive", however, we are told we can get the schedule as few as 2 weeks prior to the Clinical. So the scheduling can be pretty short notice. The clinical schedule is also highly dependent on your preceptors schedule as well- however, there is some flexibility. For example, if your preceptor is working M,T, Th,Fri, Sat and you say I want the M,T & TH shift, so you could be home with your kids on the weekend.

In my cohort, we have students from as far as Sacramento who fly down as well as students who drive in from San Diego. It's definitely possible! I believe they have stayed in hotels or with a friend/ family member. Our cohort has also had discussions regarding renting an AirBnB as a group during clinicals as we progress in the program. So that may be another option.

Another positive aspect of the program is that WGU generally starts a new cohort every 3-4 months vs the traditional program Fall or Spring entrance. So if you have already completed your pre-req's you could start the program sooner rather than later. I don't know if there is a set pattern, but from what I can tell there seems to be a new cohort around jan/feb, april/may, july, sept and october. Hope this helps and best of luck to you!

GrenIedGal, BSN, RN · Feb 4, 2017

kk pretty much summed it up quite well. i too am in this same cohort, but i will add that i'm a parent to two young children. to me the 'slower' program (it's still considered an ABSN) is a small price to pay for the flexibility that you are given. i did not want to sacrifice life with my family for the time commitment that a traditional program would require and i wanted to be able to schedule my study hours around the best schedule for my family. only you can make that judgement call. the first 6 months are VERY straight-forward where you are working through your pre-clinical classes that are ALL online. you will need to go to lab 3x during the first 6 months but no other times. then as stated above, once you're accepted into the clinical portion (term 2 onward) you will have a lab associated with that class (CASL 1, 2, Peds etc.) i can't comment on how it will go once we are required to be at clinical more frequently, but i am one of the students that have to commute to labs/clinicals that was mentioned above, and it's not too bad. of course, you'll need reliable childcare.

feel free to PM me if you want any other information or how the program is for a parent--we have quite a few in our cohort who are parents, both working and non-working. it's doable! best of luck!

kbella · Jul 14, 2017

Hello kk80,

I would like to ask if you can tell me the city in which the clinical sites and lab sites are located? I live in Riverside county and was just curious because you mentioned students driving from San Diego to go there.

I also appreciate your detailed comment regarding the program and is seriously considering WGU as a back in case the waitlist is too long for the JC I want to go to. I looked into the WGU FB page and didn't have too many comments for Pre-Lic BSN students.

kk80 · Jul 14, 2017

Hi,

Of course. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of information on the pre-licensure program- trust me i looked everywhere too. You will find very limited information on WGU Pre-licensure on FB. Some of the cohorts create their own FB page, but it is limited strictly to those students in that cohort.

Perhaps in the future I can collaborate with my cohort and we can help with a informal "What you should know- FAQ" for potential and current WGU BSN pre-licensure students to post here.

The lab is in Santa Ana...if you are familiar with the area its located between the Ikea (Costa Mesa) and Fountain Valley Hospital.

Unlike traditional programs, WGU students will spend a majority of their time at one clinical site. The clinical site you will attend is dependent upon the cohort you are accepted to. When you apply, the admissions counselor should be able to tell you which hospital is assigned to the cohort you are applying to. However, there are exceptions, for example- if your assigned hospital location doesn't have a psych unit- you will be assigned to another clinical site for that rotation.

I understand that there may have been some new clinical sites added, so I recommend you speak to a Admission counselor for accurate and up to date information. However, to my knowledge there are cohorts at the following hospitals

Fountain Valley Regional Medical Center

Cedar Sinai

Huntington Memorial

Mission Viejo

Placentia

I believe I heard that there may be a cohort in Covina now, but I am not 100% sure about this information. Note, our cohort size is extremely small compared to other nursing schools. Each cohort varies in size, but my understanding is 14 students is probably one of the larger cohorts. In California, it is competitive, so my recommendation is don't worry as much about the assigned hospital and just focus on getting in.

Also, they may be recommendations based upon a mileage radius for you- but remember the admin counselor may not be familiar with the area. Remember, It's So cal. a 10 mile trip is a 45 minute drive lol. For example, The map may say I live closer to Fountain Valley, but I can take the toll road and bypass traffic to Mission Viejo so its an easier commute. Share that type of info with them if you think it may help.

My cohort has students from Los Angeles, Pasadena/Valley area, Inland Empire, San Bernadino (i.e Yucaipa), San Diego. When we have back to back days, some students have opted to get a hotel instead of driving back and forth. While there are no guarantees that they will be able to accommodate your request, you are also free to notify the health scheduler that you will be staying at a hotel and would prefer back to back shifts if possible.

Bottom line, it is definitely possible to make this program work while living in Riverside county. Will it have its own set of challenges? Yes! But its up to you to decide if you can make it work.

I'm happy to answer any questions that you or anyone else may have, so feel free to contact me.

LoveJRenee, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2017

Hello kk80,
I would like to ask if you can tell me the city in which the clinical sites and lab sites are located? I live in Riverside county and was just curious because you mentioned students driving from San Diego to go there.
I also appreciate your detailed comment regarding the program and is seriously considering WGU as a back in case the waitlist is too long for the JC I want to go to. I looked into the WGU FB page and didn't have too many comments for Pre-Lic BSN students.

I also joined a FB group but many of the people are doing the RN-BSN. I just jumped in started posting and found that there are a few more people than I expected in the prelic program or recently applied for it. Its called WGU nursing group if you are intertested

GrenIedGal, BSN, RN · Jul 17, 2017

Hello kk80,
I would like to ask if you can tell me the city in which the clinical sites and lab sites are located? I live in Riverside county and was just curious because you mentioned students driving from San Diego to go there.
I also appreciate your detailed comment regarding the program and is seriously considering WGU as a back in case the waitlist is too long for the JC I want to go to. I looked into the WGU FB page and didn't have too many comments for Pre-Lic BSN students.

Our cohort is in Fountain Valley and I know of at least 1 in my cohort that comes from Riverside and 4 of us coming from San Diego. She does come VERY early to avoid the potential traffic coming from that area tho. As said above, it's very doable if you can make it work for your schedule. Feel free to pm me if you want more info or continue to ask away. It's all very confusing in the early stages. :)

RosaGT · Sep 14, 2021

Hi Everyone,

I am looking at starting pretty soon, I understand that the first 6 months they are considered kinda prerequisites. Can we test out of those if we have some of the knowledge?. Also I was reading that one needs to pass the foundation in nursing skills performance exam. It's a pretty long list, is this exam written or actually performing the skill?

LoveJRenee, BSN, RN · Sep 14, 2021

1 hour ago, RosaGT said:

Hi Everyone,

Can we test out of those if we have some of the knowledge?

Yes and No. Basically you still have to enroll and take the course but because WGU is competency based.. that means that if you have previous knowledge in a subject, you may not need to go through all the course material in order to pass the exam. You can try to just take the test if you are confident. With that being said..I DO NOT RECOMMEND taking these test without reviewing atleast a little bit. The classes in term 1 are not the hardest classes but they can be a little challenging and you don't want to waste time failing and retaking test because you didn't prepare for them the 1st time. I have seen students struggle with some of these classes and I have also seen students who breeze through them. This is the easiest term and easiest classes of the entire program but take them seriously because if you don't complete your term 1 classes.. you are dismissed from the program.

Also I was reading that one needs to pass the foundation in nursing skills performance exam. It's a pretty long list, is this exam written or actually performing the skill?

This is apart of lab and it's actually very simple skills.. not a long list that you are imagining. I would not worry about this too much.

.