Xavier University ABSN May 2021

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Hi everyone! I got provisional acceptance for Xavier's ABSN program for May 2021. I haven't chosen a location yet (Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland), but most likely will be picking Cincinnati. I wanted to see how many people applied and are considering Xavier's ABSN program? For current students/graduates of the program, how do you like it, as well as what are the pros/cons? Moreover, I also applied to Rochester, NYU, and Columbia, so I'm waiting on those schools before I decide on Xavier. Please comment! ?

Hi, I also got accepted to Cincinnati location. I am considering the program but I have not made a final decision. I am super nervous about the comments I have read about this program and its associated cost 

Hi everyone,

I've also been accepted into the May 2021 ABSN program at the Cincinnati location. I plan to accept the offer because I really like how helpful they have been and my sister went to Xavier for her doctorate and she really liked it. I'm pretty excited. Xavier was my first choice. I am wondering how many other people have been accepted so far and plan to go.

Hello! I'm currently in Xavier's ABSN program at the Cincinnati location and am happy to answer any questions! I'm in the 3rd semester so I feel like I have a good understanding of the program and have been navigating it well so far. In short, it has plenty of pros and cons (as do all programs) but I have mostly enjoyed it! Let me know if you have any questions ?

@NurseAllNight What would you say the pros and cons are? I heard there are a lot of cons to the program. How many people are in your cohort and how many dropped/failed out? Do you have time to work at all? Is the program really hard? I heard the program is run by Orbis Education. Do you think it's worth going to?

@nic.s I would say the biggest pro is having 4 starts dates a year along with the length of the program (16 months) so you can get in and out as quickly as possible. All of the lecture material is online, which can be a pro or con depending on what you prefer. A lot of people speak poorly of the program but in my opinion, it really isn't that bad. Many people in my cohort have complaints about the communication and organization and while I don't disagree, I don't think it's as bad as people make it out to be.

There are about 70 people in my cohort and while I'm not sure how many dropped, I know a few who chose to switch to part time. I also don't know how you fail out of the program because they allow you to retake classes. Plenty of people have children and/or jobs and while I'm sure that would be very difficult, it is very possible since so many people do it. Personally, I wanted to focus on school so I chose not to work, but I could get a part-time job working one or two days a week and still do just fine. Just depends on how you want to dedicate your time! 

ALL nursing schools are hard, ALL of them have issues in some shape or form, and at the end of the day, they will ALL get you a degree (or at least they should ? ). Think about why you're going to nursing school- do you want to dedicate your life to helping others and become a successful nurse? If so, then you can work hard and do very well in the program and will likely have a good experience. If you're choosing nursing for something to do or to make more money, you could probably slack off a little more in the program and get by with less effort. Obviously both options are fine- just depends on what you want to get out of the program. I chose to focus on myself and my schoolwork and I've done well, so it is 100% possible to succeed in the program. 

Yes, Xavier is a partner of Orbis education as are many ABSN programs across the country (you can Google this) but again, this isn't a big deal in my opinion. Xavier's program is accredited and I will get a degree and take the NCLEX- that's all that matters to me! If Xavier is your best (or only) option, you can absolutely succeed and get a lot out of the program. If you have other choices, explore those options and find out more about their programs from current students. If I had to do this all over again, I'm not sure if I would pick Xavier, but it was my best (AKA only) option at the time and I wanted to get started immediately and this program allowed me to do that. That said, I've mostly enjoyed the program and have had great experiences and have learned a LOT. You will get out of it what you put in to it- if you have a positive outlook and work hard and go to clinical excited and ready to learn, you should have a great experience. If you're here thinking nursing school is easy and want to cheat your learning experience and look for complaints- you will surely find some and likely not enjoy the program. I could go on but I've already typed a book so let me know if I can answer anything else!

Can you elaborate more on the typical work load in a week? 

Specializes in Aspiring Nurse.

I am so happy to have come across this thread. I am applying to the January 2021 cohort at the Cleveland campus. I've been curious about the experience in this program as well. I will likely only work gig jobs like door dash or postmates while in this program but I was curious if people were  able to work part-time ? I also wish that they had better resources for grants and scholarships. Does anyone on here had some tips on where they found the most aid (if any) outside of loans?

@Karam Absolutely! Each semester is broken up into 2 terms (usually 7 or 8 weeks per term), and the amount of work varies by term. The first semester is mainly focused on foundations and while it was a lot of material, this is the only class with exams so the workload is very doable and it is definitely possible to work during this semester. I dedicated about 8 hours a day to schoolwork and had some free time in the evenings and weekends.

Then, brace yourself...the second semester is much more difficult in comparison BUT of course, doable. My second semester was this past Summer and they were 7 week terms instead of 8 and let me tell you, that week makes a big difference in an accelerated program! Thankfully, this was during the lockdown across the country so I had no choice but to stay home and focus on school anyway ?  I wanted to keep my grades up so I worked at least 50-60 hrs a week, usually about 10-12 hours a day (with breaks of course!). I gave myself a little more free time on the weekends but used a lot of this time to study since we had 4 exams (in a row ? ) every other week. This semester is difficult because there are a lot of big classes all together- patho, pharm, mental health, and also med surg shoved in in the second term. I know people who worked during this time, but I personally could not imagine doing that AND get good grades.

Fast forward to now, I am in the third semester and while it is still difficult, I do think it is much better than the second semester. Nursing school is never "easy", but I would say this semester is more manageable. I spend about 9-10 hours a day on school (sometimes more) and give myself some free time in the evenings and weekends. This semester includes two more med surg classes, peds, OB, and nursing research. To touch on assignments throughout the program, typically each class will have one assignment (sometimes more) per week, which covers the module material and readings. This is usually a worksheet, almost always due on Fridays, and they are typically straightforward. Discussion posts are thrown in here and there too, and there were some group PowerPoint presentations (posted to a discussion board) in semester 2. There are also quizzes due on Sundays, usually one quiz per module per class. This may all sound like a lot, but I lived to tell about it and so did plenty of other people so it is all doable! Let me know if you have any other questions! 

@dezitrondeluxde Hey! You can definitely work part-time as long as you prioritize your schedule, I know plenty of people who work and/or have children and it is very doable. Those types of jobs would be best too because they're really flexible, and you could even listen to textbook material while in the car (if you're so inclined). I absolutely agree and wish they had better grants/scholarships as well because the program is expensive! Personally, I had to take out private loans to cover the remaining tuition and cost of living and have had great luck with Sallie Mae and Discover. Discover gives you rewards back if your GPA is above a 3.0 so there's some incentive there! I haven't looked for much aid outside of loans, but I know there are scholarships available for ABSN programs in particular, and I think Ohio may have some of their own for nurses. Let me know if I can help with anything else about the program! 

Thank you for taking the time to answer the questions. good luck with the rest of the program 

On 10/26/2020 at 10:40 PM, SCA1026 said:

Hi everyone,

I've also been accepted into the May 2021 ABSN program at the Cincinnati location. I plan to accept the offer because I really like how helpful they have been and my sister went to Xavier for her doctorate and she really liked it. I'm pretty excited. Xavier was my first choice. I am wondering how many other people have been accepted so far and plan to go.

Hey I also got accepted into the May 2021 ABSN program in Cincinnati. I was wondering if you’ve found any information about living arrangements. 

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