I am about to enter Nursing school in October. It is a PN program from a private school here in NC. Its 12 months in length and over-all not too hard to get into ( .i.e..no waiting list!!) Anyway, after passing the entrance exam, submitting all the required paper work etc, including a 500 word Essay , Having the Interview and so on...I'm in...The down side is that this school is VERY $$$,..I'm talking to the tune of $19,000. ( Its all inclusive,.meaning books, uniforms etc)
The local CC here has a waiting list so to speak, so I'm looking at another 1-2 years easily...I don't want to wait that long!! Plus I found out that NONE of my 33 credits will transfer simply because they ( the CC) has a 5 year rule I was told that I would have to start all over from scratch....By the way my credits were from 8 years ago..ugh! I'm ticked too because the local CC here is only minutes from my home while the school in Raleigh is a good 1 hour + each way...
Anyway my concern is paying for or shall I say "Investing" in this PN program... In addition to other financial aide, I am sure that I'll also have to take a student loan to help cover some of the cost....I don't have all the final "numbers" ( financial aide wise), but I am fairly sure there is no way grants will cover 100% of the cost and the thought of owing so much after-wards kinda worries me...
My question ( and concern is..) Is the cost really worth it? I mean if I were to have a debt of $10,000+ for getting my RN,...that would be fine, but for getting my LPN...well I just don't know... One thing I do want to add is that once I finish my PN, I plan on working and then going the Excelsior route for my RN....
Anyway time is running out and I really need to make a firm decision....I Love coming here and value your opinions...Please share the "pros and Cons" from your point of view......Thanks so much!!
Well I thought I should come back and do an up-date on my situation...
After much thought ( and stress..) ..and as crazy as this sounds.... I decided to go on and apply to the local CC here....which means..yes...my having to start all over again..ugh! I called there today and found out that not only do I have to forgo all my past credits but to add insult to the matter,...I must now also take the required Entrance exam as well...grrrrrrrrrr........Truly starting back at square One....
Ok,..now here is the Crazy part.....I am also going to try to hold my space in the PN program. ( since I'm already in!! ) With this, I have three options ...#1- to begin in October as planned,..#2- to notify the school that I want to give up my space for October and secure a space in either one of the Feb 07 or June 07 classes....
That way IF it turns out that I don't get in the Nursing program locally..and to be honest...theres a Good chance I won't!!... ( I know so many still waiting..)then at least I will still have the PN program!!......
Well I thought I should come back and do an up-date on my situation...
After much thought ( and stress..) ..and as crazy as this sounds.... I decided to go on and apply to the local CC here....which means..yes...my having to start all over again..ugh! I called there today and found out that not only do I have to forgo all my past credits but to add insult to the matter,...I must now also take the required Entrance exam as well...grrrrrrrrrr........Truly starting back at square One....
Ok,..now here is the Crazy part.....I am also going to try to hold my space in the PN program. ( since I'm already in!! ) With this, I have three options ...#1- to begin in October as planned,..#2- to notify the school that I want to give up my space for October and secure a space in either one of the Feb 07 or June 07 classes....
That way IF it turns out that I don't get in the Nursing program locally..and to be honest...theres a Good chance I won't!!... ( I know so many still waiting..)then at least I will still have the PN program!!......
So....what ya think?....
Thanks!!!!
Yay! But if I were you...& I am not) I would just do the LPN thing since you'd be starting in only less than 3 months...then you can bridge over to RN....heck you may even get in sooner because you did the LPN thing.....or you may be waiting a long time.....but just my opinion...do what your gut tells you.....I just know I'd be a wreck just waiting & not knowing if & when I was starting.......did you find out if your wait list is after you get all your pre reqs done or is it from when you apply regardless?? I's just hate to see you wait & wait when you could be doing the LPN and then working as a nurse until you can get into the RN program.......the other option is to check if there are any hospital based nursing only programs....I did that and had 1 year in BUT I transfered to a nursing program in a college and the program I left was non accredited so that year of nursing was not accepted .......it's ok though my program now is 100x better than my former program anyway..plus it's accredited so I can transfer if I decide to further my degree to a BSN or MSN after I am done....good luck either way!
Don't rush your decision. I started pre-nursing last year - at the age of 48, pushing 49 really hard! The college accepted some of my old college credits, things like english, psyc, just general classes. So all I had to take were A&P and microbiology. We don't even have to have chemistry at the college level. I start my first core nursing class in August 2006 and only have to take core nursing classes for the next 21 months, that means 7 classes is all I have left. This will get me an associates degree as RN and won't cost $19,000! I work part time at the local hospital and they have tuition assistance for employees and they have an 80/20 loan for nursing students. You may hear a lot of tough things about Carolinas College of Health Sciences in Charlotte but you could probably stay in Charlotte during the week and go home on weekends and still not spend $19,000. CCHS even has a deal worked out with an apartment complex right behind the campus for great rates!! Check it out.
Plus I worked with an LPN that is doing the RN with Excelsior. That is roughly another $10,000 for that program.
Go for the LPN program. After you finish, you will probably find a job which will pay for your tuition. Some hospitals may even repay your loans. If I were you, I would go to the LPN program, which will make it easier for you to get into an RN bridge program. Good luck to you.
Specializes in home health, neuro, palliative care.
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Am I missing something? You have made $23,000 in five months and have paid your entire mortgage and paid off a brand new car? I realize you may have a spouse who contributes to this, but as that isn't stated in your post I'm just assuming that. Otherwise you would be the most frugal human being on the planet! I don't know anyone that can stretch $23,000 that far.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Very smart all the way around. DFW,TX is a shortage area isn't it? and the cost of living there isn't as high as it is in CA, right?
DFW, Texas is a shortage area with a plentiful amount of work. The cost of living is much lower with no state income taxes, brand-new homes costing around $100,000, and decent wages. I earn a higher hourly rate than many LVNs in the Los Angeles area.
Thank you Everyone!!! ...for your wonderful responses, advice, wisdom and so on...really from the bottom of my heart!!...
Ok, well right now I am feeling more confused as ever....You see this afternoon I went up to the local CC ( to schedule my entrance exam etc) and One of the admission ladies there ( who was VERY helpful!!) really took the time and went over everything in detail with me regarding both the PN and RN programs..
I told her about my situation regarding the "other" school and to my shock she told me if it were her,.."knowing the way things work"...she would bite the bullet and do the PN route, as getting in the program there is "hard and very competitive" She said that well over 300 students apply each year and they only choose 60!! ( 30 for the PN and 30 for the RN) by the way they now have two separate programs RN / PN wise...Anyway its a max total of 60 hopefuls chosen...
She also told me that there was NO "Waiting list" so to speak, but rather one would have to keep re-applying each year..in hopes of getting in...She also said too that she knows of this one gal that has re-applied something like 5 times!!!!!!!!!!..yes Five..ugh!..I asked what did those that did not get in do in the mean time?...and she told me ..."Keep taking classes"..some just go on and change majors, some drop back part time and others..just wait....while some just give up..
She also told me that it would be MUCH easier to get in via the RN track once you already have your LPN,..matter of fact you are given status...She went on and gave me all the info regarding the LPN to RN track.. for my future use just in case.....
Anyway I guess I am now back to being worried and stressed and again not fully knowing which road to take....Gosh I am normally so NOT like this....as I could always just make up my mind about this or that...and go for it....but this has got me down....
What the person told you is correct that is the fastest way to get into the RN program. It may seem expensive to go to the private school but believe me when you finish you will be glad you made that decision. You don't want to continue to reapply each year and don't get selected for one of spots.
I say go for it with no regrets and don't wait to long because you never know what the future hold for you.Listen to your heart and not you head.
Specializes in Acute care, Community Med, SANE, ASC.
Anna,
I agree with many of the others that $19000 for LPN seems outrageous. What do LPNs make in your area? In some areas it is hard to get hired as an LPN because many of our hospitals are not using them anymore. Suppose this could be the case in your area and, if so, are you interested in working in the areas where LPNs are used, i.e. often long-term care? If not, this may not make sense for you.
My suggestion is to explore more options--further out even. Is there a school or community college in another city near you (or not so near) that offers an online program where you wouldn't need to go to campus very much? I just finished my 2-year RN with a community college online program and only had to be on campus once a week for the first 3 quarters and after that only to test during the last 4 quarters. I also think there must be somewhere that will accept your credits. My bachelor's in business was well over 8 years old and they accepted all my credits (except computer science courses).
It's only my opinon but the 19K LPN program doesn't make sense to me--I'm 37 so I do realize that time flies but I still wouldn't go with that program if I were you. Good luck.
I was told that I would have to start all over from scratch....By the way my credits were from 8 years ago..ugh! I'm ticked too because the local CC here is only minutes from my home while the school in Raleigh is a good 1 hour + each way...
wasted-enough-time
151 Posts
Hi everyone...
Well I thought I should come back and do an up-date on my situation...
After much thought ( and stress..) ..and as crazy as this sounds.... I decided to go on and apply to the local CC here....which means..yes...my having to start all over again..ugh! I called there today and found out that not only do I have to forgo all my past credits but to add insult to the matter,...I must now also take the required Entrance exam as well...grrrrrrrrrr........Truly starting back at square One....
Ok,..now here is the Crazy part.....I am also going to try to hold my space in the PN program. ( since I'm already in!! ) With this, I have three options ...#1- to begin in October as planned,..#2- to notify the school that I want to give up my space for October and secure a space in either one of the Feb 07 or June 07 classes....
That way IF it turns out that I don't get in the Nursing program locally..and to be honest...theres a Good chance I won't!!... ( I know so many still waiting..)then at least I will still have the PN program!!......
So....what ya think?....
Thanks!!!!