Hi We PCS in August to Pendelton and I have been an EMT for 12 Plus years now...I am interested in going to school to get my Nursing. We have 5 kiddos (3 of which will be in Day care 3,2,almost 6 MO). Kaplan is expensive but no waiting list (15 mo LVN program and 24 Mo for RN Program there)...I am just looking for info on Financial Aid etc and or other school near the base that offer RN or LVN programs that dont have such a long wait list like most of the JC's. Thx for the info :) 

just curious what is the cost for the lvn program and the rn program. I paid concord community college 15,000 for the lvn program 10 yrs ago and I am curious if it's gone up or down. 

Do you have a bachelor's degree? 

I'm a member of allnurses.com its a really good site and has a lot of info about schools. I found one thread in particular if it doesn't help you out just search some more. I didn't attend nursing school here so I only know about the schools that I read about or see. Here's the link Nursing 

Awesome Thx guys! Where is concord at? Kaplan said 33000 for the LVN and 54000 for the RN...No I do not have a Bachelors Degree yet...one day :) 

I have a friend doing the Kaplan program you are referring to, and originally they told her it was not a waiting list... Then there was one. Be careful. I attend am also enrolled at Kaplan, pm me if ya have questions. :) 

wow! thats expensive!!! one of the other nurses I work with says she went thru a LVN program in Redlands... Redlands Adult School = $3000 total. She says it was a part-time program, 18 months long. Not sure how far a commute that would be from here? 

I just looked up on BVNPT (Board of Vocational Nurses / Psych Techs) and San Bernardino Adult also has a program... just saying... for the Temecula & Murrieta ladies! :) 

Oh wow. My friend just finished getting her Bachelor's in Nursing, and it didn't cost but half of $54,000.00. Are Kaplan's units even transferable to other institutions? 

I worked at a facility that had employed Kaplan Nursing students..and they said they had a huge loan to pay back but the school does not have a waiting list...Mira Costa college has LVN program but a long wait list.. 

Have you considered using your hubbies GI Bill. I just enrolled in Kaplan for their Advance Degree psychology program and I am using hubbys GI Bill and my tuition is covered 100%. The financial aid advisor said its actually better for servicemembers to use tuition assistance instead of the GI Bill so if my Marine ever decides he wants to go to school he still has an option but in the mean time I can earn my Bachelors in 1.5 years because i am transferring alot of credits from previous schooling. Good luck to you. 

With using your husbands GI bill we were told that he has to have 6 years under his belt before he can transfer his benefits to the spouse. To the OP like someone else mentioned that is very expensive so keep looking around and try to find some major public universities. I graduated and have my BSN and my tuition was def cheaper than that. *edit* OP how long have you been in Cali? I think you have to be here a year to claim in-state tuition so is that why its so high for you because you are considered out-of-state? 

The tution at Kaplan is just extremely high...as it is you do not have to be a resident ...in regards to the GI Bill I was told the same thing that your husband has to committ to at least 8 years of sevice or have served at least 6...the MYCAA has helped with my B.A degree just moving onto Direct loans for my Masters 

Yea once I can get in and get some experience at the hospital I'm going back to become a NP. 

My hubby has been in 16 yrs so we are researching the GI bill info.....also I was told to look into Yellow Ribbon and mycaa....anyone use those? A bill was recently passed if u r an AD spouse u rate in-state rates :) But Kaplan is high and the same either way...concorde was about the same price but only has LVN... Both schools I can transfer credits into so that may help...I am 5 credits away from my AS so I am still eligible for the pell grant....Thanks heaven as 3 of our 5 kiddos will have to go in daycare :) 

Yellow Ribbon is for the member only and is only at private schools that choose to participate. Not only is Kaplan ridiculously expensive, it's not fully accredited, so the credits will only transfer to certain schools that have agreements with them. Do you know where you're going to live? Up north, there's Saddleback (ADN program that does not do waiting lists; they use a point system, which is outlined on their website- I'm sure your years as an EMT will help you), UC Irvine has a BSN program, as does CSU Long Beach. I'm sure there are others, but we live in Oceanside, so my searching in Orange County was somewhat limited. CSU San Marcos has a BSN program, as does SDSU, for public schools. For private, I know Point Loma does; I think Azusa Pacific does; and Loma Linda does, too. When I was looking, all of the ADN programs in SD County used waiting lists. I put my name on the Palomar waiting list in Sept '07, and I recently looked, out of curiosity, and I would have been invited to start this coming year, Fall '10. Instead, I'm graduating this May. Another ADN program that doesn't use waiting lists is Mt. San Jacinto, in Riverside County-the last time I looked, they were 50% point system and 50% lottery. There are so many different places you can live on or near the base, so that could definitely influence what places to look at. 

you can look into Saddleback College....they have an excellent ADN program!! I am graduating from the program next month...yay!!! And no wait list, just GPA 

If you decide to live in the Temecula area there will be more choices. San Jacinto College has a nursing program and unlike most others in the area the majority of the program participants are chosen based on academics instead of lottery and no waitlist is maintained. This is part of a community college so it will be much cheaper. Many military spouses would qualify for a board of governor's fee waiver meaning no tuition. Cal Baptist in Riverside also has a nursing program and it is supposed to be a good college and many scholarships are available. 

Also since you are an EMT some schools may have EMT-RN routes. I know the university I went to back at home had that. They could test out of some of the classes such as Pediatrics and Maternity but had to take the Med-Surg courses. you can look into Saddleback College....they have an excellent ADN program!! I am graduating from the program next month...yay!!! And no wait list, just GPA Congrats Miss. I hope you have better luck than me finding a job. There are so many new grads here in CA and only a few spots open for us. You may have a shot though since you attended school and did clinicals here. I did school and my clinicals in NC so now I'm sitting here with a BSN degree, CA license and about 50 applications to hospitals all over. 

No more wait list at Miracosta. They are taking 10% from the existing wait list, and 90% from a point system. It's on the Miracosta Nursing website. Just have your prereq's: Anat/Phys/Mircobiology, Eng, College Math... and apply! 

The LVN program in Vista through Kaplan is 31k. It is a one year program start to finish. 

It's great to hear that MiraCosta switched from the wait list! It was so frustrating to see how long they were, especially when you move every few years. I was really close to applying to Saddleback because I could max out their point system, but some of their clinical sites were just too far from my house. Congratulations, Miss! I graduate in May, too, but we're PCS'ing, so like 2Gemz4Eva, I get to venture into a job market no where near where I went to school! 

The only problem with the point system is that you would have to apply every year. If the waiting list "was" 3 years then the point system will be so competitive you'd need a 4.0 to even get close. So you could apply over and over and wait just as long as 3 years if not more just to be picked up. 

Yellow Ribbon is for the member only and is only at private schools that choose to participate. Not only is Kaplan ridiculously expensive, it's not fully accredited, so the credits will only transfer to certain schools that have agreements with them. I finally found the web page for this and Kaplan and Concorde are fully accredited and I do qualify for this grant as u just have to be able to use your spouses Post 9/11 Gi Bill.Thought that was interesting. Thx for all the info I am googling it all to look into all the programs avail! Anymore ideas are greatly appreciated! We are thinking about trying to live on Base at Stuart Mesa (if we can get into the 5 bedroom we r on the wait list) my hubby will be working near the Del Mar side of the base :)SO I am not sure how far the commute is to some of the above mentioned schools.... Miss CONGRATS!!!!! 

Also since you are an EMT some schools may have EMT-RN routes. Awesome I will add that to my list of questions to schools 

Mira Costa Community College has an LVN program and they work with the naval hospital. You could use the MyCAA account plus FASFA in order to pay for the training, no need to use the GI Bill. 

My brother in law is an LVN here in SoCal. He says the Kaplan program is a ripoff for LVN. You can get the same training somewhere else for much much cheaper and end up with the same certification. He also says LVN jobs are very tough to find and only start out around $20/hour until you build up at least a year of experience. He's currently commuting over an hour each way working up in the L.A. area because it was the only position he could find without a year of LVN experience. Speaking of Kaplan, I was at a local urgent care a couple months ago and there was this poor guy wearing a Kaplan intern uniform. They had him mopping the floor, taking out the trash, scraping old stickers off the front door, etc. He wasn't even working with patients. I felt bad for him. He was really old too! 

My brother in law is an LVN here in SoCal. He says the Kaplan program is a ripoff for LVN. You can get the same training somewhere else for much much cheaper and end up with the same certification. He also says LVN jobs are very tough to find and only start out around $20/hour until you build up at least a year of experience. He's currently commuting over an hour each way working up in the L.A. area because it was the only position he could find without a year of LVN experience. Its also tough for New Grad RNs in SoCal like I mentioned before I have applied everywhere and I still don't have a RN job.