Everything You Need to Know About Excelsior Nursing

Listen up, everyone.  There is a buzz in the nursing community right now about Excelsior’s Nursing Program…and for good reason, Excelsior’s Nursing Program is the largest nursing program in the US.  In years past, their program has been criticized due to the fact that it is mainly a distance learning program…however, the Excelsior School of Nursing has developed quite a reputation in the nursing community in the past decade...for excellence.  In fact, Excelsior’s Nursing program is one of less than twenty nursing schools in the United States to earn the title from the NLN a Center of Excellence.

There are tons of questions about Excelsior’s Nursing program, and I’m going to answer as many of them as possible in this article.

First of all, to be eligible for Excelsior’s Nursing Program, you must either be a LPN, paramedic, respiratory therapist, or physician’s assistant.  In a few states, corpsmen who meet certain specifications can qualify as well.  This all varies by state, and more specific information (state-by-state) can be found here.

Now, Excelsior takes a little different approach to awarding credit hours towards a degree.  This is one of the main reasons why people choose to go to Excelsior.  With their program, you can earn your degree without even stepping foot in a classroom.  No hocus pocus, they use a pretty standard approach to awarding college credits…you’ve probably heard of it…ever heard anyone say they ‘clepped’ out of a class?

Excelsior uses this same principle.  There, you can take a series of tests, some CLEP, some DANTES, and some ECE (Excelsior) and once you pass, they award you that class’ credit hours toward your degree.

This makes it possible for many of Excelsior’s students to earn their RN without attending class, on their own time and schedule.  Once you earn the necessary credits, they award you your degree.  You can earn your degree (with no previous college) by taking approximately 16 tests.  Many of Excelsior’s students have earned their RN degree in LESS THAN SIX MONTHS.

Now, Excelsior does offer ‘prep’ courses that you can take to prepare for these exams, but you can find the same study materials online here for a fraction of the price.  By the time the average student completes their degree at Excelsior, they have saved a tremendous amount of time and money.  Considering the average nursing school costs $17 per year (for at least two years), the average Excelsior student spends less than half of this amount.

Once you take the tests and earn your degree, you must apply to take your state nursing boards just as you would if you graduated from any other nursing school.

In our opinion, Excelsior’s program is great.  It allows many LPNs the opportunity to go back to school and earn their degree when otherwise, they would not be able to afford it or have time to attend traditional classes.