Rasmussen College Reviews - Associate in Nursing
I do not recommend the nursing program unless you want to teach yourself the ins and outs of being a nurse, most classes are online so theres no one there to help you , it is over priced, yes its an excelarated program but the amount of assignments are extreme. They will also hold on to the financial aide that is not needed and should be sent back to lender until you threaten to take action
This school claims to be flexible and affordable. Most students were forced to quit their jobs to keep up with the insanity and several lost their jobs along the way due to the school's inability to provide a clear schedule without making changes. My schedule the last quarter changed 6 times in the first 2 weeks. It's unbelievably expensive and everything is so much more complicated than it needs to be. There's little to no communication and you're treated like a child. If you ask questions, the answers you receive from both instructors as well as support staff are of no help and downright frustrating. It's so hard to explain how bad this school is. And affordable? 50k for an associates btw. Thankfully I came in with 100% of all prerequisites for their ADN, or associates degree in nursing. Still cost me almost 30k.
I'm a recent graduate of Rasmussen Bloomington, MN campus and excited to share that I passed my boards on the first try with the minimum amount of questions. As with many others in my class there were many frustrations that I can sit here and complain about, I think for me the most frustrating part was releasing the schedules in a unreasonable amount of time to schedule days off from work. This changed when they were going up for accreditation. The good and the annoying part was ati's, the good part is if you really read them and take them seriously taking the nclex will not phase you well..... the bad is their annoying, but worth the annoyance in the end. No school is perfect but I believed Rasmussen fully prepared me to take and pass the boards on the first try.
They say that it is flexible and it works with any schedule, but that is far from the truth. Also, many of the professors are not helpful. They have other jobs and will not hesitate to put your education last. With all of my online classes I have been responsible for teaching myself everything and all of my professors are in other states so you can not set up a time to meet with them if you need help in the class. Many of the classes dont have any supplemental learning, you just read the textbook and take a test; so youre basically paying to teach yourself. Also the advisors are almost impossible to get ahold of and the office is extremely disorganized.
Many of the complaints I see about this school, (grading scale, third-party background checks, mandatory classes) are all part of being in nursing school. I went to PHSC for my LPN and it was the same thing. They do not work around your schedule and they expect you to get with the program or get out. That is how nursing school is and If you expect to be coddled don't waste your time and money. Nursing is a serious program because the patients' lives are in our hands. DO YOUR RESEARCH!!! READ THE STUDENT HANDBOOK/ NURSING HANDBOOK. Before applying to any college program I recommend you do all your research to see if that program is compatible with you!! I am about half way done with the program. Yes, many classes are online. I panicked initially because I normally do not do well with online classes. I have not made anything below a B. Their online classes are simple to navigate and easy to work. They even have the latest simulation labs for Microbiology that were incredible. I will update my post if anything changes but so far I have been very pleased with this program and found that it is much easier than my previous program. Also, I almost forgot to add you CANNOT WORK FULL TIME AND EXPECT TO BE SUCCESSFUL. Yes, there may be one or two people who may be able to but for me, I could not. As soon as I started working part-time my grades became all A's. There is so much to study and so much to learn. You can't just memorize you actually have to learn the concepts. That is the part I tend to struggle with the most. Well, that's my rant!
Believe the other reviews, the school is absolutely terrible. You wont learn a darn thing thats applicable in the real world, all I do is take your money and laugh all the way to the bank. I wouldnt recommend this college to my worst enemy. Ineffective and just a giant waste of your money.
Going to Rasmussen for nursing was the worst decision I have ever take. 50 to 70% of the classes are online. That means you are most of the time figuring things yourself. It is true you can always email your instructor but the reply is not instant. Its ASN or BSN s definitely not for people with zero healthcare background. Second, from day 1, they throw so many assignments at you that you feel like you are drowning. Third, they are obscessed with ATI. Therefore ATI is embedded within every nursing class. You are basically learning ATI's and rasmussen's program as the materials are not the same. You have to attain a level 2 in each ATI exam attached to a class before you are considered completely done with the said class. Fourth, their grading scale is as follows: A (94-100), B (85-93), C (78-84), F (77-0) furthermore they round down meaning 77.999999999999 is 77. My problem with this grading system is that it only applies to the nursing school. This let me believe that it is a deliberate effort to have you retake a class if you ever got on the edge where you need that 0.0001 to pass. Believe me you can get to that point easily in nursing. I personally got an F for missing 0.5 point. I'm not looking for excuses for my failure but that level of intransigence is hard especially when you are paying $400/credit. I should hopefully graduate in March. I wish it was tomorrow.
DO NOT WATE YOUR MONEY. This school does not care about its students. In one class I had a 94 going into the last week. I submitted my final project and my grade remained a 94. This is mathematically impossible considering its 8% oftour grade. I graduated with a 3.48 gpa and a 3.50 is honors. I asked the dean (several times) to look into it and never received an email back for a month. After finally getting a reply she said she looked into it and doesnt see a need to change it. Lol. I emailed back for an explanation and never received one. So basically Im suppose to believe that if I never even submitted this final project and received a zero my grade would stay a 94? Still havent received an explanation. I have a lot more stories about this joke of a school. Absolutely pathetic that you dont even get the grade you earned and then not given an explanation. Very poor.
Internet at the school rarely works. School runs out of paper and ink a lot and teachers stopped providing print outs. A lot of self teaching. Things are constantly changing in the middle of classes and trying to find out what homework is due is a pain when having to click multiple places.
I really like my school. It is hard and they tell you before you start that they do not work around your schedule. You have to work around your school schedule. You have to study about 20 hours a week per class. School is a job if you think it's not then your wrong. Yes it's expensive but less expensive than being on a list waiting for 2 years. After my ADN I'm going to go to a college in the city near my house for the BSN. Most hospitals are magnet status so you won't get into them without a BSN. Also, you have to be accountable for your own success people are not just going to hand you a degree. I aim for a 90% or better on every test and the minimum is 79%. Also, there are pre req classes so whomever said there was not... That's a bold faced like.
