St Francis Career College

Now that I have officially completed the program, I feel I am in a position to write a thorough review. I’ll try and be impartial, but sometimes, personal feeling can hinder a fair review.
PROS: lots of financial aid/​scholarships available, acute care facilities (hospitals), all teachers are RNs, NCLEX review by southern CA campus is superb and thorough
CONS: somewhat moody and unhelpful staff (at times), inconsistency, NO communication, constant change
You know how one person can ruin it for everyone? I won’t name names, but there are some people who act as if doing their job is such an inconvenience to them. I thought that’s what they hired you for? Customer service can be an understatement. AND ignore that 100% pass rate stuff. Nevermind that, it was back in 07. Check the more recent stats.
On the other hand, I did develop some lasting relationships with a few excellent teachers. If you can get past the politics, occasionally moody staff, and the fact that you need to wear a uniform to class, this school will teach you what you need to know to pass NCLEX.

As far as schools passage rate, only 7 students took an exam and those results are old, wait till new results come out! This is one of the most expensive programs in the area, and who needs those ridiculous expensive uniforms anyways. As far as non-​profit it is all BS the instructors are paid less than any other program supplies and books are super expensive and most of the «non-​profit money» goes into pocket of senior management. The lab is outdated and primitive and always missing supplies. As far as quality, the school will pass you no matter what but you will have really tough time with boards.

This school offers CNA and LVN programs. I graduated from the LVN program, which lasts for about 15 months. It’s a Catholic private school and there is a uniform for theory (lectures) and practical (clinicals).
This school is allowed to have 30 people in each class and has alternates just in case someone drops from the programs. You are divided in 10 for clinicals so if you know your math you should know that’s 3 groups. The school has 3 semesters (Freshmen, Sophomore, & Seniors).
I was in the Aug. 07 class at first; however, I was an alternate but I was dropped from the class right before clinicals since no one else dropped. Therefore, I had first priority for the upcoming class, which was Jan. 08 class.
My first teacher for my Jan. 08 class was with Ms. Moore and she was very thorough with teaching. She helped me a lot with understanding the basics, which gave me a solid understanding and let me tell you, I didn’t know anything with nursing prior to her. However, after awhile she was too easy as a teacher and I felt bored in her class. I played with my phone during her class. She’s no longer there because she was fired.
After Ms. Moore, I had Ms. Talatac and I had her when I was in the Aug. 07 class but anyway, she was by far the best teacher! She’d tells us a lot of situations and how she handled it. Her test style was very similiar to NCLEX so it’ll help you with critical thinking. Plus, she’s very involved with the students. She’s just awesome that’s all I got to say but she is no longer there because she moved onto bigger and better things at her other job.
Ms. Peralta was a clinical instructor but she has taught my theory class. She’s another awesome teacher. During clinicals, she has everyone doing something so you won’t feel like you are wasting time. She’ll help you strengthen what needs improvements. She left because she became a NP.
The best teachers I had left and I don’t know who else is there so whatevs.
They started this branch in 2003 so they are unorganized and there’s some problems here and there with getting clinical teachers and whatnot. My group ended up not having any clinical experiences when the Pediatrics rotation came up. There’s lack of communication. There was always some type of drama so be prepared.
I can’t really compare this school to another school but apparently, you’ll find drama at other schools so it really doesn’t matter where you go.
Apparently, they’ll have RN classes available next year but I’m not sure.
Oh yeah! Before I forget be sure to have done your General Psychology and Developmental Psychology (lifespan) before attending this program because they fail to tell you, until you are enrolled and are doing the orientation, that you need it for when you take the Board Exam and you need it to graduate. Apparently, they are doing online classes so if you haven’t taken it that’s an option. But I think it’s preferable that you take it before if you think you can’t put in anymore hours.
Requirements for graduation and/​or board exam:
General Psychology
Developmental Psychology (pert. lifespan)
85 hours of community service (pert. health care)
40 hours of computer time on this website called medspub (pert. NCLEX prep)
Passing ATI
CNA license should be valid
Cost $ 31,000+.
Overall, it’s been ok. This school had it’s good moments and sometimes bad moments so I can’t really persuade you to come here. However, I do have my VN license and a few of my classmates do too.
My advice is if you want your VN license, you have to WORK for it. It’s not going to be a piece of cake and not all teachers will be helpful and/​or easy.