The Saint Elizabeth College of Nursing

Date: Oct 21 2009
Major: Nursing (This Major's Salary over time)
Very very disappointing. This school was highly recommended to me by many people in the area and has a respectable reputation. Unfortunately, it does not live up to it at all. I began classes in Fall of 2006 and remained there til end of Spring '07. I was one of 4 males in a class of 65. At the end of the year I finished with a 3.6 GPA, was on the Deans List both semesters . . . and still got kicked out. I can assure anyone who reads this that it had much more to do with either my race or my gender than it did with my academic or clinical performance.

St. E's is - at heart - still a diploma program, and the faculty are uncomfortable in their role as professors at a place that is now a COLLEGE. The majority of people who teach there graduated from there and have never ventured outside the central NY area. The student body is homogeneous - almost everyone is white and female. If you are a male, or a color other than white, you will stand out - and not in a good way.

The faculty do have strong backgrounds as nurses. Unfortunately, not all of them are good teachers. In terms of interactions with the students, there is a LOT of politics and playing of favorites going on. Professors are cliquish - if one takes a dislike to you - more than likely, several others will too. Don't expect a lot of interaction either. They will lecture, and you will take notes. That's it. The course load is very heavy. I was pretty much stuck in class or studying 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, and sometimes more. When I went elsewhere, I was still a full-time nursing student, but with the same amount of nursing units I was able at the new school to double major in another subject, work two part time jobs, and still maintain a decent GPA. That tells me there is something WRONG with the amount of work St. Es saddles its students with.

And the tests are horrid. You will NEVER be able to study everything you need to. The faculty will never ever narrow test topics down. Study all the material and it will still be a crapshoot. When I was there, we had MANY arguments with faculty after tests, because test answers were NOT what was in the textbooks or in our lecture notes - it was whatever the faculty thought the correct answer should be - even if we produced supporting info from the books.

Also, they talk big about their NCLEX pass rate . . . but never mention how roughly half the 1st year students who start in the fall don't finish in the spring. They have massive attrition, but with MVCC and SUNY Morrisville right next store (both of which have HIGHER attrition rates), St Es looks comparatively good in that respect.

Also, in the 18 months after I left campus, there was a 50% turnover in faculty. That should be a red flag. There are problems of some kind in the administration. The president, Dr Metcalfe, and the dean - Mrs. Kovatchitch (sp?) probably need to go. If you go to them for help - they will back faculty up no matter what. As a student, you will always be wrong.

If you go - expect to be saddled with too much work. Expect that if you complain or make waves - you will suffer for it. St. Es has an unspoken policy that you can be kicked out for ANY reason, or you can be kicked out for NO reason.

In case anyone thinks I'm biased or angry - I spent a year there and for the whole year was on the dean's list. I'm calling it EXACTLY as I saw it. My academic performance was in the top 15% of the class. And as I sit here typing this - I'm a registered nurse now. Whether I finished at St E's or not, I must have done something right, because nursing is now how I earn my living.