School/Galen College of Nursing - Tampa Bay

"Run!!! My wife attended one semester and during that time she had over half a dozen teachers because they kept quitting or getting fired. Her clinical instructor slept in the nurses lounge instead of actually helping with the clinical. Another clinical instructor would make her and other female students bend over to check underwear color. She was constantly forced into humiliating situations and other students were literally retaliated upon after filing complaints. As for actually learning something we'll good luck with that. The program was so shoddy and poorly planned that not one teacher was able to effectively teach anything. At the end they had to add a day to the schedule to catch up due to lack of hours completed while teachers rotated in and out. Yet after all of this they still charged my wife for the entire program and she still "owes" money to this fake school. What a rip off!!! DO NOT GO TO GALEN. PERIOD."

"I am an LPN with a bachelors and health administration I decided to go ahead and attempt to do the LPN to RN program at Galen . All I can say is this is not a program if you plan on working full-time or having any family life . They throw so much at you at one time that it is completely overwhelming. My clinical rotation the instructor was rude to me and the nurse I was with who even made a comment about how the instructor should not talk to me or her they way she did . Not to mention she downgraded me in front of other students expressing that I would be the one to have the hardest time in the program because I was a nurse the longest and it’s difficult for us to learn new things. Also if you have to drop a class for any reason expect to get put last on the list after everyone else has registered before they will let you register for your classes so you get what’s left over . Thanks to Covid I withdrew from Galen and have no intention on ever going back when I do decide to continue on for my RN it will not be there"

"I must say this was probably the most challenging journey I had ever experienced. However, I loved all but one of the instructors there. It was a far cry from the prior educational institution I attended when attaining an LPN diploma. This school is expensive, but in the end, it was worth every penny. They have an abundance of resources. I found that at least in the personal experience I had when I was having a problem of any kind, I was always encouraged and able to bring it to the attention of whichever instructor I had, and it was handled in a timely manner. I am so pleased with this school that I chose to seek higher education and am currently attending a bachelor's degree."

"This is the hardest school you will ever attend. The reason I have it 1 star is because you will find later as you go through the courses that you must take what they give you and deal with it. The deeper you get into the program the lesser and lesser options you have for classes. One of their big things is how flexible they are with your work but this is not the case as you get deeper into your classes. You end of fighting for a schedule that will fit your work schedule. They will sell you the program as "Flexible" but it is actually very rigid and unforgiving. If you need to work while going to school, this is not the place for you unless you are able to have a very flexible schedule with your work. The school itself has an amazing program and your skills will be well tested if you are able to make it work for you. Their pass rate for the NCLEX looks great, but remember those numbers are deceiving. Galen as people progress through the program, there are much more failures then there are passing the actual program. Classes can go from 50 students to 10 very fast."

"The bad reviews of Galen are from students that failed their classes or got kicked put for attendance issues. I'm about to be in my last quarter of their LPN part time program and though I've been frustrated at times, every one I've reached out to has resolved my issues or directed me to the handbook which states the schools policy. This is a private college, they have standards and rules... it takes hard work, dedication, and devotion to pass their programs. If you do the work of a C student, expect grades and experience of a C student. Put your time in and pay attention. Show up and read your chapters. Find extra things to do during clinicals, and you will pass the NCLEX and be licensed... and 21k won't be a complaint."