HELP FOR SCHOOL!

i want to start school already. but i don't know what to do, either MRI TECH OR Radiology TECH. I live in california, is there any good trade tech schools for these programs. All i know is either CASA LOMA COLLEGE OR KAPLAN COLLEGE. Casa loma college gives me assiciotes degree in MRI. but i just want to know if i can take the Board exam after i am done. i do not want to get screwed. plz some 1 help mE!

For kaplan college you have to first take x-ray course which is 12 months and its going to cost about $16k and then you have to wait about 6 months on the waiting list for Radiology program which is like $20k or more.

Casa loma college is a 2 year program and you get ur assoicate degree and total cost is going to be $33,000.

which career will hire me on the spot. I am also young am 20 years old so just say if i finish the program i will be 22. Money is not a problem, some people told me to get into respiratory therapist program at concord college. or become a Medical coder but i am stuck into a lot of options.

im a recent grad of the Cal State Northridge program and as part of our projects was to research other schools and the pros and cons of them all. the problem with Kaplan a.k.a. maric college is that by 2011, students graduating from this school after 2011 will not be able to work in Ca because A.A. degrees are going to be required by then. Kaplan cannot give A.A. degrees because they are not accredited by Ca to give such degrees to students. if you start now, i guarantee you will not be able to work and you will DEFINITELY get screwed by this school. i know of MANY techs who regret going to maric (kaplan). the education is awful and the clinical sites are terrible.

havent heard of casa loma though so that is not a good sign. i did clinical in 12 hospitals in and around los angeles and ive never heard of any techs graduating from Casa Loma. are you sure it isnt for a limited license?

i suggest you try applying for a community college based program because they are very thorough and those schools put out knowledgeable technologists. if you want to learn about MRI, CT, Angio, and cath lab, try applying to cal state northridge because they will teach you all you need to know in clinical to practice those modalities out of school.. good luck!

is this true?

as far as i know! doing the A.A. schools or CSUN will definitely save you more money too!

JCG in Panorama City, California said: as far as i know! doing the A.A. schools or CSUN will definitely save you more money too!

r they doing the A.A by 2011 or u can still work with ur certificate

is who still doing the A.A. by 2011?

community college schools have always done the A.A. and CSUN has always done the bachelors degree. Kaplan does not give neither an A.A. nor a bachelors, just a certificate that will not allow you to work in Ca by 2011

if you dont finish by 2011, and i KNOW you wont if you havent started yet as the program takes about 2 and a half years, then you WILL NOT be able to work in a hospital... you will be able to work in clinics for mere 10-15 dollars an hour while with an a minimum of an A.A. you cuold be make triple that.

I've heard of the changes, but do not know the specifics. Where are you finding your information?

A link would be helpful.

i attended the RTCC (radiologic technology certification committee) meeting and it was one of the topics brought up. i will find you a link and post it here for you guys as soon as i can! off to work for me!

www.arrt.org/new/2008-09-25-ARRT%20Sets%20Associate%20Degree%20Requirement.html

JCG in Panorama City, California said: im a recent grad of the Cal State Northridge program and as part of our projects was to research other schools and the pros and cons of them all. the problem with Kaplan a.k.a. maric college is that by 2011, students graduating from this school after 2011 will not be able to work in Ca because A.A. degrees are going to be required by then. Kaplan cannot give A.A. degrees because they are not accredited by Ca to give such degrees to students. if you start now, i guarantee you will not be able to work and you will DEFINITELY get screwed by this school. i know of MANY techs who regret going to maric (kaplan). the education is awful and the clinical sites are terrible.

havent heard of casa loma though so that is not a good sign. i did clinical in 12 hospitals in and around los angeles and ive never heard of any techs graduating from Casa Loma. are you sure it isnt for a limited license?

i suggest you try applying for a community college based program because they are very thorough and those schools put out knowledgeable technologists. if you want to learn about MRI, CT, Angio, and cath lab, try applying to cal state northridge because they will teach you all you need to know in clinical to practice those modalities out of school.. good luck!

Thank you for your post! If you don't mind me asking. Did you like the program at CSUN? My cousin wants to do the program but she is not sure if she can find a job easily. did you find a job already? how much is the average salary? thank you very much!

I have the same question as NOVAOpto in Florida. How did you like the progam @ CSUN? Is it impacted? How long is the program? Hard to get into?

my friend went to the csun for the program. it is a really good program because they teach radiology/mri with it instead of just one type.

marv z, what program did you decided on doing because i was also looking into the mri program at casa loma college, please let me know. thanks

marv z, what program did you decided on doing because i was also looking into the mri program at casa loma college, please let me know. thanks

vee in Los Angeles, California said: marv z, what program did you decided on doing because i was also looking into the mri program at casa loma college, please let me know. thanks

sup vee, MRI at casa loma college. is not good for my understanding because they give you armit certification which mostly all places you apply to, don't take it. If i was you i will either do nursing, Radiology,or Respiratory therapist.

nursing has a lot of potential and make more money if your going to be a RN,or crna. If you just wanna become a lvn/lpn its better off if you go into radiology, or respiratory therapist. in nursing there is a lot of jobs in California. radiology and respiratory is okay you will need experience but i think years to come respiratory will be in a high demand.

vee i think either nursing/or radiology am still debating. because for a lvn program any where its 12 months. the only radiology school that is the best is kaplan college. which first you do medical assistant/x-ray for 12 months then wait 4-6 months wait list for the radiology program and that's 16 months. i was thinking if i go to lvn for 12 months i will make more money then a ma/xray then i can go to Registerd nursing program after i am done with lvn and RN program is about 14-18 months long. Which they make bank in Los angeles area 35-50/hr. which radiology start off around 20-25 and there cap is 30-35.

Marv Z in Sunland, California said: sup vee, MRI at casa loma college. is not good for my understanding because they give you armit certification which mostly all places you apply to, don't take it. If i was you i will either do nursing, Radiology,or Respiratory therapist.

nursing has a lot of potential and make more money if your going to be a RN,or crna. If you just wanna become a lvn/lpn its better off if you go into radiology, or respiratory therapist. in nursing there is a lot of jobs in California. radiology and respiratory is okay you will need experience but i think years to come respiratory will be in a high demand.

Yeah, nursing does have more opportunity but I really wanted to do rad tech or MRI. I've called alot of hospital about armrit and most of them prefer arrt rather than armrit because of the lack of experience and not being able to perform multiple scannings. Is Kapan College for rad tech, if so, is it a certificate or a degree???

its a certificate

Does Anyone know of a good School in the LA area to attend a LVN program or a accelerated RN program.

Venice in Santa Monica, California said: Does Anyone know of a good School in the LA area to attend a LVN program or a accelerated RN program.

39 month program at west coast university. u get your bachelors in rn. its like 100,000 for school its worth it.

lvn school, concord college, casa loma, kaplan, allied health and medical inc.

JTC... i was wondering if the radiology program was hard to get into at csun? was there a waitlist and how many did the program accept per year?

Im also wondering if anyone knows which schools (community college/ universities)with a radiology tech program are the easiest to get into in southern california.
im almost done with my GE courses and about to apply at different schools
thanks!!

LY in Loma Linda, California said: Im also wondering if anyone knows which schools (community college/ universities)with a radiology tech program are the easiest to get into in southern california.
im almost done with my GE courses and about to apply at different schools
thanks!!

hey ly, yeah at Pasadena city college, los angeles city college. private school loma linda, and kaplan college. also there is 2 other schools which the program is cheap like 3-5k. which is really good because that's how much it is going to cost you at community college.

Marv Z in Sunland, California thanks a lot for the info.. would u happen to know if there's a waitlist in Pasadena city college and LA city college.? Im currently attending a comm coll n the waitlist is 3 years.. just curious if there's a waitlist out there in LA county

LY in Loma Linda, California said: Marv Z in Sunland, California thanks a lot for the info.. would u happen to know if there's a waitlist in Pasadena city college and LA city college.? Im currently attending a comm coll n the waitlist is 3 years.. just curious if there's a waitlist out there in LA county

i don't think there is a wait list. but 100-300 students apply but they choose 25-30 students. with the most volunteering work, every year. just go and talk to the director and ask him if you can do any volunteering work.

LY, here is the website for one of the schools. www.lausd.k12.ca.us/East_LA_OC/

www.harbor-ucla-radiology.org/

you should go to the UCLA, because they said the tuition is free if you wanna get just the certificate, if you want a a.s in radiology its longer and its going to cost you 3-5k. try going on the websites and calling them they will help you out. i noe a lot of information about schools, i should just become a counselor lol. all you need for the UCLA school is like couple of ges. like anatomy, physiology.

Marv Z thank you so much for all the info.. i think u should get into counseling haha.. u should start thinking about goin in that career =)
i never knew UCLA had the program. I only knew CSUN had it.. thanks again for the info and links!! Your a great help!!

no problem if you need help i am always here. :D

my god, more?

Well, go ahead get a nice, fat loan.

Have fun paying it back when you graduate and can't get a job!!!!

i was wondering how hard it is getting into the CSUN PROGRAM ?

anyone have info about this program or is in this program...let me know what you had to do.

i already have been to the website but it didnt answer my question

Has anyone heard of Gurnick academy. I am planning to do the radiology program from there. Is it accredited for this program.

does anyone know any info on Kaplan Certificate program for Medical Coding. Is it worth it

raji it is not accredited. the real is accreditation is arrt. the 1 from gurnick academy is asrt which i never heard.

Melissa in all honesty Kaplan is way too expensive. They try to keep you there for as long as they can so they can suck every last dime out of you. If you are looking for an online based program there are a ton of accredited universities that offer "distance learning classes online" in Medical Billing/Coding. I took the Medical Billing & Coding Course online through San Diego State University Distance Learning. The Medical Billing & Coding program through SDSU distance learning also included Medical Administration & Med Terminology with the Billing & Coding which for me was an added plus!

Although SDSU partnered with Gatlin Education Services to provide online career training courses your certificate of completion comes directly from SDSU. Which in my opinion looks better on your resume then a certificate "diploma" from Kaplan that majority of employers don't consider "quality education" even though they are accredited. That goes for pretty much any program via Kaplan, Concorde, etc "Career University". I paid roughly $2,500 for the course, and completed it in 5 months and that was with a full time work schedule, mommy, wife etc.

Here are some universities that offer the distance learning "online" program:

Certificate Programs -
- CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY DOMINGUEZ HILLS
- CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
- KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY CONTINUING EDUCATION
- SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE
- UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

Associates of Science Degrees -
- COLORADO TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

vanessa in Canyon Country, California said: Melissa in all honesty Kaplan is way too expensive. They try to keep you there for as long as they can so they can suck every last dime out of you. If you are looking for an online based program there are a ton of accredited universities that offer "distance learning classes online" in Medical Billing/Coding. I took the Medical Billing & Coding Course online through San Diego State University Distance Learning. The Medical Billing & Coding program through SDSU distance learning also included Medical Administration & Med Terminology with the Billing & Coding which for me was an added plus!

Although SDSU partnered with Gatlin Education Services to provide online career training courses your certificate of completion comes directly from SDSU. Which in my opinion looks better on your resume then a certificate "diploma" from Kaplan that majority of employers don't consider "quality education" even though they are accredited. That goes for pretty much any program via Kaplan, Concorde, etc "Career University". I paid roughly $2,500 for the course, and completed it in 5 months and that was with a full time work schedule, mommy, wife etc.

Here are some universities that offer the distance learning "online" program:

Certificate Programs -
- CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY DOMINGUEZ HILLS
- CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
- KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY CONTINUING EDUCATION
- SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE
- UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

Associates of Science Degrees -
- COLORADO TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Vanessa How do you like medical coding I am considering this as well. Also is the pay good?

I have my digital/limited x-ray license but i want to get my RT license. what school do you guys recommend? i know of kaplan but is to expensive but is there another one cheaper?

Marv Z in Sunland, California said: vee i think either nursing/or radiology am still debating. because for a lvn program any where its 12 months. the only radiology school that is the best is kaplan college. which first you do medical assistant/x-ray for 12 months then wait 4-6 months wait list for the radiology program and that's 16 months. i was thinking if i go to lvn for 12 months i will make more money then a ma/xray then i can go to Registerd nursing program after i am done with lvn and RN program is about 14-18 months long. Which they make bank in Los angeles area 35-50/hr. which radiology start off around 20-25 and there cap is 30-35.

Your right about the nurses breaking the bank, but there are also a lot of radiologist techs that make just as much(if not more) than nurses. It depends on where you work and your specialty. I know for a fact that there are techs that work at Kaiser Permanente that started off @ $36/hr and those with experience easily making $45-50/hr not including overtime or shift differentials!

LY in Loma Linda, California said: Marv Z thank you so much for all the info.. i think u should get into counseling haha.. u should start thinking about goin in that career =)
i never knew UCLA had the program. I only knew CSUN had it.. thanks again for the info and links!! Your a great help!!

It's actually UCLA Harbor Medical Center that has the program, not UCLA. And yes, it is 100% free, but very competitive because they only take in around 20 students

The Harbor UCLA program is attached to CS Dominguez Hills

Hey guys, I was wondering if you could recommend me 3 trade schools for x-ray techs and for nursing that are fully accredited and give an AA degree and are in Southern California. I don't want to get fooled by certain schools like Kaplan. Thanks so much! I don't want to do the jr college scene because of long wait lists. (unless anyone knows of jr colleges with no wait lists for these two programs?) Thanks!

I see all of these posting and it shows me there are many desperate people out there to finish school....just like me! All I want is to finish some kind of Radiology Technician program out there in Southern California. I know there is Long Beach City College, El Camino College, and CSU Dominguez Hills attached to Harbor UCLA Radiology Tech programs. I've called them all and they have like 3 waiting lists. Some even have 4 yr waiting lists for the Ultrasound Tech programs like Cypress College! Aaaannnnd these programs want you to attend Mon-Fri like 8-5 for clinicals and even the classes. I ask how are you supposed to work to make money to support yourself while going to school?? The El Camino people even e-mailed me and said they recommend you work only 16-20 hrs a week!! They even prefer it if you don't even work at all. Hope all the students have their parents or husbands supporting them....and hope they don't have kids or other obligations during normal business hrs Mon-Fri. All of this makes me feel hopeless! Why don't they have part time programs at community college? Like 2 days a week? or 3 days?

Hey Somebody in Torrance,
I feel you. Same circumstances here. I have a sister finishing up an accelerated nursing program...and she works 1 weekend a month and goes to school full time! She was narrowed from close to 1000 applicants...she made it to 500 and then down to the top 50! She has a until Aug.2010 to graduate.

If she didn't move back in with our parents *(and have $ saved up to pay her car ins., gas, food, books etc..) she wouldn't have been able to do it! Best wishes to you, Maybe check out online classes...

Marv Z in Sunland, California said: LY, here is the website for one of the schools. www.lausd.k12.ca.us/East_LA_OC/

www.harbor-ucla-radiology.org/

you should go to the UCLA, because they said the tuition is free if you wanna get just the certificate, if you want a a.s in radiology its longer and its going to cost you 3-5k. try going on the websites and calling them they will help you out. i noe a lot of information about schools, i should just become a counselor lol. all you need for the UCLA school is like couple of ges. like anatomy, physiology.

do you need a bachelor's degree to apply to these programs? I have a limited digital xray licence from kaplan, what would you recommend to me since i want to go to RT school and i have an appt to go talk to kaplan about that program but everything seems like that would not be a good choice.

Marv Z in Sunland, California said: For kaplan college you have to first take x-ray course which is 12 months and its going to cost about $16k and then you have to wait about 6 months on the waiting list for Radiology program which is like $20k or more.

Casa loma college is a 2 year program and you get ur assoicate degree and total cost is going to be $33,000.

which career will hire me on the spot. I am also young am 20 years old so just say if i finish the program i will be 22. Money is not a problem, some people told me to get into respiratory therapist program at concord college. or become a Medical coder but i am stuck into a lot of options.

Kaplan College will let you test out of having to take the medical assistant or x-ray tech course first. you should ask the rep to take the anatomy/phisiology prereq test. Its not very hard, I got an A and have never taken an anatomy course.

ImaTech in Sylmar, California said: www.arrt.org/new/2008-09-25-ARRT%20Sets%20Associate%20Degree%20Requirement.html

"ARRT Sets Associate Degree Requirement for Radiography, Nuclear Medicine Technology,
And Radiation Therapy Certification"

That site says it would go into effect 2015, not 2011 like JCG said. Looks like people who are already certified will be exempt from having to get an AA. Of course it is possible that the hospitals will start wanting techs with AA's. But if you are already employed they would probably help with education costs

valerie in Los Angeles, California said: Kaplan College will let you test out of having to take the medical assistant or x-ray tech course first. you should ask the rep to take the anatomy/phisiology prereq test. Its not very hard, I got an A and have never taken an anatomy course.

that is "wonderful" to hear how easy an exam is when you haven;t even studied the subject. what did they ask you?
my suggestion is to go to a college and get your AA or Bachelors and spend the time to do a real program
you are young

Somebody in Torrance said: I see all of these posting and it shows me there are many desperate people out there to finish school....just like me! All I want is to finish some kind of Radiology Technician program out there in Southern California. I know there is Long Beach City College, El Camino College, and CSU Dominguez Hills attached to Harbor UCLA Radiology Tech programs. I've called them all and they have like 3 waiting lists. Some even have 4 yr waiting lists for the Ultrasound Tech programs like Cypress College! Aaaannnnd these programs want you to attend Mon-Fri like 8-5 for clinicals and even the classes. I ask how are you supposed to work to make money to support yourself while going to school?? The El Camino people even e-mailed me and said they recommend you work only 16-20 hrs a week!! They even prefer it if you don't even work at all. Hope all the students have their parents or husbands supporting them....and hope they don't have kids or other obligations during normal business hrs Mon-Fri. All of this makes me feel hopeless! Why don't they have part time programs at community college? Like 2 days a week? or 3 days?

We are Radiologic Technologists, NOT Technicians. are you interested in this for a job or as a profession? big difference

Charles Drew University in Los Angeles offers a 2yr degree for the radiologic technologist program. There is no waiting list since it is a private school. Tuition for the 2yrs will be approx 22K or so. The is no break in the curriculum like Kaplan and they are certified and graduates will be able to sit for the boards.

You will need to have most all if not all of the pre-reqs. They accept approx 25 students a year and the program usually begins around Aug 25th. Hopefully some of you can get together an application quickly and make the deadline and be a late add.

www.cdrewu.edu

Hope this helps!