DO NOT GO TO ULTRASOUND SCHOOL UNACCREDITED BY CAAHEP!!!!

Any recommendations on schools in California? Have a degree already so I know the school routine.

Haj in Phoenix, Arizona said: I'm trying to change my career and advise about this field, how much it's paid in Southern California? Any comment about Newbridge college in Santa Ana and Long Beach, CA for the ultrasound program.What are the chances of getting job after finishing your diploma?I have my BS, does it make a difference in sitting the exam and experince? Any respond is appreciated.

I went to Newbridge college, and the school is ok, but is hard to get a job, because here in California, everybody request at least 1 year of experience, so, while i get "experience" i have to go back to my job as a waitress.
And there are already a bunch of ultrasound technicians working everywhere, so the competence is very hard.

James in Los Angeles, California said: Hey NDL, I went to ATI College located in Norwalk. From what I hear they also have a branch in Tustin as well. Buy yeha, if you don't already have your bachelors then I suggest you stay FAR FAR away from schools unaccredited by the CAAHEP. Hope this helps.....

ATI College located in Norwalk

is this an accredited school? You mention one in tustin as well, im in santa ana

IM CURRENTLY STUDYING SURGICAL TECHNOLOGY, BUY THE WIFE WANTS TO GET INTO ULTRASOUND. MY SCHOOL OFFERES IT, BUT THEY DONT SEEM TO BE ABLE TO GET ANYONE A JOB ONCE THEY HAVE FINISHED.

DOES ANY ONE KNOW OF ANY ACCREDITED SCHOOLS FOR ULTRASOUND IN MY AREA? IM IN SANTA ANA, CA THANX!!!

Hi Grimm...go to www.Caahep.org. I don't know where all the cities are in relation to where the schools that are accredited or what's closest to Santa Ana. There are about seven or eight accredited schools in Ca. Good luck! :o)

I'm in So. CA. Pomona area. Thinking about jump into unltra sound, I have degrees. Any ultrasound tech or sonographer can share some job market information?

thanks

What about Kaplan in North Hollywood. Can somebody tell me what's going on with that school? Is it a good school?

Im not Sure about Kaplan, but i know for sure OCC is ACCREDITED BY CAAHEP!!!! Its in Coasta Mesa right here in OxC

Oh goodness. I found a lot in this thread that makes me want to run with my tail between my legs. They are accredited by: Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Is this a good accreditation?

I'm actually in Santa Clarita.... for some reason it says Downey.

i would have to say nay on that... pretty much CAAHEP!!!! or nothing at all... jobs look for graduates from a CAAHEP accredited schools over other ones....

Grimm Status 1503 in Santa Ana, California said: i would have to say nay on that... pretty much CAAHEP!!!! or nothing at all... jobs look for graduates from a CAAHEP accredited schools over other ones....

That's what I'm gathering. There is nothing near us for U/S.

SHARON said: Has anyone gone to IAMP for Ultrasound tech. They have a camps in New York (Manhattan,Westchester and Queens). They informed me that they work under Presbyterian Hospital. There not registered with CAAHEP, but under ABHES...has anyone gone to this school, that can tell me if this is a good school.

DO NOT GO TO IAMP. They are not accredited. You are rushed through the program at an alarming speed. You are offered very little scanning time without much, if any assistance. They are very unprofessional and offer no job assistance. You will be wasting your time and your money. They charged a lot of money, and you do not get what you pay for in any way. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY, OR MORE IMPORTANTLY, YOUR TIME!

OCC is ACCREDITED BY CAAHEP!!!! Its in Coasta Mesa right here in OxC

www.orangecoastcollege.edu/academics/course_cat/Diagnostic+Medical+Sonography+Certificate.htm

thats the OCC website... you need to have an AA b4 you can go there...
vocational schools usually dont need that, and guess what? most of those schools arnt accredited either.. feel me?

thats where people fall for the trap...

hope that helped...

Thanks so much for your help, Grimm Status. I feel sick to my stomach. I want so badly to go to school for this,but don't want 40K in student loans with a 15 hour per week perdiem job, kwim?

Your welcome, but dont thank me... thank the homie spy from McClay Street, he really helped me out in going the right direction...

I hope there are no males wanting to be Ultrasound techs, unless they like Ultra Sounding male testicles, if you know what I mean!!!!!!!

QQQQ

Ventus in Santa Ana, California said: I hope there are no males wanting to be Ultrasound techs, unless they like Ultra Sounding male testicles, if you know what I mean!!!!!!!

NO, I don't know what you mean! and I don't want to know. I hope people here are serious in discussing about ultra sound field.

Grimm Status 1503 in Santa Ana, California said: Your welcome, but dont thank me... thank the homie spy from McClay Street, he really helped me out in going the right direction...

I don't really know what you mean, but this day has shed so much light. I'm just really down now. I really want to go to a program for ultrasound, but there is nothing around.

Hi Susan. I'm sorry, I don't mean to butt into your conversation, but I feel bad for you. Don't get so down yet. Go to your local hospitals and speak to someone in the radiology dept. If there aren't any schools near you, and yet they have sonographers, they must've went to school nearby. See what THEY are looking for from their sonographers. Find out what schools they accept their sonographers from. Maybe they aren't so strict. Just keep being positive. Ask questions and you may be surprised by the answers you get. Good luck and keep your chin up!! :o)

STT in Rowland Heights, California said: NO, I don't know what you mean! and I don't want to know. I hope people here are serious in discussing about ultra sound field.

Im a full time tech in OC. most testicular ultrasounds come through E.R. and they usually dont care who does the exam cause they are in pain. its all part of the job. + i have never had a problem being a male in a mostly female field. as long as u are professional and make the patient comfortable you will not have a problem.

Anna in Middle Village, New York said: Hi Susan. I'm sorry, I don't mean to butt into your conversation, but I feel bad for you. Don't get so down yet. Go to your local hospitals and speak to someone in the radiology dept. If there aren't any schools near you, and yet they have sonographers, they must've went to school nearby. See what THEY are looking for from their sonographers. Find out what schools they accept their sonographers from. Maybe they aren't so strict. Just keep being positive. Ask questions and you may be surprised by the answers you get. Good luck and keep your chin up!! :o)

They all went to Kaplan, which is a positive.

hayla said: oh and by the way red, they are expanding quickly, they now have a weekend class. Its freekin idiotic that they take so many students and push them out like sardines, there is not a huge demand for sonographers, and from what I hear it is almost impossible to get hired without registration.

What do you mean, "without registeration". How does that affect a person from getting hired as a Sonographer? I am sorry to ask a dumb question. but, I am interested in becomming a Sonographer. I am trying to learn as much as possible about the process so that I make a wise decission.

Please advise.

Hi Amelia. What Hayla meant by registration is that you have to be ARDMS registered in order to get a job. In order to get registered you must take the registry exams along with physics tests. In order to qualify to take the tests you must either: 1. have graduated from an accredited school, or 2. graduated from an unaccredited school but have a bachelor's degree, or 3. graduated from an unaccredited school but has worked doing sonography for one full year. good luck.

continued from previous post.....If you go to an unaccredited school and you don't have a bachelor's degree, it's very, VERY hard to find a hospital to hire you because you haven't passed any registries. You will be a liability risk to the hospital. Besides the fact, that almost ALL jobs require ARDMS registry AND at LEAST TWO YEARS EXPERIENCE! If you don't have a bachelor's degree...make sure you get into an accredited school. Go to www.caahep.org and look up dignostic medical sonographer and type in your state. It will show you all the accredited schools in your state. Going to any other kind of school you are risking wasting your money and adding obsticals for yourself when it comes to getting a job. GOod luck!

Susan in Downey, California said: What about Kaplan in North Hollywood. Can somebody tell me what's going on with that school? Is it a good school?

Kaplan, also known as Maric are not accredited and
are terrible schools. Their job placement rate
are low, basically they will graduate anyone that
breathes.

what's the best school to go to for ultra sound?????

Hi Didi! Depending on where you are located on Staten Island (near South Beach which is closer to Brooklyn or the other end where you are closer to NJ). If you are closer to NJ, try Bergen Community College, or even SBI in Iselin. BCC is MUCH cheaper than SBI. If you go onto www.caahep.org type in either NY or NJ and see what's better for you. If you are closer to NY, Downstate, LIU and NYU are schools that accredited. NYU will give you an associate's degree, but they are ridiculously expensive, LIU from what I have been told is about $15k for their program and you only get a certificate. Downstate offers a Bachelor's degree (it's where I am currently attending). You must have 60 credits (majority of them in science) to get in. The class size at Downstate is small, only 21 in my class. They offer part-time programming but it's during the day and for the most part, you're out of school either by 10:30 or 12pm on any given day. You could go onto their website: www.Downstate.edu and look up their diagnostic medical imaging program. They had an open house just yesterday. You could call and speak to Dr. Joyce Miller. She will answer all your questions for you. Good luck!! :o)

Aan thanks for the info. Right now im located in brooklyn so i think Downstate would be great for me. and yes I am working.how can i complete 60 credits on a part-time base?

Hi Didi. Okay, I'm assuming that you haven't any college credits right? Well, Downstate isn't too concerned about WHAT CLASSES you took to make up the 60 credits. All they care about is that you took the prereqs: 2 english classes, a year of A&P, a pyschology class, physics class, a college level math class, and a chemistry class. All the rest could be in art, gym, dance, whatever you want to take to get the credits. So you could take one or two hard courses and then take one or two "fluff" courses during a semster, meaning a three credit class in Ceramics or something you think you would enjoy, that meets once a week. Just make sure you do well on those classes I had mentioned that Downstate looks at to determine whether they will accept you in their program. I didn't realize that initially, so I took all these crazy courses like a year of spanish, organic chemistry, etc that killed me and I hated. It was only after I was ready to drop out of school because of my problems with Algebra and Queensborough wanted me to take PRE-CALC, and a FULL YEAR of physics, that I called downstate and they told me that I didn't need all those other hard courses. I could've taken nothing but art classes to make my 60 credits as long as I had the prereqs down with good grades. My prereq's GPA was almost a 3.7. I am going to Downstate part-time now,and it's still hard. If you decide to go to Downstate, I would strongly advise you to take A&P right before coming here, because what you learned in one year at any other school, you will have to learn it all in ONE SEMESTER!!! So this way you will already have it fresh in your memory, whereas I forgot everything because I took that course four years ago. My friend is Kingsborough now taking courses so eventually she could get into Downstate's Sonography program. I'm proud of her going back to school because she dropped out of hs years ago, and saw that without an education all you will ever get is low-paying jobs. Good luck!! :o)

I plan to attend ATI College in Santa Ana, CA. It is ACCSCT accredited. and they told me ACCSCT is a broder coverage than CAAHEP.
So they do not need CAAHEP.

Does anyone have any insight about this school or this accreditation? Thnaks.

Hi Ann. you right i dont have college credits. when I enroll do I have to take an entery exam?? do i have to go to another college to do the 60 credit before I go to DownState??

nancy1126 in Florida said: There are some private schools that are CAAHEP accredited. Look up online which other schools in your area are accredited. I have been there done that. I had to move to another state just to get a job in ultrasound. I have made so many sacrifices just to pursue this career because I chose the wrong school. I did not do enough research before hand. I did not want to go to x-ray school at the community college before ultrasound either. All I know is the people that went through the community college found jobs right out of school with no problem. They sat for the registry right away. Trying to find a place to hire you without coming from an accredited school and not being registered is VERY difficult. I just don't want anyone else to have to go through what I have been through. I wish someone would have told me beforehand.

I FEEL THE SAME WAY YOU DO.I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TOLD ME.I JUST FINISHED FROM ATI IN MIAMI,AND IM SO DARN SCARED,DO ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR ME?HELP!HELP!

nancy1126 in Florida said: ATI College of Health is the biggest scam around next to Sanford Brown. I believe their tuition is up to about $45,000 now. It is not even worth $1,000.
I wish I had done more research before attending that piece of crap school. When I finally realized how bad it was, it was too late. The other schools have a long waiting list to get into. I think that is why so many people ended up going to ATI. I only know two people out of almost 100 that have jobs in ultrasound. They are involved in a class action lawsuit to try to get their money back. It is really ashame that they can steal your money and give a you such a bad education. Not to mention the very limited hours of clinical time. Also, they do not have hospitals to use for clinicals. You either have to find your own site or they can put you at an abortion clinic to learn. It is an absolute joke!!!!!!! I am hoping they will be shut down soon before anyone else gets involved with that school.

I DO AGREE WITH YOU BUT,I WENT TO ATI AND I DID MY HOURS AT A HOSPITAL ONE OF THE BEST HOSPITALS.FAR AS THE ACCREDIDATION I DIDNT FIND OUT UNTILL THE END ABOUT THAT NOW IM SO AFRAID DNT KNOW WHAT TO DO.

TD in Boca Raton, Florida said: Just so you know, CCI will NOT except you unless you have 1yr. of work experience FIRST. Trust me, I contacted them after I graduated from an unaccredited college.

SO WHAT ROUTE WOULD YOU RECOMMEND I TAKE I JUST FINISHED FROM A UNACCREDITTED SCHOOL,I NEED ADVICE PLEASE HELP.

Hey Denise,

Where did you do your externship at? I had to move to another state to get a job. Fortunately, I found one and have been working in the field for one year. I will be sitting for my registry in the next month.
ATI has a really bad reputation and no one wants to hire their students.
There is a lawsuit going on with several students who graduated with me in Aug of 2007 and never found jobs.

Hi Didi. Yes to both questions. You will have to take an entry exam to get into a college. Try Kingsborough Community College. You will have to take a math, english and reading test. If you fail any of those classes you will be required to take a remedial class before taking a class that you will earn credits for. I had to take remedial math, because I couldn't remember how to do it. Once you have obtained the 60 credits, you will have to apply for Downstate. Just make sure you maintain a GPA of at least a 3.0 in your science courses since that is the courses they will look at the most. You will have to send in your transcript from the college you earned your credits from, along with two letters of recommendation from two of your professors (your A&P or any science professors preferrably) and a letter as to why you want to attend Downstate. Once they get your packet, they will evaluate your information and if they decide to take you, they will notify you to call them so you could schedule a face to face meeting with one of the program directors, either Dr. Joyce Miller or Dr. Marie Towle, both are really nice ladies. They'll ask you alot questions about yourself and what made you decide to get into sonography. The meeting usually lasts about a half hour, mine lasted over an hour and a half. The lady who interviewed me enjoyed talking to me. I'm not sure what they are looking for, maybe they are looking to see what kind of personality you have. I hope this helped. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. :o)

nancy1126 in Florida said: Hey Denise,

Where did you do your externship at? I had to move to another state to get a job. Fortunately, I found one and have been working in the field for one year. I will be sitting for my registry in the next month.
ATI has a really bad reputation and no one wants to hire their students.
There is a lawsuit going on with several students who graduated with me in Aug of 2007 and never found jobs.

I DID MY HOURS AT JACKSON NORTH,AND AS YOU KNOW HERE IN MIAMI THAT IS THE BEST HOSPITAL AROUND.

Anybody have anything to say about Sanford Brown, Garden City N.Y ?

Hi Amy. All SBI's in NY are NOT accredited by Caahep. If you want to go to a SBI, the only one that is accredited is the one in Iselin, NJ. Unless you already have a bachelor's degree you will not be able to sit for the registery exams, until you work full-time for a year. Alot of hospitals won't hire someone who isn't ARDMS registered so it will end up being a Catch-22. You can't sit for your registery unless you work for a full year in a hospital, but no hospital will hire you because you will be a liability to the hospital, beside the fact there are people who are graduating from accredited schools, who were able to take and pass their ARDMS exams. So unless you already have your bachelor's degree, don't go to any unaccredited schools. NYU, LIU (in Brooklyn) and Downstate, and Western Suffolk BOCES in Northport are the schools that are accredited and the ones that are closest to you. I hope this helped. :o)

Hi Ann. Wow thanks this info is very helpful. I'm think about attend Kingsborough Community College but I'm not going to just take 60 credits. I'm think about going in their Physical Therapy program. Do you know any info about that???

Hi again Didi. Why don't you what to go to Kingsborough for 60 credits? The tuition there is pretty cheap. If you are referring to Downstate's P.T. program, I considered looking into that, but I would've had to take an additional physics class, a statistics class, and there's a minimum of 80 credits needed, with a minimum of 3.0 GPA, along with 50 hours of clinical experience in Physical Therapy setting. I didn't want to go to school for an additional 20 credits to get into the program and then go to school for about four years full-time once I got into the program . Physical Therapy can be very physically demanding, and being that I am 41, I didn't want to deal with that. You go onto www.Downstate.edu and go to College of Health Related Professions, click onto physical therapy, and look under criteriors for admission. It will show you want is needed to get into that program. Look into the cirriculum and see if you could handle their program. It's pretty intense. Good luck!

Hi Anne, I have a question for you. I am taking Anatomy 1 this semester and taking Physics next semester to get into the Western Boces program for July of 09. The problem is that my Anatomy class is so hard I dont know if I will pass. I have my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from StonyBrook, and I am thinking that if I cant get into the Boces program I will jut do Sanford Brown in Garden City at night. Now I know there has been this whole thing about being able to sit for your boards having your Bachelors vs not having your Bachelors. I looked at the registery board to see what your school needs in clinical hrs to sit for the boards. Now I know that I have my Bachelor's but I still wouldnt have enough hrs to sit for the board upon graduation. But I am desperate to get into the ultrasound field and dont know what else to do. Can you offer me any advice???

Hello Erica. I know what you mean when you say that you are taking Anatomy and it's very difficult. I am taking Anatomy at Downstate and what I learned in Queensborough Community College in ONE YEAR I am learning in one SEMESTER. Talk about stress!! But you have to pass Anatomy and Physiology. You have to know what organs you will be scanning and you should know what they do. Anyway...since you already have a bachelor's degree you could go to Sanford Brown, if that's the route you want to go. You will be able to sit for the ARDMS exams upon graduation, but honestly, as someone who's looking out for your best interest, go with BOCES' program. Even if you have to wait a year to get in, you will be attending an accredited school, and Lord knows, it has to be cheaper than the $40k you will have to pay for the sonography program at SBI. (About $12k for the Medical Assisting program if you aren't already in the medical field and have no medical background and an additional $28k or $30k for their sonography program...FROM AN UNACCREDITED SCHOOL!!) I just don't want you to get stuck in a situation where you won't get hired because of the school you went to. THere are so many blogs on these forums complaining about how no one wants to hire a SBI graduate. But you have to decide what is the best option for you. I wish you the best of luck in your decision and I hope everything works out for you. :o)

DENISE in Opa Locka, Florida said: I FEEL THE SAME WAY YOU DO.I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TOLD ME.I JUST FINISHED FROM ATI IN MIAMI,AND IM SO DARN SCARED,DO ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR ME?HELP!HELP!

OMG...I'm currently taking DUT @ ATI(started Jan. 31, 2008) and after all that I'd read I'm so regretful I didn?t want to be on the waiting list at Keiser ? Ft. Lauderdale or go to PBCC for their 4 yrs program. After I started this semester and see so many of my classmates dropping out or transferring to Respiratory Therapy (RT), I begin to question what?s going on. The problem is that, first I?m a single mom and second I?m over 40 yrs old, I had to wait for so long to be able to go back to school to take night classes. When I registered at ATI they lied to me. I thought I had made a good choice.
Thank you all for the information you posted here.
My job this week will be to call out those colleges to see if they will accept the credits I got so far at ATI, otherwise I will loose everything I paid and the loan I got for ATI. I don?t want to transfer to RT like the others.
Any advise for me?

Hello Josie,

As a former graduate of ATI in 2007, I completely understand your frustrations. None of the other schools will accept ATI's credits. You will either have to start over or stick it out. I had to move to another state to find a job. Thankfully, I have been working full-time for one year now and am eligible to sit for the registry.
I don't know if you are aware, but there is a lawsuit going on right now against the school with former students from 2007 that still do not have jobs. The problems is this, ATI has crappy clinical sites and you only scan for 320 hours or so. In the real world you have to know what your doing and be efficient. With those few clinical hours, you do not have enough scanning experience. ATI has a bad reputation in south Fl and no one will hire an ATI graduate.
If I were you, I would check on Keiser and see how long the wait list is. I know it used to be really long. In the end, you would be much better off.You will get the education you deserve for the money and have enough clinical time that you can actually scan well.
I feel really bad for you all. I was there and have had to change my entire life because of that school.
I would be happy to talk to you if you need more advise.

Nancy

Hi anna. Have you ever hear of a school named Allied Medical Professions? they contacted me and they said they are a accredited school?

kate421 in new york said: Can someone suggest a cuny accredited school in new york. Im having trouble finding a school. NYU offers sonography program but the tuition is too expensive for me.

Any help would be greatly appreciated =D

Thanks

You can apply to Sanford Brown in white plains they said there accredited

nancy1126 in Florida said: Hi, I am sorry that you haven't found a job being out of school for six months. Where did you go to school? I had to move to another state just to get a job. I have been working for almost six months and have six more months to go before I can sit for the registry.

Hi Nancy,

I recently graduated from a program that was non-accredited,though they assured us it would be accredited by the time we graduated. I am having a terrible time finding a job and am open to relocating in order to get a job. Where were you able to find a job? Is there anywhere you found that was more likely to hire a grad from a non-accredited school?

Thanks!