Simmons University Reviews of Master's in Nursing

There is no support in this FNP program at Simmons. You will regret going to this school! If you are a minority (know tons of minority like myself who does not have anyone in FNP program to go to) or if you are a Veteran (whom I know fail FNP classes because they do not have support in this school) then you will not like this program. You will not know your academic advisor until you chase them for months. You are just a number and treated as such. The professors will not care about your grades even... Read More if you are in the verge of failing. Clinical rotations are not friendly for those who are working part-time or full-time. Do not waste your money. Go somewhere else. or find out for yourselves.

I was recruited by Simmons within the past year or so to attend their FNP masters program. The program was sold to me as a virtual classroom with many class options and available times to attend, which was perfect for a full-time worker with a family. There are two tracts the part time and the full time. I was interested in the part time, which would allow me to work while going to grad school.
As soon as I was accepted there was a contingency of attending a refresher course. I felt a little odd... Read More about this but agreed and took the class. It was a great class and I enjoyed the instructor. Very professional and cared if you gained knowledge from the material presented in the async. Fast forward to entering the program, this was not the case. The credit load was low but still required 3 classes. For example, one semester on the part time track, 7 credits. Full time is 9 credits. Expectations of working 40 hrs. a week and taking 3 classes is an unreal expectation. Then came registration time where apparently, they fail to tell you that all students in the entire school are pooling for the same slots as you. Also, you do not have priority in registration. Its a credit-based system, meaning the more credits you have the better position you are in to get the class you need. As one can tell, if you have work hour needs and are trying to ger a specific class, makes it difficult. I asked for help from the registration dept and student retention. They were nice in communication but still was met with the its not my problem attitude.
Once registered for class the instructor/professors have been subpar. When asking for clarification on the material, your question is met with this is grad school and were not here to teach during session you should already know this. That is not an acceptable answer. Especially when you get to listen to the audio files that are being taught in the brick and mortar. There is teaching and kindness there. The material that is provided as async or bi directional does not answer all your questions. As you would expect to go over that in class it is met with resistance when asked. In fact, the section instructor only wanted to do case studies, reading verbatim from the answer sheet.
Another issue has been the high turnover in online instructor and student success advising. Administration fired an instructor in the last 4 weeks of class and didnt disclose this. An email came out from the fired individual who was in shock.
I would be willing to answer any questions if you are thinking of attending Simmons University. There were some very scathing reviews of the college and some very kind ones. I do believe by the most recent ones which are not good, are the most current of the administration and professors. There is disorganization, low quality educational experience and unprofessionalism.

Utterly disappointed. I regret going there. Learning is completely self directed. Teachers are not allowed to make their own lesson plans or provide extra learning material to help clarify or focus learning. It's a cookie cutter school that does not care about the individual. I was struggling in a class and when I reached out to the teacher in emails and office hours I was continuously referred back to the syllabus and reading material. Often each course expects students to read over 100 pages a... Read More night in addition to clinical, written assignments, studying for exams, etc. SIMMONS claims to be a program that you can do while working and having a family and as long as you study at work and don't sleep, they aren't lying. Worst yet, clinical experience is EVERYTHING when it comes to learning. They say that you have faculty to help place you. Once you're admitted they tell you to use your connections to find your own clinical and it's a team effort to find a clinical placement. Some placement staff are good but most are horrible. My clinical placement staff sent me to the same site for all 4 semesters even though I informed them that the doctor took 4 students a day so I was only seeing 2-3 patients a day, that the doc was so busy there was zero learning or teaching going on, I saw almost zero women's health or pediatric cases and was sure I would become a horrible NP if I didn't get a wider range of patients and experience. I was told they couldn't find placement anywhere else because there are so many NP schools now so if I wanted to go somewhere else I'd have to look on my own. I even offered to take a semester off so the placement team could look around and hold a place for me 6 months out. They didn't want to bother. I feel I learned more about being an NP from RN school than SIMMONS. I have talked to several other classmates. There's various levels of distaste for SIMMONS but no one I've talk to gives it rave reviews. If simmons doesn't change, go somewhere else.

The question I eagerly asked was "What is your FNP exam pass rate?" (Either exam would have been fine.) The answer was- 100%. The question I SHOULD have asked was "How many who start, graduate?" BIG mistake. $10,000, my first anxiety attack (chest pain and all) and the worst 4 months of my life later, I am wiser. My GPA was 3.86 at the successful end of the first semester but I dropped early in the second semester before I was obligated for another $10,000. Unless you have an EXTREME passion for... Read More research and are into pain, BEWARE!! They started the pharm class exams utilizing snooper software that is stress inducing and point blank refused to give an example of a test question to be able to prepare.

This program is a complete fraud, money milking scheme. They do not teach you. They let you watch recorded lectures with mistakes. They do not even bother to correct them or re-record them. The faculty is more or less a freak parade. There were some truly genuine instructors who taught and cared, but most were straight from Catholic school nightmare. And the worst of all, they are not transparent. You take a test and they do not tell you what answers you got wrong or right. They have poorly designed... Read More questions, a lot of questions end up being thrown out ( you are not allowed to know which ones). So they concoct a grade for you and only they know how they came up with a number for you. They also test you on material not covered in class or textbook. In other words, they do not have their #%$* together, yet they are holding their Simmons flag very high and are charging insane amt. for tuition.

I am currently attending Simmons College. I chose this program after much research because 1) my area has multiple NP programs so I needed a program with an excellent reputation, known for its rigor, and of course, a high board pass rate. I also needed the flexibility of an online program (but I need the accountability of distance learning). I have found it all at Simmons. We have clinical placement coordinators but I had no problem finding my own when I told them I was at Simmons. Does the program... Read More have problems? Sure, but so did my undergrad. My Profs and the administration have been responsive to constructive criticism. I have to warn you this program requires a lot of work and you do have to attend classes but I've been able to travel and still attend. I feel confident I am receiving an excellent education.

The worst decision I have ever made in my life was attending the nursing@simmons FNP program. There is the occasional professor that's genuine and cares, but overall the program is a joke. They steal your money and provide no education in return. No teaching, encouragement or benefits from this school. I am a 4.0 students that's failing the ridiculous tests on erroneous material. The videos are outdated and often contain incorrect information. Thousands and thousands of dollars down the drain. DO... Read More NOT fall for their charming recruiters and student support specialists. Save your money and spend your valuable time searching a school that will teach you what is needed to become a competent nurse practitioner.