Ambria College of Nursing — Local services in Barrington Township

If you’re considering Ambria for your nursing journey, please think twice — especially if you’re a low-income student, a parent, or someone who may not always have the means to pay large tuition balances upfront.

I’ll start by saying I’m grateful they accepted me and my classmates after our former school shut down abruptly . That transition could’ve been chaotic, and having somewhere to continue my education meant a lot. I also want to acknowledge that not all my experiences here were negative. Some professors/staff have been communicative, supportive, and genuinely invested in their students.

But unfortunately, my overall experience has been extremely discouraging — mainly due to the way the administration handles communication and financial matters. The level of disregard for students who may fall behind financially is alarming. The second you owe even $1, it’s like they don’t see you anymore. Emails are ignored. No one follows up. You’re left out in the dark.

I’ve been a student here for two terms and I’m at the very end of my nursing program. Despite all the challenges, I’ve passed every class — except the most recent one, which I couldn’t even properly focus on because I didn’t have transportation for months. After the old school shut down, I had to drive over four to five hours round trip to school, which destroyed my last vehicle. From December to April, I had no car and had to rely on friends and family to get to class. Meanwhile, I was trying to work just enough to save for a new car and cover my school bill.

I don’t come from money. I’m a single mom of two. My son receives SSI. I have Section 8. I’m literally doing the best I can with what I have. And instead of being met with compassion or even simple clarity, I’ve been ignored.

When I asked to pay half of my $2,000 balance up front (which I had in hand), and requested an arrangement for the rest, I was ignored — despite also enrolling in a WIOA program for financial assistance. I was told to attend class on May 19th so I wouldn’t miss anything, even though my WIOA orientation was on May 20th. But now I’m being blocked from finishing the program because I can’t produce the full $2,000 out of thin air. I was told to send in a pending WIOA approval a day after attending the orientation, which is impossible.

This is heartbreaking. I’ve been fighting for this degree for over 10 years. And to be shut out in the final stretch over $1,000 — despite trying to offer a solution — is beyond disheartening. For one, I never had to pay for school until I came to Ambria.

To anyone thinking about enrolling at Ambria: know that communication is inconsistent, empathy is lacking, and once you owe money, it’s like you’re invisible. I wouldn’t recommend this school unless you can pay out of pocket without a hiccup or you’re okay with constant uncertainty and poor support from administration.

I still hope to graduate and become a nurse, but I wouldn’t wish this experience on anyone. Please do your research before putting all of your eggs in...

Moving toward my last semester at Ambria I would like to share my experience with you folks. For a year and a half have been attending Ambria College of Nursing and I have some mixed thought about it. First off all Ambria has some of the best teachers in the nursing community. I love my instructor from MS 2 and 3 David. He is one of few who really cares and wants you to pass and succeed in your nursing career. Also Dr. K is very knowledgeable and hard working instructor who is fully dedicated to teaching. I enjoyed Nutrition class as well; Hannah is the best teacher and strong believer in Christ. She might be very tough, but you will learn in her class. I also liked my OB teacher a lot, she is sweetest person in the world and I felt like she was more of a friend than teacher to all of us, (currently they have new OB and she does not have any experience in teaching and poor lecturer) this is a great inspiration during stressful time at school. Some of the staff at this school can be very unprofessional but you can ignore them and just concentrate on your career. As an adult and parent I was surprised when some of the school staff treated me, as 17-year teenager. Those people have no manners and are overworked; well I could understand their frustration. My school came up to 35,486 $. It is a lot of money. Some of the classes were extended for tuition increase purposes I am referring to Peds on OB that originally were 7 weeks each and became 14. I also have some concerns about proficiency testing that Ambria offers to students to test out from Peds and OB. I know one of my ex classmate took it and did not pass even though she is on honor list. It looks like they will pass only one person from the group that is trying to test out. What is more frustrating is that they won't let you see your essay and case study results (ring-ring). Owners of the school J and his wife N. In my opinion N. is running the school, so if you have any concerns go to her, but you won't accomplish a lot. I know that N the wife of the owner is profound Christian like me, but I think she forgot some Biblical principals of Love, Mercy and Compassion. I am sure she donates lots of money to her church and support her father who is a missionary, but unfortunately our Lord desire obedience over sacrifice. "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. " Samuel 15:22. Well the root of all evil is love of money. This principle applies toward Christians as well. Why do I say that ? Because I believe that school is engaged in dishonesty toward students and some of the staff to gain profit. I pray and hope that one day this School can honor God of Creation by honest business and professing owners. As for now , thank you for reading and may my God bless you in knowledge of His Majesty. Please consider Jesus in your life and He will change it...

I graduated from Ambria with my LPN in 2013 and now with my RN. I graduated in August 2019 and took my boards in October of 2019. I passed on my first attempt after 83 questions. My experience at Ambria has been very positive. The small class sizes is very beneficial and you definitely get the attention from the professor. Also, being a small class size you become really close with your classmates. Through those relationships I was able to form different study groups in each class that really helped with my success. And we were able to make it fun, which is SUPER IMPORTANT for your own sanity ha. The school does a great job with preparing you for the NCLEX. The exams in class and ATI exams are hard, but once I got to the NCLEX, it was a piece of cake. The staff members are very helpful and caring. They genuinely care about their students success. There are a few that stand out; Dr. Berent, Lisa Testolin, Sandy Melone, and Carol (financial aid). Unfortunately, during my RN education I had a family emergency that really hindered my mind-set and put me back a bit. But from the support especially from Dr. Berent, Lisa Testolin, and Sandy Melone I was able to overcome and continue on with my coursework. They made sure I had resources available to me and took the time to check on my well-being. If it wasn't for them, I might not have graduated with my RN. And with the times they checked on me, I could tell it was from a place of genuine care and not because it was the right thing to do. Which meant a lot to me. The only thing that made it a bit difficult were clinical locations. There wasn't always a lot of options available for clinical sites, so you might be stuck driving a bit of a distance to a clinical location each week. Which wasn't ideal, but it was typically only once a week, so it wasn't too bad. Nursing school is hard, and yes, you'll cry, curse, stay up late, and not have a social life, but they will prepare you for nursing. When I look back I wouldn't have changed a thing and I'm very grateful for my experiences at Ambria and I thank them for my...