Excelsior is certainly not for everyone, but for some it is an excellent option.
Does it look good to go to a school were more than 25% of the states won't give you a license after graduation?
Well, how it "looks" is subjective of course, but there are many who are impressed by the self-discipline and motivation required to do the program. It's not easy at all.
25% sounds like a lot, but there are
37 states that have
no additional licensure requirements for Excelsior grads. And most of the ones that do have additional requirements are pretty minimal; only a few have truly onerous additional requirements.
Only 1 state won't license Excelsior grads at all, and that state is....surprise, surprise.....Kalifornia.
Excelsior is a suspect program because it is ENTIRELY ONLINE and has ZERO CLINICALS.
In my experience, Excelsior new grads are, on average, more mature, much more experienced, and at least as intelligent and competent as the new grads from traditional RN programs. The majority are LPN's who have years of nursing experience before even starting the program. Most of the rest are RRT's or EMT-Ps, and the balance is made up of other experienced healthcare professionals.
Last I saw, Excelsior's nursing program had an above-average first-attempt board pass rate and no higher evidence of adverse outcomes than other new grads.
So the few BON's who refuse to acknowledge Excelsior degrees do not do so because Excelsior grads are unsafe. Knowing BON's the way that I do, I suspect the anti-Excelsior BON's stance is a spiteful reaction to their lack of direct control over the program.
Any other school is going to have REAL NURSING clinicals and licensing in any state. It sounds like shortcuts and mediocrity.
That's because any other nursing school doesn't require documented clinical experience and a rigorous clinical exam at the end that has something like a 25% first-attempt pass rate.
The "real nursing clinical" done in many nursing schools is 90% BS. I think a combination of accepting previous "real" clinical experience and a rigorous clinical exam is an effective, innovative, and time-efficient approach.