[nur2007sing]

Hello All,
I am looking to become a NP. Are NP schools ranked. I live in MA but would be willing to relocate to any state to become an NP. My goal is to just get into a program.Is there a list that ranks NP schools? What school would be the easiest to get to? Which schools have the best reputation?

Thanks in advance

[augigi]

The US News and World report ranks graduate schools, including nursing programs. The rankings I could reach for FNP were as follows (but I believe these are for 2003, so things may have changed):

1. University of California - SF
2. University of Washington
3. University of Pennsylvania
4. Yale University
5. Oregon Health and Sciences University
6. University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
7. U of Nth Carolina - Chapel Hill
8. Columbia University
9. University of Illinois - Chicago
10. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
11. Georgia Southern University
12. Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis
13. UCLA
14. University of Maryland - Baltimore
15. University of New Mexico
16. Venderbilt University - TN
17. Rush University - IL
18. University of Texas Health Science Center - Houston
19. University of South Florida University
20. University of Tennessee - Memphis
21. Boston College
22. Emory University (GA)
23. George Mason University
24. University of Kentucky
25. University of Pittsburgh
26. University of Rochester (NY)
27. University of Texas - Austin
28. University of Virginia

[tiggertoo]

Graduate schools nursing programs rankings are based on the number of research dollars the are able to attract, not the quality of their programs, teaching, instructors or anything else. Buyer beware.

[hunnybaby24]

UT-Austin isn't even an NP school, its a CNS school.

HB

Oh yeah, and tiggertoo is correct about the rankings being ranks based on research money they get, so beware!

[elkpark]

The other posters are correct -- the "rankings" of nursing schools (and other schools) in sources like US News & World Report are, for a variety of reasons, highly arbitrary and generally do not reflect at all the quality of the teaching and clinical experiences offered, satisfaction of graduates of the programs, etc -- all the things that would actually matter to a prospective student ...

I would advise you to take all those published "rankings" with a grain of salt (if not just ignore them! ) Ask around -- NPs you know and respect, faculty at nearby nursings schools, etc. -- about what programs people in the field know of and think highly of, and then visit those schools and see which one feels like the best "fit" to you. There are so many variables (on the part of both the school and the student) that the best program for you would not necessarily be a good program for me, and vice versa.

Also, don't feel pressured to attend a prestigious, "name" school. Although the name of the school looks good on your CV and may make a small difference in interviews, job offers, etc., when you first graduate, the longer you're out of school and working, the less people will care about where you went to school and just care about how well you do your job.

Best wishes for your search.