PRIVATE school vs. PUBLIC school

manna, BSN, RN · Feb 19, 2004

I think it would vary from school to school, it's hard to make broad statements about colleges in general. From what I understand, the private schools near here actually have higher admissions standards and tougher coursework than most of the public schools.

kahumai, RN · Feb 19, 2004

I attend a private school BSN program, and I can tell you that in no way did our school skimp on requirements needed to enter the program. We needed 2+ years of classes, high grades, the whole bit. There was no interview process needed, because as long as you met the requirements you were allowed to register, but there was also no waiting list to get on prior to entry as there was at the public school I was going to. Yeah, I pay $18,000 a year for tuition, not including books, uniforms, and additional fees, but seeing as how there was no waiting list, it's a good school, and alot of places have tuition reimbursment, I felt it was the right choice. Besides, I figure I can just pay it later and concentrate on getting my degree now. I don't care how much money my education costs, just as long as it was all worth it. I believe that certain states mandate that all nursing students fullfill certain requirements prior to graduation, which goes for public and private alike. It really just depends on the student. Hope that helps!

bonjovigirl · Aug 26, 2004

I go to a private nursing school (diploma). Pretty expensive, and the admission standards are not lower, but they do individually choose their students. I appled to 4 schools and got into 3. The one I chose was the only one who interviewed. They are really tough, I got a chance to work with a variety of people this summer from bsn students, adn and other diploma, and with the exception of one bsn program student (coming from a school I always heard was great, it may just have been her)we all pretty much functioned on the same level.

As a matter of fact (not to toot my own programs horn) I went to this recruitment dinner thingie and when the lady heard I was from this one little diploma program she went on and on in front of everyone about how great the graduates of this program do once they are working. The only thing I would take into consideration is which school you feel a fit with. I have heard no matter how well your school prepares you, you are still clueless when you start working.

Best of luck!

RedSox33RN · Aug 26, 2004

I'm attending a private Catholic school, and needed to go through a very stringent interview and application process. It is a much more expensive school than the CC I got into, but after weighing all the pluses and minuses, I found it to suit my needs better, and I can continue on at the same school and get my BSN, MSN and further.

I don't think they have nearly as many applicants as a CC or Tech school, probably because of the cost and other degree requirements (I have to take a religious studies course). But I don't think that they are easier to get into.

shyne · Aug 26, 2004

I have a friend who graduated in nursing at a private school. She also said that the course work and requirements to get in were tough. However, she said that everyone at her school that applied for the program were easily accepted due to the fact that it's an expensive private school and have less applicants. I'm sure it varies from every school and location though.

shel_wny · Aug 27, 2004

I just got into the nursing program at my local public community college ($1600/sem) where they had 700 applicants and were able to admit only 50. I asked their NCLEX pass rate and they were proud to say that it is 93%. That beats or matches most of the private and public schools around here. Mind you, the program is intense and they warn you of that. You can fail one class and that's your final warning. Next failure and you're gone. I honestly thought that was rather generous considering the demand. I've studied at a major university with over 50k students and I've also attended community college and I must say that I very much prefer the community college setting. I find the professors are better because they have to be. At a university where a lecture has 100+ people you don't have to make sure they get it. The professor doesn't much care. At a community college where you have a class of 20 students that maybe drops down to 15 students after a month of school...the professor has the time and resources to pound it into their heads.

Just my little bit of experience.

Shel

abundantjoy07, RN · Aug 27, 2004

I also attend a private school. It took a while to get through the application process and all of the tests, interviews, and paperwork. It isn't necessarily easier to get in. There just aren't as many people applying to private schools as there are in public schools. The great thing is that our classes are so much smaller and our teachers know us all by name.

tuppence · Aug 27, 2004

The public university here is a lot more competitive to get into than the private schools. But the private schools are flooded, too. It's at the point where if you are transferring from another school, you can forget about the private schools, because they have more than enough students applying who have been there since they started, and those students get priority. And if you don't have stellar grades, you can forget about the public university. There aren't any programs here that are easy to get into.

RedSox33RN · Aug 27, 2004

The public university here is a lot more competitive to get into than the private schools. But the private schools are flooded, too. It's at the point where if you are transferring from another school, you can forget about the private schools, because they have more than enough students applying who have been there since they started, and those students get priority. And if you don't have stellar grades, you can forget about the public university. There aren't any programs here that are easy to get into.

That's not always true. I transferred the bulk of my credits from a CC to my private school. They do want to see a high GPA, at least for the nursing program, for students transferring in. I think a lot of it depends on the size of the school, and area or community. Obviously a Catholic school in a largely Jewish community is not going to have the number of applicants they would if in a largely Catholic community. Plus, if there is a relatively large pool of unemployed nurses in the community, or there aren't the jobs, then it would probably be easier to find a spot also.

tmiller027 · Aug 28, 2004

Here, the community college has an RN and LPN program, both have about 30 openings and about 300 people trying to get into them.

THe private school I got into had no waiting list, but tuition is $15,000 a year, you have to have a 2.5 GPA as opposed to the comm college's 2.0. You also have to pass 2 different standardized tests and write an essay on why you want to be an nurse. The community college gives one test to everyone at one time, and entrance is determined strictly by your test score.

Now, my private school has a lower dropout/failure rate of the community college and has had a 100% pass rate on the NCLEX for the last two years. I think a lot of this is due to the stricter admission requirements.

tuppence · Aug 28, 2004

That's not always true. I transferred the bulk of my credits from a CC to my private school. They do want to see a high GPA, at least for the nursing program, for students transferring in. I think a lot of it depends on the size of the school, and area or community. Obviously a Catholic school in a largely Jewish community is not going to have the number of applicants they would if in a largely Catholic community. Plus, if there is a relatively large pool of unemployed nurses in the community, or there aren't the jobs, then it would probably be easier to find a spot also.

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that it was true everywhere, just in my area. I'm glad things are easier elsewhere!