Unsure of what route to take

[CinnamonLily]

Hello everyone I'm new to this site so I hope I'm posting this in the right area. I have a problem and I could definitely use some insight from other nursing students.

I am from California and I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Biology and a pretty crappy GPA. My goal was always to attain my Masters but my GPA wouldn't allow me to meet the minimum requirements for most schools. I even applied to USF's post bacc program designed for students to boost low GPA's and they didn't accept me. So I became an EMT, took a bunch of classes (some I had taken before) and got A's in all of them and finally reached a 3.0 GPA. I applied to Roseman University for their ABSN and Azusa Pacific and Western University for Entry level MSN

I was accepted into Roseman University of Health Sciences in Nevada back in August with orientation starting tomorrow. So I moved to Nevada, I have a roommate, an apartment, and all my stuff is here with me. Now on January 6th, I received an email from Western University saying I qualified for an early interview. I initially didn't believe I would get into Western. Azusa had already sent me a denial and I had lost hope for Western so you can imagine I was super stoked about that, Anyways, I went to the interview and it went ok. Yesterday, I was given an acceptance email to Western with classes starting in August.

Western is a 3 year program and after the first year and a half, we take the NCLEX, we have to attain jobs and work the remaining of the two years while we finish off our Masters portion online. After that, we can apply to the FNP program which has always been my dream for an additional year. So in total, its 4 years which is a long time.

Roseman University is only 16 months however its only online with labs being the only time we see our instructors.

Now correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Western University has a bit more reputation than Roseman. Also, having to move to Nevada is a big con money wise because I could commute to Western, but on the flip-side Western is waaaay more expensive than Western. Roseman is about 60k whereas Western is around 150k

My question is: If you were in my shoes, which school would you attend and why?

Also I apologize if my grammar, sentence structure is off. English is not my first language and I am typing this on a phone

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

You are already accepted at one school and orientation starts tomorrow. You have a preliminary interview at the other, which may or may not accept you. Seems to me the answer is clear. You go with what you have.

[CinnamonLily]

No no I was accepted at the other school too. So technically I'm accepted at both schools

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

I see. I think you will have to weigh out debt to potential earnings and go with your gut. Hard to say from here what you "should" do. Both are good options. I personally prefer to live without debt, so I have managed my education accordingly and thus have none. That makes me happy and would drive my personal decision. Only you can determine what you are willing to live with in that regard. I have never heard of either school, so from where I sit, its a push as far as reputation goes.

[idkmybffjill]

I'd personally stick with Roseman University, as long as it's regionally accredited. 150k is a LOT of money, and it could be fairly cheaper in the long run to start with Roseman, keep a good GPA while there, and be able to apply to a cheaper public university for a MSN or a BSN to FNP program with a more competitive GPA. I know the BSN to FNP program near me costs 41k-ish in tuition. That's still cheaper than the extra 90k that the other university would cost you.

[CinnamonLily]

Yeah I thought about that too. My only issue is that Roseman University is strictly pass or no pass. We don't get letter grades and a waiver must be signed that we accept this. I feel like this would make it much harder to apply to other schools when you technically don't have a GPA.

[paisling]

Yeah I thought about that too. My only issue is that Roseman University is strictly pass or no pass. We don't get letter grades and a waiver must be signed that we accept this. I feel like this would make it much harder to apply to other schools when you technically don't have a GPA.

I don't believe this is true anymore, unless it is different at Henderson than it is at SJ. I didn't sign a waiver and was told that my transcript will have a GPA.

[Oldmahubbard]

150k is simply too much debt in a field where many people don't even make 100k.

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

150k is simply too much debt in a field where many people don't even make 100k.

While I think $150K is excessive for a school like Western, in the Western US new grad NPs should be making at least $100K, so $150K debt is not excessive. RNs with a few years of experience should easily make $100K in California.

[The_Salty_Cat]

Western is very expensive and the nursing school isn't the focus there. I think going with Roseman is a better option.