Johns Hopkins or University of Maryland??

U.S.A. Maryland

Published

Are there any nusing graduates from Johns Hopkins or University of Maryland who would share their educational experience and pros/cons of the nursing program?? Thanks, im debating the to schools..all comments are needed HELP!!:crying2:

Im currently in nursing school myself and I at one point had the same decision to make. JHU or UMD? I ended up picking neither, loooking back I would of probably went with UMD. 1. Price!! --- we all know you are not going to make a lot of money as a nurse. As some have mentioned they are up to their eyes in debt r/t JHU tuition. And at the end of it you have the same certification. 2. If you work at UMMC full time you get 10K for school at UMD, which will cover 100% of your tuition and the majority of your books. But they will not help you go to another school. My roomie works for JHU and said they will only pay 50% of her tution at JHU or another local school. 3. Hopkins might open up doors but UMD is still a great eduation and one of the oldest nursing schools in the nation. Something has to be said for that. 4. In my personal opinion UMMC is a better hospital b/c they are the #1 trauma center. Depending on what you want to do when you graduate it will give you an "in" at UMMC since you went to UMD.

I do suggest getting at least 2 years of nursing under your belt before MSN completion. What you want to specialize in now might not be what you want to do when you are done.

Just a little side note, UMMC is the #1 trauma center for adults.. Hopkins is the #1 trauma center for peds, and Hopkins Bayview is the Burn Center. So to the OP, keep that in mind if you're looking for a particular specialty.

I didn't go to either Hopkins or MD, I went to Villa Julie, now Stevenson. However, I can offer advice (take it or leave it) that I think applies to any nursing school. When researching, ask about where the clinical sites are because I think that makes a big difference. I worked at Hopkins, and also have worked with grads of all kinds of nursing programs, and where you do your clinicals makes a big difference. I also did the accelerated program at Villa Julie, and the program is intense, but it is doable, if you are a go-getter type person. Before you pick a program, you have to think about what kind of a program that you are looking for, and what they are offering. DO NOT go to a school just because of their name, which is why many people go to Hopkins. It is a reputable school--but there are many many others that are just as reputable.

I would choose University of Maryland if you are getting your BSN because if you are in state, tuition is overall 60-70K cheaper. The skills you learn for a BSN are quite technical, and can be taught at any institution you go to. If you were deciding between MSN programs, I would go for Hopkins because the networking opportunities, and the management/master's education you get will be superior to Maryland's, and their prestigious name can open a lot of doors for you. If you know you are going to get your MSN after your BSN, then spend less money now, and then choose to go to a more superior MSN program in the future. I got into both programs, and it was quite a difficult decision for me to make. Think about your financial situation. If you can afford to pay back 60-70K in loans, then by all means, Hopkins is the slightly superior choice. But just to be able to say you went to Hopkins is not worth the struggle to pay back the tution after you graduate. RN's start off with a salary of 45-55K. 20K versus 90K debt is a lot easier to pay back with that type of starting salary. But the pluses of Hopkins are that the staff is absolutely amazing. The private school atmosphere is welcoming and they have a "leave no nurse behind" policy. Their retention rate for their school is exceptionally high (98%), versus at UMSON it is high 80's to 90%. You really have to be able to advocate for yourself to succeed at UMSON. Hopkins will do everything in their power to make sure you don't fail a class. At UMSON, it is not foreign to hear that a fellow classmate has failed a course and has to repeat. Also, UMSON has a much younger class, many of which are getting their first BSN, and are in-state residents from Maryland. At Hopkins the average age is 28, the students are from all over the nation, and 80% already have one BSN degree. Your global opportunities at Hopkins are exceptional. You can choose to do a rotation abroad your 2nd year for 7 weeks, and can go abroad over the summer. At UMSON, it would take a lot more work to go abroad, but you could still do it. Basically, UMSON is the more economical choice, offering you a great education and a high NCLEX pass score. Hopkins give you a prestigous name, an exceptional education and an equally good NCLEX score. Either school will give you great clinical opportunities across Maryland and D.C., and a job with the same salary at the end of the day if you want to be a clinical nurse. Hopkins may open up more doors if you move outside of Maryland in terms of management positions once you get your MSN. The bottom line is your opinion of prestige over debt. Hope this helps!

Not sure how many people this will reach, since the post is old, but...

Yes JHU has a huge name in the US, BUT...check your facts: U of M School of Nursing is rated higher AND is more competitive than JHU.

That's all.

Specializes in Critical Care.

I saw several "if you work there, then they pay..." posts, other hospitals have to pay more to get you in and some of them also pay 100% tuition. JHU and UMMC are the lowest paying facilities in the city, correct me if I'm wrong!

You're wrong. My sister, new grad RN at U of M, makes more than her best friend who works at Sinai and 100% tuition reimbursement towards her graduate. Sinai's reimbursement caps out at $5000/yr.

Specializes in Emergency Department.

I think you can compare new grad salaries for weeks, but salary alone doesn't determine the value of the work placement. Does the nursing staff support and nurture its new hires? Does the hospital have a reputation for excellent patient safety? How about that particular unit? Do they have state of the art equipment? Interdisciplinary staffing? Ongoing research?

The point is, both UMB and JHU have nursing programs ranked in the top 10 nationally. Both programs will prepare their nurse graduates for employment. It is up to the students to search out the best opportunities at the best hospitals, and most of the competitive new grad positions will be filled based on the interview or clinical evaluations, not which program the student attended. You can't go wrong. Do your research and make the choice that is right for you. And then...go out there and be the best nurse you can be!

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
I think you can compare new grad salaries for weeks, but salary alone doesn't determine the value of the work placement. Does the nursing staff support and nurture its new hires? Does the hospital have a reputation for excellent patient safety? How about that particular unit? Do they have state of the art equipment? Interdisciplinary staffing? Ongoing research?

The point is, both UMB and JHU have nursing programs ranked in the top 10 nationally. Both programs will prepare their nurse graduates for employment. It is up to the students to search out the best opportunities at the best hospitals, and most of the competitive new grad positions will be filled based on the interview or clinical evaluations, not which program the student attended. You can't go wrong. Do your research and make the choice that is right for you. And then...go out there and be the best nurse you can be!

I don't put any particular nursing school or hospital up on a pillar especially since I have worked with some less than stellar new graduates from popular schools that have come into nursing with no experience and advanced degrees. :rolleyes: They all have pros and cons. Keep in mind that impressive reputations aren't always all they are cracked up to be when you actually get behind the scenes. It does a disservice to patients and is an insult to professional nurses not to pay experienced RNs a competitive wage in an effort to retain them. That "nurturing" of new grads seems more like staffing the units with cheap labor who will be gone in a year or two while taxing your core staff, imo.

I worked through the same dilemma. I was looking to enter in the Spring and Hopkins starts in May. I was accepted to UMB but ultimately I went to Georgetown and despite a killer commute, I got a killer scholarship which garauntees me a job and I couldn't be happier.

hey TFL410--did you get the washington hospital scholarship or another one? are you really happy with georgetown?

Just to add my two cents, being a Hopkins grad myself (BSN). Would I do it again? No. The name is huge, sure, but the price tag is ridiculous ($65,000 for a 13.5 month program) and the professors, honestly, were not great. Clinical groups are large, and Hopkins has been accepting larger and larger classes, but doesn't have the physical space or the clinical instructors to handle these numbers, so groups are getting bigger which means less learning opportunities for the student nurse.

As far as getting the opportunity to learn at Johns Hopkins Hospital, one of the best in the nation, let me point out that not all Hopkins students have clinicals at Hopkins (I had a few at other area hospitals), and other schools also do clinicals at Hopkins.

Honestly, Hopkins may be worth it for graduate studies, but it is certainly not worth it for the BSN and I would not recommend doing the combined there because I feel the BSN portion was so poorly run. Many of us felt like it was a well-oiled machine to crank students in and out. Why are Hopkins stats so great? Because they only accept those of us type A, highly motivated individuals who would have succeeded and done equally well at any other school...but with less debt. Go to University of Maryland, which is also recognized as a great nursing school and learning hospital, and get the same degree, same jobs offers, and less debt.

+ Add a Comment