Doing the Math: Accelerated BSN at Private Schools in NYC/Surrounding Metro Area

U.S.A. New York

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Specializes in surgical, geriatrics.

So the writing is on the wall: as much as I would love to go public it's not happening. Tried Downstate and Hunter twice, got kicked back twice (my GPA is okay but not strong enough because I had to do my prereqs while working full time. I thought about going back and retaking all of them but frankly, I got B's and above and I just want to get on with my life at this point). So, like many I'm probably going to have to go the private route and I'm freaking out about how much it'll cost. I did my undergrad at CUNY and was fortunate to come out with fairly little debt but that has also warped me as to what college actually costs. I'm having a meltdown on whether I should swallow taking out loans and do an accelerated BSN or try to get into a CUNY school, work part time and do an associates, pray I get hired somewhere and then try to do a RN-BSN (do hospitals even pay for that anymore?). My main goals at this point are: get my degree and be in a position that will maximize the possibility of getting a job as soon as I finish school (and yes, I'm fully ready to leave NYC then-I just can't leave until I finish because of my husband's job).

Of the schools I've applied to, I've tried to run what the numbers would look like and came up with these approximate tallies (all are based on accelerated track unless noted otherwise). Some schools were a lot more forthcoming about actual costs than others, which is why I'm asking for your input:

Pace: $49000

Wagner:$72000

NYU: $89000

Molloy (provided I skip the MSN part): $34000

College of New Rochelle, 18 month program: $55000

Muhlenberg JFK (accepted, have not yet responded) Accelerated ASN: $32,000

Phillips Beth Israel ASN: $36000

for those who are in the programs, does this look accurate? Did you have out of pocket costs that contributed significantly to the final price? Did you feel your school was generous with financial aid and did a large percentage of your class get aid? Anyone thing any of the above schools are a much better value for what you get for what you pay? I'd love input since I certainly can't be the only one in this boat right now--the price tags are making me want to cry.

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I can't speak to your specific situation but can share my experience and why I chose the route I did. I had planned on applying to Hunter's accelerated program but after reviewing the pre-reqs and other requirements, including the small size of the program, I knew that it could be a year or more of additional waiting/pre-req completion time before I could even be eligible to apply. So instead I opted for NYU, got in, and just completed the program in December. The estimated costs you have for NYU seem accurate to me (assuming this is just tuition/fees). I had sticker shock at first too, but once I realized that I could apply, attend, and graduate from NYU in the amount of time it might take for me to even be eligible to apply to Hunter it seemed worth it. Most people I know who attended NYU (myself included) didn't get a ton of financial aid. I applied for and received one scholarship that definitely helped, but the majority of my aid came in the form of loans. I also had some money saved that I used so in the end I came out with about $35,000 in loans. Others in the program ended up with loan balances far higher than that. As far as the program itself, I was quite happy with it. There were some negatives of course, but every program will have it's good and bad points. Looking back I don't regret the decision at all...but check back in a few months when my loan payments start up. :-) If you have any more specific questions I'm happy to answer what I can. Good luck!

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Where did you get the tuition costs for Molloy? Its 11,500 per semester and the dual degree BSN program takes 2 years to complete. I was only offered approx half of the tuition costs from federal and would have had to take out the other half in private student loans which I'm not willing to do. I already have tons of private loans from my first bachelor degree.

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Specializes in surgical, geriatrics.
I can't speak to your specific situation but can share my experience and why I chose the route I did. I had planned on applying to Hunter's accelerated program but after reviewing the pre-reqs and other requirements, including the small size of the program, I knew that it could be a year or more of additional waiting/pre-req completion time before I could even be eligible to apply. So instead I opted for NYU, got in, and just completed the program in December. The estimated costs you have for NYU seem accurate to me (assuming this is just tuition/fees). I had sticker shock at first too, but once I realized that I could apply, attend, and graduate from NYU in the amount of time it might take for me to even be eligible to apply to Hunter it seemed worth it. Most people I know who attended NYU (myself included) didn't get a ton of financial aid. I applied for and received one scholarship that definitely helped, but the majority of my aid came in the form of loans. I also had some money saved that I used so in the end I came out with about $35,000 in loans. Others in the program ended up with loan balances far higher than that. As far as the program itself, I was quite happy with it. There were some negatives of course, but every program will have it's good and bad points. Looking back I don't regret the decision at all...but check back in a few months when my loan payments start up. :-) If you have any more specific questions I'm happy to answer what I can. Good luck!

thanks Scottnyc--that's super helpful! Honestly, NYU would be my first choice if not for the price tag (geographically it makes the most sense and academically I think it'd be the best fit). I'm 100% done with all my prereqs and I'm just ready to GO and get on with it. I did some sleuthing as to scholarships and it looks like it's impossible to apply for any of them until you're formally accepted to the ABSN program? Did you find that they were up front in helping you get scholarship money once you were accepted or did you have to do all the leg work/wait for the next scholarship period to roll around.

@valentino8981 - ah, my bad. That's why I was checking--so it'd be closer to $46000 range?

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I did some sleuthing as to scholarships and it looks like it's impossible to apply for any of them until you're formally accepted to the ABSN program? Did you find that they were up front in helping you get scholarship money once you were accepted or did you have to do all the leg work/wait for the next scholarship period to roll around.

Yes, I believe you need to be accepted and enrolled before you can apply for any of the NYU-sponsored scholarships. The College of Nursing is very good about advertising them and sending reminders when application deadlines are approaching but it's incumbent on you to actually follow through and submit all the required materials by the deadline. Also don't forget about any outside scholarships too.

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Can only offer this advice; if you are going the private school route look for a program with a high first time NCLEX pass rate.

Both Wagner and NYU charge an arm and a leg in costs, but their board passing rates are excellent (nearly 100%). NYU in particluar is interesting because they tend to admit rather large classes which includes the traditional undergraduate and ABSN students.

Some other programs like the College of Mount Saint Vincent are in the 80% pass rate category which means even after paying vast sums for a nursing education there is a one in eight chance you won't pass the boards first time out. Granted much is up to each particular student and his or her abilities, am just saying.

All CUNY programs are hard to get into ATM. It is no mystery as to why when you consider their low cost versus generally good to excellent nursing education. This often means a large number of high quality applicants for the number of open admisson slots.

IIRC Queensborough Community College now as a partnership with Hunter-Bellevue for their ADN students, so you can check that out as well.

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Specializes in PCU, LTAC, Corrections.

You could also apply to College of Mount Saint Vincent. Their program is $45,000 and is 15 months. The deadline for application is July 1. A good friend of mine just graduated from the program at NYU. She said it was great but she regretted not going a cheaper route. But she had applied to Downstate and not get in so at the time she just wanted to get in and finish. I feel the same way to. I just want to get in a program and finish. Thankfully I will be starting in one in the fall. However, if you are going to take loans out I would advise you to just do a BSN program ( unless you get into PBI). Most hospitals in the tri-state area and even up here where I live in Westchester are pushing towards hiring only BSN-prepared nurses. I considered going the ASN route however I thought about it and realized that would not be smart just based on the job outlook. It is already tough for BSN nurses to get jobs!

Good luck.

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Specializes in surgical, geriatrics.

I just got an invite to interview at at PBISN (I'm fairly certain I'll get in--sorry if that sounds cocky, I have been w/ BI for years and have good connections/did very well on NLN)--I chatted w/ a nurse who just completed her masters and she said she felt like PBISN nurses had much better clinical experience than most of the accelerated BSNs she met, would I be crazy to consider doing an ASN if I get in there?

My problem w/ MSV was that they wanted everything in five years and my micro/A&P is six years old--not sure if I'd have time to retake it before July....

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Specializes in surgical, geriatrics.
Can only offer this advice; if you are going the private school route look for a program with a high first time NCLEX pass rate.

Both Wagner and NYU charge an arm and a leg in costs, but their board passing rates are excellent (nearly 100%). NYU in particluar is interesting because they tend to admit rather large classes which includes the traditional undergraduate and ABSN students.

Some other programs like the College of Mount Saint Vincent are in the 80% pass rate category which means even after paying vast sums for a nursing education there is a one in eight chance you won't pass the boards first time out. Granted much is up to each particular student and his or her abilities, am just saying.

All CUNY programs are hard to get into ATM. It is no mystery as to why when you consider their low cost versus generally good to excellent nursing education. This often means a large number of high quality applicants for the number of open admisson slots.

IIRC Queensborough Community College now as a partnership with Hunter-Bellevue for their ADN students, so you can check that out as well.

My Queensborough friend mentioned that - how many QCC people do they actually let in? I mean, Hunter only accepts a small percentage of their own students into each program (which now has fewer seats due to the split). She said she tried and didn't make it and her GPA was quite good.

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Yes, def somewhere in that range. It all would depend on how quick you could compete the program. Their dual degree program js laid out in a way where you can complete it in 2 years if you don't work lol.

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Hi ebinbrooklyn - Thanks for starting this thread, it's exactly what I need right now! I feel like I'm going a bit bonkers with my nursing school search, so it's nice to know I'm not alone. I'll give my two cents based on my experience so far.

I'm also looking to get into an accelerated program and was initially all gung-ho about the application process, only to realize that applying to nursing programs is frustrating to say the least. Every program has different deadlines, prerequisite requirements, etc. I thought I'd be conservative--and frugal--by applying to one school, but that backfired when I didn't get accepted (into Binghamton's BAT program). So that leaves me without a plan B and now I'm scrambling.

I've been considering College of Mount Saint Vincent (CMSV), but their accelerated NYC program is fairly new (I think this upcoming fall semester will be the third cohort) and there was some issue of whether or not the program was accredited. I've since cleared that misconception up with the program coordinator, Ellen Lynch. So for me now it's really a matter of the program being "tried and true". The cost is nothing to sneeze at, but it's certainly on the lower end compared to the other rates you tallied. They did seem pretty strict on the "expiration date" of the prerequisites, but then again I tried to get them to accept a chemistry class I took a little over 10 years ago! The rest of my prerequisites are up to date, since I just took them this past summer and fall. Call Ellen up and see if she might be able to accept your classes, since they're only six years old.

If you seriously need to re-take some prerequisites, a few CUNYs offer one-month summer crash courses. You could rack up the classes that way. I'm going to have to take chemistry this summer to fulfill that one prerequisite.

I've also looked at SUNY Stony Brook, but the application opens up in October and if accepted I'd begin school fall 2014, and I don't want to wait that long. I can apply to CMSV by July and if accepted, begin school this fall. As much as I want to save money, I'm with the majority of the sentiment on this thread in that I want to start nursing school--yesterday if I could!

Maybe CMSV is a diamond in the rough? Anyone currently going there care to share their experiences?

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Just don't understand why CMSV calls their ABSN program "new" when they offered a "second degree" RN scheme going back at least around 2006: https://allnurses.com/new-york-state/college-mount-st-170412.html

IIRC classes were offered both day and evening at two locations with one being somewhere in the West 30's in Manhattan.

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