Old Dominion U/Radford U

U.S.A. Virginia

Published

Hi All! I am currently a GMU student, going to be applying to several schools this year for fall of 05 to start...just curious if any of you nurses graduated from ODU or Radford, I'd just like to hear more about the programs from a student/grad perspective, and also about student life off campus, things to do etc. I know that the cost of living is cheaper in those areas than where I am currently living in Northern VA. God its so expensive to get by around here, so I am leaning on going to a school thats not in NOVA. Please give me some feedback, much appreciated!

futurenp

88 Posts

I graduated from Radford in 1986 with a degree in economics. It's a great school. You're right, the cost of living is very cheap. I don't have any experience with the nursing program, but I can recommend the school as a whole.

nekhismom

1,104 Posts

Except that off campus life around Radford is slow. S-L-O-W. All the students there go to Virginia Tech (VT) to hang out. I know a few people who obtained their master's degree of nursing from Radford many, many years ago. They had nothing but good things to say about it, but they never lived in the community.

Don't know much about ODU. Good luck!

FarmgrrlRN

290 Posts

Specializes in Pediatrics.

hitme123,

I live in Norfolk but I go to TCC's ADN program. The cost of living is certainly cheaper down here than in Northern Va. However, housing right around ODU can get expensive. Of course there are plenty of other places to live in this area! I've known a few ppl that were in ODU's nursing program. I think it has similar issues as other schools but overall its a great program. I applied to their program and got waitlisted, as they do not accept a huge number of applicants (I believe it was 50 for their traditional program and 50 for their accelerated program in 2003). I covered myself and applied to TCC at the same time and got accepted-no problem. If you stay in the area, TCC and ODU have an articulation program, so I can apply to their program as a RN and finish my Bachelor's in 1 year or 2 years depending on how many classes I take.

This area is pretty diverse. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the area but Norfolk, Va beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and Suffolk are the citys that compromise South Hampton Roads. They are all "connected". Va Beach is where I lived for the majority of the time since I moved here. Its very suburban with the beach (of course), malls, etc. Norfolk is trying to revitalize its downtown and they're doing a pretty good job, and is more urban than VB. The area around ODU used to be more "college friendly" but they tore a bunch of the bars and other hang outs down to build the new arena (can't remember the name). Ghent is a neighborhood close-by and is a bit more artsy with some trendy restaurants/bars. Chesapeake is like Va Beach, but with no beach and a bit more rural. Portsmouth is more urban towards the east and more suburban toward the west. P-town can be scary place if you're in the wrong place...but its nicer in the western parts.

Of course, we also have a TON of military too....

Let me know if you have any questions.

Christine

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