ABSN top schools

CelticGoddess, BSN, RN · Sep 21, 2017

What are the top ranked schools for ABSN? I can't seem to find a good comprehensive list online and I just wanted to know what are the best schools to get an absn? Also I was wondering what are the chances of getting hired after getting an ABSN degree?

Where do you live? It's really hard to answer your second question without knowing the market in the state you live in. In some area's, you can get a job fairly easily, in others, it's harder.

As for your first question, I'll have to let someone else answer that because I don't really know.

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Sep 21, 2017

What are the top ranked schools for ABSN?

ABSN is not a degree, so there are no rankings for ABSN programs.

Also I was wondering what are the chances of getting hired after getting an ABSN degree?

Getting a job locally depends on the reputation (not prestige or ranking) of the school and the hospital's track record of hiring their graduates. There is a large thread discussing if the prestige or ranking matters when applying for jobs. The consensus was that it didn't matter. Nursing is not like Business or Law in which the prestige of the school you graduated from mattered.

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Sep 28, 2017

ABSN is not a degree, so there are no rankings for ABSN programs.
Getting a job locally depends on the reputation (not prestige or ranking) of the school and the hospital's track record of hiring their graduates. There is a large thread discussing if the prestige or ranking matters when applying for jobs. The consensus was that it didn't matter. Nursing is not like Business or Law in which the prestige of the school you graduated from mattered.

I agree with everything that Guy says.

However, if you still feel very strongly about checking out ranking (which I get, since I was totally like that too), your best resource is probably US News and World Report:

Access Denied

(not sure why the link keeps showing up as 'Access Denied', it definitely works)

They don't rank undergrad nursing programs (just masters and doctoral), but most of the graduate nursing programs have affiliated undergrad programs. I'd just browse around and see what universities pop up over and over again (Penn, Hopkins, Duke). Many of them have ABSN programs.

It is important to note that many of these 'top tier' nursing schools are in private universities, and their ABSN programs are exceedingly expensive (~$100,000). If you can afford it, more props to you. However, you would be just as employable with an ABSN from a less expensive state school.

I was accepted to a private ABSN program that is consistently ranked in the top 5, as well as a public ABSN program that is ranked around 15. I chose to do the public program, which cost me about $15,000 (vs. the private, which was about $120,000). I didn't have any issues getting a job or being accepted to grad school. Conversely, I know several people who completed that same private ABSN program and then regretted it once they were working as nurses because they were saddled with mountains of debt.