Are private schools really easier to get into?

juliaann · Mar 12, 2010

In my city in Oklahoma, there is 1 private school with a nursing program. You can get your LPN, ASN, or BSN there. It is small, and frickin' expensive. But it has no wait list. If you show up with your tuition money, you can start right away (err, when the next class starts anyway, every few months).

It's also not NLNAC accredited. So there's that. You can get in right away, get a decent education, take your boards and be a fully certified, practicing LPN or RN at the end of it. But if you want to get a further degree at any point, you better be willing to go back to that private school and fork over another trailer full of cash, because no other school is going to accept those credits. Of course, this is just the school in my city. I'm sure there are many private schools that are fully accredited.

So the real question is - is it worth it to you financially to pay 3-6 times the tuition you would at a public school in exchange for a shorter waitlist/earlier start?

elkpark · Mar 12, 2010

People who say that are usually referring to the private-for-profit technical/vocational schools. There are many private colleges and universities that are well-known, prestigious schools that are more selective and harder to get into than public schools (most of the Ivy League universities, for example, are private schools; Duke and Wake Forest are well-known private schools in my state of NC, etc.). However, many of the private-for-profit tech/voc schools that offer nursing programs will pretty much take anyone who is willing to pay their terribly overpriced tuition and often don't have waiting lists.

Be aware, though, that, as juliaann noted, many of these schools are not accredited by the nursing academic accreditation organizations (the NLNAC or CCNE) or the general academic accreditation organizations that accredit "regular" colleges and universities, and that may create problems for you later on if/when you want to pursue further education to expand your career opportunities, because the courses you took at the tech/voc school will not be accepted for transfer/credit by "regular" colleges and universities. They have developed their own accreditation agencies that accredit that type of school, so they advertise, and tell students when they ask, that they are "accredited" and that is a true statement as far as it goes, but they don't have the accreditations that matter in nursing or in higher education in general.

And it's more than just going back to school -- some hospitals/employers will only hire nurses who graduated from NLNAC or CCNE accredited programs; not the majority, certainly, and you probably would never end up completely unemployable because you went to a non-accredited program, but why close any doors for yourself this early in your career?

IMHO, it's v. hard to think of a reasonable justification for paying tuition for courses that won't be accepted for transfer into another school later on -- esp. a lot more tuition than you would pay for an accredited program somewhere else! :eek:

juliaann · Mar 12, 2010

However, many of the private-for-profit tech/voc schools that offer nursing programs will pretty much take anyone who is willing to pay their terribly overpriced tuition and often don't have waiting lists.

Oh yes, thanks for making that distinction, Elkpark, that's definitely what I'm refering to. We don't have as many private, prestigious universities out this way, so I don't think of the other "type" of private school very often. :lol2:

Mell260, for me personally the longer wait time is worth it to me. But everyone is going to come to their own conclusion about what's right for them. I have a dear friend who is currently getting her LPN at the private institution I talked about in my first comment, and she loves it. It was right for her - she's a newly single mother that needed to get her career going right away, so it was worth it to her to take out huge loans in order to start ASAP. She has nothing but good things to say about her instructors and clincal experiences.

But I know it wouldn't be right for me.

AccelCNL, MSN, RN · Mar 12, 2010

I live in the NYC area. When it comes to nursing schools ( I am only talking about BSN program) going the private school route is less competitive due to one main reason. A private school is expensive and for many it is cost prohibitive. Getting into the public schools ( CUNY and SUNY) are much more competitive due to the fact that more people apply.

In order to get into a private program they still tend to want at least B's on the prereqs ( or C's in a few cases) but even though getting in is not a given there is not as much competition for private school as public schools.

In NY all the BSN program at least in the metro are accredited by one of the nursing boards and in most cases by both.

Saysfaa · Mar 12, 2010

Hm, that for-profit-unaccredited part explains a few things I'd been wondering about in reading through the posts on allnurses.

When I think of "private school", I think of something like Seton Hall or Shenandoah University. They might not have waiting lists but they do have quirky rules sometimes, For example, one (not Seaton Hall or Shenandoah) I considered has a guarenteed place for anyone who starts at that college as a freshmen. If those students don't fill the spaces, they take transfer students ranked by who had the most credits earned at that school. I think you also have to have a minimum gpa. It was a modest one, though, not as high as the entries to the state schools in the area.

Anoetos, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2010

Elkpark is right.

That said, there is usually less competition at a private college proper although their acceptance requirements may actually be higher than at a public school. If your grades, tests score and transcripts are good and you don't mind going into hock for about $30k they're a viable option.

Strwbrywne · Mar 12, 2010

Private nursing schools where I live (central PA) cost 3x more than the local community college and do not have a wait list. I attend the community college and it is competitive to get a spot in the program. I think people who are desperate to be an RN, and who do not make a B or higher in their science classes (A&P I and II, and Micro) are usually the ones who apply to the private schools and pay so much more to get the same education and usually have a commute to the school.

lhayee · Mar 12, 2010

i'm going to transfer over to a private school from a public and they said 95% of the students there get federal aid and/or are on scholarships (academic or sports). It is pretty easy to get into, but it is a good program, i haven't heard one negative thing (besides the cost, $22,000 per year) from any of the nursing graduates.

Also all but one credit doesn't transfer (micro), and one class that is not offered at the public school is all that i have left to take for general requirements.

So private schools aren't all that bad, just do your homework before making a commitment.

elkpark · Mar 12, 2010

Hm, that for-profit-unaccredited part explains a few things I'd been wondering about in reading through the posts on allnurses.
When I think of "private school", I think of something like Seton Hall or Shenandoah University. They might not have waiting lists but they do have quirky rules sometimes, For example, one (not Seaton Hall or Shenandoah) I considered has a guarenteed place for anyone who starts at that college as a freshmen. If those students don't fill the spaces, they take transfer students ranked by who had the most credits earned at that school. I think you also have to have a minimum gpa. It was a modest one, though, not as high as the entries to the state schools in the area.

Me, too -- it took me quite a while reading allnurses to realize that most of the people talking about "private schools" weren't talking about the established, prestigious liberal arts colleges and universities I was used to thinking of when I heard the term "private school" -- they were talking about the proprietary (private-for-profit) tech/voc schools. I had barely been aware of the existence of that type of school before I started participating here.

i'm going to transfer over to a private school from a public and they said 95% of the students there get federal aid and/or are on scholarships (academic or sports). It is pretty easy to get into, but it is a good program, i haven't heard one negative thing (besides the cost, $22,000 per year) from any of the nursing graduates.
Also all but one credit doesn't transfer (micro), and one class that is not offered at the public school is all that i have left to take for general requirements.
So private schools aren't all that bad, just do your homework before making a commitment.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that private schools, as a group, are "bad." As I mentioned, many of them are very highly regarded and excellent schools. But, when we talk about "private schools," we're talking about a very wide range of possibilities. Even many of the proprietary tech/voc schools offer a perfectly good nursing education (apart from the accreditation and cost issues already mentioned) -- however, some of the proprietary tech/voc schools are little more than a scam to get Federal student loan money. Especially in nursing, where aspiring nurses generally have little or no idea how nursing education works or what factors really matter in "shopping" for a school, it's really important to be v. careful about choosing a school -- unfortunately, you can't just assume that these schools are giving you straight information or looking out for your best interests.

Again, in this day and age, and with continuing formal education as common as it is in nursing, I just can't think of a good reason to pay even a reasonable amount of tuition, let alone three or four times what the same program would cost at another school!, for an unaccredited program with courses that won't transfer into other schools.

2bnurseTV · Mar 12, 2010

Private nursing schools where I live (central PA) cost 3x more than the local community college and do not have a wait list. I attend the community college and it is competitive to get a spot in the program. I think people who are desperate to be an RN, and who do not make a B or higher in their science classes (A&P I and II, and Micro) are usually the ones who apply to the private schools and pay so much more to get the same education and usually have a commute to the school.

I have to disagree with this.

I am attending a private university nursing program and thier standards are much higher than the local cc. The waiting list is shorter for this reason and the higher cost (of course). It bothers me how many people assume that because you are at a private university, you arent as smart. My grades/ Teas score are very high and I would have been guaranteed a spot at my cc but it is too far of a drive and the hours did not fit my schedule with 3 kids.

juliaann · Mar 12, 2010

I have to disagree with this.
I am attending a private university nursing program and thier standards are much higher than the local cc. The waiting list is shorter for this reason and the higher cost (of course). It bothers me how many people assume that because you are at a private university, you arent as smart. My grades/ Teas score are very high and I would have been guaranteed a spot at my cc but it is too far of a drive and the hours did not fit my schedule with 3 kids.

Teresa,

Did you read the earlier comments about the distinction between private universities and private voc/tech schools? Private universities DO tend to have very high standards and offer an excellent education. The waitlist is usually shorter/non-existent because the school is cost-prohibitive, but also because people with a less competitive GPA and test scores don't "waste their time" applying to a program they're likely not going to get in to.

But that doesn't mean people who attend private voc/tech for-profit programs aren't smart. In one of my comments earlier in this thread I posted about a dear friend of mine that's paying a TON of money to go to a private institution because it was important to her to start right away and have a program that worked with her schedule as a single mom. She's a very smart woman and will be a fantastic nurse, and I'm sure she would have gotten in to the CC or local 4-year public university if she had wanted to wait and take the extra pre-reqs. But she didn't want to. I don't think any less of her, and I know she's very happy with the education she's getting.

There are lots of different programs out there and people just need to find the type of school that is right for them. I don't think anyone in this thread has made any implications about the scholastic aptitude of anyone choosing one type of program over another. I think Strbrywne is just saying that in *her area* the CC is harder to get into than some of the private schools, and some people aren't willing/able to wait, so they find a program that is more in line with their needs. And that is also true of the schools in my area. The private school does have "lesser/easier" admission criteria, but that doesn't mean that it's not a good school or that the people who choose to attend it aren't smart, and it definitely does not also mean that all private schools everywhere are going to have the same admission criteria.