Aside from the price... is Chamberlain a good school?

I know the Chamberlain is a VERY expensive, for-profit school. Fortunately, my education is mostly taken care of due to military benefits.

My concern now is the reputation of Chamberlain and if going to this school will have a negative impact on finding a job as an RN in the future. From what I read, reviews are mixed. But a lot of the students going to the school seem to have a positive experience.

What do you think?

I am waiting to hear back from them on whether or not I've been accepted. I still plan on applying to UTH, as well as ADN programs such as HCC and Wharton, but I'm really hoping Chamberlain works for me... Its the most convenient for me?

Thank you in advance!

29 Answers

I'm a senior at Chamberlain. Love love it. I'm not sure where you're located, but I'm at the Atlanta campus and many of our graduates get jobs at the most reputable hospitals here... (Grady, Emory, etc.) I've also been hired as a nurse tech with Chamberlain on my resume... And they love me just as they love the other State schools. I came on here asking the same questions before I made my decision... BUT I took a leap out on faith and I did it... And I couldn't be happier with my decision. I was wait listed THREE TIMES trying to get into a nursing program here, and I was extremely tired of waiting... And I get the same education as everyone else. It's not like we sit on our butts and give money for our degree. It's hard... My life is pretty much non existent like any other nursing student... I feel prepared at clinicals, and the nurses speak very highly of us to our instructors. I'm not saying Chamberlain is the best, but I'm just trying to give you a snapshot of what it's like. The only downfall is the price. Now that SUCKS. LOL. But I took all my prerequisite classes at a State school so I cut my cost of attendance tremendously. But good luck with your decision. ?

Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

Chamberlain would do rotations at my hospital and my perception of them was positive.

I'd suggest looking at the pass rates for the schools in your state. Should be searchable online.

TEXN said:
Thank you for your responses.

I am using my Post 9/11 military benefits, which does cover a good portion of the costs. Up to 20,000 per academic year I believe, but I will look into that. Yellow Ribbon program and pell grant are also options. Right now finances aren't my biggest concern however.

Glad to hear some positive reception. From what I've been reading of CCN student's experiences on this site, it seems positive (although everyone does mention the price!). But still a lot of negative opinions otherwise. Aside from the fact its a for-profit school, I wish I was getting more feedback on how nurses who have graduated are doing!

Found the NCLEX pass rate of about 80-86%. One source said 90%. But couldn't find anything on the graduation rate. Hmm.

In the states in which I've practiced over the years, a first-time NCLEX pass rate of 86% would get the school on probation with the state BON. That is not good.

All the for-profit schools have poor reputations. I'm sure many of the students are happy with their experience, having nothing to which to compare them. You might have a long, full career without ever running into someone who would toss your application because you went to a proprietary school. Or you might run into plenty of them. That's the thing, you never know when the decision about a job might come down to you and a person who went to a well-respected school, and you might lose out because of the school. You should go to the best school you can afford and get into. There's more to life than convenience. Best wishes for your journey!

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I am using my Montgomery GI Bill for the MSN-FNP at Chamberlain, and it will cover everything. I did the RN-to-BSN at Chamberlain as well, and liked it so much that I wanted to do the MSN-FNP there as well. As to the prelicensure program, I can't say how that is received, but there are less expensive alternatives for people who have to pay out of pocket. Chamberlain works well with military benefits, I haven't had any problems using my GI Bill.

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Accreditation is key! You can check Chamberlain's accreditation information here: Accreditation and State Authorizations & Registrations. Chamberlain has both regional and CCNE accreditation, which is desirable.

Specializes in ICU.

A search of AN reveals numerous threads about Chamberlain schools that may assist you.

Here's a couple:

https://allnurses.com/chamberlain-college-nursing-t430364/?page=2

https://allnurses.com/chamberlain-nursing-school-is-worth-t569767/

Thank you. One of those threads talked about it pretty negatively, but mostly because of the price. What if price isn't an issue due to financial aid? If cost wasn't a factor, would the school really be that bad?

Is it true some people won't consider me because of the school and just throw my application in the trash? I saw that comment, and that worries me... Is a BSN at one school not a BSN at another school? I would think my experience and NCLEX scores would be considered over the fact I went to a "for-profit" school...

Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Financial aid is not infinite. There is a fixed maximum of grants and federal student loans that most often is significantly less than the costs from these for profit schools. The school then offers to set you up with private loans that do not have Federal protection such as deferment while a student & graduated repayment plans and fixed interest rates.

The graduation and NCLEX pass rates are very telling for these schools.

Thank you for your responses.

I am using my Post 9/11 military benefits, which does cover a good portion of the costs. Up to 20,000 per academic year I believe, but I will look into that. Yellow Ribbon program and pell grant are also options. Right now finances aren't my biggest concern however.

Glad to hear some positive reception. From what I've been reading of CCN student's experiences on this site, it seems positive (although everyone does mention the price!). But still a lot of negative opinions otherwise. Aside from the fact its a for-profit school, I wish I was getting more feedback on how nurses who have graduated are doing!

Found the NCLEX pass rate of about 80-86%. One source said 90%. But couldn't find anything on the graduation rate. Hmm.

Thanks guys.

Glad military benefits are working well for you Pixie.RN, thats very good! And I'm glad you like Chamberlain! The campus was very nice in my opinion, everyone seemed pretty positive.

My other option is to hold off on Chamberlain and attempt to get into UTH for the Spring... For the fall, I'd do some more basic classes like Chemistry, statistics, etc. The only thing, I wouldn't know if I got in UTH until November so that's another semester of not being in a program! But, since it would be classes I would need for Chamberlain anyway if I didn't get into UTH, it wouldn't be a wasted semester.

To be honest, UTH scares me a bit, haha. Doesn't seem very easy to get into... But it might be pretty silly not to even give it a chance, so maybe that's what I should do.

Decisions, decisions!

TEXN said:
To be honest, UTH scares me a bit, haha. Doesn't seem very easy to get into... But it might be pretty silly not to even give it a chance, so maybe that's what I should do.

Decisions, decisions!

Here's the thing -- good nursing programs aren't easy to get into. There are lots of strong applicants, and they're picky about who they take. If a nursing program is easy to get into, that's usually a bad sign about the program.

That's one of the knocks against the proprietary schools -- they will pretty much take anyone with "a pulse and a checkbook" (as the old cliche' goes, although the more current version would be "a pulse and student loan eligibility"), and they take people who don't have a shot at getting into the stronger, more selective programs. And everyone in nursing knows that. That doesn't mean that their graduates don't make good nurses, and plenty of people may not care that that's how those schools work. But everyone knows it.

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
TEXN said:
My other option is to hold off on Chamberlain and attempt to get into UTH for the Spring... For the fall, I'd do some more basic classes like Chemistry, statistics, etc. The only thing, I wouldn't know if I got in UTH until November so that's another semester of not being in a program! But, since it would be classes I would need for Chamberlain anyway if I didn't get into UTH, it wouldn't be a wasted semester.

To be honest, UTH scares me a bit, haha. Doesn't seem very easy to get into... But it might be pretty silly not to even give it a chance, so maybe that's what I should do.

Decisions, decisions!

Sounds like a solid plan. Good luck, and thank you for your service! I ETS in 3 days. Wow. :D

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