Better NCLEX Pass Rates, Better School?

[UCFAshley]

So there are two schools I can consider applying to. One is much closer to me while the other one is half an hour away. I am a military spouse and therefore live in a military town. Pretty much everyone applies to the school in town. When I started doing some research I noticed the NCLEX pass rates a lower than the school that is further out. As a matter of fact, the school in town have an average NCLEX pass rates in the mid 80s while the other is in the high 90s.

I know it should behoove me to apply to both but each require different exams and I don't know if I want to take time from my pre-reqs studying for both when I can study for one. Would you base on a school on their NCLEX scores or would you base it on other factors, too?

[cracklingkraken, ASN, RN]

I would consider the NCLEX pass rates. It is typically indicative of how well prepared the graduating students are by the professors. But mid-80s isn't terrible.

I would also factor in distance, cost, input from previous/current students, and faculty (I met the nursing faculty before I applied to the program).

[OcMurse93]

Pass rates and trends of that sort can be pretty telling when it comes to the quality of a program. However, you should look at the class sizes and how many people actually sat for the NCLEX. If 9 people out of 10 passed versus 84 out of 100... then theres a chance the smaller one might have forced tons of students to drop out of the program before the NCLEX. Aside from that, its really hard to tell. I would also recommend finding out which professors teach the nursing courses and look them up on rate my professor.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Speaking in general terms, a school SHOULD put a high priority on having a high NCLEX passing rate. I don't think I'd use the term "forced tons of students to drop out before the NCLEX"; I'd think of it more as weeding out those the instructors don't feel would be able to PASS the exam. IOW, putting a higher value on those who DO get to graduation.

A school that has as its priority keeping students IN the school (maybe for the revenue?) regardless of whether they are likely to ever become nurses is also telling.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

Pass rates and trends of that sort can be pretty telling when it comes to the quality of a program. However, you should look at the class sizes and how many people actually sat for the NCLEX. If 9 people out of 10 passed versus 84 out of 100... then theres a chance the smaller one might have forced tons of students to drop out of the program before the NCLEX. Aside from that, its really hard to tell. I would also recommend finding out which professors teach the nursing courses and look them up on rate my professor.

Some programs have students that don't do well, or life changes, so one cannot state 9 out of 10 passing is a bad thing either...

I went to a university that has two different programs; the evening accelerated program has a high pass rate, but their day program struggles...they have a plan in place to prevent losing their accreditation, however probably the one reason why they haven't gotten their accreditation revoked is because the evening program has a high NCLEX pass rate-but one would look it over simply because both programs are combined, unfortunately-I will agree falling to the instructors and students and the whole package can make a difference. I enjoyed my program and passed the NCLEX the first time and can say I do my job well, so I guess it all came out in the wash.

[elkpark]

Speaking in general terms, a school SHOULD put a high priority on having a high NCLEX passing rate. I don't think I'd use the term "forced tons of students to drop out before the NCLEX"; I'd think of it more as weeding out those the instructors don't feel would be able to PASS the exam. IOW, putting a higher value on those who DO get to graduation.

A school that has as its priority keeping students IN the school (maybe for the revenue?) regardless of whether they are likely to ever become nurses is also telling.

Some schools (esp. the proprietary schools) are notorious for this -- they admit a huge group of students, plenty of people they know are not likely to succeed, and then flunk everyone except the very few they expect to do well on the NCLEX.

OP, I agree that attrition rates are important. If a school admits 100 students, a few of them leave school for various personal reasons over the course of the program, they graduate, oh, say, 94 students and those 94 students have a 90% first-time pass rate on the NCLEX, and another school admits 100 students but only graduates 30 students (and, RNsRWE, there are schools, esp. proprietary schools, out there with that kind of graduation rate -- people have posted about them here), and those 30 students have a 97% first-time pass rate on the NCLEX, which school are you going to feel better about attending?

NCLEX pass rates are just one piece of data and, by themselves, can be deceiving. You have to look at the larger picture.