Columbia or NYU for nursing: worth it?

While I am taking my pre-reqs for the next two years I decided to start researching nursing schools this early! Granted, my first priority schools are public CC or universities such as CUNY or SUNY, to increase my chances of getting into a program, I thought of considering Columbia and NYU.

I know, you may think I am crazy for considering such expensive schools like Columbia and NYU, but still, those of you who are in Columbia or NYU or those who have been, what are/were your experiences?

Are these schools worth spending tens of thousands of dollars?

Are there any grants or scholarships that I may be eligible for?

I would very much appreciate your sharing with me!

Thank you very much in advance!

4 Answers

Both of these schools have great info sessions if you are able to attend. If you are doing the 1 year program at Columbia, they do offer quite a bit of scholarships, although I recall it still being about 50k to attend, and that's without living expenses. I don't remember NYUs financial aid program, but I ended up not applying because it was also very expensive. I know of one nurse that did well at Columbia and has a good job, but she had a very good network of people to work off of. Browse the NY forum to get a better idea. My sense is that NYC and all surrounding areas are VERY competitive job-wise. Do your best to attend the info sessions if you can; they will give you a better breakdown of cost.

How would students at either school know whether it is worth it? You need to find out 1) if employers really have a preference for degrees from those places and 2) how long it normally takes to payback and break even with student debt and total cost of the education, to determine if it's worth it. With 1), you can ask call up local hospitals to see if there's a preference or any pay difference and by looking on LinkedIn for places/units you are interested in. With 2), you need to figure out the starting (not average) of nurses in your area. You then need to calculate the total cost of tuition, books, room and board, etc. for the two schools and then figure out how long it will take to pay off that amount and what kind of lifestyle you'll have to live.

Specializes in GENERAL.
oldsockventriloquist said:
How would students at either school know whether it is worth it? You need to find out 1) if employers really have a preference for degrees from those places and 2) how long it normally takes to payback and break even with student debt and total cost of the education, to determine if it's worth it. With 1), you can ask call up local hospitals to see if there's a preference or any pay difference and by looking on LinkedIn for places/units you are interested in. With 2), you need to figure out the starting (not average) of nurses in your area. You then need to calculate the total cost of tuition, books, room and board, etc. for the two schools and then figure out how long it will take to pay off that amount and what kind of lifestyle you'll have to live.

The only thing I would add is that if you have the smarts and informed determination these schools are really the gold standard in nursing education. You will get prestige points for graduation from either one. They have a vaunted history of turning out distinguished alumni in all fields of human endeavour.

On the other hand, in nursing at least, depending on your finances, attending one or the other of these schools may just be a vanity play if you have to hock the farm to do it. No nursing degree is worth mind numbing, life altering debt. This kind of debt kills the hatchling before it sees the light of day.

But do look into, other than loans, any sources of tuition assistance that may be available. Being excellent, well established instituitions of post secondary education, these schools have substantial endowments that are often used to subsidize tuition. You may be a worthy candidate.

Buyer beware, thank you for your thoughtful response! I really appreciate it!

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