Hey Everyone,I recently got accepted into Fairleigh Dickinson University and New Jersey City University for the accelerated 12month BSN programs. I am having a hard time deciding which school to choose as there are a lot of major factors.FDU is twice as expensive as NJCU and has a lower NCLEX pass rate (by almost 20%!), however they have a reputable program and the university is well known. NJCU is half the cost of FDU, a better NCLEX passing rate, but when I mention the school to nurses they have never heard of it. Which factor would you give the most weight to? Part of me says NCLEX is the most important, but I also think the institution and its reputation plays a major key as well.Any help is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!
Hpy_Vly_RNBSN 75 Posts Mar 25, 2014 I went to a school no one really knows I got great training and passed my Nclex first try I don't think you should be too concerned about the popularity of a school over Nclex pass rate. All in all you need to pass your Nclex and have good skills.
giannag 17 Posts Mar 25, 2014 I would just make sure it's properly accredited and it'll be fine. However, I went to Drexel's accelerated program which is really well known and it definitely helped get me my first job just because of the reputation.
mmcc01 79 Posts Mar 26, 2014 Hey Everyone' date=' I recently got accepted into Fairleigh Dickinson University and New Jersey City University for the accelerated 12month BSN programs. I am having a hard time deciding which school to choose as there are a lot of major factors. FDU is twice as expensive as NJCU and has a lower NCLEX pass rate (by almost 20%!), however they have a reputable program and the university is well known. NJCU is half the cost of FDU, a better NCLEX passing rate, but when I mention the school to nurses they have never heard of it. Which factor would you give the most weight to? Part of me says NCLEX is the most important, but I also think the institution and its reputation plays a major key as well. Any help is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks![/quote'] I had this same exact dilemma between seton hall and rutgers. Seton hall has a low pass rate but a good reputation, rutgers has a high pass rate and a good reputation as well. At the time, people were telling me that because SHU was private that it would look better on a resume. I'm going with Rutgers and have no regrets.My advice is this: don't buy into the hype. In my opinion, at the end of the day, your ability to pass the NCLEX-RN is really what matters. The NCLEX is the culmination of everything you've learned in nursing school. Of course not everyone passes on first try and that is perfectly ok, but the NCLEX-RN is why we're in nursing school, so if anything could be a judge of whether or not a nursing school is "good," I would imagine its pass rates would be exactly that. FDU might have a reputation (an antiquated one that its academic integrity no longer warrants) but NJCU's reputation is good also. No degree is worth an insane amount of money, as FDU tuition is. I also think it is worth noting that I read an article in the New York Times not that long ago about the myth of the nursing shortage, in which a graduate of FDU's accelerated program was telling her story about how she's almost $70,000 in debt and still unemployed. This is proof that the reputation of FDU didn't set her any further apart from any other graduate. I would go with NJCU. I've heard good things about that program, and it will be cheaper which is always a plus. I have never heard any nurses say that an employer cared very much about their exact school, except that online schools are beginning to become frowned upon.
Z0LIN 27 Posts Mar 30, 2014 NJCU has an excellent program. No hospital cares where you got your degree. They just want to know that you have some kind of BSN, your license #, and any experience. I'd go with NJCU 100% .... BTW the same lady that started the accelerated program at Seton hall. She left and started it at NJCU.
kspotts 3 Posts Mar 30, 2014 Thank you all so much for your feedback! It has been extremely helpful!! I am sending in my deposit for NJCU tomorrow :)
mmcc01 79 Posts Mar 31, 2014 Thank you all so much for your feedback! It has been extremely helpful!! I am sending in my deposit for NJCU tomorrow :)Good for you!! Best of luck :)
helpers56 119 Posts Apr 1, 2014 I was accepted to SHU as well as a transfer student but the cost is turning me away from the school
mmcc01 79 Posts Apr 1, 2014 I was accepted to SHU as well as a transfer student but the cost is turning me away from the schoolI couldn't find any more recent info, but here are the NCLEX-RN results for 2012: http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/nursing/NCLEX/2012/2012%20NCLEX%20Report-RN.pdf
