Hi everyone. My daughter was accepted to a prestigious school for her Accelerated BSN. She has also applied for accelerated programs at local public universities. Cost private: $50K + room/bd vs. $18K & live at home.
I have heard from professionals in both camps. Some say the prestigious school will get her a job in a trauma center immediately upon graduation. Others say she will have no trouble finding a job anywhere, even with a public university BSN.
All opionions/thoughts/experiences appreciated!! THANK YOU
It depends entirely on where you live as far as job opportunities in general, but the general rule is that in nursing, where you go does not matter as long as the school is accredited and decently respected. For example, there's a private school here in Tulsa (Platt College) and my manager has said she will not hire new grads from that school because it is for profit and the type of education they provide. (Note: To any members who attended Platt, I am not knocking it as I know nothing about it except that it is obscenely expensive. I am merely stating what the reality is on my unit) In contrast, I went to a community college 50 miles away and I was hired in the CVICU before even graduating.
I think it boils down to how proactive your daughter is though too. Sure the fancy school name is good resume material but if she's anything like me that's very passive, it will be hard getting into a job despite the fancy school credit. I understand you want what's best for your daughter though. If you can financially afford the extra money then why not, it has more benefit but staying at home as you calculated is half the price and it's important to consider especially if the money isn't there. My friend went to a fancy school she dropped out after 2 yrs thinking she hated the program she lived there and the cost where approximate to what you calculated. I stayed at home and commuted to college for 1.5 hours to and 1.5hours back home every day. I hated it both but decided to stick with it.
I attended nursing school in Boston, where competition for new grad jobs is brutal and school connections matter a great deal. An affordable degree isn't worth much if it won't help you find a job. Yes, nothing is guaranteed, but school reputation and alumni networks can be extremely helpful in the job search.
Whatever your daughter decides, she should be willing to move anywhere for her first job.
Which school did you attend in Boston? I am thinking of applying to Northeastern and it is in Boston. By the time I graduate, I would have over 100K in student loans....
No one is guaranteed a job after graduation. It doesn't matter where she went.
This is goes for most jobs.
I believe it's not where you went to school, but how well she will write her resume and how she interviews.
She he needs to be able to have the appropriate highlights in a resume for the job she is applying for.
She needs to then be able to SELL HERSELF in an interview. Make the person want her working for them. She needs to know how to express her successes and be able to point out a few flaws( they always ask).
In LA all I see in treatment centers (drug/alcohol rehab those places) they always say 1 year psych preferred. Well I just got a job and I graduated 2 months ago and I'm going to start at $19. I know someone who worked at a rehab place and was paid $16 and our current employer I make $1 more per hour then he does. I believe I was able to get the rate of pay because I was confident in everything I said and my resume highlighted my strong points and a broad area of exposure. It's all how well she can interview.
a BSN is A BSN. not everyone can afford a high tuition school, doesn't make them any less better of a nurse.
Go go with whatever curriculum she likes better, the clinical sites, the instructors, reviews of past students. It's not always about the name of the school you went to.... It's just a bonus.
It is more about the local job market, the kind of degree (ADN versus BSN), and personality/good fit.
A lot of big cities are saturated with new graduates plus the entry level degree preferred is the BSN in those areas.
Plus the person has to be a good fit for a floor or company.
I have seen ADN (from a community college) with a good personality that fit the floor, hired over BSN graduated from 100 000 K school in Boston.
My oldest child is a senior in HS and will go to college this fall. Though not for nursing - but the question was basically the same. Should he go to a school and end up with 100 000 in debt for a 4 year degree ? And to him it does not make any sense.
He wants to go to school and graduate with no or minor debt to have money for graduate school. Looking into the future, he does not want to graduate and then pay off for many years not being able to afford graduate school, a house and so on.
If the school your daughter is looking at has a good reputation in general, I personally would chose that over crazy debt.
Nowadays new graduates need to be flexible - they may have to move to get a desired job or accept unpopular hours.
- Nobody cares where you went to school as a new grad, they care about credentials
- Networking is more important, she needs to get a job as a nurse extern at the hospital she wants to work at
- I went to a prestigious private school and make the same as community college graduates (grandfathered in without BSN)
- Previous degrees don't matter because they are not in nursing
- Staff nursing is a task oriented job, schools cherry pick applicants because so many people are trying to get in for the money and favorable schedule; the job is not that difficult from a cognitive standpoint.
Which school did you attend in Boston? I am thinking of applying to Northeastern and it is in Boston. By the time I graduate, I would have over 100K in student loans....
The best thing about Northeastern is their co-op program. Their students make excellent connections. I have worked with many Northeastern grads over my last 9 years as a nurse in Boston. Most of them got their initial jobs because of a co-op they had done.
To the OP, where does your daughter intend on living after she finishes her BSN? A BSN from Emory probably means more in Atlanta than it does in cities like Seattle, Boston or Chicago, which all have their own prestigious BSN programs. Emory is an excellent, nationally known school and it may catch the eye of recruiters elsewhere, though. I have never tried to move out of the city I went to school in but I did once have my resume professionally reviewed and she told me that with a degree from a top 40 university and 5 years at a nationally ranked hospital, I could go anywhere.
sjalv
897 Posts
It depends entirely on where you live as far as job opportunities in general, but the general rule is that in nursing, where you go does not matter as long as the school is accredited and decently respected. For example, there's a private school here in Tulsa (Platt College) and my manager has said she will not hire new grads from that school because it is for profit and the type of education they provide. (Note: To any members who attended Platt, I am not knocking it as I know nothing about it except that it is obscenely expensive. I am merely stating what the reality is on my unit) In contrast, I went to a community college 50 miles away and I was hired in the CVICU before even graduating.