Do employers look at what Nursing Program you went to?

[HappyBee]

I am looking into going to WestCoast University to get my Bachelors in Nursing. I have been on a CC waitlist for over a year now. I feel so stuck and trapped. I have spent a lot of time on my pre-reqs to just put on hold. I had very good grades but due to budget cuts they only allow a few students per semester.

Would an employer look down at a RN degree through WestCoast University.

btw West Coast University is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

The Baccalaureate and Masters Programs in Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE),

Is it worth over 100,000 to finish in 3 years? Your thoughts please...

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Employers do look at where you went to school in that it's on your resume. How much weight it holds depends on a lot of things.

I'm in the minority here, apparently, as I spent well over $100K on my education and I graduated six years ago. I still have over $45K in loans to pay off. I started college in 2002 and even then, the cost was somewhere around $35K/year... the cost at my university today is around $60K/year.

I do not now nor have I ever regretted the money I spent on my education. I have no doubt that going to a well known and well respected university helped me get noticed by recruiters and land every job I've ever had. I had my resume reviewed at a conference I went to earlier this year and the person who reviewed it told me "you have a degree from a nationally known university and the first 5 years of your career were spent at a nationally known hospital, you can go anywhere with this resume."

[elkpark]

Employers do look at where you went to school in that it's on your resume. How much weight it holds depends on a lot of things.

I'm in the minority here, apparently, as I spent well over $100K on my education and I graduated six years ago. I still have over $45K in loans to pay off. I started college in 2002 and even then, the cost was somewhere around $35K/year... the cost at my university today is around $60K/year.

I do not now nor have I ever regretted the money I spent on my education. I have no doubt that going to a well known and well respected university helped me get noticed by recruiters and land every job I've ever had. I had my resume reviewed at a conference I went to earlier this year and the person who reviewed it told me "you have a degree from a nationally known university and the first 5 years of your career were spent at a nationally known hospital, you can go anywhere with this resume."

You're v. right; when I said that "some employers do look at what school you attended," what I really meant was that, of course, all employers look at what's on your resume' and application -- it matters (sometimes a great deal) to some employers where you went to school.

I went to a hospital-based diploma program many years ago that was not expensive, but v. well-respected in my state (and, indeed, the entire Southeast US), and attended a nationally-known graduate program years later that was v. expensive. I got an excellent education in both cases (I chose that particular graduate program not for the "name," but because v. few schools offer a concentration in my subspecialty and the program has always had an excellent reputation, in my specialty particularly), and I know that, whether it's entirely justified or not, the schools I have attended have made a difference for me in employment and how I've been regarded professionally over the years. Not a huge difference (and less so as the years have gone by), but a difference. I could have gone to a cheaper graduate program, and probably would have gotten an adequate education, but I've never regretted the extra cost. It was definitely the best choice I could have made.

People in nursing know which are the good schools and which are the "ehh" schools (and it's not about the expense -- there are great schools that aren't expensive and crummy schools that are) -- and it makes a difference.

[matthewandrew, NP]

Does that 100k include an MD or PharmD as well? Sound like you're getting played by a for-profit business. Please be very cautious in taking on so much debt. Work harder and try to gain admission in a state school.

Also, from my personal experience, interviews depend largely on personal perceptions. My interviewers always had positive reactions on the school I went. So yes, it does matter. As far as its actual extent, it really depends.

Good luck!