I have been set on the nursing field for quite some time now. I am a senior in high school trying to decide what school to choose. I am torn between a public 4-year university, and a top-rated rated school; University of Central Arkansas (UCA) and Emory University. Both universities have a phenomenal nursing program, but the price is a big difference. UCA's cost of attendance is around 12,000 per year, while Emory is around 63,000. I live in Arkansas and Emory is located in Atlanta. Emory is a private institution that is well recognized in the nation. I am extremely determined to get into Emory for their masters program in Nurse Midwifery or Emergency Nurse Practitioner, but I know it would be easier to get accepted if I went to Emory for undergrad. My question to any experienced nurse out there is, does going to Yale, Columbia, Emory, or any other top rated school truly make a difference in the nursing field? Also, another consideration is that I will be graduating with almost 24 college credit hours which places me as a Sophomore in college. UCA accepts all of them, Emory accepts none. I have gone through UCA's suggested 4 year plan, and there are a couple of semesters where I will be taking up to 18 hours. With the high number of hours I'm going in with, I will be able to knock all of the hours down to around 12 with a couple of 15 hours semesters. Any opinions will be appreciated!
If you're set on living in Atlanta then Emory would be a fine choice. If you do well in school they seem to do a good job of placing people within their system/new grad programs. There are plenty of hospitals to choose from outside of Emory too. They're a pretty big name in the southeast so if you went to a masters program you might get a couple of nods for recognition or it'd probably be easier to get into their program if you graduated in good standing with them. But it all comes at an expensive price. Honestly though, you can get a nursing job anywhere with a degree from any program. People were impressed with my degree but it didn't help land a job out of state. What really helped was persistence and a lot of luck. Wherever you decide to go, make sure you build a lot of connections and when you find a place you want to work, express that desire and follow through.
If you're still dead set on Emory/Atlanta, I'd suggest knocking your prereqs out at CC, double check with Emory that you've got them all, and then transfer directly into the nursing school. I don't know if admissions has changed in the last few years but it seemed like it was pretty easy to get into the nursing program versus 4 years and CC's in the area bc not many people are willing to pay 20k a semester. It's more of a risk this way but I don't think you need the undergrad to get into their program. The rest of the school hardly even knows there is a nursing program and last I checked only like 10-15 students each year from the undergrad go into the program (classes size is around 100).
Top-rated studying would be worth more. If top-rated schools offered 'phone a friend' , after employment to offset average studying may be worth something. /sarc
It only matters locally. Really only people who live near or around a "top rated" university will know or care about the importance of you attending there. If you go out of state, no one will care. Trust me, I went to a super expensive, private women's college with a fancy reputation in my home state......it only impressed people in my home state. No one in CA where I am now cares.
Please, please do not go into debt for nursing school. You will end up with the same degree, and take the same NCLEX. It is more important to study hard and network. Actually, some people might not hire you with a fancy school diploma because they might think you won't stay, or that you will demand more money. You will more than likely end up with the same type of job, with the same salary, as the nurse who went to the cheaper college. THEN after you have your nursing degree, you can spend that tuition money getting an advanced degree and do whatever you want to do.
IMO, what matters more is whether the school is accredited. A flashy name from a top school will get you nowhere if NLNAC or CCNE won't even touch their nursing program.
FWIW, I did my undergraduate studies (not nursing) at NYU. The name hasn't helped my career--nursing or otherwise--in any way except for the odd alumni connection or two.
I'm barely starting nursing school and I picked a cc for 3 big reasons. No debt after graduation, it's accredited, and not a too long commute (local School). I'm planning to keep going for my BSN but I'm trying to keep the expenses low until I can get a nursing job.
So you should really question whether you want to have a huge loan waiting for you, I would suggest not to.
It's possible that after you go to the local university and work several years* Emory might see you as diversity and choose you over a local person for that, assuming you are also competitive re their admission criteria.
(*You do realize that you will probably not get accepted to graduate school right out of your undergraduate program, and that though the minimum may be 1 year of new-grad work, the reality is more than three or four for admission into a highly competitive graduate program.)
In answer to someone's question, Yale does not have an undergraduate nursing program, but has a master's direct entry for bachelor's-in-anything-else as well as more traditional graduate programs. Columbia and Penn have the only Ivy undergraduate nursing programs (Cornell's closed in 1979, a pity; Stanford, though not Ivy, had a great program that also closed in the 70s). Dartmouth has a really incredible integrated graduate program for health professionals of all stripes that admits nurses. Grads of all of these have a comparatively easy time getting work, as do grads of such other excellent graduate programs as the University of Washington and the University of California San Francisco (all health-related).
Every one kind of thinks they went to a 'top -rated' nursing program. It honestly makes no difference..... doesn't mean that it might not mean something to you... go where you want. Personally i am all about getting through school with the least amount of debt but for My current education endeavor... i am paying about 10 thousand more than another reputable NP program i was also accepted in to because it was a better fit for me. Thankfully with working as a nurse and my dh we can pay as we go. Tuition isn't everything but i would never pay 60 thousand for a nursing degree. ...
In this economy, I would go to the more affordable school. When I applied to college, I got accepted to NYU, my first choice, and UConn. I could not afford NYU and was very upset about it at the time, but after having gone to UConn, I can say that it was a good investment because it was a good education. I would think nursing education is pretty standard at any accredited program you get into. They all need an 85 percent NCLEX pass rate to stay accredited. Pass that test, get your RN, doesnt matter where you got your degree from.
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pantherfan14
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