Does it really matter which school you go?

If you honestly want to know the reputation of the schools, ask the community. Go to local hospitals, nursing homes, even clinics, anywhere nurses routinely work, and ask the higher-ups about it.

There are two programs in my area, equally expensive, but one was ADN and one was BSN. I could've done both in about the same amount of time (the actual programs -- it'd have taken an extra year for completing Chemistry and Biology sequences for the BSN, which I didn't need to do for the ADN).

I actually chose the ADN after asking around. I talked to students in the other program, and they said the extra time spent was mostly on paperwork, and they didn't feel like they got as much hands-on as they wanted. The hospital I want to work at strongly prefers the ADN program. They're both good programs, but the ADN sounded like it was the right one for me.

Just be sure that the people you're asking aren't giving you bias. It'd be easy for somebody to say his/her program is the best without really having ever worked with anybody from other places.

I was told that it looks better when applying for jobs if you graduated from a reputable school, because I was in a similar situation to you. The only difference with me is that the reputable school is the one that's 45 minutes away and the other school is close but doesn't have a great rep and they no longer have the accreditation (students are still eligible for the exam though). I chose the reputable school so that I don't have any problems later.

As long as the school has accreditation you should be fine. I would also call the GABON and make sure if you go to the nonaccredited school are you eligible to sit for boards.

Thanks to all of you. I made my decision, and I decided to leave my application process with that school. I asked some nurses about their experienced, and they told me that the nurses of that school are not very good nurses. That leaves me with two options for my BSN.