Georgetown University MSN FNP part-time or Ramapo College of New Jersey FNP MSN part time program?

[lxl625]

Hi everyone, 

I'm stuck between attending Georgetown's FNP program ($100k for 2.5 years) or Ramapo College's FNP program (~45k) for 3 years. I live in the northern NJ area and I'm very interested in pursuing dermatology which I know is a specialty that is competitive to get into. There is little to no information on Ramapo's program on reddit or on allnurses and I really don't want to make any decisions until I know exactly what I'm getting myself into. I know that the GU program is excellent and one of the selling points for me was that they find clinical placements for you; however, I'm unsure if I can handle the amount of debt I'd be in, especially now that the FNP world is pretty oversaturated and getting a job/good paying job is not guaranteed. Basically, I don't want to go through all the schooling to end up in debt and without a job. I also know that Ramapo does "assist" in finding clinical placements for students but the extent to which they "assist" is unclear. The program also requires students to go on campus 3/4 times per semester which feels a bit more hybrid than Georgetown's 3 weekend intensives throughout the entire program (which I prefer the more hybrid feeling of Ramapo in that sense). I'd love to hear any and all advice, especially those who graduated from either program and if going to a more "prestigious" school that has name value is worth the amount of debt I'd be in.

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

I don't think any RN that is pursuing their NP need to really worry about not paying off their loans and future loans. There will always be a job for the RN and the NP. That aside, I would never go to a program that has little to no background/history or reviews. Is there a reason why this Ramapo's program is 50% cheaper than Georgetown's? Also, from personal experience, "assisting with clinicals" is definitely a "here's a list of 200 clinics in the area that took students. You can call them and ask if they will take you." Most importantly, you should look to see if this Ramapo program is even accredited. Meet with their school's rep and ask them many questions like when they started, what's their cohort size, how exactly do they help with placement, and most importantly, what's their average pass rate as well as the last few cohort pass rate for the boards. 50 grand is a huge plus, but the checkoff list you need to look at is quite long before considering going there.