Getting hired, vs. where you graduated from.

[SouthpawRN]

In some professions, it can make a huge difference if you graduated from an Ivy League program vs the local 4 year college or an online program etc. Other careers only care that you have the degree, period.

My question is, how does the school you graduated from affect the ability or chances of getting hired? Is there any difference between traditional 2/4 year college, for profit college, online degree, hospital program etc. Does the specific school make any difference at all? Let's just assume we are talking the same level degree from each program and applying in a popular or prestigious location/hospital.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

There are thousands of nursing programs. IMO, the school you attend usually doesn't make a difference. In a few situations, it can sometimes help you, sometimes hurt you. It can help you if 1. You attend a very prestigious or well known program in your area (Ivy league would fall in that category. It may not be a guarantee, but could benefit you). 2. The program has a good relationship with hospitals/clinical sites that hire those graduates. It could hurt you if you graduate from a program with a poor reputation or that isn't accredited. Many hospitals only hire graduates from accredited programs.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Moved to First Year after licensure

[caliotter3]

For the most part, preference would only come into play to the extent that one individual has enough power to affect a hire/don't hire decision. Jobs where there are education requirements will usually post those explicit requirements in their job posting. Otherwise, any BSN, or MSN, or ASN, or diploma, or certificate from the local high school adult education department will fit the bill, as long as it is not counterfeit.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

For local graduates applying to local hospitals, reputation (not prestige) of the school matters. Hospitals look for graduates from schools that produce quality graduates. Applying for jobs out of state, hospitals look for graduates from schools that "should" produce quality graduates such as state universities and large private schools (not for-profit). Prestige of the school has little to do with the hiring of an applicant. If you had two applicants, one from John Hopkins and one from Michigan State. Would they automatically hire the John Hopkins grad solely on the basis of the school? No

FYI: True Ivy league schools do not have undergraduate nursing programs, only graduate programs.

[elkpark]

FYI: True Ivy league schools do not have undergraduate nursing programs, only graduate programs.

Penn offers traditional BSN and Accelerated BSN programs. Penn is the only one, though.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

Penn offers traditional BSN and accelerated BSN programs. Penn is the only one, though.

I didn't go through all of the schools' websites. I stopped at Harvard and Yale and assumed none of them had an undergraduate program. Thnks

[llg, PhD, RN]

Here's the way I think of it:

1. The school matters at each of the extreme ends of the spectrum, but doesn't matter much in the middle. In other words, if you school is one of the best in the nation (or region) it can help you. If it is one of the worst, it can hurt you. But most schools are somewhere in the middle -- where it won't have much influence either way. Avoid the for-profit schools, schools without the right accreditations, and ones with bad reputations.

2. Locally, the school's reputation matters a lot -- but if you are going to be moving out of state, the only way it will matter is if your school is famous (one way or the other). Most small schools are totally unknown outside their immediate community.