Help - Vanderbilt vs Belmont

[Nursenick123]

I need help deciding between Vanderbilt and Belmont for my MSN. I feel like I default to thinking Vanderbilt is the right choice because of the name, but I have an unsettling feeling about the program. I also know the degree itself differs between the two, but my ultimate goal is either specialty outpatient care (cardiology) or emergency (which is where I work as an RN) and from what I've read either routes work for these setting (with caveats).

Here are the specifics for each:

Vandy: AGACNP

- great school with a great reputation in healthcare 

- pretty much fully online. There are in person skill labs a couple times a semester, but otherwise online. Makes me a little uneasy. They have a huge and expensive looking nursing school, so why do I have to attend lectures on my couch. Is it just to vastly increase the class sizes?

-only about 40 credit hours and 600 clinical hours! This is the other part that makes me uneasy  

- guarantee clinical placements (I believe mostly at their medical center next door)

- typically only 3 semesters, but I applied part time so would be 2 years of part time study  

Belmont: FNP 

- has a good local reputation, but no where near the national reputation of Vandy 

- fully in-person

- 60 credit hours and 800-1000+ clinical hours (when I interviewed they were in the process of bulking up the clinical requirements of the program)

- also guarantees clinical placements. 

- still cheaper, despite being 1.5x the bulk of vandy

- 3 years to complete on a part time 

 

I can't tell if I'm being naive thinking that the "prestige" of a school can out shadow the actual content and program requirements, or if I'm being naive thinking a local school can set me up for the same opportunities a big name school could. 
my ultimate goal is just to be a well educated and safe practitioner. I eventually plan to move back to my medium-sized city. It has a vast medical scene with a handful of large hospitals / specialty care, but no "elite" medical centers. So how much will having a big name school actually matter? Will just being a good practitioner give me all the opportunities I need? Am I just getting in my own head about this, and will either school be fine?

[ApplePie123, MSN, RN]

I recently got a call and an email asking if I was still interested in their PMNHP part-time MSN program, as I was waitlisted for the full time. I already had accepted an offer from the University of Tennessee Health and Science Center for the dual DNP program (PMH/FNP). I had to do a lot of reflection. The thought of being an alumnus at a Prestige school did cross my mind. I guess for me, there were a couple of reasons why I stayed firm on my decision with UTHSC. First, I want to do my DNP because I don't want to write any more admission essays, ask for L.O.R.s, pay for applications, and do more school interviews, and I already have an MSN. Secondly, I will be dual-certified once I am done and can practice in medical and in psych. Lastly, it's a very competitive program; there are only 6 open slots, and I got one of them. The DNP program at UTHSC is ranked 23 so not too bad. 

Good luck to you. I'm pretty sure you will make the right decision!