is it necessary to go to high ranking nursing schools for RN?

rn/writer, RN · Feb 6, 2010

It is not necessary to go to an Ivy League school to get a good education in nursing. In fact, in my opinion, it's not a good idea to incur huge student loans that may take you decades to pay back for an education that you can get at a much more reasonable price. I'm not saying that private schools don't do a good job. They do. But so do other places, and they do it for a lot less money.

A good state school is usually much less expensive than a private university. Even if you have to pay non-resident tuition, you should still save a lot.

Can you tell us more about your background? Are you living here in the States now?

I wish you the best.

swirlything · Feb 6, 2010

In the end, the ONLY thing that matters is that you pass your NCLEX after you graduate from nursing school. If you have multiple school options, I would take a look a the schools' NCLEX pass rates. In my state you can find those online at the state Board of Nursing website.

RN1981 · Feb 6, 2010

Co-signing swirlything. All that matters in the end is that RN license after passing NCLEX.

Gradin2010 · Feb 6, 2010

I agree with the others, you do not need to go to a big expensive school to get a good education. I am a 4th semester RN student at a community college in a small city (30,000 people)...our NCLEX pass rate is 94%. There are much larger schools in our state whose pass rate is only 30 to 40%.

scalvello · Feb 6, 2010

I was excited to go to Baylor (private). Would have been probably $20,000 for just the first year. Instead, I chose University of Texas at Tyler, and graduated after 4 years with $23,000 in loans. What a relief in hindsight!

llg, PhD, RN · Feb 6, 2010

I agree that you don't need to go to a prestigious, expensive private school to get a good nursing education. Most of the state schools and less expensive privates are just fine.

However ... that doesn't mean that every school is OK. There are some bad schools out there. Be sure to go to a school that is accredited by either the National League for Nursing (NLNAC) or by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (I forget the initials are their accreditation.)

Also, be sure to investigate the school well. Ask how many people start the program, but don't graduate when expected. It's a bad sign when a lot of students drop out, flunk out, or have to delay their graduation because they have to take courses over again. Also find out how many new graduates are able to pass the NCLEX-RN on their first try. The NCLEX-RN is the exam all RN's must pass to get their RN license.

Ask about the facilities the school uses to teach their clinical courses and how much time students spend in each one. I would avoid schools that don't have relationships with the best hospitals in the area. Some schools don't offer much clinical experience in all of the specialties. For example, they might not have much pediatrics or maternity or community health or psychiatric content in their program because they don't have the faculty with expertise in those areas or because they have not been able to negotiate clinical experiences with the hospitals who provide that type of care in their region. I would avoid any school that doesn't provide a decent experience in ALL of the major areas of nursing -- particularly any that I was interested in working in after graduation. If you don't get a good experience in school in an area, you are less likely to be able to get a job there after you graduate.

Bottom line: A school doesn't have to be expensive to be good. However, some schools are better than others and you need to do your homework before you choose a school. You're on the right track by asking some questions. Keep doing that and look for the school that fits your needs the best.

us2uk4u · Feb 6, 2010

HI,

I go to a community college and their NCLEX passing rate for the past four years is a 100% and the previous years before that it hovered over 95%. It doesn't matter what type of school you go to as long as you have a loving family, dedicated professors, a supporting student community, and excellent clinical experiences. All of this will result in passing the NCLEX which is all that matters at the end.

Pursuing your Masters - that's another story.

adorablesh · Feb 6, 2010

yeah. actually i do live in america and pennsylvania

but the state don't really matter since i'm from somewhere, anyway

i don't have certain state that i really wanna go to

i do want to go to city tho bcuz of some reasons like part-time job or transportation u know i'm not gonna have a car prob til i get a job

well i have good gpa and my sat score isn't too bad

i don't even know whether this is the way to choose nursing schools!

well wat else.. i think my parents would love me to go to state universities

if i want to go to some good state universities which provides cheaper price with good education, wat kinds of things i should have?

is it the same as other LAC programs ?

awee n i really want to be CRNA eventually

it's my hope!

Thank you so much! :) (and thank you so much to all who replied!!)

and i think i put this post in the wrong place :S

awe n one more thing (sry )

which place do you prefer to study nursing? i mean the city where you can be exposed the most. idk whether new york is the good place for nursing but well i cannot think of certain places that have many great hospitals so that you know when you go for clinical trial you can go to the place where it's busy but various to do

SmilingBluEyes · Feb 6, 2010

NO it is necessary to find a school that will accept you! There are waiting lists everywhere. And you can continue your education and be more picky when you are nurse, later, and your employer is footing some of that bill!

RNYC · Feb 6, 2010

Everyone on this board talks about how its better to get nursing education from community colleges because its cheaper. Just my 2 cents - my options were 2-4yr waitlist to get into 2 yr ADN program (potentially 4-6 yrs just for RN!), or 15 month super expensive private school, and then (hopefully) work immediately after. At 60-80k yr in my area, working 4-6 yrs that I would have been waiting around to finish an ADN...I am coming out WAY ahead. The loans are worth it when you can avoid putting your life on hold and start getting that precious experience, and income.

Otessa, BSN, RN · Feb 6, 2010

I went to a state college for my pre-reqs(first 2 years) and then the last 2 years to a private nursing college to finish my BSN-it was tough getting in-needed a good GPA and an awesome interview. I liked the smaller classes-knew that I would sink in a huge college and it was the best choice for me.

Now 9 weeks away from finishing my MSN.

I think YOU are the only one who limits where you go to college-you either get the best or worst education depending on how much time and effort you put into it. Colleges vary on cost, culture, and mission. See what fits for you.

otessa