Out-of-State BSN vs. In-state BSN

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Hello all,

My name is Brittani Carroll and I live in California. I plan on working in California once I have completed my BSN. I have been currently accepted to two programs. The first is Loma Linda University (you may have heard of this). The second is University of Oklahoma where some family lives to which it will help with my living expenses.

The dilemma I am acquiring information (and advice) is which school is the better choice for my career after graduation?

Do I accept the school in California, which has a significiantly higher schooling expense ($90,000)

Or do I accept the school out of state in Oklahoma, which is significantly lower in expense ($40,000)

I know there are many factors that I am aware about, but I am not sure if the money is worth it for the same degree.

Please let me know about your thoughts and personal experiences.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma, Med-Surg/Tele, LTC.

If you plan to work in California, it would be better to go to school in California. The job market in California is one of the toughest and the best way to land a job is through networking. You can network throughout school at your clinical sites. You won't have that advantage if you go to school out of state, making your first job search more difficult.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

No BSN degree is worth $90,000. That's a staggering amount of debt.

I'd personally attend nursing school at OU, and obtain 1 to 3 years of acute care hospital experience in the OKC metro area before attempting to relocate to CA. You will be more marketable with some acute care experience under your belt.

Even if you were to attend Loma Linda, that's still no guarantee of a job after graduation.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Welcome to AN! The largest online nursing community!

$90,000.00 for a BSN? :eek:

You do realize that a $90,000.00 student loan paid over 10 YEARS is $1035.72 per MONTH for 10 YEARS? 10 YEARS! California has a 47% unemployment rate of new nurses...47%! While the salaries of some nurses in CA seem great...remember that in those areas housing/cost of living is unaffordable when a small house is $800,000.00.

What you need to look for is a NURSING accredited program that is affordable. Get experience then you are marketable for the CA job market.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
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Specializes in ER.

I would see what financial aid packages you can get but that 90,000 is way too expensive to truly warrant going there. It may seem like forever away but it isn't worth going into that much debt.

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