Private Colleges???

saltlakenurse · Feb 17, 2009

No, because at Westminster College you get scholarship money and grant money. I think I had 2 different scholarships plus 2 differnt grants that I qualified for. I paid less than $4000 a semester. Where do you get more clinical hours and a better education? A private liberal arts college. Westminister's nursing program for a private liberal arts school is ranked 10th in the nation. It is a feeder school to all of the Ivy legue schools.

Saltlakenurse

kristie_b1 · Feb 17, 2009

I should have been more descriptive. Westminster is worth the extra money. But schools that are private AND for profit (like Utah Career College, AmeriTech, Stevens Henager) may not be worth the extra money in the long run. Westminster is not for profit, and it is an excellent regionally accredited school (well I think its regionally accredited lol).

tfleuter, BSN, RN · Feb 17, 2009

I bet Westminister is a wonderful school to go to and I have heard their nursing program is very nice indeed, but how much does school ranking matter? I guess I'm wondering, for Utah specifically, does graduating from Westminister present you with more job offers, higher pay, more opportunities.ect? Do employers pick out those grads over those from universities like U of U, BYU, UVU, ect? I'm not implying anything! I don't know what hospitals in our area look for in new graduates (other than do well in your clinicals) and would be interested to find out if certain schools get an advantage in this areas.

It just seems to me that when it comes to schools, where you graduated from doesn't matter after you accept your first job. From then on it's all about job performace. Of course, making sure you recieved a good education so you can perform your job duties is important, but I have not heard anything to suggest that grads from one school are continuely out-performing grads from other schools in general.

saltlakenurse · Feb 18, 2009

Actually Westminster nurses are known throughout the country, since Westminster's nursing program is ranked #10 in the nation. It is an Ivy league feeder school.

The college's you just named Utah Career College, AmeriTech, Stevens Henager can't quite get their programs up and running and their NCLEX pass rates are less than 30%. AmeriTech is about to be closed and it in non-accredited and if you want a BSN degree no one takes their credits. So you cannot continue on to a BSN degree.

Saltlakenurse

RN2bAPRN · Mar 13, 2009

the cost of school was extremely important to me. i graduated for wsu with my bsn and it only cost me about $2500:yeah:. i did get scholarships that paid for most of my school though... and it wasnt that hard. paying 80,000 for an as degree, i think, is crazy:twocents:! i also considered wheather my degree would and credits would transfer ... this is a good idea if you want your bsn, msn, ... or dnp! i frequently went to http://dopl.utah.gov/licensing/nursing.html and looked up all the schools pass rates:nurse: (http://dopl.utah.gov/licensing/forms/nurse_nclex_pass_rates_rn.pdf )and their accrediation status (http://dopl.utah.gov/licensing/forms/nurse_approved_programs.pdf).

also see: http://dopl.utah.gov/licensing/minutes/2009/nurse_education_%20min_2009-01-08.pdf.

nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP · Mar 24, 2009

Getting a BSN from Weber State would be great. But despite being what they said was a "very competitive candidate", I was passed on for WSU's RN program. Some people I know with near-perfect GPA's have been denied from Weber multiple times.

For me, if I can qualify for scholarships and grant money and go to Westminster earlier than Weber, I'd gladly do it. $32,000 ($4000 / semster after grants and scholarships) wouldn't be too bad of debt for me if it means moving forward towards being a CRNA faster.

RN2bAPRN · Mar 25, 2009

I think you should do whatever you think is good for you. I am just saying to be careful. Research the schools before you decide. You dont want to end up sorry and owe some guy $40-80,000 later. Have you considered applying to anyother programs?

cleed2004 · Mar 26, 2009

If you have so many concerns about this, I think you should contact the school itself and they should be able to explain this to you.....they know who they are accredidated through and what will transfer or not....I agree that you need to check that website and see what your state says about it.....on a different note...3 years waiting list at a community college??? I would just go for the BSN and be done in less time than waiting to get into their program......

nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP · Mar 26, 2009

Yeah, it's a ridiculously long wait. The way Salt Lake Community College does things is a joke. You do all their pre-reqs, and only THEN can you be put on the 3 year waitlist.

tfleuter, BSN, RN · Mar 26, 2009

Yeah, it's a ridiculously long wait. The way Salt Lake Community College does things is a joke. You do all their pre-reqs, and only THEN can you be put on the 3 year waitlist.

On the other hand, it weeds out those who are only semi serious about entering the program. The wait list would be even longer if they didn't require you to do the pre-reqs first. What other options do they have? Make it competitive based? We already have plenty of schools like that and none are easy to get into. Make it more expsensive? SLCC is perfect for those who can't/won't get competitive enough gpa's for the universities, but can't/won't pay $40-$50K for an associates degree. The down side is they have to wait there turn because a lot of people would like to avoid working for a near 4.0 gpa or take out massive amounts of SL's before you even get into a BSN program.

I would be interested in hearing from people who actually went through their program to see how they long were told the wait be and what it actually was. It only makes sense that it isn't really 3 years since a lot of people add themselves as a backup in case they can't get into the schools they want. I looked into SLCC a year ago and I was told the official wait was 3 years, but the admission person made it known that it was very likely I would get in 18 - 24 months since a lot of people take themselves off the list or turn down the acceptance b/c they are in another school. I didn't want to wait that long, so I focused on doing the pre-reqs for UVU and have my fingers crossed that I'll get in.

If anything I wish the schools in Utah would have more uniformed pre-req requirements. If I don't get into UVU this fall, I will need to take another semesters worth of pre-reqs just to satisfy SLCC's requirement. U of U/BYU = 2 semesters. It would be nice if I could just apply for several schools all at once.

nurseman78, BSN, RN, NP · Mar 26, 2009

That's true about what you said regarding the tendency of SLCC applicants to drop off of the waiting list. From what I've seen with applying for nursing schools, a good rule of thumb is to have EVERYTHING done if you want to stand a chance of getting in.

In my case, I was denied getting into WSU this year. But I have a good GPA (3.64), I'm a male which they said gives you an extra 1/2 a point, I've got all the pre-reqs and support classes done, but there were a few things that I think did me in, namely:

1. Not having the actual CNA certificate (I had finished the class, but hadn't taken the tests).

2. Not having finished my Math. That was a big one.

3. Not having a prior associate's degree.

I agree also that it would be nicer if there were more uniform requirements for the nursing programs here. For instance, I took Intro to Microbiology and Nutrition at Weber, and that will transfer to everywhere but U of U, which wants a clinical microbiology w/ lab class and some other nutrition class. The problem here is that you want to get into a program sometime, and you don't want to have to retake classes just to get a shot at getting in.

it's kind of a circus, but it'll be worth it in the end. i still am interested in what Westminster hast to say. I'll post if they say anything worth noting.

bananabubbletea · Apr 28, 2009

westminister is worth it if you want to enter a program quickly without tedious waitlist. I am sure weber, u of u and byu either have wait list or reject tons of applicants. I know byu is not nln accredited which can be detrimental for furthering your career or going to grad school out of state...