Private school vs Local public school?

nlitened · Jul 1, 2014

First of all, I think you should always apply to more than one program. And there is no easy answer here. My personal experience thus far: I am applying to 3 programs (all for Spring 2015)...one is a private school, the others are state colleges. The private school has been great throughout every process thus far. Yes, it is going to cost me a lil more, but so far I am seeing more pros with this school. At the state colleges I have yet to find a helpful soul. And the admission process is so grueling that even though I have a 3.8 GPA, passed the TEAS with flying colors and already have 8 years in the healthcare field I will most likely be put on the dreaded "list". A guy I work with just got accepted after being on that list for a year and a half with a 3.9 GPA and a overall TEAS score of 94. The state colleges here are so saturated with applications due to their on-line components for lectures...so its very competitive. But yes, its slightly cheaper. Oh, and I just want to mention that the private school has a higher NCLEX pass rate than the state college. I also did my homework when it came to who is accredited by whom and also looked at pass rates.

So when I say there is no easy answer...there is no easy answer. Private vs public....that's something you will have to decide for yourself. Do your research, don't be afraid to show up on the campuses and ask questions, talk to the directors of the programs, talk to current students, ask local hospitals about the nursing students they like to see back, etc. Also, most schools are willing to help you find a job...neither schools can guarantee placement tho.

Good luck, and hope I helped some!

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Jul 2, 2014

There is many variables when you graduate and apply for jobs. If you are looking for a job locally, the reputation of the school means a lot. If they have hired several graduates and they are not prepared well enough and the hospital has to spend extra time training the new grads, then they will prefer grads from other schools. It is also individual, you may excel over other classmates in clinicals and be more likely hired over your classmates within the same school.

You need to pick a school with a high NCLEX pass rate, work hard in classes and clinicals before worrying about after graduation. Once you graduate, go to the school's career center and learn how to interview. They will teach you about answering the interview questions, what to wear, and help you create a resume.

bearbearkim · Jul 2, 2014

First of all, I think you should always apply to more than one program. And there is no easy answer here. My personal experience thus far: I am applying to 3 programs (all for Spring 2015)...one is a private school, the others are state colleges. The private school has been great throughout every process thus far. Yes, it is going to cost me a lil more, but so far I am seeing more pros with this school. At the state colleges I have yet to find a helpful soul. And the admission process is so grueling that even though I have a 3.8 GPA, passed the TEAS with flying colors and already have 8 years in the healthcare field I will most likely be put on the dreaded "list". A guy I work with just got accepted after being on that list for a year and a half with a 3.9 GPA and a overall TEAS score of 94. The state colleges here are so saturated with applications due to their on-line components for lectures...so its very competitive. But yes, its slightly cheaper. Oh, and I just want to mention that the private school has a higher NCLEX pass rate than the state college. I also did my homework when it came to who is accredited by whom and also looked at pass rates.
So when I say there is no easy answer...there is no easy answer. Private vs public....that's something you will have to decide for yourself. Do your research, don't be afraid to show up on the campuses and ask questions, talk to the directors of the programs, talk to current students, ask local hospitals about the nursing students they like to see back, etc. Also, most schools are willing to help you find a job...neither schools can guarantee placement tho.
Good luck, and hope I helped some!

Thank you very much for all the details!

bearbearkim · Jul 2, 2014

There is many variables when you graduate and apply for jobs. If you are looking for a job locally, the reputation of the school means a lot. If they have hired several graduates and they are not prepared well enough and the hospital has to spend extra time training the new grads, then they will prefer grads from other schools. It is also individual, you may excel over other classmates in clinicals and be more likely hired over your classmates within the same school.
You need to pick a school with a high NCLEX pass rate, work hard in classes and clinicals before worrying about after graduation. Once you graduate, go to the school's career center and learn how to interview. They will teach you about answering the interview questions, what to wear, and help you create a resume.

This is great advice! Thank you so much!

Miss.LeoRN · Jul 2, 2014

The variables to how hard it is to get a job as a new grad adn/bsn are immense. I know plenty of ADN's who get jobs within a couple months, enroll in new grad residencies, and I know BSN's who have no job a year later. This applies to ANY degree field however, and I'm noticing that the new grads that are vocal about not getting jobs are like the new grads in other degrees. They come out of school wanting the corner office and highest salary. You have nurse grads who won't do this or that unit, they want only A or C, or they won't work for less than $$, they want certain hours, they ONLY want a hospital setting, they only want to work in this one place, or maybe here, but not there... this only want this or only want that. I've mostly come to view it that... it's not that there aren't nursing jobs out there, it's that the nurses graduating don't want to take them.

Your best bet is to ask the school of the employment rate of their graduates. Also, helping you get a job is NOT job placement nor guarantee of a job. A friend of mine back home went through a private LVN program that "helped him get a job" and it turned out to be a 4 hour class on how to interview and resume assistance. So if you're going for private, be sure to ask what they do to assist you in job finding.

panic36 · Jul 2, 2014

I have a bias for public schools, or if I have to go to private, then it would be a non-profit. I am not a fan of for profit private schools, and most of the people i have met also agree with that. You will find that the public schools are most likely going to be more competitive and difficult to get into, but that isn't a bad thing. Like another poster said, I would put an application everywhere, find where you are accepted, and go where YOU want to go. If you go somewhere based on someone else suggestion and it isn't where you really want to go then you might find yourself being an unhappy camper. I wouldn't care about jobs when it comes to your school as its not as important as many make it out to be. What is important is getting your RN!

Oh and! I check the state pass rate for the NCLEX for all the schools available.

Exhaustipated, ADN, BSN · Jul 2, 2014

When looking at a school's NCLEX pass rate, don't forget to look at the percentage of accepted students they graduate. You read about programs all the time that only graduate 25-50% of the students accepted. A school with 99% pass rate but only graduates 25% of the class might not be as desirable as a 97% pass rate with 80% graduating.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jul 2, 2014

I'm confused - when y'all are referring to "private schools" do you mean commercial (for-profit, investor-owned) or traditional private (not-for-profit, but not tax funded).

There is a huge difference between commercial and traditional programs... The former are 100% driven by profit motive - primary mission is to add value to the shareholder investments. They often spend more money on marketing and recruitment than on faculty. They don't attract the same quality of faculty as a traditional (focused on education) school.

Just sayin'

bearbearkim · Jul 2, 2014

When looking at a school's NCLEX pass rate, don't forget to look at the percentage of accepted students they graduate. You read about programs all the time that only graduate 25-50% of the students accepted. A school with 99% pass rate but only graduates 25% of the class might not be as desirable as a 97% pass rate with 80% graduating.

Does school website has all information of it?

thank you!

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jul 6, 2014

Good day, bearbearkim:

1. Go for nationally accredited vs. regional vs. none. Stay away from those who are not accredited.

2. Look at NCLEX pass rates as shared.

3. Look at the total investment -- tuition, books, related material costs, etc. -- over the entire time period (prerequisites and program) as well so you can determine how long it will take you to pay everything off.

4. Ask lots of questions to any school sharing they can help you get a job including, but not limited to, how, what's the process, what's the success rate for them getting their students a job? Do they have statistics over the past five years showing the success rate? How can they tell whether it was their (the school's) efforts to get the job vs. the student's own efforts to get the job that made the difference? How long does it take them to get a student a job? Can they provide you with five (5) references of students they got jobs for this year and three (3) from last year?

There are schools out there whose job it is to sell you on going to their school. Some sales people can be trusted, and others... well, they fit into the same category of a lot of politicians, lawyers, etc. who just want your money.

Thank you.