Private school vs. public state school for MSN

motivated2nurse · May 12, 2009

In this economy, I would go with the cheapest route.

caliotter3 · May 12, 2009

Also would go the cheapest route. Unless you can afford a program with stature, the degree is what counts, and you would get about the same benefit from either, so why not go the economical route?

nursenow · Jul 23, 2009

I went to a private LVN school for twelve months. I had done the prereqs and applied to the local community college for their 18 month program. Three months AFTER I graduated the private school I was accepted to START the CC 18 month program. Had I gone to the college program I would have graduated almost two years later and lost out on two years of wages and experience. That more than made up for the extra cost of the private school. I am currently taking the gen ed reqs for BSN at a local community college and when I get half of them done I am going to go back to a private school to get my BSN, for the same reason.

elkpark · Jul 23, 2009

Does one school have a significantly better reputation and track record than the other? That would be one consideration not mentioned in the OP.

UVA Grad Nursing · Jul 23, 2009

Where do you intend to practice? If you want to practice in a particular locale (a certain city, for example), then a school (either private or public) in that area will give you valuable experience.

If you do not know where you want to practice (or want to leave your region), then a school with a more 'national' reputation could be helpful.

A second thing to consider is passrates on the national certification boards. You'll want to go to a school where the passrate for the specialty boards is excellent. Ask the schools.

Are you paying for this degree yourself? In that case, the public institution will be a lot less expensive

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 23, 2009

The fact that a school is private does not mean that it is "better" in any way than a public schools. There are great state schools and great private schools. There are terrible state schools and terrible private ones. Publilc vs private only refers to their source of funding -- it has nothing to do with quality.

You need to look at the quality of each school before you can make an informed decision.

Personally, I would pick the one that offered the best quality education in the field I wanted to study. The price difference isn't big enough to sacrifice quality.

tmarie75 · Jul 24, 2009

i went to a private school for my bsn, and i don't think i got a better education than if i would have attended a state school. a public school education can be just as good, if not better, than a private school education. in this economy, i don't think that type of expense for a private school education is justified. i will be getting my msn (proudly, i may add) from a public university!