Question about School "prestige"

[VictoriaBrooke]

Hi!

I wonder if anyone could offer me an opinion about something...This probably sounds like a stupid question, but I was wondering if it matters what school you get your BSN or MSN from. The people I've talked to (none in nursing) says it doesn't matter, but I get the feeling from them that they kind of look down on nursing in general, so while it would matter to them where you got your MD, for nursing why bother caring?

I know that the most important thing is a good education and getting that RN!! But I wonder if having a degree from a well-known, respected school would give me an edge in the job market. And especially with an MSN, for instance doing private practice as an NP, how much difference would it make to go to a lesser known school?

What do you think??

Thanx!

Vicky

[LydiaNN]

The irony is that some of the schools with really dreadful pass rates are also so expensive. Not only that, but they don't have the huge endowments that allow good schools to offer aid in such substantial amounts, so students are taking out huge loans and in a lot of cases not being able to pay them back if they can't pass the NCLEX. I'm thinking specifically of the kind of schools that are sometimes referred to as "career colleges" and run those annoying commercials with young people lamenting the thought that it might take 2 or 4 years of good education before they are actually prepared to work in the health field!

[leslie :-D]

my nsg school was a so-called prestigious school and it was instilled in us that " you are a baptist nurse"; very very elitist. i never bought into that attitude or superficiality; i just went there because the nclex passing rates were over 99% and it was close to home.

yet i did see several of my peers develop that snotty attitude r/t being a baptist nurse and all i could do was shake my head. now this school (which has since closed down since many diploma schools are being closed or have been) is directly related to boston's top notch orthopedic hospital.....where the boston celtics had gone for surgery, etc. and the patients in the hospital were wealthy, well-off....snobbery eminated from every pt room.

and that's why, when i graduated, i refused to take a job there even though the starting pay was phenomenal, i just couldn't/wouldn't buy into the elitist attitudes and philosophy.

but i did get a damned good education, no doubt about it.

leslie

[redwinggirlie]

It's the person, not the school, that makes a good nurse. I wish you well.

[grimmy, RN]

i think this would only matter if you were, say, going into research, or you wanted to become a nurse educator. however, having said that, nothing speaks more highly of a person than their own personal behavior. a lot of "big" schools have graduates who are related to someone who went there, and they got in on that basis. i was in corporate life long before i was a nurse, and when i interviewed prospective candidates, what spoke to me was not necessarily the educational institution, but what they did while they were there...did they do volunteer projects? did they do community service? did they publish any research? do they "play well with others?" for me, seeing a consistent effort for personal betterment, and the betterment of one's community, speaks volumes.

[Nesher, BSN, RN]

Interesting question. I had a phone interview this past week with a hospital in another part of the country - one of the interviewers said he was envious because he had done his graduate work at the number 3 school in the country, but gee whiz I had gone to the number 1 school. Hard to say what his underlying reason for bringing up something like that in an interview - you know - what kind of response did he want?

So I think that in the long run yes the school you attend makes a difference. People do pay attention to such things.

[grimmy, RN]

interesting question. i had a phone interview this past week with a hospital in another part of the country - one of the interviewers said he was envious because he had done his graduate work at the number 3 school in the country, but gee whiz i had gone to the number 1 school. hard to say what his underlying reason for bringing up something like that in an interview - you know - what kind of response did he want?

so i think that in the long run yes the school you attend makes a difference. people do pay attention to such things.

i wonder if there really is a response that would be appropriate. i assume that there might be some sort of competitive rationale for the man's comment. i don't think this should be a common thread among interviewers. while people make note of the school name, your reputation will be of your own making.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Personally, I've had to go to the nearest schools for my education and that has never hindered me. We had high passing rates for the NCLEX. BTW - when you move around as I have (due to military spouse), I just haven't had it matter at all. My BSN and MSN are from University of Phoenix and they are well-thought of as well as being online.