SDSU vs. SFSU Pre-Nursing

[aluong819]

Reputation vs location. Which is more important? I feel like SDSU has better reputation but SF is where I want to work. Should I go to San Diego State or San Francisco State for pre-nursing? I live in San Jose and I want to work in San Francisco when I grow up. I heard that SDSU has a better reputation and it's easier to get classes and graduate on time. Also, it has a traditional college feel. On the other hand, I heard that SFSU is hard to get classes, super impacted, and a commuter school.

Going to SFSU might give me more job opportunities in SF when I graduate since there will be clinicals in SF hospitals. If I go to SDSU, will I mostly be hired by SF hospitals and not SF hospitals? Is it hard and will it take a long time to get a job in another city after graduation? Which pre-nursing should I go to? Should I go to SDSU for two years to get my GE and then trasnfer to SFSU?

Thank you very much for your time and opinion.

[andendeavor]

It doesn't matter where you go for pre-nursing. What matters is where you go for nursing. Pre-nursing doesn't mean you're in nursing. It simply means you're taking the prerequisites that the school's program requires. You're not going to be doing any clinical as a pre-nursing student.

[RunBabyRN]

Why not do your prereqs at a community college and save your money? There's little preference anymore for where you do them (find out SDSU & SFSU's policy on this). No one will really care where you did your prereqs. Where you do your clinicals in your program, however, makes a big difference. If you're smart, you'll make connections along the way that will come in handy when you are looking for a job. That's why I have a job waiting for me after I take the NCLEX. If you want to work in SF, and you have the choice, go to SFSU. Really, though, you'll need to apply to more than one school and hope for the best.

[zzbxdo]

Go to a community college first. Both schools are hard to get classes in, are super impacted, and if you hear sfsu is a commuter school then I don't know how you can say SDSU isn't. Realistically, you need get into the programs first before you can make a decision. If these are your only 2 schools you'll be applying to then I wouldn't be surprised of you didn't have to make a decision... They're competitive and chances are you may not get in.

I don't think either school has a leg up regarding reputation, but I can say that going to school in sf doesn't increase your opportunities cause well, the bay area is especially saturated with nurses and there are minimal new grad programs vs Socal. Your application will be competing against several thousands of equally competent new grads. Like above, you do have the benefit of networking but the sf market is stiffer than gin. Take what you can get, accept you may have to to go somewhere that is not your "dream" location, possibly out of state.

[RunBabyRN]

Go to a community college first. Both schools are hard to get classes in, are super impacted, and if you hear sfsu is a commuter school then I don't know how you can say SDSU isn't. Realistically, you need get into the programs first before you can make a decision. If these are your only 2 schools you'll be applying to then I wouldn't be surprised of you didn't have to make a decision... They're competitive and chances are you may not get in.

I don't think either school has a leg up regarding reputation, but I can say that going to school in sf doesn't increase your opportunities cause well, the bay area is especially saturated with nurses and there are minimal new grad programs vs Socal. Your application will be competing against several thousands of equally competent new grads. Like above, you do have the benefit of networking but the sf market is stiffer than gin. Take what you can get, accept you may have to to go somewhere that is not your "dream" location, possibly out of state.

There's a lot of truth here. Most new grad programs seem to be in SoCal, based on what I'm seeing with my classmates. Many are also applying to jobs out of state, as the SF Bay Area is one of the toughest markets in the US.