SF State or Dominican University of California for nursing?

U.S.A. California

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I got accepted for the pre-nursing major at sf state and the nursing major at dominican. I was just wondering which program overall would better prepare me for the NCLEX?

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You can look up past statistics about NCLEX pass-rates at both schools. If you are a hard-worker and study for the NCLEX, I'm sure you'll pass after an education at either university.

I would base your decision on other factors, cost being one of them. SF State is a public school as opposed to a private, Catholic school. Compare tuition rates and scholarship/grant options. Are you guaranteed the nursing major at SF State or do you have to make certain grades during your pre-reqs? Although both are in the bay area, would you prefer to live in the city or in the suburbs. Consider cost of living and quality of life in your decision -- just my opinion.

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Thanks Shelby. Well I have a full scholarship to sf state and I have most of the tuition at dominican covered( I'd have to take out student loans for 7000 dollars). But I visited dominican and I really liked it there. But I feel like I'm leaving behind such a great opportunity at sf state and now I don't know what to do.

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Major differences.

1) you are already accepted into the nursing program at Dominican and not at SFSU and that is a biggie

2) tuition is a lot more at Dominican despite what sounds like a generous merit scholarship.

3) What would living arrangements be. I believe Dominicans dorms are triple occupancy dorm rooms. Not that living SFSU would be cheap.

4) Domincan did have a chemistry placement test, if you don't pass you have to take bonehead chemistry first which would change your start date for the actual nursing part. Which would mean you wouldn't be done in 4 years and 3 years ago I was told that the merit scholarship would only be good for 4 years. Are you strong in chemistry if not could you take it at summer school to avoid this problem. As I said not sure if the same situation exists now.

5) Campus size- huge difference. Domican is real small. Have you gone to visit both schools?

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San Francisco State is a very urban school and you will be working with people from much diverse backgrounds. This is endlessly valuable in nursing. I did my undergrad at State and I loved it. I now live in Marin... not liking it so much. I prefer the city and it's panorama of people and experiences. Dominican is in a very privileged area and I suspect the students will reflect that.

That said, are you guaranteed entry into the nursing program at SF State, after you complete your pre-reqs? Classes at SF State are tremendously impacted, and unfortunately, you may have great difficulty getting the classes you need for nursing. Anatomy, for example, can be very difficult to get into. But once you do, it is amazing and you will get lots of time with cadavers. Often core requirement classes like chemistry, English, Math, etc. have huuuge waitlists and you have to beg the professor, be subjected to lotteries, etc. Not the school's fault.... they face a budget crisis every semester. That said... I still LOVED this school, and I miss it terribly!!

Good luck!

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just some stats-1200 apps for nursing school at sfsu, 80 spots. 3 spots were from actual sf state students. (the other 77 were transfers from nearby CCs that have some kind of "deal" with sf state)

if you were accepted to dominican's nursing school, i say take it! it's a gorgeous campus, although it is a lot of money, it's completely worth it in my opinion. (i go to sfsu)

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I graduated from Dominican University and I loved it! I was one of those people who went to college straight out of high school and got into the nursing program within my second semester of sophomore year (as planned). Even though you are accepted into DUC, that doesn't mean you are in the program. You still have to meet the requirements to get into the actual nursing program. You have to complete all the pre-req courses and have a gpa of 3.0 by your sec sem soph year. Mind you, this is only for freshmen. If you were a transfer, that's a whole different story.

The tuition is EXPENSIVE. I will not lie. However, I thought it was worth every penny because the class sizes are smaller and you get to know all your professors and it made it a lot easier to ask for recommendation letters. In addition, you don't have to compete for classes. Once you are in the program, you are guaranteed the nursing classes you need to take in order to graduate. The program director, Dr. Luanne Linard-Palmer is super nice and the pre-clinical advisor, Erin Aradi, is very easy to talk to. You can ask her anything.

I also dormed my first two years. It was costly and I had two other roommates my freshman year. However, we were dormed in a very large room. I thought it was spacious enough for three college students. Each had their own personal space. During the first two years of dorming, it was very convienent because you have classes Monday thru Thursday, sometimes friday. I got an apartment the last two years. It was hard to find an apartment because Marin County is pretty pricey.

DUC also has ATI (computerized tests) that helped prepare me to successfully pass the NCLEX. In addition, I just felt that all the professors (including non-nursing) were so approachable and I felt so comfortable.

If you want more details, just let me know :)

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jasmininsf, that's crazy! thanks so much for that info. that helps a lot. and slowrunner, thank you also. i visited the campus and i absolutely loved it, its just so expensive. thats whats making my decision so hard. i havent visited sf state yet, so i cant say exactly how i feel about the campus. i just know that i wouldnt have to pay much there, since i got into the presidential scholars program. but do you think its worth it to go somewhere just because i wont be financially burdened?

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If you can, do your first two years of pre-reqs somewhere else, maybe even at a community college, and then transfer in to Dominican's nursing program. That should save you a few bucks!! College of Marin is an awesome, beautiful school and its fairly close to Dominican. See if Dominican will take transfer students from there :)

I also recommend looking into USF, and Cal State East Bay.

Good luck!

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One more bit of advice... if you do end up in Marin, I would recommend getting involved with Marin General Hospital as soon as possible. You can volunteer... or the best option would be to get a job as a CNA while you are in nursing school. You'll have better odds of landing a position when you graduate... no telling what the job market will be like!! I had lots of clinicals at MGH and I loved it.... so gorgeous and clean, views of Mt. Tamalpais everywhere!!

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I wouldn't recommend going to community college and then transferring to DUC. If you are a transfer, you have to wait a minimum of 3-4 semesters to get into the program. In addition, some courses are not transferrable (for example, if you took a class a long time ago, it wouldn't count) and there are some pre-reqs that you can only take at DUC. You even sign a document stating you understand that you may have to wait to get into the program). In addition, the requirements to get into the nursing program as a transfer are a little bit tougher. For example, i believe that transfers need a 3.5 gpa compared to the other students who only need a 3.0 to get into the program. There were many transfers in my class that came from SF State and community colleges and they graduated at the same time I did-meaning they spent the 4 years at DUC plus the other years at community college or other schools-which means they spent at least 6 years for their nursing degree. You end up spending the same amount of money as those who directly went to DUC. I would contact Erin Aradi, the pre clinical advisor for more information about transferring.

I also agree with the previous poster about volunteering at MGH. If you live in Marin or dorm, MGH is very near DUC and it would be a worthwhile experience. Several girls in my class did this.

so to answer your question about whether or not you should go to SF State or DUC based on your financial situation, it seems like SF State would be a better choice since you stated you have a full scholarship. I would like to say that even though education can be very expensive, it is an investment in your future. It may be difficult to begin paying for student loans if the economy continues to not hire many new grads so that is another thing to think about. Also you gotta keep in mind the expenses that you'll incur in any school-books, cost of living, food, travel expenses.

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slowrunner is right on about transferring to Dominican. They even said that on the tour I went on. Don't think you can save money that way because you can't.

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