Should cost matter when picking a program?

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My fiancée is facing a tough decision between two Boston-area Direct-Entry MSN programs; Simmons College and Salem State University. The biggest difference between these two schools is the cost; $150,000 for Simmons and $35,000 for Salem State. In both cases, we're looking at loans to pay for all of it.

My hope is advice from practicing NPs will help us decide how important cost is when picking a program. Did you go to an expensive school? If so, do you regret it? Or has it not really mattered? Is it important that you go to the best possible school or is getting the degree the most important part?

Her goal is to be an FNP, and the Simmons program is the better choice to achieve this; good clinicals and good reputation in the area. Salem State is also a good school and has very competitive acceptance, but does not have as good a reputation in the area nor are the clinicals as good. Also, it's an AGNP program so she'd need to obtain a post-masters certificate after graduation to move to FNP.

I am curious to hear what people think about these choices and how much cost should matter when choosing a program. It's extremely intimidating to be making a $100,000+ decision between schools, but we also don't know how much impact this will really have down the road.

Thanks!

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Short answer: You are going to get varied answers. Do what is right for your situation. Does spending an extra 120,000 mean that much for a name?

My answer: My thoughts about schools usually upset a lot of people on here, and I'm sure you'll see those comments hereafter. I think that as long as you stay away from the for profit diploma mills who admit anyone than can pay to play, you should be fine.

As for cost, remember that if it is going on a loan, you won't just be paying back 150k. It will be MUCH more. Do you want to be paying loans off forever? With interest and all, that is almost the amount of an entire home mortgage you'd be paying just for the other school.

Do those school names mean anything in the area you live in? I live nowhere near Boston, so if I was looking at your application as a potential employer (say you relocated), I wouldn't care much, because I haven't heard of either of them.

Obviously you want a decent education, but is the one schools education worth 120k+? I would imagine they have the same accreditation.

As long as they have high board pass rates, I bet either would do.

I personally would take the 35k. Although I'm still in my program, I hear your education really starts once you get in practice.

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Agree with above. By choosing Salem State your fiancée is still avoiding the for profit schools, which is already a step above what seems like half of the pre-NPs on this forum. Simmons is supposed to be great, but not worth that cost. Could she possibly do Salem odor the undergrad BSN and Simmons for the FNP? That would be cheaper and if she's becoming an FNP then the graduate portion is all that matters.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Salem MSN direct entry have a good pass for initial RN NCLEX I thought they were starting a FNP but they might not have it off the ground. I know they dropped women's health. The classes are very small for the direct entry MSN and seem to have more 1:1 attention. While the BSN initial portion is at undergrad level it is priced at the graduate level...still totaling about $70,00.00 total.

Salem BSN straight ranking isn't all that great with pass rate of 83%. Fitchburg State is one of the best ranked pass rate in the state for BSN since 2008 and have a bridge to U Mass Worcester Medical school that has 2 NP options....but the Cost is about $48,000. But still cheaper than Simmons direct entry. UMW also has a DNP option

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Specializes in Emergency.

The first question I would ask is does your fiancee want to be a AGNP or a FNP? It sounds like she is looking to be an FNP, and if that is the case, then you need to consider both the time and the dollars it is going to cost to get to that point. Alot of people will say program A costs $X and program B costs $Y but what isn't apparent in those statements is the time element as well. If program A gets you to your goal 1 year sooner, than how much can you make in that year while you would still be in school in program B? It sounds like

one program does not even get her to her goal of becoming an FNP, so that cost needs to have an added year (I assume) for a post masters bridge and the cost of that bridge added to it. Now that probably doesn't make the two programs equal, but at least then you would be closer to comparing apples to apples.

The second question I would have for you, is why are these the only two programs you are considering (or maybe they aren't)? I ask this because neither option sounds very reasonable to me. I know nothing about Simmons, but $150K is alot for what she would be getting, I would expect there to be cheaper options that provide as good of an education. I could be totally wrong on that, as I said I don't know anything about that school, so it sounds expensive to me. Salem State $35k is fine, reasonable for what your getting, but it doesn't get you the FNP, so I would think you would look for something that is

As for the impact it will have down the road, I don't expect it to have much of an impact. The network you develop before and during school will be vital to getting your first job. Once you have your first job, and some experience, your network and experience will keep you in job opportunities.

My advice would be to keep looking, consider all your options as neither of these sound like an ideal situation for your fiancee. I'm guessing you will find other options that are better suited for your particular needs.

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Thanks everyone for the replies!

Esme12, I'm curious if you've heard anything about the reputation of either school? It's been very hard to get feedback on how these programs are viewed by people actually out in the field. The main feedback on the Salem State program is that it's good, but disorganized; specifically that you tend to find out time/location of clinicals in a very last minute fashion. I'm wondering how typical this is of programs in general and whether it's something we should be worried about in making a decision.

zmansc, she wants the FNP. UMass offers a 1 semester bridge program for $6k for the FNP, so that seems like a reasonable option. It would add a semester onto things, but then again more clinical arguably makes you a better NP, so it may end up helping in the long run.

As for BSN and other options, the problem is that it seems like all the Boston area schools are expensive. The main options are MGH, Boston College, UMass, Regis, Salem State, and Simmons. With the exception of UMass and Salem State, they are all roughly the same cost. UMass is about $75k. I think most new students don't realize how expensive these programs are, but I'm a math person so I know how to calculate compound interest.

In any case, delaying a year to find a different program means one less year of salary afterward, which kills any savings that might be found. So these schools are the only two options we have. Which isn't that bad since they both seem well respected. We just don't know enough about the individual programs and the cost/benefit to make a good decision.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

I have experience with several of the MA NP programs, feel free to send a PM.

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Specializes in Home Health, Podiatry, Neurology, Case Mgmt.

I am not in Simmons' Direct Entry program, however, I am a Nursing@Simmons MSN/FNP distance student currently. So far I really love it, and the student support is phenomenal. Not sure how the brick and mortar school is itself for attending classes, but I am happy with them! =) Good luck!

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Thanks, BostonFNP. Unfortunately, I can't send PMs yet (too new here), but if there's anything you'd like to share in a PM about these two schools, I can at least read it.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
Thanks BostonFNP. Unfortunately, I can't send PMs yet (too new here), but if there's anything you'd like to share in a PM about these two schools, I can at least read it.[/quote']

A 100k decision seems like a giant gap, and it is, but remember there are some other things to consider. For a new-grad NP that's about a year's salary. If it takes 6 months longer to pass the boards or find a job, that's almost half the difference in the first year.

I am biased towards be of these schools so rather than give direct advice I will give you some suggestions to research yourself:

Ask both schools what the pass rate is for the NCLEX and the AANP/ANCC boards for graduates.

Ask if the faculty for the NP portion are practicing NPs or not.

Ask if preceptors are secured by the program.

Ask the percentage of graduates have NP jobs within six months of graduation.

Ask the required number of RN hours required for graduation.

Ask how many DE students finish in 3 years (or how many go part time in the graduate portion).

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Specializes in Correctional Nursing; MSN student.

Get the education, pass boards, get to work :sarcastic:

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
Do those school names mean anything in the area you live in? .

They mean a huge deal in the Boston metro area. For better or worse, Boston is one of the world's medical meccas and the name in the diploma is far more important than in other areas of the country.

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