Should I just go with this expensive college?

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The university I will be applying to at the end of the year for my BSN is a private Catholic university:

*Is a direct entry nursing program.

*Is transfer friendly—even with their nursing program is (I will be trying to transfer their next fall*).

*Has a 100% NCLEX pass rate for 3 years straight and 100% of their students graduate.

*Is a 13:1 student to teacher ratio.

*Gives their students over 60 clinical sites to give their students diversity.

*The program is Holistic focused.

*Is a 3 year nursing program, so a lot is spread out.

Now this all seems great but the total cost of attendance for this school is $38,000 annual with fees included. You could even registered up to 18 credit hours a semester at this school but pay nothing because it's also included with tuition. However, If I was to commute the 45 min there everyday I wouldn't have to pay for dorms so it would be about 27,000 annual.

It is the cheapest nursing private program in my state, and a nurse who attended the school last year told me that the #1 hospital in my state always prefer interns from this school.

My only concerns is the money factor. I will be doing my pre-reqs at a CC this semester and then apply at the end of the year. I'm hoping to cut the cost down with grant money, government loans, and scholarship.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

A nursing degree is not worth $118,000 in lifetime debt.

An MBA, maybe. Just maybe.

Nursing degree: no, no, and never.

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Private colleges are a waste of money. Trust me. I have two degrees from private colleges. If I don't regret going to a private college every day, I at least regret it once a month when I pay my student loans. Find a good public school

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The cheapest public school in my state is 24,000 a year not including books :(

Or should I just wait another year to apply for an ABSN program for 13,000? Does having a 14 month ABSN make you less marketable when job hunting? Will that show on my degree?

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Specializes in Infection Prevention, Public Health.

I had a little trouble following your post. Your cost will be $27,000 per year for how many years? If you can complete an RN program and have less than $50,000 in debt, then I think it is worth it. You should be able to get some grant and scholarship money.

Do some research on the school. Are they regionally accredited? A 13:1 student to faculty ratio could mean they have only 13 students. If only 5 graduated, but also passed NCLEX, then I guess that could claim a 100% pass rate as well.

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They admit 120 students into their program annually.

I will be only going for 3 years not 4, and it wouldn't be a total of 27,000 because the school offer their own grant money and state grant, plus a decent amount of goverment student loans ( a max of 8,000). They also offer a lot of transfer student scholarships and that's why the school is so transfer friendly because everyone transfers there.

I have done a lot of research on this school and spoken to a lot of people who knows about the program. The program is also nationally and state accredited.

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13:1 for clinicals?! That's crazy.

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Specializes in Infection Prevention, Public Health.
A 13:1 for a clinical instructor in clinicals. They admit 120 students into their program annually.

I have done a lot of research on this school and spoken to a lot of people who knows about the program. The program is also nationally and state accredited.

Good for you! Great research. I think you have found yourself your program. Congratulations. Borrow as little money as possible. Smart of you to get your prerequisite courses done in advance and on the cheap.

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13:1 for clinicals?! That's crazy

How so? That is what the nursing advisor told me when I went to their orientation last Tuesday. I'm even looking at the documents as I type this, and it says exactly that.

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Specializes in Infection Prevention, Public Health.

CAUTION: I didn't notice, as the other poster did, that it is 13:1 for the clinical experiences. I was thinking classroom. 13:1 is way too many students, you will never get good clinical training that way. You need to call the school and clarify that issue.

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Found what I was looking for.

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Never mind I found it:

Lewis has 210 full-time faculty members who take their students' personal and professional success to heart. The majority hold terminal degrees in their fields. Many are experienced practitioners. The student/faculty ratio is 13:1.

Sorry for the confusion. I thought the 13:1 meant students to clinical instructors.

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