Walden vs Spring arbor university

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Hello I have been a nurse for 5 years now. I am wanting to become a family nurse practitioner. I am in a bit of a predicament because the school I got my BSN from is nationally accredited by the CCNE but is not regionally accredited. Most graduate schools want it to be regionally accredited as well otherwise they say my BSN does not count. I have found 2 schools so far that have said they would be able to take my degree. Walden has already accepted me and I am in the process of applying to Spring Arbor University. Does anyone have experience with these programs or know which one would be better? 

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

There are past threads about both schools. You will find different opinions, there are students that have been successful in both programs and students that do not recommend both programs. You will also find people that say both programs are turning out low quality candidates. I don't have any experience with either one myself, but you can probably be successful in either program with the right preparation, experience and attitude. Good luck figuring out your plans. 

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Well I also got accepted into Simmons RN to MSN program because they don’t take my BSN so I could go that route. It is definitely the program I would prefer to do because of how everything is set up there, they have high pass rates, and they do clinical placement, but the extra cost is somewhat hard to justify. 

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

In the current climate of healthcare, having a program that does clinical placements might be well worth some money. I have seen many students with delayed graduations and changes in degree because they cannot secure a preceptor. Some end up paying for preceptor placement services, which can also be expensive. Good luck. 

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Yes I agree. I am 99% sure I am going to go with Simmons. Although it is longer and more expensive than what I had anticipated I think it is the right program for me. 

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I'm in Spring Arbor's program now. The program is OK. The professors are a lot more interactive in the classes than I have heard compared to other online programs. Some classes offered great lectures that made it feel more like in person program. They really drill in things we need to know and hold us accountable for knowing certain material. The grading is easy and I honestly wish the exams were proctored with less busy work. The clinical faculty is very difficult and does not help much with clinical placement or with issues that come up. They do provide a list of clinical sites/preceptors that are affiliated with the school, but it is up to the students to contact the sites/preceptors and find a placement.

The benefits of Spring Arbor versus Walden (I don't know much about Walden, other than it's for-profit), is that although the program is online, it is a brick-and-mortar non-profit school here in Michigan. 

I would highly recommend either 1) finding an in-person school or at least a school that helps with clinical placement and/or 2) a school that is more rigorous that will push you to better learn the material and be tested on it.

As others have said, I think being a competent NP depends on the student as much (if not more) than it does the school. Good luck!

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