What is an acceptable drop-out rate???

ckh23, BSN, RN · Mar 6, 2012

I see these as big red flags. I would stay away. Go with a program that was been established and actually graduates students. There must be a reason for the 80% drop out rate.

SummitRN, BSN, RN · Mar 7, 2012

80% is ridiculous. 80% says there is something wrong with the program. They either do not properly select their students or(and) have a terrible mismatch between their quality of instruction and their expectations.

This is usually seen in for-profit schools that are looking to make a buck off students, then kick out anyone who might not pass the NCLEX in order to keep the state from axing their program.

The best school screens people on the front end then clearly communicates expectations and teaches well in support of those standards so that the student doesn't waste time and money to have their dreams crushed.

My BSN program has a 1% drop rate, but the acceptance rate was ~5%.

001000110 · Mar 12, 2012

50-80% is pretty common up here in Canada for nursing, from what I've heard. I also know it's very common in university level institutions (graduating from UWaterloo in a month).

My biochemistry class started with 300 people, 15 are in the graduating class. Competition and high drop-outs are not a bad thing, but it can be if the institution is causing it the wrong way.

FLboundBSN · Mar 12, 2012

STAY AWAY from those programs that say "get your ADN in only __ months!" I was sitting in Micro and some girl told us she went to a "school" like that that offered an ADN in __ months. She was almost done and paid about $500 per credit hour to this place, when she realized she wanted her BSN. She went to a local 4 year university and found out that NONE of the classes she took at that other "school" transferred! So now, she is at our community college, (our credit hour is still LESS THAN $100 per credit!) retaking all of her sciences so that they will transfer to the 4 year university. Those "schools", while they may SAY they are accredited, run far and run fast. You are probley much better off getting an ADN at the local community college and transferring to a 4 year for your BSN than doing one of those scam "diplomas" elsewhere. Good luck!

onepowerfullady, LPN · Mar 12, 2012

I was in a program like that one. I was one of the few that finished, however, go to a program that is already established. Save time, money, and heartache.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2012

i once taught at a very strong as program-- the faculty used to joke that it was a bsn crammed into 2 1/2 years, and we weren't far off. we also knew that the program accepted about 25% more students than we could handle, because we knew of a certainty that within three weeks we would all have students in our offices in tears because they were dropping out. we could count on losing 25% of the new students within three weeks. why?

"i always wanted to be / my mother always wanted me to be a nurse like my mother/my auntie/my pediatrician's nurse/cherry ames, but i didn't know that i had to learn so much hard science/can't stand looking at or touching naked bodies/thought it would be like on tv (this was pre-nurse jackie)/can't handle poop/can't handle vomit/wanted to do mother-baby nursing and didn't know i had to study anything else/don't want to take care of gross old people/thought it was just following doctor's orders/etc...."

these girls (and they were almost always girls) had no idea what nursing was really about. they were shocked at how much they needed to learn and take responsibility for. they were in tears because they didn't know what else they could do, having never thought of anything else.

we also had some who decided to stick it out but really weren't academically able to handle the science, math, and concepts of autonomy and nursing process, so they flunked out or withdrew. the ones that were left were generally excellent.

so, a big drop-out rate per se isn't necessarily indicative of a bad program. look also at nclex pass rates -- you can find them on line with ease.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Mar 13, 2012

the norm is about 1/3 of the class not graduating. 80% would cause the Board of Nursing to require an action plan from the school to show how this rate will be improved. I would look elsewhere till they get their act together.