What undergrad bsn nursing should I go to? Does school rank matter?

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Hello, so I'm a high school student who has been accepted to 3 bsn nursing colleges. My options are as follows: Stony Brook for $4,000, NYU for $20,000, and Emory University for $8,000. NYU and Emory are definitely better than Stony Brook so I'm trying to mainly decide between those two. I'm not sure which school I should go to because I'm born in New York and is definitely coming back to New York to work as a RN. Would it be better for me to stay in New York and go to NYU where I can intern in New York or will it be better for me to go to Atlanta, Georgia? I know Emory is better than NYU nationwise but I don't know if Emory has the same prestige NYU has in New York. Is it better for me to stay in my city and make connections or go to Atlanta knowing that Emory is cheaper and technically better?

Also I might decide to become a nurse anesthesiologist after college and a couple years of work.

What are your opinions on all of this?

Please help! Thank you so much!

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Specializes in NICU.

Where you go to nursing school is irrelevant to getting a nursing job, all they care about is the license. As long as the school does not have a bad reputation with the hospital, hospitals could care less what school you went to. It is not worth going into major debt to go to a so called prestige school.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

In your case, the prestige factor is unlikely to matter much in the long run. Both are good schools with good reputations. Going to school in New York might have some advantages to getting a job there ... but not knowing the New York job market ... I doubt it would be so much of an advantage to be worth all the extra money it would cost to go to school there. Don't dig yourself a deep hole of debt unless you absolutely have to -- and it sounds as if you don't have to.

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I agree with what the other two posters have already said. However, what do you mean by saying that NYU and Emory are "definitely better" than Stony Brook? (Or that Emory is "better" than NYU, for that matter.) "Better" in what way? I know that some posters here over time have said some v. positive things about the Stony Brook program. Have you looked at their NCLEX and attrition rates? Talked to faculty and students there? I would not be too quick to dismiss it, when it costs half as much as the next option. How much direct, personal research have you done on the other schools, vs. just going by the "prestige" of the names?

Which school is the best choice for you is a v. personal matter, and has little to do with national "rankings." Best wishes for your journey!

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Also, physicians are 'anesthesiologists'- the advance practice nursing role is 'anesthetist'.

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Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.
Also, physicians are 'anesthesiologists'- the advance practice nursing role is 'anesthetist'.

Bingo! You are always so right-on.

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Specializes in Postpartum, PICU.

It all depends on the college experience that you want! I'm a BSN student at NYU graduating next month. I'm also a NYC native and coming to NYU (even though I dormed) did kind of strip away that "traditional college experience". However, I don't regret it a single bit! NYU is an amazing school with a variety of resources. As far as job connections go, you can definitely make more connections in NYC hospitals if you go to NYU. We have clinical sites all over the city. Stony Brook I've heard is quite a good program too; I'm not too familiar with Emory, so someone else may have better input. Ultimately like another poster said above, the prestige of a school doesn't matter all too much. If you are sure you want to work in the city after you graduate, NYU can give you a leg up because of our close affiliation with many major city hospitals (NYP, NYU Langone, Mt Sinai...etc). Yes the job market is pretty tough in NYC so any connection would help, but NYU Langone hospital in particular retains a lot of the NYU Nursing grads over other grads. It's honestly up to you, if you want to go away for college and explore or stay here and make some connections! Best of luck in your journey.

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Don't forget to factor in the costs of going back and forth to GA. I am in NJ and my daughter was going to school in GA and the travel costs add up quickly. You also need to make sure you won't get homesick being that far away from home. GA is very different from NYC. Good Luck with your decision!

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
Where you go to nursing school is irrelevant to getting a nursing job, all they care about is the license. As long as the school does not have a bad reputation with the hospital, hospitals could care less what school you went to. It is not worth going into major debt to go to a so called prestige school.

Totally agree. If the school is accredited and doesn't have a bad reputation, then where you go is not a factor, especially if you ever plan to relocate out of the area. Once you land that first job, then where you went to school becomes a moot point unless you have some serious networking skills.

FWIW, I went to NYU for my non-nursing degree. It didn't give me any significant advantage in the job hunt or graduate school application process. Considering NYU's tuition is steep--MUCH steeper than when I went there--you may want to really think about whether accumulating that debt just for the name on the diploma would be worth it.

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Specializes in MICU RN.

In what way is NYU or Emory better than Stony Brook? I'm not on here to bash those 2 schools, but being a public university doesn't make SBU any worse. Just going off NCLEX pass rates last year SBU 97.4% vs NYU 85% passing.. I don't know how you can say Stony Brook is definitely inferior. But some posters are right that NYU might be good if you plan to work in the city, having had clinicals and connections with city hospitals whereas Stony Brook you'd connect more with Long Island and Northwell Hospitals. That said SBU, NYU are both amazing programs. I'd imagine Emory is too but have no knowledge of their curriculum!

NY State NCLEX pass rates: NYS Nursing:Nursing Programs:RN NCLEX Results: 2

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