Why NOT private??

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I've been on this forum for sometime now and read a lot of threads about how competitive nursing programs are and people are staying on a waitlists and are willing to travel miles and miles from home to any college they get in. I have a question, why is that? Are you only considering public schools that have huge wait lists? Why not go into private school? They have so many scholarships available that you might end up paying about 4-5 thousand difference per year. Yes, in 3 years of nursing school (if you take pre-reqs in CC), it will be 12-15 thousand difference. But don't you think it is worth it? You will have to pay around 100$ more per month for student loan, but you can be directly admitted into the program without a waitlist and possibly get a better education. Now, I am not saying that all private schools are better than public, but they do have smaller class sizes and usually better clinical placement. Student who are applying to public or private schools, what were the most influential factors that helped you make your decision?

Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day:

I'm a big fan of community colleges, at least for your prerequisites. In our area, not counting books, you run $7,500 per year (often less) depending on course load.

Thank you.

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I would never attend a private for profit school like Chamberlain. There are too many schools in my area that offer a good, solid bachelors degree. I could not be desperate enough pay that much money anyways.

I applied for a public state school BSN but was wait listed. I also applied to a private Catholic college BSN program. I was accepted there and been attending that school for almost a year. Only the last two years of the BSN program is nursing classes so I transferred in.

My advice to anyone who is attending a private college is to also transfer in if you can. I spent 2 years at a community college and saved so much money. I joined this community college's honors society and got a scholarship to my catholic university that cut my tuition in half. I am attending their nursing program for 2 years at the same rate s a state school.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
ok, thank you guys for the comments. I was talking about private non-profit school. I see that the main reason for many people is the cost of attendance. Let me crunch some numbers for you: public school I am considering is around 10,000$/year minus Pell grant; private non-profit school is 25,000$ minus 11,500 in scholarships minus Pell grant minus possible small scholarships. In that case, the difference for me will be 3,500$/year (x 3 years=11,500$) at most. School is accredited (CCNE) and approved (BON). My dilemma: the private school will offer BSN starting this Fall, so if I go there, I will be in the first batch of graduates. Could it possibly be a negative thing? Although that school has been offering RN-BSN, ADN and MSN for many years. On the other hand, public school has a wait list and around 3 students per spot. I have a 4.0 gpa, so my chances with public school are good, but I feel like private school will give me a better education. I am in the CC right now and I love small class sizes and possibility of personal interaction with my professors. Because many student on this forum were focusing more on public schools, I wanted to hear your reasons. If it is because of the financial side of it, then I completely understand. This will be my first degree and I am qualified for grants and scholarships, but if it was my 2nd or 3rd degree and I would have to pay the whole amount out of pocket, I would definitely go to public school only because of the cost.

Just for a minute, lets pretend you are in my situation and have a choice between private or public school. What would you choose considering that the difference in tuition is 3,500$/year or less and WHY would you make that choice?

I just need someone to help me look at the situation from a different perspective; I don't have friends/family in the medical field and want to make an informed decision. Thanks everyone))

Everyone has a different end game, and it is difficult to say with certainty what will or will not work best for YOU.

I chose the community college to state university route, and not simply because it is the cheapest (practically free, actually). It is the most rigorous, the most difficult to pass, and the most competitive to get into. More importantly, state schools offer internship programs with local hospitals. So, not only am I working as an LPN while getting my RN, but I will also be able to intern in a hospital and get a leg up on other new grads once I'm finished.

My biggest reason, though? Grad school. I will do whatever it takes, sleepless nights, goat sacrifices, 2am study sessions at Denny's where the waitresses have me on a coffee IV, anything to shore up my application. I go to the best school I can, regardless of wait or distance, because instant gratification will not get in my way. And when I finish my BSN, I'll be debt free. I refuse to go into debt for an undergrad that (with enough effort and dedication) can be obtained for free.

If grad school isn't your goal, then my advice would be to do whatever is most convenient so long as you have carefully studied your financials. Loans aren't pretend money, and 11,500 is not going to be fun to sign away in the future regardless of how simple it is to attain.

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Nekozuki, I agree with what you said and admire your determination.

I do have to add that internships are not set up like that everywhere. In my state, hospitals offer internships and externships to nursing students in any program, regardless of whether it is state or private school. It just has to be accredited and not for profit.

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I am currently at a CC for prerequisites and will be transferring to private, non-profit college for nursing school. My reasoning behind this was because it is cheaper to take the prerequisites at a CC and then transfer over. I would've applied to a public state school but the one in my area focuses more on community care which is something I am not interested in.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.
ok, thank you guys for the comments. I was talking about private non-profit school. I see that the main reason for many people is the cost of attendance. Let me crunch some numbers for you: public school I am considering is around 10,000$/year minus Pell grant; private non-profit school is 25,000$ minus 11,500 in scholarships minus Pell grant minus possible small scholarships. In that case, the difference for me will be 3,500$/year (x 3 years=11,500$) at most. School is accredited (CCNE) and approved (BON). My dilemma: the private school will offer BSN starting this Fall, so if I go there, I will be in the first batch of graduates. Could it possibly be a negative thing? Although that school has been offering RN-BSN, ADN and MSN for many years. On the other hand, public school has a wait list and around 3 students per spot. I have a 4.0 gpa, so my chances with public school are good, but I feel like private school will give me a better education. I am in the CC right now and I love small class sizes and possibility of personal interaction with my professors. Because many student on this forum were focusing more on public schools, I wanted to hear your reasons. If it is because of the financial side of it, then I completely understand. This will be my first degree and I am qualified for grants and scholarships, but if it was my 2nd or 3rd degree and I would have to pay the whole amount out of pocket, I would definitely go to public school only because of the cost.

Just for a minute, lets pretend you are in my situation and have a choice between private or public school. What would you choose considering that the difference in tuition is 3,500$/year or less and WHY would you make that choice?

I just need someone to help me look at the situation from a different perspective; I don't have friends/family in the medical field and want to make an informed decision. Thanks everyone))

Each situation is different. For most, a private university may not be worth it. Your situation, it might be a good route.

What's the NCLEX pass rate for their ADN program? One thing about it being a new pre-licensure BSN program is that there will be some unknowns. However, it's basically likely to be a mash up of their ADN program and their RN-BSN program.

The private universities here don't have the greatest pass rates or reputations for how they teach their students. My psych clinical instructor also taught for another school (I attend a state university, the other was a private university), and he talked a lot about how much better this program treats the instructors and students (not that it's perfect by any means).

As someone whose GPA wasn't as competitive as most, I did consider that university, but I'm glad I didn't attend. I see some of their students in clinicals, and a lot of them aren't happy with their program, but they're sticking it out for the BSN.

The public university has 3 students per spot? Ha! Ours here in CA, every single public university has at least 10 applicants per spot. I did a lot of research here when I applied, and cast a wide net (10 schools), and got into 2 programs.

You might talk to people in the private university you're considering and see what they think of the programs (since the one you want isn't available yet, you'll have to look at people in other programs).

Have you considered applying to more than one program? I recommend to most people (unless they have a 4.0 GPA and a 100% on the TEAS) that they apply to as many schools as they'll consider attending. At least then you have a good chance of getting in SOMEWHERE, and you have some CHOICE, ideally. I would cast a wider net and see what happens.

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I was talking about private non-profit school. I see that the main reason for many people is the cost of attendance. Let me crunch some numbers for you: public school I am considering is around 10,000$/year minus Pell grant; private non-profit school is 25,000$ minus 11,500 in scholarships minus Pell grant minus possible small scholarships. In that case, the difference for me will be 3,500$/year (x 3 years=11,500$) at most. School is accredited (CCNE) and approved (BON). My dilemma: the private school will offer BSN starting this Fall, so if I go there, I will be in the first batch of graduates. Could it possibly be a negative thing? Although that school has been offering RN-BSN, ADN and MSN for many years. On the other hand, public school has a wait list and around 3 students per spot. I have a 4.0 gpa, so my chances with public school are good, but I feel like private school will give me a better education. I am in the CC right now and I love small class sizes and possibility of personal interaction with my professors. Because many student on this forum were focusing more on public schools, I wanted to hear your reasons. If it is because of the financial side of it, then I completely understand. This will be my first degree and I am qualified for grants and scholarships, but if it was my 2nd or 3rd degree and I would have to pay the whole amount out of pocket, I would definitely go to public school only because of the cost.

Just for a minute, lets pretend you are in my situation and have a choice between private or public school. What would you choose considering that the difference in tuition is 3,500$/year or less and WHY would you make that choice?

I am on the more conservative on the money tip so my views may be a little far..... What if you cant find a job for 6 or more after the repayment is supposed to start. I where i live BSN are having HUGE problems finding jobs. What will you do then? What happens if you dont get enough in pell grants to keep your 3500 fig? You know the amount of aid you get changes yearly.

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The most expensive private school in my area is frowned upon by some employers.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

Some of these for-profit schools charge $40,000 for LPN. LPN is a 2-3 semster program at community colleges that generally costs less than $3000.

An ADN at a community college shouldn't cost more than 5-6k.. at one of those for-profits, it can cost upwards of $60,000. I'm sorry, but the difference is staggering. Many of the for-profit schools have no interest in graduating you, just getting all the federal loan and grant money as possible. Do your homework.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
public institution = The Ohio State University

private institution = Case Western Reserve University (Frances Payne Bolton)

for-profit institution = Hondros

A comparison with better name recognition for most of our readers outside the state of Ohio would look something like this:

public institution - State University of New York (SUNY); University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA); Florida State University (FSU)

private nonprofit institution - Harvard University; Georgetown University; Howard University; Southern Methodist University

private for-profit institution - University of Phoenix; Devry University (a.k.a. Chamberlain); ITT Technical Institute; Walden University; West Coast University

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

I am a graduate of a SUNY nursing program, and their graduates are higher regarded than those from the more expensive private colleges nearby. They are also number 2 in the state for NCLEX pass rate (after Columbia, last I heard) so they are obviously doing something right.

BTW, add Everest to the above list of private for-profit institutions. All they care about is getting your money. I never went there but know someone who did and has failed NCLEX three times with no job on the horizon.

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I attend a nonprofit well known and respected catholic university and I love it. Hospitals in the area hire many of our graduates. Yes I pay more tuition but I also get more one on one time with my instructors. Our classes are smaller and their aim is not to "weed out the weak" instead guide them to be successful nurses. Unlike some state universities and even community colleges that barely care about their students success, just because their tuition is cheaper and know that there is a line of other students waiting to get in.

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