Would you pick a school according to their pass rates?

BeccaznRN, RN · Aug 4, 2008

I would definitely pick a school according to pass rates, but it wouldn't be the only reason why I would pick the school nor would I necessarily pick the school with the highest pass rate. Pass rates matter because if the school is teaching their students well enough to pass NCLEX, then pass rates are the only thing that will reflect that. And while education is important, if you can't pass NCLEX you can't be a nurse. Your hard-earned nursing degree will look very good hanging on your wall as you sit at home with no job because you can't pass NCLEX.

I went to a school that had very high pass rates, selected students based on merit and GPA, and had a high retention rate. What I ended up getting was a great education and a first-time NCLEX pass in 75 questions. And since our program was based on GPA, we only truly lost 2-3 students throughout the program. That is why I don't believe in choosing students who meet the bare minimum requirements for entry based on a "lottery." I would be really bitter if I had to wait 2-3 years to get in a program while the school accepted students who were barely passing prereqs only to have them drop out halfway through the semester. Hence why I ended up going back to my home state and attending nursing school - I was on the wait list in California and decided to apply back home after waiting for about a year. I was accepted for the very next semester, no waiting.

carol72 · Aug 6, 2008

I would not. the pass rate for my LVN class (around the time we took the boards) was 65%. My friends & I did fine.

slsmithe · Aug 6, 2008

Absolutely. That was actually one of the biggest things I relied on when I had to choose between two schools. The school I chose ended up having a 10% higher pass rate. It's important if the school consistently has high pass rates and low drop out, because it means they are preparing the students well. I'm not saying that you won't do well in a program that has lower pass rates, or that you should choose solely on the school and not how you could do despite that. It just seems to me that it would put the odds in your favor if you chose a school that would prepare you well for the NCLEX and your future as a nurse, which is what you want!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 7, 2008

I wouldn't bestow too much credence upon NCLEX pass rates. After all, NCLEX is the most individualized experience a student will ever have prior to becoming licensed. It can be conquered, even if you had poor quality nursing instructors.

In my humble opinion, it is time for students to stop blaming their schools for their own personalized failures. Take personal accountability for the fact that you failed NCLEX 10 freaking times while the majority of your classmates are passing.

Loving.Very.Nice · Aug 9, 2008

I would have to say that it depends on what grads of that nursing program say. Can you ask any that have recently graduated?

The private LVN to RN program that I am currently in (in Northern Cal.)has recently had a great NCLEX pass rate, but 1/3 of that class is graduating. If I could do it all over again, I would look at retention rates and NCLEX pass rates. Also, I would look at how long the nursing program has been around.

hypocaffeinemia, BSN, RN · Aug 9, 2008

Pass rates are largely a myth. Most schools make you take an exit exam (see: HESI or ATI) in order to graduate and to become eligible to test. This inflates NCLEX pass rates significantly.

Here's an extreme example: 20 students in a nursing class. 19 fail the HESI. The one guy that goes on to take the NCLEX and passes allows the school to claim a 100% NCLEX pass rate.

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 9, 2008

The NCLEX pass rate is ONE of the factors I would consider, but it is not the only one. Methylene is right in that some schools artificially inflate their pass rates by only allowing those students who do well on a test that predicts NCLEX performance to actually take the NCLEX. Such a school may provide a horrible education, but be able to maintain a high pass rate that way.

So ...

You have to look at how many students are accepted into the program who go on to pass the NCLEX in their first try. That percentage will tell you a lot more about your chances of success than any other.

You also have to look at the school's admissions practices and their "flunk out" patterns. For example, Do they accept all students who meet a minimum standard (usually wait-listing them until it is their turn to enter the program) and then flunk them out early in the program if they prove not to be up to their standards? ... or ... Do they take the students' money and then flunk them out at the last semester? Are they highly selective in who they admit to the program? etc. etc. etc.

It's only when you put all that information together that you get a good picture of what is actually happening at a particular school.

benegesserit · Aug 12, 2008

If I remember your school right... (It's one I'm interested in because the program sounds interesting and I like the area) I expect that part of the problem is that you're getting castoffs from the Sac and Bay Area programs due to the lower admission standards. I know that waitlist programs in my area are suffering for similar reasons - they're the fallbacks for all the students who can't get into the more competitive programs.

Pass rates are a consideration for me, but not the only one. There is a school in my area that I'm probably not applying to due to ridiculously low pass rates. Program completion rates are going to have an impact, too - if a program has high pass rates because everyone who isn't 99% sure of passing the NCLEX is kicked out, it doesn't necessarily indicate the program is good quality.