Can’t choose between two schools

I’m having trouble deciding between two different schools. I’m a nursing major and so school #1 I’ve already gotten in directly to nursing while school #2 I got in as a pre-nursing student and would have to apply again later for the actual nursing school. However the location and environment that school #1 has does not really match my vibe and what I’m really looking for. The school is very small and there isn’t much diversity at the school. I’m not very familiar with the area because I’ve never been to it but from what I can tell, I don’t think I’ll really like the environment there. School #2 has what I’m looking for in terms of the environment. It’s in a beautiful location, the school is big but not too big, and there’s lots of diversity there. Both are pretty expensive since they are both out of state, but both are giving me scholarship money. School #2 is overall much cheaper than school #1. I’m not even sure if I really want to do nursing, or if I can even handle being a nursing major, so I don’t really know what I should do. I think I’m leaning more towards school #2 but the only thing pushing me away is that my major is not for sure there and I will have to reapply for my major again and risk not getting my major. Should I risk not getting my major and going to the school that I think will make me the happiest, or should I play it safe and go with the school where I already have my major?

First, can you share which schools? It’s OK if you don’t.

Second, can you please break that up into smaller chunks of text? Better - list the pros and cons of each school, so that other readers can look through them. It will also very likely help you get these things straight in your head.

Yeah sure. The two schools that I’m debating are University of Portland and University of Hawaii.

For University of Portland…the pros:
-was admitted directly into the nursing major
-classes are small so I’d be able to get extra help when needed
-closer to home
-got scholarship money

The cons of University of Portland is:
-not much diversity (I come from a diverse area/I’m mixed race)
-campus life is not that big
-never been to Portland so don’t know what it’s like
-very small school so hard to network and meet people
-still pretty expensive even with the scholarship money

As for University of Hawaii…the pros:
-location
-bigger school so better campus life
-much more diversity
-cheaper
-good school for science majors

Cons of University of Hawaii:
-pre-nursing right now so I have to reapply again to the nursing program
-farther from home so it’s harder to come home/see family

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It looks like the two most important factors are money and distance. You should also check how much cheaper Hawaii is after factoring in cost of living. Hawaii can be pretty expensive by way of rent and food.

Portland is a nice little city, very progressive (VERY), but, as you wrote, not very diverse (77% White). There is a lot going on in the city, though, so you wouldn’t really need to depend on campus life. However, it is also not that cheap. It is a pretty city in a very pretty area of the country (assuming that the area has not all been burned in the forest fires last year).

Expenses for travel to a from Hawaii may be an issue, but that is only for a few years, then you can move back to the mainland. Many international students come to the USA and stay here for a few years before they go back to visit or live.

While Portland is smaller, in some ways it is easier to network, since you are on the mainland, and can network off campus much more easily.

So you should calculate cost of living, including maybe one trip a year home and compare the two. You should also look at placement. How many pre-nursing students at Hawaii are accepted to nursing programs, and what grades do they need? How good is Portland at placing their graduates?

All that being said, I would lean towards Portland, because A, direct admission, B, small classrooms, and C, easier to network with people in the USA. However, if their job placement is poor, and Hawaii has good placement in nursing programs, Hawaii becomes the one I would recommend.

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Is it realistic to think that you might not do well enough, academically, to get into the nursing major at Hawaii? Based upon your past academic performance, do you really think that you’d have trouble getting into the nursing program? If so, then between the two choices, I’d go with Portland. Even though it’s 77% White, it’s not Idaho or Montana. We’re talking probably the most liberal and progressive city in the country. You could reach out to the student association for the race that you identify as, to ask the students there whether they are comfortable at U Portland.

If you think that you will, based upon past achievement, get into the nursing program without trouble at Hawaii, I’d choose that because it’s so much cheaper, not to mention that you’d be going to school in a beautiful location. Yes, flying home is gonna be expensive. You should really only plan to go home twice a year, if even that. I assume that they’re including the cost of room and board in your package, so even though rents are ridiculously high there (and they aren’t cheap in Portland either), it would at least be a fixed expense.

I’m just curious. Nursing is such a ubiquitous major. There are nursing programs EVERYWHERE, ranging from inexpensive to 80K/yr. How did you manage to wind up with just Portland and Hawaii as your choices (not that I think that either is a bad choice)?

Portland nursing has a weed out GPA of 3.0:
https://nursing.up.edu/undergraduate-program/bsn-program-of-study.html

Hawaii nursing admission is described here:
https://nursing.hawaii.edu/nursing-bachelor/bs/how-to-apply/