Help deciding -UCF, Michigan State,Pitt, Marquette, SLU

DD is fortunate to have many options, but is finding it hard to eliminate any. We would appreciate any feedback on these and/or things she should think about. She is hoping to visit a few this month, but it would be nice to shorten the list.

She is planning to major in nursing. Here are her choices that are within our budget, listed cheapest to most expensive. Costs are per year and include tuition and room/board. We are trying to figure out if the higher ranked programs are worth the higher cost. She thinks she will probably want an NP degree at some point. Is it better to choose a less expensive BSN program so that we have money to help with an NP degree, or will the higher ranked program (Pitt or maybe SLU) offer more opportunities now and better prepare her for grad school?

UCF Honors - free tuition and room/board because of NMF. We are nervous about changes to Benaquisto but even if it only lasts one or two more years, it would still be inexpensive. Unsure about nursing school strength as it is 5 semester program that doesn’t start until junior year, while all of the other programs she is considering are longer and start earlier. They do have a high NCLEX pass rate and the strong honors college community is a positive.

Michigan State Nurse Scholar and Honors - with merit/FA cost is ~$6k/yr. Direct admit to nursing. DD is a little concerned about the sports/party school reputation. She would have liked to do a living/learning program like Lyman Briggs, but that isn’t available for nursing.

Pitt Honors - Cost ~$11k/yr if she works at a local hospital for 3 years after graduation. Seems like a very good program, but committing to 7 years instead of 4 is daunting. If she does not do the program, cost would be ~$30k/yr.

Marquette/SLU - ~$30k/yr with merit/FA. The Jesuit philosophy interests her. She enjoys liberal arts classes and these programs have room for/require these. I think she would be more likely to choose these if they were lower priced. Even though they are within our budget, she is very cost conscious.

Committing for 7 years at Pitt for an 18 year-old doesn’t sound good. Full disclosure I’m a Pitt grad and wife is a CRNA. What would the cost be if she doesn’t work there afterwards? Pitt has a great nursing program. Honors is a nice perk.

We like the Jesuit philosophy too. It sounds nice but it could be tough. If she’s doing clinical rotations and writing a ton of papers for 17th century religion that might not be enjoyable. S20 crossed-off a few Jesuit schools because of this.

Do the other schools have hospitals on-campus? Getting clinical hours can be tough. That’s why Pitt has a top nursing program.

I wouldn’t worry about the party atmosphere at MSU…parties can be found on just about all campuses. It’s what you make of it.

Thanks for the feedback. Cost for Pitt would be ~$25-30k/yr if she doesn’t work the 3 years. MSU has a hospital on campus, but at least some of the clinicals would be up to an hour away. UCF has hospitals nearby, but a 30 minute drive for clinicals isn’t uncommon. We figure that the lower cost of those two will more than cover the cost of a car, but it is true that the hospital access of Pitt leads to its higher ranking.

Tough call. What if she signed the 3 year deal and changed her mind? Would the payback be unaffordable? Maybe bank some of the tuition savings just-in case? If you’re going to pay 25-30k anyway Pitt would be great. What’s your daughter’s top 3?

I don’t know the other schools but Pitt is a probably a top 10 nursing school. We also have a large Children’s Hospital here if she’s interested in pediatrics. Working at UPMC for 3 years could give her a ton of experience in all kinds of settings.

That said, nursing is employable anywhere. After Pitt it seems like MSU and UCF are best choices. I have heard that UCF seems like a commuter school but that might changing. Worth investigating. I’m pretty sure the weather there beats all the others. Good luck.

If she doesn’t stay the 3 years, the payback makes the Pitt cost work out to ~$25-30k/yr. We would bank the tuition savings to have that option if she chooses Pitt.

Her top two choices are MSU/UCF…but I know those are only her top two because of cost. I feel like she has eliminated Pitt based on the 3 years, but I have been telling her that it is just an option she will have when she graduates, that she wouldn’t have to take it if she really doesn’t want to stay. And of MSU/UCF, she is frozen on a decision. They both have positives and negatives and she goes back and forth every few days. It makes me think that she would really prefer either Pitt or a Jesuit school, but she can’t get past the cost on those. It’s hard!

I think UCF may have a large commuter population, but it is such a large school that there is still a large resident base. The honors college has a larger out of state population than the school, so she would definitely be trying to connect with those kids. Nursing likely has quite a few commuter students.

We went through this with S20 and currently with S21. Last year it was easy. He had several really great offers but when he got into Georgia Tech I basically sent the deposit and said we’ll pay it. He didn’t argue. Lol. It’s turned out to be the best fit like I knew it would.

S21 has three really good offers but no clear winner. I keep telling him that once the schools meet our financial bar to throw out cost as a determinant. It’s all about fit at that point. You have to spend 4 years there so make it the best. He’s still pulled to the low cost school which is OK but I think he’d be a little happier at the other two. Good luck