Try to find a nation wide ranking on undergraduate nursing schools. Is the one by Niche a good one? Thanks!
Nothing by Niche is good. The best nursing schools are the ones with the highest NCLEX pass rates. You can look that up on each school’s website.
Obviously “best” is subjective. Some qualities that helped narrow it down for my daughter were:
In state (this doesn’t seem to be a concern of yours)
Direct admit into major freshman year
Location and proximity of clinicals
NCLEX pass rate (check on the qualifications to take the test)
Gut check - were the people friendly and supportive?
US News posts a ranking of grad nursing programs, but that can be very skewed by research reputation, as opposed to undergrad teaching.
Some of the programs that seem to have a better reputation include UNC-CH, UVa, Georgetown, UCLA, U Del, U Penn, Pitt, Penn State, etc. Usually if the university has a large medical center nearby, they put a great deal of effort into having an excellent nursing program.
However, it is not worth spending a fortune for a BSN degree when there are many affordable options out there. Some universities offer large amts. of need based aid, while others emphasize merit based aid.
Some NCLEX pass rates can be skewed by policies in each college that can make it hard for many students to qualify to take the exam. If a college has a 99% pass rate, they probably have some prospective graduates who were not given a chance to take the exam.
Thanks for the reply. @bearcatfan @Charliesch
I have checked the NCLEX pass rate for a few schools. I found some low ranking schools (some CS@Charliesch have the pass rate >95%, some even 100%, while some prestigious schools such as U Pitt are below 90%. The reason may be as Charliesch mentioned. So the NCLEX rate can not tell the r@charlieschm
So I am going to combine US news ranking (MSN, DNP) , Niche ranking, NCLEX pass rate, and the COA together to make the judgement.
Don’t concentrate too much on ratings or prestige. There are many colleges out there that are not prestigious or well known, but that have excellent nursing programs with quality clinicals.
Also remember that there are many expenses in a nursing program, including the need for a car to get to clinicals, gas and insurance for the car, additional tuition fees for many nursing classes, equipment, etc. Therefore, don’t pick a college that you determine you can just barely afford - because that probably means you cannot afford it. Net cost after aid is what matters. You want to apply to enough colleges that you can compare net prices after aid.
See if you can find out the placement rate for graduates. Are they working and where?