Hello, my daughter just received her acceptance from Carthage College in Wisconsin for the direct-admit nursing BSN. Anyone have any insight/thoughts/knowledge on this college? Apparently it’s on the newer side for nursing and I’m having trouble finding information. We are in California and will likely visit but I’m trying to find more information in the meanwhile. It’s difficult to get a general idea if the college being so far away.
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Congratulations to her, direct admit spots are tough to get.
I don’t know about nursing at Carthage or how long it’s been around. She can certainly contact the department head and ask about things like size of class, NCLEX passing rate (if they’ve graduated anyone yet), etc.
Carthage has a nice campus, on Lake Michigan. Gets cold in the winter! Closest Airport is Milwaukee’s Mitchell, which is easy to navigate. The school has decent school spirit, I would say it tends to be more on the social/party side. Of course, students can avoid that if and when they want to.
Is she applying to Marquette as well?
Anything to add about Carthage or how to assess relatively new nursing programs @2plustrio? (I think you are in nursing?)
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My college best friend has a son who attends Carthage — but not nursing. They have been very happy with the college and his experience there. In particular, they have found it to be an extremely supportive environment for him academically. If you have any non-nursing questions, I’m happy to ask her.
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Thank-you for your feedback. According to their enrollment staff the NCLEX rate is 96% but I was only able to find info from a few years ago and it was 80% so that makes me a little nervous. She will be applying to Marquette as well. Thank you!
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Thank-you! I did also read elsewhere that the staff was very supportive. I just hope it’s also true for nursing! I appreciate your feedback.
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Carthage is solid for nursing. Most nursing schools NCLEX pass rates dipped during/around covid.
As with almost all nursing programs, a personal car will likely be needed once they reach clinicals.
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Hi! As others have said, Carthage is a very small school in a cold climate that offers a lot of student supports. For NCLEX, I would ask the school if they use ATI or other test prep programs to help students gauge how likely they are to pass. If the school does not offer this, but the enviroment and program seem like a good fit, I would suggest using an NCLEX prep program such as UWorld to supplement and help your student feel prepared to pass the exam. Test prep is only one part of preparation for nursing, it is equally, if not more important to learn about the quality of the clinical experiences and instructors. A visit and conversations with current students will be very important. Is she also looking at Loyola Chicago?
Congrats on the direct admit! My son has a friend from high school who is attending Carthage (not in nursing though) and having a very good experience. She was a very bright and accomplished student in high school-- full IB diploma etc. A lot of small colleges in the Upper Midwest punch above their weight academically. If they were located in more traditional regions (e.g. New England) or in locations with better weather, they would have admit rates much lower than they do. So if you can stand the weather in “flyover country” you can get a great education and at a good price too!
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Thank you for the feedback, it’s very helpful. These are things I wouldn’t have thought to ask. She will be applying to Loyola, that’s on our list as well. We will definitely be visiting Carthage. I am a little worried about the weather but if they end up being generous with merit that might be something my daughter will have to deal with lol, and she doesn’t seem worried. We don’t qualify for any need-based aid, hence why we are looking out of state.
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Thank-you, that’s very encouraging to hear. It’s not ideal weather for my Cali girl but she’s a great student and ultimately I don’t think that will deter her from getting her degree. I appreciate your point of view regarding admit rates, I hadn’t thought about it that way!
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We get MANY California students entering nursing schools in the midwest as they are such difficult admits in their home state!
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