<p>I am a really indecisive about where I should attend college for an undergrad nursing(BSN) degree. My family is on the poorer side and I cannot afford to take out many loans. I want to go to a prestigious school, but I have heard that in the end the only thing that really matters is passing the NCLEX. I live in New York. Here are the choices I have narrowed down to:</p>
<p>UPitt- will cost roughly 10k a year OOS
Bing- ~8k a year(does anyone know if scholarships are plentiful after freshmen yr?)
stony brook- 5k/yr but requires application after 2 years</p>
<p>UPitt is supposed to be highly ranked in nursing; the curriculum places the student in nursing courses at the start of freshman year. Bing and stony have a 2 years liberal arts/2 years nursing curriculum, but bing is direct entry whereas in stony i will have to apply to nursing school during soph year. The last choice I have is attending cuny hunter(but this route requires me to apply to their nursing school after I have attended for a yr); this is the cheapest option.</p>
<p>I guess my biggest question is: Do you think it is worth it to go into debt for a nursing degree?</p>
<p>I'm not even sure if I really want to be a nurse. Please offer advice!! Thanks!!</p>
<p>Either Pitt or Bing. Which do you like better? If you like one much better, then choose that one. The ~2k difference/year will be well worth it in either direction if you have a strong opinion on the school. </p>
<p>I chose a school that’s about 4k more/year than the other school I was seriously considering when it came down to it, and I couldn’t be happier.</p>
<p>If between Pitt and Bing you don’t have a major preference, then my vote goes to Pitt. It’s much better to start the nursing curriculum sooner because it’ll get you involved and let you see how you like your major rather than making you wait until your junior year to even start your major. This is especially true if you aren’t sure about being a nurse. If you go to Pitt and hate your nursing classes in your first year, then you switch your major, no problem. At Bing, you won’t be sure how you even like nursing classes or anything until at least halfway through the fall semester of your junior year, and taking up a major then is not desirable.</p>
<p>Because SB and Hunter aren’t direct entry, I honestly wouldn’t even think about them. You don’t want to take that sort of risk if you even want to be a nurse at all and have the option of going to a direct entry school.</p>
<p>Pitt Nursing has an exceptional reputation (and the medical center and facilities are right on the undergrad campus). It’s up to you to figure out if the extra $ is worth it. I will say this though, if you aren’t sure you want to be a nurse, Pitt’s program gets you into the clinics much earlier and will let you figure that out if that is the career for you sooner, and thus give you more time to change to another career if you end up going that route.</p>
<p>Do you think if I volunteer at a hospital over the summer I will learn enough about what nurses do in order to make a decision about my own future? Maybe that way I can attend a (2yr liberal arts/2 yr nursing) program without worries of being in the wrong career path. </p>
<p>The thought of being 40k+ in debt is very frightening…</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there aren’t undergrad rankings for nursing or many such programs. The grad rankings are as close as you have. As imperfect as it is, it’s a reflection of faculty quality and reputation if nothing else, and even if you disagree with the methodology, is at least some standard by which to try to make an un-biased comparison to complement anecdotal message board posts about which school is better.</p>
<p>Actually I think I have the wrong cost of attendance for pitt. Is it 40k(including room and board) for an undergrad nursing student? Is room and board included in the finaid letter?</p>