Northeastern vs UMASS Dartmouth accelerated RN programs

College Search & Selection
1

Hello,

I am in my final year of undergrad and I am currently applying to accelerated RN programs (1 year in length) to start this fall. I am having trouble deciding between UMASS Dartmouth and Northeastern University for my school of choice. I would love to go to NU due to the amazing network the school possesses, its location, and I know I will receive an outstanding nursing education with great experiences and job opportunities. However, I am just having trouble with the cost of the program-$76,000 which does not include textbooks, lab fees, exams fees or uniform fees. UMASS Dartmouth on the other hand is not located near Boston (however there is a UMASS Boston campus) and I am worried I will not receive the same network/connections to help me get a good RN job in the future. Plus UMASS charges $40,000 for tuition, which is much more affordable. I guess I’m just curious if my nursing career will be impacted significantly if i choose to go to a school in Boston or not. Should I pay more at NU for a potentially better and higher paying job right after graduation or should I attend UMASS and save my money? Thoughts?

2

$$ for me. You will have similar opportunities post grad imho. But clearly NEU is fantastic. So I’ll defer to nursing experts.

3

An RN/ADN program at a much less expensive community college is not suitable?

4

No, I’m just curious if NU will provide me with better opportunities and therefore a better job in the end.

5

I am not familiar with Umass Dartmouth but both Umass Boston and Umass Lowell have access to Boston hospitals and great programs. I hope you applied to one of them.
The job out of NU will not be higher paid. However, have done your clinical work in the Boston hospitals you will have perhaps easier time to get a job there. That point is mute though if you go to Umass Boston or Lowell because they use some of the same hospitals. Also did you price Simmons colleges? It might be somewhere in the middle between Umass and NU.

6

You may perhaps have access to better clinical sites at NEU but in the end like @am9799 you will be an RN/BSN like everyone else and the entry level pay will be the same. I’ve worked in nursing for almost 20 years and hospital based jobs don’t really seem to about connections like they are in the business world.

Take the less debt, work hard, take advantage of clinical rotations to put in hard work, show initiative and make connections there.

7

Thank you, @carachel2! I am currently leaning towards UMASS-Dartmouth, so I will probably chose that school. Thank you very much for your input.