I’m looking for opinions/thoughts on Fairfield U, Loyola Chicago, Salve Regina, UMaine and Western Connecticut Nursing. If anyone has experience with or knows anything about the quality of these programs (the good, the bad the ugly), I’d love some feedback. Thank you for you help!!!
Have you looked up the NCLEX first time pass rates for each of these schools? That usually is one indicator about quality of program. How up to date are their SIM labs? What are the institutions where you will do your clinical rotations, are they in teaching hospitals with a diverse population? What type of career services and placements do they offer to their students? Other than Loyola, the others are in the NE area. Will transportation cost and accessibility be an issue for you to consider. Are you in-state for either Maine or Western? How affordable is the tuition at each of these? Western tends to have a larger number of students who commute, with Fairfield next in line.
Thank you ECmotherx2. We are in CT so Loyola & UMaine would be treks. We would pay instate rate for Western which makes it a real bargain. Western has a really good program but because it is VERY close to home, it loses major points with my D who wants the full college experience. UMaine offers a Flagship Match program so we would pay UCONN tuition & fees. Loved Salve’s and Western’s facilities. Labs were not a part of tour while @ Fairfield U but maybe I’ll schedule a tour. I tried to set up a shadow day @ FFLD but they won’t guarantee you’ll get a nursing student. They all have really good NCLEX pass rates, however, UMaine’s causes some concern. All schools are in the running so if anyone has gone thru/experience with programs would love to hear your thoughts.
I would suggest looking at Sacred Heart in Fairfield as well if you liked Fairfield. Both Sacred Heart and Fairfield will be opening up new state of the art nursing facilities for fall 2017. Both are expensive but also give merit money. Sacred Heart and Western CT both have top NCLEX pass rates. Here is a link if you want to look at the programs in CT. http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3143&q=388910
Western uses Danbury Hospital facilities for rotations. It is a good teaching hospital with a diverse population. I was an ER nurse at Danbury and we had many student nurses rotate through. It is a solid program. If possible and affordable, allow her to stay on campus. It is still considered more of a commuting school. Salve Regina might offer the best “college experience”, though, most of the time nursing students may not have time to fully partake!