<p>Can someone please touch on the undergraduate nursing program at Penn State University Park? I am very interested yet do not know much about it.</p>
<p>I’ve heard good things about it, though you have to spend a year at Hershey PA for clinicals and whatnot.</p>
<p>My daughter was accepted, but decided not to go. A couple thoughts.</p>
<p>Almost all students spend their 3rd or 4th year at Milton Hershey Medical Center. They provide apt. housing next door. It is great to get the experience of a huge high tech medical center, but some people miss their college friends and experiences for that year.</p>
<p>It is one of the harder majors for admittance at Penn State. You can’t do a full BSN program at any other Penn State campus, but you could do the first year at certain branches. However, if you are smart enough to get into the nursing program, you are smart enough to get into the main campus. </p>
<p>It is one of the most expensive majors at Penn State. The last 2 years of tuition is somewhere around 21K a year in-state. (A similar situation exists with U. Pitt - it is one of their most selective and expensive majors.)</p>
<p>Penn State has weak merit and need-based financial aid. The main merit aid is through entry into the Honors College, but that is very competitive and involves a bunch of additional essays. Last year, they did add some additional merit aid programs of a couple thousand dollars for a couple years.</p>
<p>My daughter was offered merit aid at 5 nursing programs at private colleges in eastern PA, and they all would have been much cheaper than Penn State. </p>
<p>Because there are so few medical facilities near State College, some of your clinicals may be in prisons or involve very long drives.</p>
<p>There is a shortage of on-campus housing at Penn State and some of the freshman housing is finally supposed to start to see some badly needed rehab.</p>