Waynesburg Pros - pass rate, 85 nursing students in class, net price of $4k less a year but cons - very religious atmosphere, college is as small as student body as her HS, travel is much more difficult/expensive even driving because of the tolls on the PA Turnpike - I am guessing transport would eat up half the savings
ESU - also a great pass rate, fewer nursing students (25) but larger school by 3x of Waynesburg. The drive is easy from home, as well as from where I work (I travel up state in NJ a few days a week).
She is leaning to ESU - anything else I should consider or know??
Waynesburg: My son also was accepted and it is the cheapest of all the schools based on his merit pkg. But, I have to say that 85 head count versus the low numbers taking the NCLEX for WU (52 for 10/16-9/17 year and 40’s in prior years) is making me wonder what happened to the 30+ student difference as that seems pretty high. I don’t know if comparing 85 to 52 is comparing apples to apples since I don’t know what their prior freshman classes in nursing head counts were (could be that the nursing head counts were much lower and no cause for concern), but hmm…I definitely want to look into that further as it is purely speculation on my part right now. Waynesburg is on my list to call and ferret out more info from and freshman head count vs graduating heat count in nursing was already on my list. I’ve noticed that nursing students are tested in math each year, so I also had on my list to ask about weeding tests/methods. A plus in my mind, though, is that they do clinicals at a trauma 1 hospital. Size is also a concern for us. We still need to tour the campus along with quite a few others!
ESU: Son didn’t apply, and I’m not familiar with it.
All good points @wildfelix1 – While ESU is a much smaller nursing population, the # of students staying from freshman year and making it much higher (%).
Please also factor in the hours of driving and the wear and tear on your car of driving across PA. Winter diving across the Appalachians can also be a challenge. There is Amtrak service from Pittsburgh to Phila. I imagine there are plenty of students driving to Pittsburgh who could provide a ride.
My son always took Amtrak on breaks, so I only had to make a long drive at the beginning and end of the year when he went to college far away.
There is also Greyhound and Megabus service between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Prices vary by the date but can be much cheaper and quicker than Amtrak. My daughter took a Greyhound bus from Pittsburgh to Philly last week for $28. Total time was 5 hours and 45 minutes.
@Charliesch - I agree it is a long drive. AND it would probably mean I would incur a hotel cost when I go there and pick her up because both ways is alot of driving in one day. I agree though there are options outside the beginning and end of the year. The other thing is I think as an upperclassman she may need a car for clinicals and my husband would rather her not be too far with a car in case something (when I should say) goes wrong with it.
My son went to WVU so we are fairly aware of our options (train and megabus and even flights are not that bad) – the school does have a shuttle during major breaks though if it is like my other daughters’ school it is limited., @kidzncatz the Amtrack is fairly expensive isn’t it?? My girls have ridden the northeast corridor (on my dime) to visit their father in CT for the past 4 years and I am looking forward to the last one turning 18 let’s just say!
I am just not sure if the whole travel ordeal is worth it – trying to assess all that.
Amtrak is usually reasonably priced if you buy your tickets a month or more in advance. The ticket prices go up as fewer seats are left on a train. They do double their prices over Thanksgiving weekend. Sometimes you need to adjust your time of departure to save money. There are student and AAA discounts.
@toomanyteens I called Waynesburg today to ask some questions in an effort to compare/contrast programs where my son was accepted. I did ask about the difference in numbers, and the secretary I spoke with told me 110-120 freshman pre-nursing students (technically not direct admit and not considered nursing majors until sophomore year once prereqs and 3.3 GPA met). Sophomore year traditional BSN nursing numbers went down to about 60, so that is about half the amount. I asked for graduating numbers but she said they combine 2nd degree nursing students with the traditional BSN students in junior year so graduating total wouldn’t accurately reflect those in the traditional BSN program. Probably typical, but clinicals up to one hour away…WVU trauma level 1 hospital takes one hour.
@wildfelix1 That is good information! ESU the hospital where most clinicals take place is literally next to the nursing building on campus-- she was also accept to York this week.
For E. Stroudsburg, there also is a new small hospital 15 minutes to the west. Both major health care networks in the region now have local hospitals.
My daughter graduated from York College, so I can try to answer questions based upon what she told me. York has a very large hospital, with a regional trauma center, right across the street from the College.
@Charliesch I know that York has quite the medical facilities close by! It is a bit more pricey that ESU (this child is my 5th so the checkbook is really stretched!!). Do you have any sense for their financial aid? Daughter was offered a merit scholarship but with the $127 per credit hour additional fee for nursing it is now quite a bit more a year (after the merit) than ESU – I have no idea what they may give her from FAFSA - but historically we have not gotten anything much for any of our kids. 3 public, 1 private colleges so far.
So do you think a student could do clinicals without a car there?
My understanding is that York emphasizes merit aid, which is automatic for certain scores and GPAs. I haven’t heard about any need based aid from the college.
Are you a PA resident? If you have more than one kid in college in the same year, many people are eligible for PA state college grants. However, you need to go to a college within PA to receive a significant grant.
The college runs a shuttle bus to the hospital. However, York told my daughter that a car was needed in the fourth semester, which turned out be true. While most clinicals were at York Hospital, some were at Memorial in York, at Milton Hershey Medical Center, in Harrisburg (psych) or with a visiting nurse association. Students carpooled to Harrisburg, but they still expected everyone to do a turn of driving. The clinicals are often during odd hours when buses are not running or it is not safe to wait for one. She sometimes had to run into a hospital late at night to get info for a class on the next morning.
The extra fees at York for nursing classes mainly apply in the last 2 years.
Thanks @Charliesch - that does help! ESU has a clinical fee too for the last 2 years. It is however much less than Yorks…,., we are NJ residents. She did get her merit offer so we should probably decide based on that. I imagine the car issue is the same at ESU - many clinicals close but I am sure not all.
I am not sure! I think both can be pretty good @MACmiracle with merit aid but they are also brand new programs (as direct entry) so I understand. My daughter doesn’t have the class rank or ACT score high enough to bring the tuition (even in state) down to lower than Waynesburg or ESU but if someone does have the stats it could be less expensive for sure.
The Pocono Medical Center in E. Stroudsburg is not a large hospital, so I imagine there will be requirements to travel. To reach the new hospital at Tannersville (which also is not large) will require a car. The closest large hospital is a 30 minute drive down Rt. 33 to St Luke’s Anderson.
@Charliesch So she got a little bit more financial aid from York on top of the merit - which is bringing York into serious contention financially. Can you tell me about the $127 per credit fee for clinicals? How many credits are we talking about? THANKS!! Does your daughter like it there?
My daughter seems to have her heart set on ESU but I think we should go see York before she decides for sure. What would your daughter say that would make my daughter want to see it?
@Charliesch Last time I looked, York no longer offers automatic merit aid based just on GPA & test scores. We were also looking at York and found this has recently changed.
Laralei - thanks. That is why people should do their own research, read the fine print on official websites, and not rely too much on message boards, which may offer outdated information.
My daughter graduated from York, and works as a RN in the region. She really liked the nursing program and science classes and the clinicals… York also has a first class gym complex, and reasonably priced housing. My daughter’s decision came down to York or West Chester. What struck me was that York had facilities equal or better to those of West Chester, but had 1/2 as many students in the University.
York is small enough that it is easy to make friends. Many students hang out at one large multi-room bar next to the campus. I think my daughter had a couple hundred friends, in addition to her sorority sisters.
@Charliesch so the extra per credit hour charge - is it just for the credits that are literally for clinicals? (not the electives etc in jr/sr year)? Sorry if that sounds picky but this is our 5th kid, we are bound to have to buy her a car too by then and we try to show some level of fairness on what we are willing to spend for each of our 5 students.
We didn’t buy any of the others a car, and we are trying our best to keep the total spend on each student as close to the same as possible.