Just wanted to hear other’s thoughts. D22 is nearly 100% on Pitt. But Udel is sitting in the back of her head also. She received the Pres scholarship for OOS at $15k, and Honors College. The cost is within $1k of Pitt, AND there is likelihood of in state tuition in years 3 and 4 as we have a home in DE that will really become our primary if we don’t have to stay in PA for Pitt.
Pitt seems to be the winner to me for GAP to MSN/DNP and the fact that she’d be taking her own path (DH and I are Udel grads) not to mention the ranking of Pitts BSN program.
But it is so much farther from home and thinking maybe that reality is setting in. Any thoughts or things to think through to support her?
How about proximity to clinicals? I know Pitt will be good. No clue about UDel
Farther from home ? Good. She’s going away to college, to gain that experience, not to run home every weekend!! Yea, it’s hard on mom/dad but you need to let them go….grow (yet stumble too), and ace that next phase of life.
Hi @tumagmom , I can tell you that Pitt’s nursing is competitive to get into, first off. And the program’s reputation is stellar. Have you been to campus? If not, there are specialty hospitals literally surrounding Pitt and more a 10 min bus ride away.
I believe clinical experience starts immediately in freshman year.
If you are in state, maybe merit and honors college are still to come from Pitt. We are waiting for those too.
How does “she” feel about moving that far? How much does she love Pitt/Pittsburgh? And do you and hubby want to stay in PA longer for in-state tuition? Can you swing the $43K OOS Pitt Nursing tuition if not. My D22 decided to do BSN closer to home but this fits with her personality. She is more comfortable in a city she knows and she’s very close to her brothers. S19 never comes home from Pitt even though we are 1/2 hour away so I doubt your daughter will be regularly knocking on your door. However, it is really nice when they need something and you can be there quickly.
She should also compare the curriculums. For example, Pitt BSN has a chemistry requirement and my D22’s other BSN offer (Duquesne) does not. I would visit both several more times before deciding. I would meet with Nursing faculty, see the facilities. My D took Penn State off the list after we did the drive a couple of times.
Being born and raised in Pittsburgh (but lived in No.VA for 6 years) hubby and I cannot wait to escape PA in retirement to a warmer, sunnier climate. If your daughter ends up staying in Pittsburgh long term, is it somewhere you would consider moving to? These are questions we will be pondering with #3 S24.
Thanks for the additional points to ponder! I think she’s all in for Pitt after another talk today. We have visited twice and she did love it. I think it’s just jitters about being away and all the uncertainties. (We’re moving from our home around the same time) so lots of change. I know she’ll thrive at Pitt!
Hi,
I saw some of your posts on PITT nursing.
My daughter also got acceptance from PITT. Can you please tell me experiences about PITT Nursing. We are from OOS not from PA.
Hi there. She absolutely loves Pitt. She made great friends on her floor, joined the NSA and had great professors and TAs first semester. She ended up with a 3.4 which she was happy about. Definitely worked hard, but played hard too. She loves the cohort of students very much, very diverse interests and backgrounds. Has a responsive advisor. Starting clinicals Sophomore year is something she’s excited about too! I think a lot of programs start junior year, so maybe something to consider.
Those two campuses are VERY different. Which does your daughter prefer? One is urban, and one is more suburban. Are there other features she wants in a school, like active Greek life or proximity to other activities?
Compare where clinicals are done for each school. Pitt is probably doing them at the local urban hospitals. UD is doing them at suburban hospitals like ChristianaCare and Nemours Children’s Hospital.
When do nursing classes really start? Right away or later? When are the first clinicals done? Because once students have a semester of clinicals behind them, they can get a well-paying job in a hospital.
Does the school have a living learning community for nursing students? That can be REALLY helpful.
NCLEX pass rates are important, but completely skewed the last couple years because COVID affected learning. Look at years 2019-current. Also, a brand new NCLEX is coming out this year, with a greater focus on clinical reasoning, and the pass rates will likely be affected by that.
She will likely be happy at either school and get a good education at both.
(Tip: even though the website must use “udel,” it’s frowned upon to call the University of Delaware that. It’s called UD. People on UD FB groups will jump on anyone calling it UDEL. )
NCLEX pass rates at Delaware really tanked the past two years, I assume due to COVID. Not sure what to make of that going forward. Any thoughts?
2022- 79.52%
2021- 87.03%
2020- 96.43%
2019- 96%
2018-89.35%
I know someone who goes to UD and the classes of 2021 and 2022 were SEVERELY impacted by COVID.
UD went a little overboard (and even now is still requiring COVID shots and boosters for all students, but not staff or faculty). Students were sent home four weeks into the spring 2020 semester, doing all classes online and no clinicals. Fall 2021 was still online, with reduced in person clinicals and no simulation labs, as was some of Spring 2022. Those students had less clinical hours and were supposed to be learning hands-on things virtually, which is really not possible.
UD also changed nursing curriculum with the class of 2022, changing things to more closely match the revised NCLEX that begins in 2023. Could be that the class of 2022 was more focused on the clinical reasoning skills in the 2023 NCLEX and were less prepared for the old NCLEX they took.
The class of 2023 have a mandatory class in the spring semester that is essentially an NCLEX prep class. UD will likely be back up to the usual 96% pass rate. The acceptance rate into the nursing program is only 20-25%, so these are smart kids who should be able to pass.
Several nursing schools that I am familiar with saw drops in NCLEX during the Covid years (from mid 90s down to high 80s). I personally would not worry.
I answered this question already about UD’s NCLEX pass rate dropping for 2021 and 2022, but I got some more information. This is what I was told:
In addition to the impacts of COVID on the classes of 2021 and 2022, apparently UD was using NCLEX prep software that wasn’t effective enough.
Many nursing schools subscribe to prep services for their students to help prepare them for the NCLEX. Kind of like signing up for an SAT prep class, but for NCLEX. UD was using something called UWorld. (NCLEX-RN® Test Prep - Practice Questions for the Next Gen NCLEX)
While UWorld’s website claims to be the “#1 choice for NCLEX prep,” it appears to not have done a good job preparing previous students. Some UD professors had been begging the university to switch to a better one because they didn’t think UWorld did a good job.
With the class of 2023, UD has now switched to one that is supposed to be much better, something called ATI. (NCLEX Prep - For Students | ATI) It’s supposed to include a guarantee that if the student doesn’t pass, they can do the course again.
UD nursing students will use ATI in their Spring senior year NURS 448 Clinical Reasoning class, which is essentially an NCLEX prep class. (Engage in a case-based analysis of complex clinical problems to further develop clinical reasoning skills. Clinical problems will include those that affect individuals, families, and populations as well as micro-, meso-, and macro-systems in healthcare. Areas of focus include delegation, role, leadership, management and prioritization of care, ethical dilemmas, legal responsibilities, inter-professional collaboration, and professional nursing practice. Have the opportunity to continue building problem-solving and test-taking strategies that promote NCLEX (RN licensure exam) success.)
It sounds like UD recognized that there was a problem, and have taken steps to correct it. I am guessing that UD’s pass rate will be back up to 2019/2020 levels this year or next…
Thanks so much for coming back with more information- this is really helpful. Hopefully you are right, and the change in prep software will make a difference. I imagine they are (rightly so) concerned about the lower pass rate and it should be a priority to get it back up.
Her freshman roommate was a nursing major. This year she lives in an off campus apartment with two girls from her freshman floor who are not nursing majors.
)