Hey there- I’m currently a senior in HS, trying to decide which nursing school (BSN) to choose. Both UMich and Case Western are great and they both have relatively similar costs- it’s just the different environments that I’m finding it hard to choose from.
UMICH (Net Cost about $54k) :
Pros:
Great nursing program
Well known with a great reputation
The alumni-networking community is expansive and the connections are amazing
High ranking
Great social life and school pride (this is important to me- I like support systems!)
Cons:
Size is large and competitive (I am slightly introverted)
I’m OOS and financial aid is lacking (though not that much compared to CWRU)
UMich’s School of nursing is sorta small and not that well-known compared to others like Ross (but that might just be me)
CWRU (Net Cost about $51k):
Pros:
Smaller class sizes
Has hospitals like Cleveland Clinic right next to it
Campus is more diverse- not as many in-state students
The school of nursing building looks beautiful (I would love that atmosphere)
Has more clinical hours (1,300)
Cons:
Not as highly ranked
Financial aid is just alright- even with a scholarship
the general campus is not as good-looking??? (this is only what I’ve seen from video tours- I haven’t actually gone to any college tours so this is very biased and slightly inaccurate)
Both are great schools- I keep flip-flopping between both with the May 1 deadline in only a week or two.
I’m genuinely conflicted on this- while I care about the quality of education, I also want to have a social life with school spirit and a great community.
It is not clear from the Michigan nursing major web site whether there are specific grade or GPA requirements substantially higher than 2.0 GPA and C grades to stay in the nursing major there. You may want to ask directly what grade or GPA requirements there are to stay in the nursing major there.
At Michigan they have Michigan medicine which the hospital is ranked like 5th in the country. Once your in nursing the school will become very small to you being introverted or not won’t have anything to do with the size of the institution.
Its pretty well known and Michigan is an international brand. Wear a Michigan t-shirt anywhere and someone will say “Go Blue”…
I am only pushing Michigan since their costs to you are so close. Michigan is a traditional college campus. Ann Arbor gets ranked constantly as the best city to live in with Michigan Campus the best place to be.
You will become a nurse at both of them and your less expensive options. It comes down to what type of 4 years do you want to have.
One thing I told my kids for college was that you don’t have to be the same kid you where in high school. Introverted… Great… In college try to go outside of your comfort zone a bit. Mine did and were constantly rewarded for it… Good Luck.
If you can swing it logistically, you might want to try and actually visit both campuses before you have to send in your acceptance. That might help you determine at which place you would be more comfortable being a student.