Urgent! need help deciding between 2 nursing programs/colleges before August 1st

btw, is there any way to change a professor for a UDEL course. I see it has the option to switch times but not professors.

At most colleges, there is only one prof teaching a particular course at one time. If you want to change professors, you have to change times. The early morning classes often are smaller in size and easier to register for.

The online loan counseling is not difficult to complete. Get it out of the way.

Your U Del bill for tuition, room, board, and fees for the first semester is $23,868. The “pending aid” is $6,000 (1/2 of your annual merit award) plus $1,563.50 (1/2 of your annual need-based grant) plus $2,750 (1/2 of your annual student loans) for a balance due of $13,582. This is for first semester, so you will pay the same amount for 2nd semester.

Your Rutgers bill is $14,210 for first semester, less $2,750 (1/2 of your annual student loans) for a balance due of $11,460. This is about $2,100 less per semester than U Del BUT it doesn’t include room and board – and even if you’re commuting from home, you will have expenses for travel and meals on campus. You will also be spending 1-2 hours a day commuting, which can be a challenge. You may be trying to catch the bus at odd hours when service isn’t frequent. Once you’re home, do you have a quiet place to study?

It sounds like you want to go to Rutgers Newark, but you might set yourself up for success better at U Del. It really is a good school, and the transition to a less urban (but by no means isolated) area might be fun for you. This is not meant to disparage Rutgers Newark in any way but the logistics (no housing, commuting but no car) sound tough.

Talk to your dad about whether he can manage the payments for either school.

This is what i see for Rutgers so i thought it does include room and board or am i reading wrong? and thank you for your input; UDEL does sound more convenient right now. unless my dad can’t afford it then we’re in trouble.

Tuition & mandatory fees $14,970 / yr
Housing & dining $13,450 / yr
Subtotal$28,420 / yr

Federal Direct Loan - Subsidized 1 $3,500 / yr
Federal Direct Loan - Unsubsidized 2 $2,000 / yr
Total Loans Offered$5,500 / yr

Estimated total direct cost$28,420 / yr
Gift aid offered $0 / yr
Loans offered $5,500 / yr

Estimated remaining cost: $22,920 / yr

Looks like you are reading it correctly. Since it sounded like you didn’t have housing, I thought the Rutgers cost was only for tuition and fees. That makes a big difference in affordability.

Talk to your dad, as you mentioned early on that he plans to pay your costs with loans. You and he might consider how long it will be until your sister graduates (will that free up some money?), how much he is currently able to pay for her without loans, and what amounts he has already borrowed. What you don’t want is to have him borrow for Years 1 and 2, and then not be able to qualify for Years 3 and 4.

Also you might contact Rutgers Newark and ask about housing availability. It’s August so they should know if space will be available. But if money is an issue, you might ask your dad about getting a used car to help avoid some of the time and possible late-night safety issues with the bus.

Don’t get frustrated; you’ve got two good options and at least one of them is going to work out.

Students should also keep in mind that, at most colleges, they will probably need a car to get to clinicials, and factor that into their budgets. Yes, some are accessible by bus or by walking, and some students carpool (particularly for ones that are further away). However, there will be times when you need to arrive at clinicals very early in the morning, or will need to interview a patient late at night. Some sites may not be easily accessible by transit, or may occur during times of the night when you do not want to be walking alone to or from a bus stop.

My daughter needed a car starting with her fourth semester.

Often, there are also study groups in the evenings, when buses aren’t convenient.

so Im pretty confident now that I want to go to Rutgers Newark. However, if I cannot get a car, taking a bus for morning classes and in general can be extremely inconvenient. Also, I’m not sure if its too late to accept my enrollment into the school and nursing classes at this point. I would have to do math placement testing and class registration and all that stuff which idk if Ill have time to do before the fall. I may call tomorrow to ask. Thats why I might just go with UDEL.

does anyone know where I can find student to faculty ratio, percentage of students who continue to the second year, and salary earned after graduation for UDEL? I only know of Rutgers but UDEL never really mentioned it and I was told to check it out but I literally can’t find it anywhere or their rank. I mostly want to know the attrition rate for nursing like how many people stay in the program or leave.