If you search the college’s website, you can often find info. on extra fees for science and nursing classes. However, they are often hidden. They can easily run $3,000 a year above base tuition at many colleges for the last two years.
If a program is not direct entry, there are many more questions to ask about the difficulty of admission.
You can usually find pass rates for the RN exam for each college on each state’s nursing board website. That needs to be tied into info about how hard a college makes it before they allow a student to take the RN exam. Some of the colleges with 98% pass rates do not let many of their prospective graduates take the exam, or make them wait a year.
Hi @scholarme -
Depending on where you are looking I have started a spreadsheet with some of these questions/answers. Also good to know if nursing is test optional for SAT/ACT. And most nursing programs we have been too require early deadlines for nursing apps. We have had luck getting answers at Open Houses where they have had a specific meeting for applicants in the nursing program.
Good luck and have fun looking!
To answer your question #3 :
Colleges that are not in metro area / major city with subway / trains etc
will often stated " provide your own transportation "
that means either have a very reliable car or carpool with your nursing classmates
You have to be able to arrive on time ( no excuses during icy bad road conditions, bad snow storm, hurrinaces, severe weather etc )
some clinical sites are not on or near city’s bus route / near train stations etc,
in inner city area, in nursing homes, in homeless shelters, or 30min to one hr away in another hospital or psych ward, other smaller local hospitals, etc
That means some additional personal expenses to either
keep a car ( some apartment there are parking fees for tenents, insurances, car maintenence etc etc )
or
slightly more public transportation costs
My daughter’s nursing program told her up front that she would need a car in the 4th semester. That was helpful to plan ahead, so I could plan to give her my old car instead of trading it in. In her case, they did carpool to clinicals that were the furthest away. However, she sometimes had to run into the hospital at odd hours and late night hours to collect information needed for a morning class. She really did need her own car. Even if a hospital is on a bus route, the bus may not be running when you need to get there (including very early morning start times for clinicals). You also may need to do a clinical alongside a RN during a 12 hour shift, which means arriving or leaving during odd hours.
The one exception would be in those major cities that have reliable 24 hour public transit.
I totally agree with the above post that no matter what a car is helpful for at least Sr yr of nursing if possible . I have one d who recently graduated in May and is working as BSN now …she was lucky to have been able to carpool with friends her junior year but was glad she took a car Sr yr . Most nursing programs have a Capstone experience the last semester where the student is matched with a preceptor in an area they have chosen . The student has to follow that preceptor’s hours which could be any shift and really any day of the week. It is very helpful to have your own transportation for that . I have another d in junior yr of nursing now and she was lucky enough to have a car already for this yr. Even though her clinicals are relatively close it is much more convenient ( if possible).