Which colleges should I look into for nursing?

College Majors Nursing Major
1

<p>Hey there!
So I'm a rising senior and I'm beginning to start look at colleges. (I know it's a bit late, my dad was laid off and had a heart attack-college took the back burner). So basically I'm just thinking of where I should look. Here are my stats:</p>

<p>GPA: 3.3 uw, 3.54 weighted
SAT: 780 cr, 570 math, 720 writing (2070 total, waiting on retake scores)
Extracurriculars: 2 years peer ministry, 1 year St. Vincent de Paul, 2 years SADD
Academic achievements: French Honor society, History Honor society, NHS, honor student
Volunteer work: 400 hours
Essay: about my alcoholic mother and how I learned to look within for reassurance and security in who I am. It's pretty good.</p>

<p>Any suggestions? I really like colleges in major cities, particularly Boston or New York.</p>

2

<p>I’m glad you are able to overcome some great difficulties.</p>

<p>Please take cost of living into account. It is extremely expensive to live in NYC, Boston and many other major cities. Those costs particularly rise if you need to live off-campus in later years. Even the cost of every day items can be much higher. It is less stressful to go to college in an affordable place that is accessible to a major city for weekend trips.</p>

<p>What state do you live in? Look at in-state options first. Not only are they less expensive, but some states do not let you use their state grants for out of state colleges. Also, some public colleges save many of their nursing seats for in-state students, because there is a shortage.</p>

<p>Also, take into account travel expenses. Particularly if you need to fly home over holiday weekends, the costs can rapidly rise. Ideally, you would be able to travel to home via bus or train so that you do not need your own car for all four years. You may need a car your last 2 years to get to clinicals.</p>

3

<p>You may wish to look into the pros and cons of various options in the armed services. The benefits vary from service to service. Some options involve pay while you are in college, some involve college scholarships, and other options involve loan forgiveness. Some options involve mainly reserve service, where you main serve on certain weekends and during the summer.</p>

4

<p>I live in MA. I’m considering the UMASSES, but I also want to see some outside schools.</p>

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<p>As you asked for suggestions I can offer the following:
Boston: Boston College, Northeastern
New York City: NYU, PACE
Philadelphia: Temple, Penn, Villanova, Drexel, University of Delaware (just south of Philly)
Washington, DC: Georgetown, Catholic University
As of these schools have excellent and highly rated direct entry BSN Programs.</p>

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<p>Do I even have a chance at Northeastern, Georgetown, and NYU?</p>

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<p>IMHO you have a decent chance for Northeastern, a fair chance for NYU, with Georgetown probably being a long shot. Obviously your chances would increase if you could improve your SAT Math score. Perhaps you might want to consider taking the ACT to at least see how well you would do. Just a suggestion. Good luck.</p>

8

<p>Yes, people who are better at science than math should definitely take the ACT in addition to the SAT. Most colleges will use the higher of the two tests.</p>

<p>I’m assuming your family is not in a situation to pay high tuition prices. That means you should apply to multiple in-state publics, in addition to some colleges that offer excellent need-based and/or excellent merit-based aid.</p>

<p>There are plenty of high quality nursing programs in eastern PA that are within a reasonable drive of Massachusetts. Examples include Penn State University Park, Bloomsburg, West Chester, York College and DeSales. There also is Misericordia University in NE Pa that specializes in health care education and that has a pleasant campus. They offer 50% merit scholarships. Some of the more expensive options include Drexel and U. of Scranton (each does provide merit aid).</p>

<p>Marywood’s nursing program just lost their accreditation, and last I heard East Stroudsburg University’s program was on probation.</p>

<p><a href=“http://wnep.com/2013/04/10/marywood-nursing-program-loses-accreditation/[/url]”>404 Not Found | wnep.com;

<p>There are multiple bus lines that travel from eastern PA to Manhattan, which works well for weekend trips. From the Philadelphia area, you can also take commuter trains into NYC, which are cheaper than Amtrak.</p>

<p>If you enjoy cities, I’d seriously consider Philadelphia. It does not get the attention of DC or Boston, but it is a great place to go to college. </p>

<p>NYU is infamous for horrible financial aid and a very high cost of living. Make friends with someone who is going to college in Manhattan and then go visit them on the weekends.</p>

<p>Here’s some info on state grants available from the state of Massachusetts. It appears they can only be used in certain states, and cannot be used in New York State. That is because New York does not allow their grants to be used in Massachusetts. I believe Massachusetts has another grant program that can only be used at in-state publics.</p>

<p><a href=“Office of Student Financial Assistance / Massachusetts Department of Higher Education”>Office of Student Financial Assistance / Massachusetts Department of Higher Education;

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<p>Thanks for all the good advice! I’m setting up tours for Northeastern and possibly Penn State, depending on if I can get my mom to go for it. Overprotective helicopter parent-I’m the first one off to college.</p>

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<p>Also-just got my new scores-Math is now a 620!</p>

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<p>Penn State is another university that is not known for financial aid. They have some automatic aid of about $4K a year for their selective honors college, and some $2K merit scholarships and some $2K need based aid grants, but that doesn’t mean much for out of state tuition… In addition, the nursing major costs a few thousand more per year than most other majors for the last 2 years - it is $20K a year for in-state nursing majors. Most students spend their junior or senior year at the Milton Hershey Medical Center in Hershey PA, which is about 1.5 hours from State College.</p>

<p>York College in PA. is a place that specializes in nursing and offers affordable tuition. If you qualify for their best merit aid, you might only pay $12K a year in tuition. Their room and board is also reasonable, and they have a great deal of modern on-campus housing. Their nursing facilities were recently renovated and expanded. It is an easy bus ride to spend a weekend in Baltimore. It is right across the street from a huge hospital.</p>

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<p>Thank you, I’ll look into it!</p>

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<p>My D is a rising senior at Scranton. The program is excellent, and she has received some amazing clinical experiences at multiple facilities within close proximity to campus. While the program may be more expensive than some, she was able to get some merit money. </p>

<p>The University is continuing to add significant improvements to the campus, including an outstanding new science center. They are also building new facilities for other health related majors such as Occupational Therapy & Physical Therapy.</p>

<p>The nursing professors have taken a genuine interest in her as a person, and are very supportive. This is a major benefit of a smaller program.</p>

14

<p>I’ll check into it! Does anyone know anything about Bard?</p>

15

<p>Bard is a very expensive liberal arts college, that I understand is not known for financial aid. I’d be surprised if they have a nursing program.</p>

<p>I’d start with a list of direct entry nursing programs in the states that you would like to consider. </p>

<p><a href=“https://sites.google.com/site/directadmitnursing/home[/url]”>https://sites.google.com/site/directadmitnursing/home&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Be careful not to rely too much on the GPA and test scores in that table - they may be averages for the total population, not the nursing programs, which may be more selective.</p>

<p>Then, I’d cross-check that list with colleges that meet a high percentage of need based aid. You can find that information at <a href=“http://www”>www</a>. collegeboard. com and other sites. Individual college websites may have information on automatic merit scholarships that are available for certain test scores.</p>

<p>I just did a quick search on collegeboard’s site for colleges with RN nursing programs that meet 80% or more of financial need. Some of the responses that came up: Duquesne in Pittsburgh, U Mass Dartmouth, Amherst and Lowell, U. of Hartford, SUNY Plattsburgh, U. Penn, Northeastern, Boston College, and Worcester State U.</p>

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<p>You might also look at SUNY Binghamton University. It is considered one of the top 2 SUNYs, and it is not that far from parts of Massachusetts. SUNYs have the most affordable out of state tuition among the flagship public universities in the area, at 18K a year. If you want to visit NYC, you will find a ton of Binghamton students traveling back and forth on a regular basis, who may be able to provide rides, places to crash, etc.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www2.binghamton.edu/financial-aid/pdf/educational-costs-ugrad.pdf[/url]”>http://www2.binghamton.edu/financial-aid/pdf/educational-costs-ugrad.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www2.binghamton.edu/dson/undergraduate-students/index.html[/url]”>http://www2.binghamton.edu/dson/undergraduate-students/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Bard does have a nursing program. I’m loving northeastern, it’s a flawless school with a beautiful campus, but I’m terrified I won’t get in.</p>

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<p>[Bard</a> College | Undergraduate Programs](<a href=“http://www.bard.edu/undergraduate/programs/]Bard”>http://www.bard.edu/undergraduate/programs/)</p>

<p>I just did a quick search and I couldn’t find any indication that Bard has a nursing program. Few non-Catholic liberal arts colleges have nursing programs. Bard also is not known for good financial aid.</p>

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<p>Emory also has a great nursing program.</p>

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<p>Why is college a thing that has to exist, I’d much prefer the old days when everyone just apprenticed for a few years.</p>