I am thinking of applying to York’s nursing program but have heard that the area is not safe/ has high criminal rates. Also, I have heard that the community is not very good there. I’m not sure how much of this is true, but I just want to make sure that the surrounding environment is safe and that the people are friendly, as I will most likely not be staying on campus all four years if I do get accepted and choose to go to this school. Thanks!
My son applied and we visited twice. The one side of the campus borders a bad area; the other side is very nice. The majority of housing options we saw were on the nice side of campus. A friend’s son graduated from there last year and had no problems, walking to class is perfectly safe. At night, walking of campus you want to be careful, but the same can be said of the mjority of Colleges. I’ve heard good things about their nursing program.
Ok thanks so much! I appreciate it.
Be aware that you have to apply to live off campus, and few people if any get it, and usually only senior year. They try to keep people on campus all four years.
@AcidicRoyalty Thanks, I did not know that. I would not mind staying on campus for all of undergrad if they gave me enough merit aid to bring the prices down (I don’t qualify for financial aid). Are they generous with merit scholarships? Approx how much do they give? My stats are 4.0 uw gpa, 7 ap, 1520 sat, 2 varsity sports, misc. volunteering
1520 (assuming the 1600 SAT) is a really high SAT score for York. I have no idea what sort of merit they would give for that. I don’t think our school has ever had someone with such a high SAT score even apply to York… Their middle 50% is 970-1140 according to them (see link below).
Otherwise, several students from our school go there and like it. One has to watch out for theft and some areas at night, but honestly? That’s typical of a lot of colleges. I don’t think York is “special” in that way.
I googled their site to check on merit aid. They say it ranges from $4000 to $40,000 for 4 years. If that’s divided over the 4 years vs each year, it’s not much. You could do better with that SAT score.
https://www.ycp.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/faq/
York used to be very transparent with their merit, but they took it down last year (after my son applied). You would definitely get the max award. York has a pretty low overall COA (at least they did when my son applied) so the merit awards are probably not as high as some other schools where COA is higher. I forget the figure, but the required SAT is higher for the nursing program. I think they said minimum of 1200 when we were there, but honestly I don’t remember. Give them a call, they were very helpful when we were considering it.
With a 4.0 uw GPA & a 1520/1600 SAT plus 2 varsity sports. you should consider applying to about a dozen schools in order to compare merit scholarship awards.
Since one of your other threads asks about San Diego State & a Cal State school, I assume that you are from California. If so, why York, Pennsylvania ? You may want to google some info. about the community. Has a history of racial incidents.
@Publisher California direct entry nursing programs are extremely competitive. I think the OP has a good chance of being admitted to one of them. However, she should also apply to some safety schools.
Pennsylvania has over 25 direct entry nursing programs, most of which are much less competitive than the CA schools. With maximum merit at York, COA may very well be less than the cost of CA publics if room and board is included.
@hellohello24601 Contact @Charliesch (whose daughter graduated from York College) for detailed information on the nursing program, the college, and the city of York.
@NJWrestlingmom The same FAQ link to their website that I listed above shows an 1100SAT minimum for their nursing program. 
I believe it’s a competitive program, so if I were applying with just an 1100, I’d want other things supplementing my application. They are well regarded for BSN nursing in our area (students pass the needed tests), but then again, so are many other programs. I just looked up their pass rate ranking within our state. They come in at #44 of 76 places (see link scrolling to the bottom for the complete list if anyone is interested). Bloomsburg is probably the most “popular” destination for kids from our school. HACC too, but that’s just a two year program and many want four… Nursing in itself is still a very in demand major at least locally, so jobs are certainly available if one does well.
https://www.registerednursing.org/state/pennsylvania/
If the OP likes it, there’s no reason not to consider York. It just surprised me with the SAT score and I’m certainly not positive York would be their best option financially. It would all depend upon their individual merit/need based aid. Temple would be worth a consideration, but it’s not in one of the better areas of Philly if surrounding areas matters to the OP. Messiah is loved, but they’re Christian so might not be a contender. If the OP merely likes PA, they can take a deeper look at others on the list to see who might offer the best aid given their scores.
University of Pittsburgh!! One the best nursing programs in the nation. Flat out world class. You’re instate pa. With your profile it would be a great target for you and perhaps very affordable. And it’s in a very friendly city and a safe part of town. It would be a home run for you with access to one of the leading hospital networks upmc in the country.
Do yourself a big favor and Look into this.
@privatebanker Did you check that link showing passing stats from nursing schools? Pitt (#36) isn’t rated anywhere near as high as Bloomsburg (#3) and if it’s an instate student, Bloomsburg is likely to be cheaper - although with the OP’s stats, scholarships are likely. There are other good schools with better testing rates than Pitt - though Pitt beats York.
Not a nursing school but expert by any means. But pittsburgh family who are mds and that’s the general consensus.
OP. I don’t think you will have a problem with the certification exam with your ability. But listen to @creeklands advice and research all of the numbers. I do think Pitt may offer a bit more of the total college experience in the mix than the others but to each his own as they say.
Pitt is definitely a great school in general - esp for pre-meds. I agree with you that the OP shouldn’t have any trouble passing exams. They only need to decide which school fits them the best out of the 76 options (if they want to be in PA).
Wow. That many @Creekland What a country!
My first thought was that OPs stats were unusually high for York, which we wrote off early in the process of finding good fits for our twin Ds - granted we weren’t looking into nursing, which can be more competitive than a school’s other programs. The merit quoted above is for all four years, not each year, although York’s cost is quite low already.
One of our Ds is going to attend Moravian College, which has a very good nursing school and is in Bethlehem, PA across the river from Lehigh). Personally I would say that’s a much nicer area than York, and although Moravian costs more, I think a substantial merit of at least $27k per year is likely for this student.
West Chester University might also work, although I don’t know what final cost might be typical for a high stat student from out of state - I’m not sure how common that is.
@Creekland @Publisher @privatebanker @RandyErika Thank you all for your input! I merely chose York because I heard that it was the cheapest and had a pretty good nursing program. However, environment does matter a lot to me (safe environment, diverse, open minded people). I am in CA and am applying to OOS schools for direct entry nursing because I’m scared I won’t get in. If there are any schools (doesn’t have to be PA) that offer good nursing programs, are affordable (my max is paying 30k- I don’t qualify for need based money btw), and have a nice community, please let me know! I really don’t know much about this and my time’s running out haha! (upcoming senior)
@kidzncatz Thanks! I’ll message her 
Two young women in my neighborhood are nurses in prestigious Philly hospitals and making lots of money. One went to Pitt, the other West Chester. I think the one who went to Pitt had to take big loans. I think the OP is likely to get merit from West Chester but not from Pitt.
In the last admission cycle, there was a NJ dad asking questions about direct admit nursing programs. The OOS costs were low for ESU and a PSU campus in the western part of Pa. it might be worth looking that up.
St. Vincent in Latrobe has a new nursing program starting that works in cooperation with another college. With the OP’s stats, the net price would be similar or better than York’s, I think. We visited there and it was very friendly and unpretentious with strong sciences.