Nursing major - does school matter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Its been discussed on here before at some length by folks who have taken nursing degrees. If you run a search it will likely turn up.

What should I search for (e.g. suggested terms)? I have not found the search function on this site to be user-friendly or helpful, but I am open to advice.

Or, if you have links to specific threads, I would appreciate you posting them.

Jesus lady, why would I have links? Why would I run a search on old threads for you? What is wrong with you? you can't do anything for yourself, clearly.

My post was helpful enough I'm not here to hold your hand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Its been discussed on here before at some length by folks who have taken nursing degrees. If you run a search it will likely turn up.

What should I search for (e.g. suggested terms)? I have not found the search function on this site to be user-friendly or helpful, but I am open to advice.

Or, if you have links to specific threads, I would appreciate you posting them.

Jesus lady, why would I have links? Why would I run a search on old threads for you? What is wrong with you? you can't do anything for yourself, clearly.

My post was helpful enough I'm not here to hold your hand.

Wow. I guess we're meeting Nurse Friendly!

[Anonymous]

There is nothing wrong with going to Georgetown for nursing school if you have the money and like the other aspects of the school. Or UMD is an excellent school but you have to apply separately for nursing school after having taken the prerequisites at UMD CP or community college.

[Anonymous]

RN here.

Cheapest school possible. It does not matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RN here.

Cheapest school possible. It does not matter.

Cheaper would be community college. But why bother with CC when a vocational nursing school is even cheaper? No distribution requirement to boot - no history, literature, philosophy in vocational schools. You just might find that the lower you go, the quality of people attending those schools are lower as well.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on the young lady's aspirations. RN from a community college, followed by a BSN from an online institution works great for the nurses that are able to successfully make that transition. However, the truth is that it takes some savvy and often some nursing connections to make that leap; many RN-prepared nurses find themselves working for years in part-time no-benefit settings in outpatient settings (home care). BSN is often a better choice. I think BSN from Georgetown is overkill; it makes more sense for women with 2nd careers who are only at the expensive institution for the "accelerated BSN" programs.

It is very important to realize that nursing is an applied profession. Classroom instruction and clinicals are only a part of the training; real-life working experience on the floor as a tech is essential.

[Anonymous]

Another RN here.
Cheapest school possible.
The students who pay $$$ for a BSN from Hopkins are fools.

(and I have a MSN and MPH from Hopkins. Save the name school for grad but even then it doesn't really matter in nursing).

[Anonymous]

Think about what else you daughter wishes to experience in college. Does she want to join an a capella group? Does she like seminar-style humanities classes? Does she want to have bright peers whom she hopefully will keep in touch with for the rest of her life? I would keep all of this in mind as well. Since her stats are so high, would she qualify for merit aid anywhere? (I know someone studying nursing at Pitt on a full ride). Look at the whole picture. I agree with moderation. Don't waste all your money on undergrad, but don't go for the absolute cheapest option either.

[Anonymous]

Nurse practitioner here. I went to a flagship midwestern state school for BSN and felt its graduates were the “feeders” for RN jobs at the reputable University Hospital where I work.

I also went to same school for my MSN. However, some of my colleagues elected to do online NP programs at less reputable institutions and still got NP jobs at the hospital largely in part to their good reputation while working there as RN.

Just my observations. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RN here.

Cheapest school possible. It does not matter.

Cheaper would be community college. But why bother with CC when a vocational nursing school is even cheaper? No distribution requirement to boot - no history, literature, philosophy in vocational schools. You just might find that the lower you go, the quality of people attending those schools are lower as well.

I received a diploma in nursing (linked directly to a hospital) and my associates in a CC together in 2.5yrs. Starting working immediately after passing the boards. My hospital paid for my BSN a year later for a 2yr commitment. Left after 4 years and worked for a travel nurse company and that company paid for my Nursing informatics master so I could run their east coast office. I make over $200K a year. I spent less than 10K on schooling.

So yes, cheapest possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RN here.

Cheapest school possible. It does not matter.

Cheaper would be community college. But why bother with CC when a vocational nursing school is even cheaper? No distribution requirement to boot - no history, literature, philosophy in vocational schools. You just might find that the lower you go, the quality of people attending those schools are lower as well.

I received a diploma in nursing (linked directly to a hospital) and my associates in a CC together in 2.5yrs. Starting working immediately after passing the boards. My hospital paid for my BSN a year later for a 2yr commitment. Left after 4 years and worked for a travel nurse company and that company paid for my Nursing informatics master so I could run their east coast office. I make over $200K a year. I spent less than 10K on schooling.

So yes, cheapest possible.

Well, I think it all depends on what you feel is the purpose of college. If the sole purpose of it is to get the credential as fast as possible so you can start working, then the “cheapest as possible” route would be fine. For our family, yes college is an important step in workforce preparation but it’s also sooo much more than that. For us, college is also about becoming well-rounded and honing skills in areas even if they don’t necessarily related to your career path, expanding your mind, being surrounded by people who are smarter than you, etc. And I want my kids to get the whole college experience thing. Even if my kids were planning to enter a field where school prestige doesn’t matter (eg nursing), I’d still strongly encourage them to seek out deeply rigorous and challenging environments where they can grow intellectually, socially, and personally. Going for the fastest and cheapest route possible because “well, we all end up in the same place anyway!” - that’s really not the kind of thing we’d encourage in our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We’ve been saving since the kids were babies and could send them to any college they want- so it’s not so much that we couldn’t afford to send her to a pricier school, more just...well, should she go to a cheaper school and then have the money leftover for a house, car, etc. if she’ll have the same job regardless?

If you want to give her a different t experience, then send her to the schools you've saved for. Also, some kids quit after the first semester. I'd rather that happen at a solid school than at a third rate school.

A friends daughter has a high end nursing degree and the family has no regrets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What state are you in? If there is a good state school there, try for that. For the more prestigious hospitals I think it does matter a bit.

No, prestigious hospitals do not care at all that she went to GMU versus Georgetown. If she passed her boards, and she has a pulse, she has a job.

This

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RN here.

Cheapest school possible. It does not matter.

Cheaper would be community college. But why bother with CC when a vocational nursing school is even cheaper? No distribution requirement to boot - no history, literature, philosophy in vocational schools. You just might find that the lower you go, the quality of people attending those schools are lower as well.

I received a diploma in nursing (linked directly to a hospital) and my associates in a CC together in 2.5yrs. Starting working immediately after passing the boards. My hospital paid for my BSN a year later for a 2yr commitment. Left after 4 years and worked for a travel nurse company and that company paid for my Nursing informatics master so I could run their east coast office. I make over $200K a year. I spent less than 10K on schooling.

So yes, cheapest possible.

Well, I think it all depends on what you feel is the purpose of college. If the sole purpose of it is to get the credential as fast as possible so you can start working, then the “cheapest as possible” route would be fine. For our family, yes college is an important step in workforce preparation but it’s also sooo much more than that. For us, college is also about becoming well-rounded and honing skills in areas even if they don’t necessarily related to your career path, expanding your mind, being surrounded by people who are smarter than you, etc. And I want my kids to get the whole college experience thing. Even if my kids were planning to enter a field where school prestige doesn’t matter (eg nursing), I’d still strongly encourage them to seek out deeply rigorous and challenging environments where they can grow intellectually, socially, and personally. Going for the fastest and cheapest route possible because “well, we all end up in the same place anyway!” - that’s really not the kind of thing we’d encourage in our kids.

Clearly you've never been to nursing school! Outside of prereqs and nursing classes, my BSN program included very little room to take any electives. In fact, we could take exactly 2 over the course of 4 years. There's no room to take art history or any other courses related to my pre-nursing and nursing majors. I agree that things may have changed, but freshman and sophomore years were filled with non-negotiable courses needed for the school of nursing. Once you got to nursing school, it was a 100% dictated curriculum. The only input the student had was around a couple of nursing electives but there's very little room for exploration of interests outside of getting in and getting out of nursing school. Seriously, if you want your kids to meander, explore, and become well-rounded, I applaud you but that's not going to happen if you go into a vocational major like nursing, engineering, etc. Liberal arts is your friend... I know because I'm shelling out 60K a year so DS can have exactly the experience you describe above because to be honest, I kinda feel like I missed that. OTOH, I did my BSN, MSN and PhD in Nursing, I love it and I make a ton of money so I guess the bright side is I can easily afford to give my kids the liberal arts route.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What state are you in? If there is a good state school there, try for that. For the more prestigious hospitals I think it does matter a bit.

No, prestigious hospitals do not care at all that she went to GMU versus Georgetown. If she passed her boards, and she has a pulse, she has a job.

This

I'm the system CNO of one of the 10 largest healthcare systems in the US.
This x 100
RN with an unencumbered license + pulse = job