tennis625

Hi, i am currently a high school junior and i have decided that i want to become a nurse anesthetist. that being said, i was wondering what are some of the best schools to apply/eventually go to that will give me the most opportunities in terms of working in a hospital between undergrad and grad school and actually getting into a top grad school. one of my priorities when applying to schools though is that it is about a five hour radius of new york city. i am a very good student, probably either second or third in my class of 363 (gpa uw 3.9/ w ~4.0), so right now my main concern is compiling a list of high caliber schools that i could visit in a few months. Thank you!!

fiveteens

Boston College would be one I would check out... I know that was a dream school for my D (she didn't apply because financially it would not have worked for us). Being in Boston is great for clinical experiences (Mass General, Brigham and Women's, Boston Children's...) and also a great 'college town'. As a nurse, I think your ability to do clinicals in regional or national hospitals is a high priority. Getting hired into one of those hospitals after you graduate is easier if you have a relationship (or if you've been working there while in school). If you have your sights set on becoming a CRNA, you're going to need great grades and a couple of years experience in a critical care setting.

UPenn gets high praises around here as well. I'm not sure if that fits your 5 hour criteria or not.

fiveteens

And congratulations on your great work in high school! If your scores and ECs are as impressive as your GPA and class rank, you should have many choices!!

tennis625

Thank you for your insight fiveteens! Upenn is actually closer to me than boston, so i will definately check it out! We actually visited bc for my brother a few years ago (hes a business major at villanova) and i loved it! I will definately focus on schools that have big hospitals nearby

charlieschm

Within 5 hours of NYC, yes I'd say Penn and Villanova.

Kbshark

Seton Hall University

sopranodad819

University of Delaware. You will get into their honors program and some scholarship money also.

ibnhf1

Northeastern University! i work at Tufts Medical Center and this is the nursing school that gets a lot of hospital exposure due to the coops at the top hospitals! Nursing Recruiters really respect this school.

charlieschm

If you go to Seton Hall's website, they are offering to slash their tuition to around 11K a year for better than average students who are entering fall 2012. they are also offering to freeze it for 4 years.

qdogpa

Don't want to criticize Seton Hall, but their best days are long ago...they dropped their costs because they couldn't draw applicants....for nursing there are many better alternatives...Penn, Pitt, U Del, Villanova( d1 is a nusrsing student there)...can't speak to schools in Boston area, ...perhaps Fairfield, and even Drexel...best of luck...


Just so i am clear, i attended Seton Hall as did many of my friends..not one of us has a child attending The Hall...not sour grapes, just reality

Kbshark

We looked at all of those schools. We were very unimpressed with Villanova. I am glad that your D is enjoying it, but my son felt (and I agree) there was very little diversity on campus and in particular in the nursing program. Lots of suburban girls with straight hair wearing North Face jackets and Ugg boots.

Seton Hall does have an issue with thier ratio of accepted applicants to the number of students that show up. I believe that is due to cost... Though I could be wrong...

The two real criteria for any nursing program are:

NCLEX pass rate

The quality of thier clinical experiences.

charlieschm

Yes, my son strongly considered Villanova, and we were really struck by the number of rich suburban white kids from New Jersey. It was the only selective college I visited that had few Asians. Also, their financial aid is not as good as many comparable private universities, such as Boston College. In addition, the first year dorms are packed - about half the students live in triples or converted lounges.

cecilturtle

why are we talking about someone's income level, their ethnicity, or their place of origin? what is this--Comedy Central?

BluebirdMadrid

i agree with cecilturtle. dumb things to say.

LaLigaBarca

agree--i hate when people write crap like this. maybe your sons could publish their list of schools per ratio of "rich suburban white femaleness" and "asian-ness" ratios.