This is a big reason why schools like UTK are on my list because while touring there, I saw 3 separate hospitals within a 10-15 minute walk of the central campus.
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Good. Check to see first, if those are where they actually place students for clinicals and second, what the quality of those hospitals are.
To my mind, to be a safety a school should 1) be extremely likely to admit you, 2) be extremely likely to be affordable, and 3) one you would be happy to enroll in and attend for four years.
Elon, Kentucky, and TCU do not meet criteria #2, so they should not be categorized as safeties. Southern Miss will hit budget by sticker price, and UL-Lafayette will hit budget via scholarships, and I’d call both extremely likely admits for you. Do they meet criteria #3? If so, then they could be considered safeties.
Your family should double-check with UPenn’s Net Price Calculator to make sure they don’t qualify for any need-based aid, as some schools are very generous. But if they don’t qualify, then you should remove UPenn. Of the schools you categorized as a reach, I think MiamiU is the likeliest to hit budget, though UTK or UofSC might come through. Odds aren’t great at any of them, but I think it’s possible. I don’t see a path to affordability for you at UT, UNC, or UPenn.
Some other schools you may want to investigate include:
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East Carolina (NC): About 21k undergrads
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Florida A&M: HBCU of about 8k undergrads that is also in Tallahassee (like Florida State) and they share some facilities.
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Marshall (WV): About 9100 undergrads
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North Carolina A&T: An HBCU of about 12k undergrads
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Samford (AL): About 4200 undergrads
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U. of Tennessee - Chattanooga: About 10k undergrads
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U. of Alabama - Birmingham: About 12k undergrads
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U. of Alabama - Huntsville: About 7k undergrads
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U. of Arkansas: About 29k undergrads
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U. of Central Florida: About 60k undergrads
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U. of Louisville (KY): About 17k undergrads
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U. of North Carolina - Charlotte: About 25k undergrads
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U. of North Carolina - Greensboro: About 14k undergrads
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U. of South Florida: About 39k undergrads
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West Virginia U.: About 18k undergrads
I suspect most of these have a better chance of hitting budget than the majority of schools on your current list.
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You have strong application and cost matters. I suggest looking at schools that have direct admit nursing programs AND offer full scholarship.
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You would be competitive for the OOS tuition waiver at FSU but no guarantee. It keeps getting more competitive every year. FSU OOS is probably a reach nowadays. The OOS admit rate is around 10-15%.
WVU used to have a matrix with scholarship requirements. You might get the cost low enough.Their medical complex is on-campus and growing rapidly.
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My D had similar stats. She had a slightly lower GPA (3.79 unweighted), similar ACT (33 Composite, but 35 in math and 35 in science), and the same number of AP classes (the only notable difference is that she took AP Calc instead of AP Stats, which some of the most competitive schools like). We did not apply/qualify for financial aid.
My D applied to two schools on your current list:
TCU: This is a match and not a safety. My D was deferred in the EA round and accepted RD. She received $30,000/year in merit, for a total COA of $56,000. (The cost without scholarship is $86k/year.) If this is a top choice for you, I would show interest (which is “considered” in admissions there). My D did not show much interest, which may have led to the initial deferral.
UTK: I have learned that UTK is VERY formulaic in how they admit nursing students – it is all GPA and test scores (with particular emphasis on math score). I think you will be accepted. However, the earlier you apply, the better your chances. Although not rolling, the UTK information session we attended said that they begin reviewing applications as they come in, so the sooner the better. UTK merit is also formulaic, determined entirely by test scores and the UTK-recalculated GPA. The chart is on their website. I think you will qualify for the top amount, which is $18,000/year. That means the COA is around $39,000 for OOS.
Also, in response to your post about clinicals at UTK, we attended the admitted student day there, and many clinicals are far. Although there are local hospitals, it is a big nursing program, and students are placed all over.
I am sure you already know this, but you have a pretty high number of non-direct admit programs on your list. You mentioned Auburn already, but there are others: At a quick glance, if FSU is referring to Florida State, I do not believe that is a direct admit. (Florida Southern is, however.) Also, to my knowledge, Kentucky, Baylor, the University of Louisiana, and UNC are not DA. (Note: I believe Baylor also requires you to move to Dallas for clinicals.)
If you are looking to swap out a few schools or add to your list:
The University of Alabama just announced it will now be direct admit for the fall 2027 class.
Loyola NOLA is direct admit and located in a nice area of NOLA (my oldest went to Tulane, right next door). Also, we found that Jesuit schools were very generous with merit.
UNC-Greensboro is another direct-admit option in the Southeast.
Not in the Southeast, but if you are looking for warm weather, you could consider the University of Arizona and/or Arizona State University (note that the ASU DA program may not be on the main Tempe campus for all 4 years).
As others have mentioned, the University of West Virginia could be a fit, too.
Edited to add Clemson as another direct-admit school in the Southeast not on your list (although definitely on the tougher side, in terms of OOS nursing admissions)
I think that getting your COA down to $30k will be your challenge, but your high stats put you in a good position to get big merit awards from the slightly less competitive schools. Good luck!
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Clemson is not coming in at $30,000. My NJ student (3.95, 33 act, business, not direct admit nursing) was offered $10,000 a year in 2021 (highest was $12,000 and it seems to get lower), oos tuition increases yearly. I believe it’s close to $58,000 oos without merit. Great school though! 38% acceptance for oos, but I suspect nursing will be lower.
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Yes, Clemson out of state is more expensive than people think. Also, the clinicals for the traditional 4 year program on the main campus can be very, very far away and a student needs to be prepared to have her own transportation. That situation is better in the accelerated program on the Greenville campus but then you’re not getting the full rah-rah Clemson experience on campus and you’re separated in junior & senior year from the friends you made in your first 2 years.
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Yep, we took Clemson off the list because of the clinicals/Greenville issue. Same with Penn State (Hershey clinicals) and Purdue (Indianapolis clinicals). On the OP’s proposed list, Miami-Ohio and Elon might also fall into this bucket, with clinical locations requiring a move or a long drive. Nursing is such a unique major….
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So you have no need aid eligibility and you want to spend less than $30K per year?
Then your list doe not work because few hit your price point.
Southern Miss may as will UL Lafayette.
I wouldn’t even apply to any of the rest - because they won’t hit cost.
You might try Marshall U and WVU.
Good luck
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