I would definitely put the direct admit programs at the top of your list for starters. Know what the criteria are for remaining in the program, but it’s usually something reasonable like a C+ in all classes.
I can share some info on Cincinnati, but my daughter was a 22 grad so it’s possibly already out of date. Clinicals are usually about 20 minutes from campus (city driving time). Clinicals start second semester sophomore year, but actual nursing classes start freshman year. It appears to be a good way to go, since you actually learn something before you are thrust upon unsuspecting elderly people (during my daughter’s time, geriatrics was the first clinical). At the end of sophomore year you can be easily hired as a PCA at the surrounding hospitals without having to complete an outside class (in-hospital training is, of course, provided). My daughter was a PCA until she landed a co-op at Cincinnati Children’s which led to her currently specialty of oncology. Cincinnati itself has many clinical sites, several of which are world class such as Children’s and UCMC, which is where Damar Hamlin was taken after suffering an on-field cardiac arrest.
It’s a program that has a lot of opportunity for those who seek it. I believe they have a very active chapter of Men in Nursing. It’s an urban campus with both pluses and minuses, and by junior year most students move off campus. Most nursing students have cars, so that enables them to live a little further out and have nicer apartments lol.
I don’t know what the NCLEX pass rate is for the schools above. I will caution that NCLEX passage rates are not a standalone statistic - the exam has changed in the last year or two, so make sure you are comparing apples to apple. Also, some programs gatekeep who can take the test - there will be a difference between programs who let every grad take it and those who make them earn a certain GPA or whatever. And the NCLEX is largely based on individual effort, since there is a fair bit of studying to be done between graduation and taking it.
I’m sure the bones of UC’s program are very similar to other DA programs. Good luck in your research, and your decision!