You’re welcome. I understand the stress. It’s not helped by all the other stresses we’re going through otherwise. The good news is that you have a choice between two top notch nursing schools. Top notch. Both.
Are you from New Jersey? If so, VU is certainly easier for back and forth between home and school. That’s a plus.
Boston has 4 major research hospitals in the Longwood Medical Area: Dana Farber Cancer Center, Brigham & Women’s, Beth Israel/Deaconess, and Boston Children’s. All are Harvard affiliated. BC nursing students are fortunate that they are able to get placements at these world class hospitals. So, there are always lots of BC students commuting to that complex for various clinicals. This makes logistics a lot easier for getting to and from placements as kids car pool or find other ways to travel in groups even if they’re not in the exact same buildings. Mass General is another world class hospital at which BC students get placed, but it is in a different part of the city. It is a very big hospital, so there is likely a group of students going there as well.
I suggest contacting Admissions at both colleges and request that they put you in touch with nursing students to talk to and ask questions as well as a representative of the Nursing School. I would specifically ask about the ease or difficulty of getting to and from placements. Train? Car pool? College van? Other? How many minutes does it take? How safe are the neighborhoods? Do you need a car?
I would also ask for the names of the hospitals where most students are placed. What are the numbers of students placed at each hospital? Check out those hospitals. The best hospitals will train you in best practices. You want to learn what is cutting edge, what professionals do when provided with the best equipment and the best staffing. You can always learn to compromise and adjust if you find yourself working where that’s not the case, but you’ll never know what to aspire to if you’ve never been exposed to it.
Knowing this kind of information will make a difference in your daily life and real world experience in college. It will make a difference in your professional life later on.
Best of luck in your decision. You really can’t go wrong with either one. You’re lucky to have a choice. Congratulations for having achieved such high goals.