Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Registered Nurses
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Northern Virginia Community College, Tidewater Community College, Germanna Community College, and Lord Fairfax Community College.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider James Madison, Norfolk State, Virginia State, and Old Dominion University.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Jefferson College of Health Sciences and Centura College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Virginia State, Hampton, Norfolk State, and George Mason.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Southwest Virginia Community College, Patrick Henry Community College, Danville Community College, and Jefferson College of Health Sciences.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Hampton, Eastern Mennonite University, Marymount, and Shenandoah University.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Lynchburg College, Virginia State, Eastern Mennonite University, and Hampton.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at University of Virginia, James Madison, and George Mason.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at University of Virginia and Jefferson College of Health Sciences.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Eastern Mennonite University, Jefferson College of Health Sciences, Lynchburg College, and Hampton.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Old Dominion University • Norfolk, VA
Studying Nursing (completion in 2008)
• 10/7/2011
"I loved my professors. I really liked ODU."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend on the basis that it has the best professors. Advisers are awesome too. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | There are better schools in Virginia, such as EVMS or VCU. ODU seems to be the best for the money. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Very good professors. I learned a lot from the school from their hands-on approach. |
| Instruction | 10 | We learned all we needed to start the job. I am very thankful to my professors. |
| How Difficult | 10 | The classes are flexible. The hours are not too bad either. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was a mix of two, but with an emphasis on learning from the book. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The school is very flexible and offers online classes. There were many different types of classes offered. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Our labs and school environment were good. The library situation was awful because there was a three year long project to build a new one. |
| Social Life | 5 | I was not big fan of the clubs. I really prefer to study alone but there were many organizations available. |
| Placement Services | 5 | Did not really get a lot of help getting a job from ODU. The career management center is awful in ODU. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | Group support sessions were held every Friday. We would help each other with any HW or study with exams at these sessions. |
Riverside School Of Professional Nursing • Newport News, VA
Studying Nursing (completion in 2002)
• 12/6/2011
"I got a great education from a facility with a very good reputation. I am a registered nurse and make good money for a woman."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would suggest checking that the school still has a good (95% or better) pass rate for the state board exam. Most nursing schools keep track of graduates' pass or fail score from the state board test. If the school has a bad pass rate on the state board, don't go to that school, because you will still owe them money for nothing. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | At the time I graduated, I could get a job at any hospital in the area, because Riverside had a very good reputation for putting out well-prepared nurses. Also, Riverside has some of the best cardiologists in the area. If someone you know has a heart attack, you would want them to go to Riverside. The survival rate is higher. |
| Program Quality | 10 | There was a lot of clinical experience, so when we graduated, I was more knowledgeable and had more experience on the floor than bachelor-degree-prepared nurses. Also, the school prepared us for the state board. I passed mine the first time with no problems. |
| Instruction | 10 | All the nurses had at least a bachelor's degree, and each teacher had experience in a different aspect of nursing. Each semester, we got a new set of instructors, and they shared their personal experiences. Death, illness and dying are very serious topics. |
| How Difficult | 10 | We had to know Human Anatomy and Physiology backwards and forwards. I felt like I was becoming a doctor. We had to be able to do a head-to-toe, full-body assessment, including listening to the heart, lungs and major organs. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We spent a lot of classroom time learning about diseases and then went out onto the various floors---Pediatrics, Medical/Surgical, Oncology, etc., and we did the procedures to help cure the diseases. The tests were both hands-on experiences and things we discussed in class. Some questions came from our textbooks we had to read at night. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | I was able to attend part time every other weekend and two evenings during the week, or I could attend full time, Monday through Friday, for 6-8 hours a day. If you had to switch from part time to full time or vice versa, they would allow you to do so. Also, they accepted LPNs into the second or third semester, if they could pass the placement test. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The instructors were very knowledgeable, and the hospital was right there, so we could walk right into the different clinical areas, but the labs done down in our classroom had old supplies. There were dummies, but they looked like they were from the 1950s. We had to pretend and imagine doing procedures before actually doing it on a patient. |
| Social Life | 8 | I had a very close friend in nursing school, and the teachers were nice. Some of the wealthier students seemed snotty, but otherwise, I had a good time attending school. |
| Placement Services | 10 | I was able to apply for a job at Riverside a few weeks before I graduated, and I was hired pending my graduation. They paid me and let me work on the floor as an RNA-Registered Nurse Applicant with an RN. Upon completing my state board a few months later, I got a raise. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | It was okay. Some of the students were catty, but we got together and studied for tests. We gathered at school or at someone's home. That was fun. We also had uniforms, which the school insisted on; there were strict dress code rules. |
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