For our 2024 rankings, the research team at Nursing Schools Almanac collected data on nearly 3,000 nursing schools and campuses throughout the United States. We evaluated each school on three dimensions:
Our mission at Nursing Schools Almanac is to provide aspiring nurses a detailed, comprehensive, and analytical resource for selecting their future nursing school. An integral part of this effort is our annual rankings of the best nursing schools in the country.
To provide a complete view, we collected a wealth of data on nearly 3,000 nursing schools and campuses nationwide. We then assessed each of these institutions on three critical dimensions.
For our 2024 rankings, the research team at Nursing Schools Almanac collected data on nearly 3,000 nursing schools and campuses throughout the United States. More than 1,800 of the institutions surveyed were public, including community and technical colleges, four-year colleges, and universities. We evaluated each school on three dimensions:
For our 2024 rankings, the research team at Nursing Schools Almanac collected data on nearly 3,000 nursing schools and campuses throughout the United States. More than 1,100 of the institutions surveyed were private, including vocational and career schools, liberal arts colleges, and universities. We evaluated each school on three dimensions:
For our 2024 rankings, the research team at Nursing Schools Almanac collected data on nearly 3,000 nursing schools and campuses throughout the United States. We included the following states within our New England rankings: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. We evaluated each nursing school in the region on three dimensions:
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The healthcare field is growing rapidly and there aren’t enough people to fill all of the jobs out there. With a field that wide open, there is plenty of opportunity for you to launch a career as a registered nurse (RN). It only takes two years to complete an associate’s degree in nursing (ADN), which will prepare you for the NCLEX-RN national licensure exam. After you complete the ADN and pass the exam, you’re ready to start nursing.
Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) often provide for their patients’ basic everyday needs, but they have more responsibility for their patients’ medical care than nursing assistants. As an LPN, you might help a patient eat, bathe, or get dressed, but you would also perform tasks like changing bandages, checking vitals, administering medication, and drawing blood.
If you’re aspiring to go back to nursing school, you may be wondering how to pay for it. College tuition is already expensive, and that isn’t the only cost you have to consider. There are also the costs of the application process, other registration fees, textbooks and supplies, and of course your personal living expenses.
Unlike public schools, private colleges and universities are not subsidized by the government, which means they are often more expensive. However, they are frequently viewed as more prestigious, offer a number of advantages that public universities do not, and often make up for their higher tuitions by offering scholarships and financial aid.
If you want to pursue a degree in nursing, you should consider attending a public college or university. Public colleges and universities are traditional schools that are subsidized by the government, meaning that in-state students will pay lower tuition. Thus, public schools have several advantages over private schools, especially for in-state students.
Nursing can be a great career choice for anyone interested in healthcare because there are different career paths within the profession to accommodate people with different financial resources, time constraints, and levels of education. From the quickest and least expensive nursing assistant programs to the time-intensive and expensive registered nurse programs, there is surely a nursing program to accommodate your individual needs and aspirations.
Nursing assistant
There are three basic types of careers within the nursing field: certified nursing assistants (CNAs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and registered nurses (RNs). If you are looking to launch a healthcare career in Wichita, one of these positions could suit you well.
CNAs provide for their patients' most basic care, assisting them with everyday needs such as eating, showering, and getting dressed. To become a CNA, you must complete an eight- to ten-week program and pass a certification exam. In Wichita, you could expect to earn around $22,400 per year as a CNA.
In the healthcare field, an advanced degree like a master of science in nursing (MSN) can distinguish you from other highly qualified job candidates. It also enables you to deepen your education and skill set, allowing you to pursue jobs for nursing specializations.
To become a registered nurse (RN), there are two options for pursuing your education: a two-year associate's degree program or a four-year bachelor's degree program. Although associate's degrees are less expensive and take less time, you should know that employers tend to favor more educated applicants. This gives aspiring RNs with bachelor's degrees a significant advantage in the job market over applicants who have only earned associate's degrees.
If you aspire to become a nurse, the fastest way to launch your career is to pursue an associate's degree in nursing (ADN) at a community college or technical school. Usually, associate's degrees take two years to complete for full-time students. Alternatively, many schools also have part-time programs and offer night classes. Although this approach takes longer to complete, taking classes part-time is an excellent option if you are working to put yourself through school. Tuition at community colleges is usually less expensive than at four-year universities.