
For our 2024 rankings of direct entry MSN programs, the research team at Nursing Schools Almanac compiled an extensive database of student performance on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Aspiring registered nurses in the United States must pass this examination before they may commence practice. Thus, student performance on the NCLEX-RN exam provides an excellent benchmark for comparing the relative quality of prelicensure programs.
We used our database to calculate each program’s NCLEX-RN pass rate among first-time test-takers. This is the standard program assessment metric reported by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s Division of Professional Regulation, as well as by the test’s administrator, Pearson Vue. Whenever possible, we calculated this first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate over an extensive period of time, typically the past decade of student performance. We then used this metric to rank all of Illinois’s direct entry MSN programs accordingly.
#1: Millikin University
98.2% first-time NCLEX pass rate1184 West Main Street
Decatur, Illinois 62522
https://www.millikin.edu98.2% first-time NCLEX pass rate
Direct Entry MSN
Average of 6 students graduated per year
Data analyzed from 2012 through 2021#2: Rush University
97.3% first-time NCLEX pass rate600 South Paulina Street, Suite 1080
Chicago, Illinois 60612
https://www.rushu.rush.edu97.3% first-time NCLEX pass rate
Direct Entry MSN
Average of 132 students graduated per year
Data analyzed from 2012 through 2021#3: Elmhurst University
94.4% first-time NCLEX pass rate190 Prospect Avenue
Elmhurst, Illinois 60126
https://www.elmhurst.edu94.4% first-time NCLEX pass rate
Direct Entry MSN
Average of 15 students graduated per year
Data analyzed from 2016 through 2021#4: DePaul University
89.5% first-time NCLEX pass rate990 West Fullerton Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60614
https://www.depaul.edu89.5% first-time NCLEX pass rate
Master's Entry to Nursing Practice
Average of 147 students graduated per year
Data analyzed from 2012 through 2021#5: University of Illinois Chicago
82.9% first-time NCLEX pass rate845 South Damen Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60612
https://www.uic.edu82.9% first-time NCLEX pass rate
Direct Entry MSN
Average of 57 students graduated per year
Data analyzed from 2012 through 2021#6: Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences
82.4% first-time NCLEX pass rate2122 25th Avenue
Rock Island, Illinois 61201
https://www.trinitycollegeqc.edu82.4% first-time NCLEX pass rate
Direct Entry MSN
Average of 9 students graduated per year
Data analyzed from 2020 through 2021