Choosing A Nursing School - How Helpful Are Nursing School Rankings?

Rankings for nursing schools are usually based on various factors. In the United States, there are officially two sets of rankings for nursing schools, the NIH Research Funding and the U.S. News and World Report. Rankings are done to determine what the best programs and nursing schools are in the country.

Some considerations before choosing

Not just because a school is on the top rank doesn't necessarily mean it is the right school for you. Most students consider the geographical location of the school, urbane scrubs free shipping, as well as the programs offered in the school. Even if a school is higher in rank than another, the school that has a lower rank may be offering a better program or faculty in a specific field. Rankings are just a guideline to give students a general idea of what the best nursing schools are out there. It is still best to choose a nursing school that best fits your needs and interests. You should investigate your top three preferred schools and understand their strengths and weaknesses according to your requirements.

How rankings are determined

Rankings are based on both objective and subjective information gathered from academic experts, advisors, professors, school administrators, students, alumni, executives, and recruiters. The system can vary with each guide and the data are usually collected from a survey. Objective or factual information collected include the average GPA of incoming students for a given school year, the number of students who passed the national certification examination, and the job placement rate of students after graduation. Subjective information are usually gathered from survey questions such as "rate the effectiveness" of a particular program. After all the data are gathered, a formula is used to allow some factors to carry more significance or less and then tallied. Other organizations simply gather statistical information to evaluate the ranking of a school.

Ranking Master's Programs

In the US News & World Report, only nursing schools with master's programs and specialties that have received NLNAC accreditation are ranked. All nursing programs are reassessed every three years; the last assessment was done in 2007. 269 schools were surveyed. US News and World Report uses a peer-review process, surveying two or three representatives from each institution.

Potential problems with rankings

If you do not already have a shortlist of nursing schools, nursing school rankings can help you determine a shortlist or help you reassess your preferences. However, there are potential problems in rankings. One is that rankings usually emphasize statistics and numbers are not a real indication of subjective experience. Also, ranking formulas may have standards that are biased or subjective; some things that the ranking body find significant may be unimportant or negligible to you. There are also a lot of aspects of nursing schools that cannot be rated by ranking guides. Some examples include professor instruction, student life, and campus activities. Thus, while ranking guides provide a general perspective, it is still best to actually visit the campuses on your shortlist. If that's impossible, going online and checking the schools' websites can prove to be invaluable.