How Are Nursing School Rankings Determined?
Posted On April 21,2016
Nursing school rankings can sometimes be confusing when you are looking for a quality nursing school program. Of course, you want to make sure that you choose the best program that will give you the educational advantage while earning your nursing degree. These rankings can give you an idea of how well a specific nursing school program measures up. You can find detailed information about a specific school and compare it with other schools. Details can include:
- Graduation rates
- Tuition
- Faculty credentials
- Reputation
Continuing your education and choosing a career path is a big decision, you should be prepared to do plenty of research. It’s important to remember a few things as you research the possibilities of enrolling in a quality nursing school program: 
- U.S. News and World Report and NIH Research Funding* are the two main sources for nursing school rankings.
- U.S. News reports on things like peer assessment and academic values, as opposed to NIH, who reports on funding and grants that a school receives.
- The information that you find within these lists should simply be a part of your more in-depth research.
How Are School Rankings Determined?
U.S. News releases an annul list of top ranking professional programs across the country that are separated into five categories:
- Medicine
- Law
- Education
- Engineering
- Business
These rankings are based on two types of information: expert opinions regarding program excellence, and statistical surveys that can give you an idea of the quality level of faculty, students and research within a particular school. For the first time this year, U.S. News has decided to rank master’s programs in nursing as well, and plans to include this new list with it’s annual release of rankings.
Where Does This Information Come From?
The information collected each year comes from two places: statistical surveys and reputation surveys. The analytical surveys are collected from nearly 1,900 different programs, and the responses from more than 13,700 reputation surveys are gathered from reputable academics and professionals and uses a complex formula to determine the significance of various factors and rank the schools accordingly.
How Can This Information Help Me?
Nursing school rankings can be used as a tool to point you in the right direction and help you choose the perfect fit when it comes to school programs. With the information contained in these lists, you can you can look up test scores and see how they stack up to other schools. This can include tests scores from:
- GMAT
- GRE
- MCAT
- LSAT
In addition, you can get an inside look at how deans view various schools in terms of quality academics, which may potentially be an important factor with job recruiters.
What Other Factors Should Influence My Decision?
There are various immeasurable factors that go along with choosing the right nursing program to start (or further) your career. Some things to also consider when doing your research:
- Course offerings
- Availability of advisers and mentors
- Career opportunities
- Location
- Campus life
- Location of campus
Combined with the nursing school rankings, you should be well on your way to choosing the best high quality program for you.
To learn more about a career as a Nurse, and whether it’s the right fit for you, schedule an appointment with Athena Career Academy today. One meeting with our Admissions counselors could help put you on the path to a successful new career that could change your life for the better.
Athena Career Academy is located at:
5203 Airport Highway
Toledo, Ohio 43615
Hours: Monday – Friday 7:30AM to 4:30PM
Phone: (419) 329 4075