Expert: Todd Johnson - 5/30/2011

Question
Hi Todd, I am about to be a senior and I am really freaking out about picking the right college. I know that I want to eventually become a CRNA. Unfortunately, I am really confused about which college I should go to for my BSN. Since I live in Texas and I am in the top 10%, UT is my safety school. Unfortunately, my other two choices are both pretty expensive considering they are out of state (UWash and UCLA). Here's where I am getting freaked out. I am visiting UT right now and I really don't like it as much as I thought I would. The heat is unbearable and I DESPISE hot weather. I have been to Seattle and I LOVE the weather there. Hot weather makes me extremely tired and I love wet climates. I know weather shouldn't be a factor when picking a college, but I really want to get out of Texas. Unfortunately, my stats (at least I think) put me on edge of getting into UW and UCLA (reach school). 3.9 UWgpa, 1950 SAT, Decent ECs. Anyways, my plan hopefully is to go to UW then work as an ICU nurse in Seattle for a while, then I will move to California and apply to USCs CRNA program. The only thing that probably puts a hole in this is the cost. UW out of state is pretty expensive and my parents don't really want to pay out of state unless I get a good bit of scholarships, which with my stats, would be pretty hard. I really want to go to UW because I am sure that I would be truly happy there. Am I overlooking too much? I am feeling pretty trapped right now, of I can help it, I really do not want to go to UT. I guess I just kind of would like some input from someone who knows a good deal about college decisions about what I should do.

Thanks

Answer
Patrick,

Don't panic, there are options. First, if financial aid is an issue then out of state public colleges are probably not going to be a good option. They have limited financial aid available for in state students and in most cases almost none for out of state students.

If you don't want to stay in Texas then you should look for colleges that will have better financial aid such as private colleges. Here is a link to a page on my website that discusses financial aid. http://www.collegeadmissionspartners.com/resources/info-to-know/financial-aid-ba...  

After reading that then head over to College Navigator to find colleges that meet your needs. Here is their link:  http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/  The other site to look at is the College Board site. Their link is:  http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/index.jsp

At these sites you can look for colleges by location, major, typical test scores and other factors. Nursing is a fairly common major so you should have many options available to consider.

Find a variety of colleges that have nursing and have good financial aid either need based or merit based. And yes, location can be a consideration. It just shouldn't be the only consideration.