How Much Does Nursing School Cost?

If you’re thinking about becoming a nurse but you’re not sure how to pick the right nursing school, I can confirm that cost should be a huge factor in your decision. There are honestly an overwhelming amount of nursing schools out there, so how much nursing school costs will largely vary.

Why does cost vary so much by nursing program?

In addition to the fact that there are tons of different schools out there, there are also tons of different routes you can take to become a nurse. Some of the biggest things that can impact the cost of nursing school include:

• Private vs public
• Length of the program
• Degree awarded at the end
• Location (in state vs. out of state)

Though this list is not all-inclusive, many of these things go hand in hand. For example, ADN degree programs are usually shorter than DNP programs, so they will inherently be cheaper in the end.

The degree

In my humble little opinion, the key determining factor in cost is the degree you are seeking. NurseJournal.org has a great post that discusses the differences in cost between ADN, BSN, MSN, and DNP programs. According to their article, the average cost for one full year of an ADN program was just $3,780 while the average cost for one full year of a (4-year) BSN program was $29,030. Forbes also wrote a great article on the cost of nursing school, which includes key cost differences based on degree. Their breakdown?

• ADN: $6,000 to $20,000
• BSN: $20,000 to over $100,000
• MSN: $24,000 and $100,000
• DNP: $10,000 to over $100,000

Private vs. public

The second biggest thing I would urge you to consider is private vs. public. As someone who went to a private, 2.5 year MSN program, I can tell you that I have a lot of debt. While I totally acknowledge that there are much cheaper (and maybe smarter) ways to complete your nursing education, it was truly my best option at the time. Choosing the school I did brought me so much opportunity, which I will forever be grateful for. However, if you’re looking to cut costs, you need to look into a public school. In an article published in June 2023, Nurse.org wrote

The average cost of a Bachelor’s degree ranges from $72,000 for a public university to over $104,000 at a private institution

And how about for a Masters Degree? According to that same article,

On average, the most recently available statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics show that the average cost for a graduate (masters) degree is around $48K for a public institution and over $108K at a private, non-profit school, room and board not included.

Location

I recently had a brief stint where I started looking into going back to school to obtain my DNP. As I looked for schools, I reached out to one of the programs I was very interested in located in Virginia. The cost PER CREDIT differed by $1,000.00 for out-of-state vs. in-state tuition. No thank you!

As you can see, a lot of factors go hand in hand in determining the cost of each program.

Other fees that add to total nursing school costs

• Application fees (if you’re applying to multiple institutions, which you should)!
• Health Insurance
• Books
• Uniforms
• Mandatory supplies (stethoscopes, pen lights, blood pressure cuffs)
• Rent (room and board)
• Food
• Transportation (public transit fees or gas costs)
• Application and licensure fees by the state BRN once you complete your program

So what does all this mean? A few things.

1. That (unfortunately) it’s impossible to tell you how much nursing school costs.
2. That you should do diligent research and look at the cost per credit at each program you are considering, as well as any other fees the school requires you to pay (see below).
3. If cost is the number one factor in your decision, your path to nursing might look a little different than you envisioned when you started researching nursing schools. And that’s okay!

Remember that a nurse is a nurse, and you should always be doing what’s best for you and makes the most sense for YOUR life).

Ways to keep cost down when choosing which nursing program to attend

Start your search based on the city you are interested in attending nursing school in. Then prioritize a few key things.

• Pay attention to the degree awarded. Instead of getting an MSN from the beginning, you might consider getting your ADN. When you’re done with the program, get a new grad job and then use your job to help you pay for an ADN to BSN program. Most employers have some kind of education assistance. You can then go on to obtain your MSN or DNP if that’s what you want to do. I’ve detailed this all in my post What Education is Needed to Become a Registered Nurse?
• Be okay with taking a bit longer to get through your nursing school education (depending on how advanced of a degree you wish to obtain in the end).
• Go public. Nurseabnormalities has a great blog post detailing choosing a public vs. a private institution. Even if you do decide to get an ADN instead of a BSN, going public instead of private could save you LOTS of bucks. Simplenursing’s article on the cost of nursing school states that “Associate Degrees in Nursing (ADN) can cost $2,000-$4,000 per year at public universities, while private universities charge up to $25,000 per year”. For the exact same degree. Pretty wild, right?
• Choose a program that is close to home (so you don’t have to worry about the extra costs of housing). Take it from me, moving is expensive. Some cities are significantly more expensive than others. Do your research!
• But also … be willing to move and be flexible in order to find the program that matches your needs. If there are no ADN programs in your area, it’s okay to look at a nearby city or state!
• Have a per diem or part time job while in school (if this is feasible). I’ve mentioned before that I didn’t work during nursing school and am genuinely glad that I didn’t. However, I know people who did who paid back their loans significantly faster than I am and didn’t stress about finances as much as I did. Talk with others in your program to see if working throughout nursing school is advised, and be honest with yourself about if this is feasible for you or not.
• Start paying back your loans before you even graduate. Again, this might not be feasible and might not be within your means. I know it wasn’t for me, especially with no income for several years as I went through a very rigorous program. You can set aside just $50.00 a month and go from there, but keep in mind that you may be giving up your in-school deferment status if you’re paying as you go. This means that you are required to pay the loans, and you don’t get to set exactly how much you pay (the government does).

I hope you found this post about how much nursing school might cost helpful. Remember to always do what’s best for you during your nursing school journey. You got this!