by our College Data Analytics Team
This year's Best Nursing Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Plains States Region ranking looked at 71 colleges that offer a bachelor's in nursing. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality nursing programs as well as strong support for students classified as non-traditional.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the nursing program at the school, affordability, and presence of non-traditional students. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Nursing Schools for Non-Traditional Students list, to help you choose the best school for you.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
The following schools top our list of the Best Nursing Colleges for Non-Traditional Students.
Walden University has taken the #1 spot in this year's nursing ranking for non-traditional students. Walden University is a very large private for-profit school located in the large city of Minneapolis.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.1%. All 46,455 students take classes exclusively online at Walden University. 27,673 students are part time.
Capella University earned the #2 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.1%. There are approximately 38,716 students at Capella University and they are all exclusively distance learners. About 30,933 of the students at Capella University are attending part time.
The College of Saint Scholastica comes in at #3 in this year's ranking. Located in the small city of Duluth, St. Scholastica is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. St. Scholastica also took the #2 spot in our Best Colleges for Nursing in the Plains States Region rankings.
About 0.7% of St. Scholastica students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 1,006 students at St. Scholastica are exclusively online. 751 of St. Scholastica students are attending part time.
St Catherine University comes in at #4 in this year's ranking. St. Kate's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul. St. Kate's also took the #6 spot in our Best Colleges for Nursing in the Plains States Region rankings.
About 1.5% of St. Kate’s students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 1,150 students take at least one class online at St. Kate’s. There are roughly 1,608 part time students in attendance at St. Kate’s.
The #5 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Creighton University. Creighton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Omaha. Creighton also took the #1 spot in our Best Colleges for Nursing in the Plains States Region rankings.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.4%. 1,694 of Creighton students are exclusively distance learners. About 1,359 of the students at Creighton are attending part time.
MidAmerica Nazarene University landed the #6 spot in our 2021 best nursing schools for non-traditional students. Located in the large suburb of Olathe, MNU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The student loan default rate at MNU is lower than is typical, just 2.7% of students default in three years. 218 of MNU students are exclusively distance learners. There are roughly 587 part time students in attendance at MNU.
Maryville University of Saint Louis earned the #7 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, Maryville U is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population. Maryville U also took the #5 spot in our Best Colleges for Nursing in the Plains States Region rankings.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.4%. 7,202 of Maryville U students are exclusively distance learners. 6,662 of Maryville U students are attending part time.
Metropolitan State University comes in at #8 in this year's ranking. Metro State is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Saint Paul.
About 1.4% of Metro State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 2,941 students at Metro State that take at least one class online. 4,032 students are part time.
The #9 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Graceland University - Lamoni. Graceland Lamoni is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote area of Lamoni.
The student loan default rate at Graceland Lamoni is lower than is typical, just 1.5% of students default in three years. There are roughly 325 part time students in attendance at Graceland Lamoni.
Our rankings recognize University of Minnesota - Twin Cities as the #10 school in this year's rankings. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a very large student population. UMN Twin Cities did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Colleges for Nursing in the Plains States Region list.
About 0.6% of UMN Twin Cities students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 21,237 students take at least one class online at UMN Twin Cities. 13,655 of UMN Twin Cities students are attending part time.
Read full report on Nursing at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Nursing Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Plains States Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Winona State University | Winona, MN |
| 12 | Rasmussen University - Minnesota | St. Cloud, MN |
| 13 | Mount Mercy University | Cedar Rapids, IA |
| 14 | Bethel University Minnesota | Saint Paul, MN |
Explore the best for non-traditional students nursing colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Missouri | 3,224 |
| Minnesota | 6,914 |
| Iowa | 1,352 |
| Kansas | 1,454 |
| Nebraska | 1,229 |
| North Dakota | 589 |
| South Dakota | 814 |
One of 34 majors within the Health Professions area of study, Nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.
Footnotes
*Avg Cost is for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.
