Ranked #2 in popularity, nursing is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
College Factual reviewed 4 schools in Hawaii to determine which ones were the best for associate degree seekers in the field of nursing. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 135 associate degrees in nursing during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Associate Degree
The nursing associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality nursing program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How much a school focuses on nursing students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - The number of nursing students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How much debt nursing students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Hawaii list, to help you choose the best school for you.
Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Nursing in Hawaii
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in nursing.
Any student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in nursing has to check out Kapiolani Community College. Kapiolani CC is a moderately-sized public college located in the large city of Honolulu.
After graduating, nursing associate recipients generally earn around $63,854 at the beginning of their careers.
Any student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in nursing has to look into University of Hawaii Maui College. Located in the city of Kahului, UH Maui College is a public university with a small student population.
Nursing associate degree recipients from University of Hawaii Maui College earn a boost of around $12,622 above the average income of nursing graduates.
Hawaii Community College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in nursing. Located in the remote town of Hilo, Hawaii CC is a public college with a small student population.
Students who graduate with their associate from the nursing program state that they receive average early career income of $57,751.
Kauai Community College is a great decision for students interested in an associate degree in nursing. Located in the town of Lihue, Kauai CC is a public college with a small student population.
Associate graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program earn about $60,307 for their early career.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).