2024 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region
Nursing is of the hottest associate degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #2 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 89 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 6,262 associate degrees in nursing during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Associate Degree
Your choice of nursing for getting your associate degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Early-Career Salaries
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their associate degree from the school. After all, your associate degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to nursing students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other nursing students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for nursing to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for nursing students working on their associate degree.
More Ways to Rank Nursing Schools
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 the Plains States Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Nursing in the Plains States Region
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in nursing. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
13 Top Plains States Region Schools for an Associate in Nursing
Every student who is interested in an associate degree in nursing needs to check out Rasmussen University - Minnesota. Located in the small city of St. Cloud, Rasmussen University - Minnesota is a private for-profit university with a small student population.
Nursing associate degree recipients from Rasmussen University - Minnesota get an earnings boost of around $4,318 over the average earnings of nursing graduates.
More information about a associate in nursing from Rasmussen University - Minnesota
35
Annual Graduates
$19,125
Median Student Debt
It is hard to beat St Luke's College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in nursing. Located in the small city of Sioux City, St Luke's College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a associate in nursing from St Luke’s College
It is difficult to beat Rasmussen University - North Dakota if you wish to pursue an associate degree in nursing. Rasmussen University - North Dakota is a fairly small private for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Fargo.
Nursing associate degree recipients from Rasmussen University - North Dakota get an earnings boost of about $4,318 over the typical earnings of nursing graduates.
More information about a associate in nursing from Rasmussen University - North Dakota
Every student who is interested in an associate degree in nursing needs to take a look at Rochester Community and Technical College. Located in the medium-sized city of Rochester, Rochester Community and Technical College is a public college with a small student population.
Nursing associate degree recipients from Rochester Community and Technical College get an earnings boost of around $8,055 above the typical earnings of nursing majors.
More information about a associate in nursing from Rochester Community and Technical College
Located in the distant town of Bolivar, Southwest Baptist University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Soon after graduating, nursing associate recipients typically make an average of $49,847 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a associate in nursing from Southwest Baptist University
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