2021 Best Nursing Colleges for Non-Traditional Students
640
Colleges
162,800
Bachelor's Degrees
$31,681
Avg Cost*
Finding the Best Nursing Schools for Non-Traditional Students
Nursing is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 2nd of all the majors we analyze. In <nil>, 162,800 bachelor's degrees were awarded to students with this major.
This year's Best Nursing Colleges for Non-Traditional Students ranking looked at 640 colleges that offer a bachelor's in nursing. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent nursing programs, but they also offer a lot of support to non-traditional students.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as affordability, and overall quality of the nursing program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Nursing Schools for Non-Traditional Students list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
2021 Best Nursing Schools for Non-Traditional Students in the United States
Check out the nursing programs at these schools if you want to see which ones are the best for non-traditional students.
Top 25 Nursing Schools for Non-Traditional Students
Walden University has taken the #1 spot in this year's nursing ranking for non-traditional students. Located in the city of Minneapolis, Walden University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.1%. There are approximately 46,455 students at Walden University and they are all exclusively distance learners. There are roughly 27,673 part time students in attendance at Walden University.
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University of Providence landed the #2 spot in our 2021 best nursing schools for non-traditional students. Located in the small city of Great Falls, University of Providence is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. University of Providence also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Nursing list. It's in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
The student loan default rate at University of Providence is lower than is typical, just 3.0% of students default in three years. 490 students at University of Providence are exclusively online. There are roughly 148 part time students in attendance at University of Providence.
Full Nursing at University of Providence Report
Molloy College landed the #3 spot in our 2021 best nursing schools for non-traditional students. Molloy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Rockville Centre. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, Molloy has also earned the #1 rank in our Best Colleges for Nursing ranking.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.7%. There are approximately 2,193 students at Molloy that take at least one class online. About 1,963 of the students at Molloy are attending part time.
Read full report on Nursing at Molloy College
Capella University earned the #4 spot in our 2021 rankings. Capella University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the city of Minneapolis.
About 1.1% of Capella University students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. All 38,716 students take classes exclusively online at Capella University. About 30,933 of the students at Capella University are attending part time.
Read full report on Nursing at Capella University
Thomas Jefferson University landed the #5 spot in our 2021 best nursing schools for non-traditional students. Thomas Jefferson University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia. Thomas Jefferson University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our Best Colleges for Nursing list.
The student loan default rate at Thomas Jefferson University is lower than is typical, just 0.7% of students default in three years. There are approximately 4,099 students at Thomas Jefferson University that take at least one class online. 2,287 of Thomas Jefferson University students are attending part time.
Full Nursing at Thomas Jefferson University Report
The #6 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Grand Canyon University. Grand Canyon University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the large city of Phoenix.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.5%. 79,865 students at Grand Canyon University are exclusively online. There are roughly 80,777 part time students in attendance at Grand Canyon University.
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Western Governors University earned the #7 spot in our 2021 rankings. WGU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Salt Lake City.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.7%. There are approximately 150,116 students at WGU and they are all exclusively distance learners.
Full Nursing at Western Governors University Report
California State University - Sacramento earned the #8 spot in our 2021 rankings. Sac State is a very large public school located in the city of Sacramento. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, Sac State also did well on our Best Colleges for Nursing list. It's in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The student loan default rate at Sac State is lower than is typical, just 1.7% of students default in three years. Approximately 16,876 students take at least one class online at Sac State. 7,378 of Sac State students are attending part time.
Full Nursing at California State University - Sacramento Report
Gwynedd Mercy University earned the #9 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large suburb of Gwynedd Valley, Gwynedd - Mercy is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Gwynedd - Mercy is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Nursing list.
The student loan default rate at Gwynedd - Mercy is lower than is typical, just 1.3% of students default in three years. 639 of Gwynedd - Mercy students are exclusively distance learners. 527 students are part time.
Read full report on Nursing at Gwynedd Mercy University
Azusa Pacific University earned the #10 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the suburb of Azusa, Azusa Pacific is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population. Azusa Pacific also made our Best Colleges for Nursing list, coming in at #5.
About 1.1% of Azusa Pacific students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 1,851 students at Azusa Pacific that take at least one class online. 2,771 of Azusa Pacific students are attending part time.
Full Nursing at Azusa Pacific University Report
College of Saint Elizabeth landed the #11 spot in our 2021 best nursing schools for non-traditional students. Located in the suburb of Morristown, CSE is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. CSE excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Nursing list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 4.3%. Approximately 336 students take at least one class online at CSE. 420 students are part time.
Read full report on Nursing at College of Saint Elizabeth
The #12 spot in this year's ranking belongs to California State University - East Bay. Cal State East Bay is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.
About 1.3% of Cal State East Bay students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 7,069 of Cal State East Bay students are exclusively distance learners. There are roughly 3,650 part time students in attendance at Cal State East Bay.
Read full report on Nursing at California State University - East Bay
The University of Texas at Arlington comes in at #13 in this year's ranking. Located in the large city of Arlington, UT Arlington is a public college with a very large student population. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, UT Arlington also did well on our Best Colleges for Nursing list. It's in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.4%. 17,309 students at UT Arlington are exclusively online. 22,217 students are part time.
Full Nursing at The University of Texas at Arlington Report
Adelphi University landed the #14 spot in our 2021 best nursing schools for non-traditional students. Located in the suburb of Garden City, Adelphi is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population. Adelphi also took the #4 spot in our Best Colleges for Nursing rankings.
About 1.1% of Adelphi students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 4,430 students at Adelphi that take at least one class online. 1,287 of Adelphi students are attending part time.
Read full report on Nursing at Adelphi University
Our rankings recognize Holy Family University as the #15 school in this year's rankings. Holy Family is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia. Holy Family excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Nursing list.
About 1.8% of Holy Family students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 1,624 students take at least one class online at Holy Family. 1,086 students are part time.
Full Nursing at Holy Family University Report
Sonoma State University earned the #16 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park, SSU is a public school with a medium-sized student population. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, SSU is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Nursing list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.4%. There are approximately 4,146 students at SSU that take at least one class online. There are roughly 1,263 part time students in attendance at SSU.
Full Nursing at Sonoma State University Report
Rivier University comes in at #17 in this year's ranking. Rivier is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashua.
About 1.5% of Rivier students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 733 students at Rivier are exclusively online. 1,262 students are part time.
Full Nursing at Rivier University Report
California State University - Fullerton earned the #18 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population. Cal State Fullerton excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Nursing list.
The student loan default rate at Cal State Fullerton is lower than is typical, just 0.8% of students default in three years. There are approximately 25,781 students at Cal State Fullerton that take at least one class online. There are roughly 10,634 part time students in attendance at Cal State Fullerton.
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University of Phoenix - Arizona landed the #19 spot in our 2021 best nursing schools for non-traditional students. Located in the city of Phoenix, UOPX - Arizona is a private for-profit college with a very large student population.
About 2.6% of UOPX - Arizona students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 85,576 of UOPX - Arizona students are exclusively distance learners.
Read full report on Nursing at University of Phoenix - Arizona
Thomas Edison State University earned the #20 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the city of Trenton, TESU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The student loan default rate at TESU is lower than is typical, just 1.5% of students default in three years. 9,645 of TESU students are exclusively distance learners. 9,641 students are part time.
Read full report on Nursing at Thomas Edison State University
Our rankings recognize Wilmington University as the #21 school in this year's rankings. Wilmington University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of New Castle.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.6%. 9,747 students at Wilmington University are exclusively online. 9,527 of Wilmington University students are attending part time.
Full Nursing at Wilmington University Report
The #22 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Felician University. Felician is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Lodi.
About 2.2% of Felician students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 940 students at Felician that take at least one class online. About 592 of the students at Felician are attending part time.
Read full report on Nursing at Felician University
University of Saint Joseph landed the #23 spot in our 2021 best nursing schools for non-traditional students. USJ is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of West Hartford. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, USJ also did well on our Best Colleges for Nursing list. It's in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
About 0.7% of USJ students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 442 students at USJ that take at least one class online. About 607 of the students at USJ are attending part time.
Read full report on Nursing at University of Saint Joseph
Florida National University - Main Campus landed the #24 spot in our 2021 best nursing schools for non-traditional students. Located in the large suburb of Hialeah, Florida National University - Main Campus is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
The student loan default rate at Florida National University - Main Campus is lower than is typical, just 2.4% of students default in three years. There are approximately 1,674 students at Florida National University - Main Campus that take at least one class online. 1,174 students are part time.
Read More…
The #25 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Immaculata University. Immaculata is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Immaculata. Immaculata excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Nursing list.
The student loan default rate at Immaculata is lower than is typical, just 1.0% of students default in three years. There are approximately 716 students at Immaculata that take at least one class online. 1,282 of Immaculata students are attending part time.
Read full report on Nursing at Immaculata University
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