2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree School for You
With 322,592 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, nursing is the #3 most popular major in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 113 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 15% Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the Plains States Region . CMU CGES is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Fayette.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CMU CGES are $6,720 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from CMU CGES carry an average student debtload of $29,850.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Grantham University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Grantham University is a moderately-sized private for-profit school located in the city of Lenexa.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Grantham University are $8,280 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Grantham University carry an average student debtload of $29,478.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Bemidji State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in the Plains States Region . Bemidji State University is a small public school located in the remote town of Bemidji.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Bemidji State University are $9,806 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Bemidji State University take out $32,595 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
Bemidji State University also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Southwest Minnesota State University is a great value for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the remote town of Marshall, Southwest Minnesota State University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southwest Minnesota State University are $9,482 per year. Nursing majors at Southwest Minnesota State University take out an average of $32,041 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Ottawa University - Kansas City helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in the Plains States Region . Ottawa University - Kansas City is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Overland Park.
Ottawa University - Kansas City undergraduate students pay an average of $12,869 in tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Ottawa University - Kansas City take out an average of $29,652 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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Mayville State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the remote area of Mayville, Mayville State University is a public college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Mayville State University are $10,756 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Mayville State University take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $33,395.
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Minot State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. MSU is a small public school located in the town of Minot.
MSU undergraduate students pay an average of $8,163 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from MSU carry an average student debtload of $27,508.
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Metropolitan State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Metro State is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Saint Paul.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Metro State are $9,394 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Metro State take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $34,517.
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Capella University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit college with a very large student population.
Capella University undergraduate students pay an average of $14,148 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Capella University carry an average student debtload of $28,936.
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Dickinson State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the remote town of Dickinson, DSU is a public college with a small student population.
DSU undergraduate students pay an average of $9,942 in tuition and fees each year.
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Herzing University - Minneapolis came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the suburb of Minneapolis, Herzing University - Minneapolis is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Herzing University - Minneapolis are $14,200 a year. Nursing majors at Herzing University - Minneapolis take out an average of $42,677 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $204, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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South Dakota State University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. South Dakota State is a large public school located in the remote town of Brookings.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South Dakota State are $12,809 per year. Nursing majors at South Dakota State take out an average of $29,938 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $162, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Chamberlain University - Missouri came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the large suburb of St. Louis, Chamberlain - Missouri is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Chamberlain - Missouri are $19,820 a year. On average, nursing graduates from Chamberlain - Missouri take out $37,103 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $256.
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With a ranking of #15, Clarkson College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their bachelor’s degree. Clarkson College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Omaha.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Clarkson College are $14,880 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Clarkson College carry an average student debtload of $38,225.
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University of South Dakota ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the town of Vermillion, USD is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at USD are $12,942 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at USD take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $31,467. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $129, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | North Dakota State University - Main Campus | Fargo, ND |
| 17 | Cox College | Springfield, MO |
| 19 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
| 20 | Rasmussen University - North Dakota | Fargo, ND |
| 21 | Winona State University | Winona, MN |
| 21 | Minnesota State University - Moorhead | Moorhead, MN |
Best Nursing Colleges by State
Explore the best nursing schools for a specific state in the Plains States region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Missouri | 6,840 |
| Minnesota | 14,890 |
| Kansas | 2,633 |
| Iowa | 2,966 |
| Nebraska | 1,908 |
| North Dakota | 976 |
| South Dakota | 1,022 |
More Nursing Rankings in the Plains States Region
Nursing Related Majors for Nursing
One of 30 majors within the area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.
Majors Similar to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Health & Medical Administrative Services | 89,359 |
| Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services | 84,492 |
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
| Allied Health Professions | 82,308 |
| Public Health | 40,596 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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