2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania
Finding the Best Nursing School for You
Nursing is the most popular major in Pennsylvania with 11,477 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for healthcare students. 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Healthcare Degree Search has created the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 90 schools in Pennsylvania to see which ones were the most popular programs for healthcare students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.
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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania
The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Nursing Colleges.
Top 15% Most Popular Nursing Schools
Our analysis found Drexel University to be the most popular school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Pennsylvania. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
On average, nursing graduates from Drexel take out $31,000 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $596, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Thomas Jefferson University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
On average, nursing graduates from Thomas Jefferson University take out $27,852 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $537, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania list. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at UPenn take out is $20,861.
Out of the 90 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Lancaster, PA College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from PA College carry an average student debt load of $26,106. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $297.
The excellent programs at Harrisburg Area Community College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Pennsylvania. HACC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Harrisburg.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at HACC take out is $29,839.
Read full report on Nursing at Harrisburg Area Community College
Duquesne University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Duquesne is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Duquesne accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $648.
With a ranking of #7, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. Pitt is a very large public school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Pitt accumulate an average of around $24,500 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $319, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
Community College of Allegheny County landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, CCAC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from CCAC carry an average student debt load of $22,851.
Full Nursing at Community College of Allegheny County Report
Holy Family University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Holy Family is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Holy Family accumulate an average of around $30,000 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $197.
Gwynedd Mercy University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Gwynedd - Mercy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Gwynedd Valley.
The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Gwynedd - Mercy take out is $35,265. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $375.
Villanova University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Villanova.
While working on their degree, nursing majors at Villanova accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $433.
Widener University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for nursing students. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Chester, Widener is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
Nursing majors at Widener take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $531.
Wilkes University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Located in the city of Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Wilkes carry an average student debt load of $31,000. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $408, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Nursing Schools in Pennsylvania award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | California University of Pennsylvania | California, PA |
| 15 | La Salle University | Philadelphia, PA |
| 16 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester, PA |
| 17 | Clarion University of Pennsylvania | Clarion, PA |
| 18 | Delaware County Community College | Media, PA |
Best Nursing Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region
Explore all the Most Popular Nursing Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| New York | 17,708 |
| Maryland | 4,104 |
| New Jersey | 5,648 |
| District of Columbia | 990 |
| Delaware | 1,267 |
Nursing Related Majors
One of 30 majors within the healthcare area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.
Nursing Concentrations
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 26 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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