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Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

89 Colleges
$4,694 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$36,841 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate School for You

With 84,274 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, practical nursing and nursing assistants is the #2 most popular major in the United States.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for nursing 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.

The Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region ranking is one of many tools that Nursing Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 89 schools in the Southwest Region to see which ones offered the best value undergraduate certificate programs for practical nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 15% Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools

Our analysis found Clovis Community College to be the best value school for practical nursing and nursing assistants students who want to pursue a undergraduate certificate in the Southwest Region . Clovis Community College is a small public school located in the remote town of Clovis.

Clovis Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $2,984 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that practical nursing majors at Clovis Community College take out while working on their Undergraduate Certificate is $13,102.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Clovis Community College Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend New Mexico Junior College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list. New Mexico Junior College is a small public school located in the remote town of Hobbs.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at New Mexico Junior College are $2,280 a year.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at New Mexico Junior College

#3

Panola College

Carthage, TX

Out of the 89 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Panola College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the town of Carthage, Panola College is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Panola College are $4,680 per year.

Panola College also made our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list, coming in at #2.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Panola College

#4

Amarillo College

Amarillo, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Amarillo College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list. Amarillo College is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of Amarillo.

Amarillo College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,704 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that practical nursing majors at Amarillo College take out while working on their Undergraduate Certificate is $18,169.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Amarillo College is ranked #3 for overall quality for practical nursing in the Southwest Region .

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Amarillo College

#5

Tyler Junior College

Tyler, TX

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Tyler Junior College is a great value for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their undergraduate certificate. Located in the midsize city of Tyler, Tyler Junior College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Tyler Junior College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,440 in tuition and fees each year. Practical Nursing majors at Tyler Junior College take out an average of $18,288 in student loans while working on their Undergraduate Certificate.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Tyler Junior College also did well on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Tyler Junior College Report

#6

Victoria College

Victoria, TX

Victoria College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list. Victoria College is a small public school located in the small city of Victoria.

Victoria College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,872 in tuition and fees each year. Practical Nursing majors at Victoria College take out an average of $15,078 in student loans while working on their Undergraduate Certificate.

In addition to its great value ranking, Victoria College is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Victoria College Report

#7

South Plains College

Levelland, TX

With a ranking of #7, South Plains College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for practical nursing and nursing assistants students working on their undergraduate certificate. Located in the distant town of Levelland, South Plains College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at South Plains College are $4,276 a year. After completing their Undergraduate Certificate, practical nursing graduates from South Plains College carry an average student debtload of $19,216.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at South Plains College Report

#8

El Centro College

Dallas, TX

El Centro College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

El Centro College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,000 in tuition and fees each year. On average, practical nursing graduates from El Centro College take out $16,159 in student loans while working on their Undergraduate Certificate.

El Centro College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at El Centro College Report

Alvin Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for practical nursing and nursing assistants students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Alvin is a small public school located in the suburb of Alvin.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Alvin are $4,010 a year. While working on their Undergraduate Certificate, practical nursing majors at Alvin accumulate an average of around $13,794 in student debt.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Alvin Community College Report

#10

College of the Mainland

Texas City, TX

College of the Mainland landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. COM is a small public school located in the midsize suburb of Texas City.

COM undergraduate students pay an average of $3,873 in tuition and fees each year. On average, practical nursing graduates from COM take out $22,945 in student loans while working on their Undergraduate Certificate.

Read More…

#11

Clarendon College

Clarendon, TX

Clarendon College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate practical nursing and nursing assistants programs. Clarendon College is a small public school located in the remote area of Clarendon.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Clarendon College are $4,176 per year.

Full Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at Clarendon College Report

San Jacinto Community College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the suburb of Pasadena, San Jacinto College is a public school with a very large student population.

San Jacinto College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,040 in tuition and fees each year. Practical Nursing majors at San Jacinto College take out an average of $15,484 in student loans while working on their Undergraduate Certificate.

San Jacinto College also claimed a spot on our Best Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants at San Jacinto Community College

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great value schools for Nursing & Nursing Assistants students in the Southwest Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Nursing & Nursing Assistants Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Southwest Region award.

Rank College Location
14 New Mexico State University - Carlsbad Carlsbad, NM
15 Wharton County Junior College Wharton, TX
16 Angelina College Lufkin, TX
17 El Paso Community College El Paso, TX

Best Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants Colleges by State

Explore the best practical nursing and nursing assistants schools for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 57
Texas 97
New Mexico 0
Oklahoma 57

Practical Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse Training 44,900
Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant/Aide 34,557
Other Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants 4,817

Related Major Annual Graduates
Nursing 322,592

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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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