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Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Maine

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2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Maine

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

7 Colleges
$6,473 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$57,601 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Maine. In total, 1,262 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Maine.

Today's nursing students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Maine ranking. This report analyzed 7 schools in Maine to see which ones offered the best value associate 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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Maine

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for nursing majors pursuing a associate degree.

Best Maine Schools for Affordable Quality for an Associate in Nursing

Our 2023 rankings named Eastern Maine Community College the best value school in Maine for nursing students working on their associate degree. Eastern Maine Community College is a small public school located in the city of Bangor.

Eastern Maine Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $3,865 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Eastern Maine Community College take out $29,073 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Eastern Maine Community College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Maine list.

Read full report on Nursing at Eastern Maine Community College

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northern Maine Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Maine list. Located in the town of Presque Isle, Northern Maine Community College is a public college with a fairly small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northern Maine Community College are $3,830 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Northern Maine Community College take out $21,353 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Northern Maine Community College is ranked #4 for overall quality for nursing in Maine.

Read full report on Nursing at Northern Maine Community College

#3

Southern Maine Community College

South Portland, ME

The excellent associate degree programs at Southern Maine Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in Maine. SMCC is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of South Portland.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SMCC are $3,874 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at SMCC accumulate an average of around $27,802 in student debt.

SMCC also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Maine list, coming in at #5.

Full Nursing at Southern Maine Community College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central Maine Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Maine list. Located in the rural area of Auburn, Central Maine Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Central Maine Technical College are $3,864 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Central Maine Technical College carry an average student debtload of $26,524.

Full Nursing at Central Maine Community College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maine at Presque Isle. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Maine list. UMPI is a small public school located in the rural area of Presque Isle.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UMPI are $8,495 a year.

UMPI also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Maine list, coming in at #2.

Read More…

Maine College of Health Professions did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the small city of Lewiston, MCHP is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at MCHP are $14,911 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at MCHP accumulate an average of around $29,631 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Maine College of Health Professions

#7

Beal College

Bangor, ME

Beal College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Maine ranking. Beal College is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the city of Bangor.

Beal College also took the #1 spot in our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Maine rankings.

Full Nursing at Beal College Report

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the New England Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Colleges in the New England Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New Hampshire 2,129
Massachusetts 6,626
Vermont 390
Connecticut 3,058
Rhode Island 1,091

Nursing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Registered Nursing 266,651
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing 16,104
Nursing Administration 9,838
Nursing Practice 7,992
Other Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 5,092
Nursing Science 4,600
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing 2,287
Adult Health Nurse/Nursing 2,021
Nurse Anesthetist 1,936
Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing 1,883
Critical Care Nursing 773
Geriatric Nurse/Nursing 563
School Nursing 553
Nurse Midwife/Nursing Midwifery 509
Clinical Nurse Leader 444
Clinical Nurse Specialist 419
Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing 331
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing 181
Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing 57
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing 53
Palliative Care Nursing 14
Forensic Nursing 14

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 7 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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