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Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia

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2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

29 Colleges
$18,224 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$64,238 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Virginia. In total, 6,775 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Virginia.

There are so many nursing programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 29 schools in Virginia 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.

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. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Sentara College of Health Sciences to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Virginia. Sentara College of Health Sciences is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Chesapeake.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sentara College of Health Sciences are $2,637 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Sentara College of Health Sciences take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $29,312. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $155.

Full Nursing at Sentara College of Health Sciences Report

#2

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Old Dominion University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Old Dominion is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Norfolk.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Old Dominion are $10,800 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Old Dominion carry an average student debtload of $26,975.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Old Dominion is ranked #5 for overall quality for nursing in Virginia.

Full Nursing at Old Dominion University Report

#3

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend James Madison University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at JMU are $12,638 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at JMU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $21,715. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $329.

JMU also made our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list, coming in at #3.

Read More…

#4

Centra College of Nursing

Lynchburg, VA

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Centra College of Nursing helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in Virginia. Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Centra College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Centra College of Nursing undergraduate students pay an average of $14,340 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Centra College of Nursing take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $17,510.

Read full report on Nursing at Centra College of Nursing

#5

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg, VA

Out of the 29 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Mary Washington landed the # 5 spot on the list. UMW is a small public school located in the suburb of Fredericksburg.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UMW are $13,800 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, nursing majors at UMW accumulate an average of around $19,793 in student debt.

UMW not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list.

Full Nursing at University of Mary Washington Report

#6

Radford University

Radford, VA

Radford University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Radford, Radford is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Radford undergraduate students pay an average of $11,542 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from Radford carry an average student debtload of $30,236. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $223, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Nursing at Radford University Report

Virginia Commonwealth University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. VCU is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Richmond.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at VCU are $15,028 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at VCU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $27,321. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $238.

VCU not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list.

Read More…

The University of Virginia’s College at Wise landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree nursing programs. UVa - Wise is a small public school located in the distant town of Wise.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UVa - Wise are $11,162 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, nursing graduates from UVa - Wise carry an average student debtload of $19,125.

Read More…

#9

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

George Mason University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. GMU is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Fairfax.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at GMU are $13,119 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at GMU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $22,031.

Full Nursing at George Mason University Report

Chamberlain University - Virginia ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Chamberlain - Virginia is a small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Arlington.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Chamberlain - Virginia are $20,492 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Chamberlain - Virginia take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $37,103. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $256.

Read More…

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Louisiana 3,502
Mississippi 2,838
Alabama 7,364
Kentucky 6,395
Arkansas 2,882
Tennessee 6,004
Florida 21,209
North Carolina 7,425
West Virginia 1,771
South Carolina 3,296
Georgia 7,112

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

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

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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