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Best Value Nursing Schools in Indiana

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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Indiana

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

31 Colleges
$14,376 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$68,703 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Indiana. In total, 7,922 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Indiana.

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

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Nursing Degree Search has created the Best Value Nursing Schools in Indiana to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 31 schools in Indiana to see which programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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 Nursing Schools in Indiana

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Nursing Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Schools

#1

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN
$4,637 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Ivy Tech Community College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Indiana. Ivy Tech Community College is a very large public school located in the large city of Indianapolis.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Ivy Tech Community College are $4,637 a year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Ivy Tech Community College accumulate an average of around $17,979 in student debt.

Ivy Tech Community College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Nursing Schools in Indiana list.

Read full report on Nursing at Ivy Tech Community College

$7,734 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Purdue University Northwest. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Indiana list. Purdue Northwest is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Hammond.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Purdue Northwest are $7,734 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Purdue Northwest take out is $25,000. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $152.

Purdue Northwest also made our Best Nursing Schools in Indiana list, coming in at #1.

Read More…

#3

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN
$9,992 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Purdue University - Main Campus is a great value for nursing students. Purdue is a fairly large public school located in the city of West Lafayette.

Purdue undergraduate students pay an average of $9,992 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Purdue take out is $20,832. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $266.

Purdue did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Nursing Schools in Indiana list.

Full Nursing at Purdue University - Main Campus Report

$7,827 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Indiana University - Southeast is a great value for nursing students. Located in the suburb of New Albany, Indiana University - Southeast is a public college with a small student population.

Indiana University - Southeast undergraduate students pay an average of $7,827 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Indiana University - Southeast take out is $26,633.

Read full report on Nursing at Indiana University - Southeast

#5

Ball State University

Muncie, IN
$10,290 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 31 schools in Indiana that were part of this year’s ranking, Ball State University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Ball State is a very large public school located in the small city of Muncie.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ball State are $10,290 per year. On average, nursing graduates from Ball State take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $241, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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

Full Nursing at Ball State University Report

$9,509 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Southern Indiana landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. USI is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Evansville.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at USI are $9,509 per year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from USI carry an average student debtload of $23,612. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $102, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

$8,857 Average Tuition & Fees

Purdue University Fort Wayne did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #7 on the list. PFW is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Fort Wayne.

PFW undergraduate students pay an average of $8,857 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from PFW take out $29,800 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Nursing at Purdue University Fort Wayne Report

$20,064 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, Saint Elizabeth School of Nursing did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. St. Elizabeth School of Nursing and University of Saint Francis Cooperative Nursing Program is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lafayette.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at St. Elizabeth School of Nursing and University of Saint Francis Cooperative Nursing Program are $20,064 a year. Nursing majors at St. Elizabeth School of Nursing and University of Saint Francis Cooperative Nursing Program take out an average of $43,960 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $424.

Read full report on Nursing at Saint Elizabeth School of Nursing

$7,827 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, Indiana University - South Bend did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Indiana University - South Bend is a small public school located in the city of South Bend.

Indiana University - South Bend undergraduate students pay an average of $7,827 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Indiana University - South Bend take out $25,675 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Nursing at Indiana University - South Bend

#10

Vincennes University

Vincennes, IN
$6,449 Average Tuition & Fees

Vincennes University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Indiana ranking. Located in the remote town of Vincennes, Vincennes University is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Vincennes University are $6,449 a year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Vincennes University accumulate an average of around $24,263 in student debt.

Read More…

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 7,345
Ohio 13,973
Illinois 21,938
Wisconsin 5,410

Nursing Concentrations

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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