2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Prices
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which nursing program is right for you. 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 and bootcamps that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
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 Arizona ranking. This report analyzed 15 schools in Arizona 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. 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.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
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Top Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found GateWay Community College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in Arizona. GateWay Community College is located in Phoenix, Arizona and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 233 associate degrees to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at GateWay Community College are $7,854 a year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $20,336 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since GateWay Community College does offer online classes for certain majors. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 74% took at least some of their classes online.
GateWay Community College also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona list, coming in at #3.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Mohave Community College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree who want the most bang for their educational buck. MCC is a small public school situated in Kingman, Arizona. It awarded 166 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MCC are $6,996 per year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $18,541 in student loans.
MCC is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each undergraduate student at the school took at least one class online.
MCC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona list.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Estrella Mountain Community College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona list. Located in Avondale, Arizona, the medium-sized public school handed out 62 associate degree awards in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Estrella Mountain Community College are $7,854 per year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $24,315 in student loans.
Estrella Mountain Community College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 85% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Estrella Mountain Community College also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona list, coming in at #5.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Scottsdale Community College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree who want the most bang for their educational buck. This medium-sized public school is located in Scottsdale, Arizona, and it awarded 132 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Scottsdale Community College are $7,854 a year. On average, associate degree students take out $16,639 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Online courses are available at Scottsdale Community College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 71% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Glendale Community College is a great place for nursing students working on their associate degree who want the most bang for their educational buck. Located in Glendale, Arizona, the fairly large public school awarded 189 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Glendale Community College are $7,854 a year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $16,480 in student loans.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Glendale Community College. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 74% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Eastern Arizona College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona list. Located in Thatcher, Arizona, the small public school handed out 62 associate degree awards in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Eastern Arizona College are $9,120 per year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $9,270 in student loans.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Eastern Arizona College. In 2019-2020 about 29% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Eastern Arizona College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona list.
Mesa Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona ranking. Mesa Community College is a public institution located in Mesa, Arizona. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 188 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
Mesa Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,854 in tuition and fees each year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $16,634 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Mesa Community College. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 71% took at least some of their classes online.
Central Arizona College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona list. Pinal County Community College is located in Coolidge, Arizona and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 53 associate degrees to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Pinal County Community College are $5,160 per year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $15,315 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Pinal County Community College. During the 2019-2020 year, about 96% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Pinal County Community College also took the #1 spot in our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona rankings.
Phoenix College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona list. Phoenix College is a medium-sized public school located in Phoenix, Arizona that handed out 128 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Phoenix College are $7,854 a year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $17,380 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Phoenix College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 72% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Chandler-Gilbert Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for nursing students to get an associate degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Chandler-Gilbert Community College is a fairly large public school located in Chandler, Arizona that handed out 74 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Chandler-Gilbert Community College are $7,854 per year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $15,533 in student loans.
Chandler-Gilbert Community College does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 62% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #11, Pima Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in Tucson, Arizona, the fairly large public school handed out 197 associate degree awards in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Pima County Community College District are $7,566 a year. On average, associate degree students take out $15,202 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Online courses are available at Pima County Community College District, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 52% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Cochise County Community College District ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona list. Located in Sierra Vista, Arizona, the small public school awarded 76 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cochise College are $6,240 per year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $16,007 in student loans.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Cochise College. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 76% took at least some of their classes online.
Northland Pioneer College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for nursing students to get an associate degree. It came in at #13 on the list. This small public school is located in Holbrook, Arizona, and it awarded 40 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
NPC undergraduate students pay an average of $9,850 in tuition and fees each year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $12,103 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
One thing to take note of is that NPC does offer online classes in some areas. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 66% took at least some of their classes online.
Arizona Western College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Arizona ranking. Arizona Western College is a medium-sized public school located in Yuma, Arizona that handed out 61 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at AWC are $11,250 a year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $8,308 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since AWC does offer online classes for certain majors. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 61% took at least some of their classes online.
Yavapai College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for nursing students to get an associate degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Yavapai College is a medium-sized public school located in Prescott, Arizona that handed out 75 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Yavapai College are $9,332 per year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $18,796 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Yavapai College does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 74% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 15 schools only.
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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