2023 Best Value Nursing Basic Certificate Schools in California
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. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools and bootcamps that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Nursing Degree Search has created its Best Value Nursing Basic Certificate Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 13 schools in California to see which basic certificate 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.
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 Basic Certificate Schools in California
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Butte College the best value school in California for nursing students working on their basic certificate. Oroville, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out basic certificates to 77 students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Butte College are $7,848 per year.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Butte College. In 2019-2020 about 33% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Butte College is ranked #1 for overall quality in California.
Out of the 13 schools in California that were part of this year’s value ranking, Merced College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Merced Community College District is a public institution located in Merced, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 4 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Merced Community College District are $7,444 per year.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Merced Community College District does offer online classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 97% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Merced Community College District also took the #2 spot in our Best Nursing Basic Certificate Schools in California rankings.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means College of the Sequoias is a great place for nursing students working on their basic certificate who want the most bang for their educational buck. Visalia, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out basic certificates to 173 students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at College of the Sequoias are $8,338 per year.
One thing to take note of is that College of the Sequoias does offer online classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 35% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, College of the Sequoias is ranked #3 for overall quality in California.
The excellent basic certificate programs at Santa Rosa Junior College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in California. Located in Santa Rosa, California, the fairly large public school handed out 106 basic certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SRJC are $8,952 per year.
SRJC does offer online classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 70% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
SRJC also took the #4 spot in our Best Nursing Basic Certificate Schools in California rankings.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Cuesta College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Basic Certificate Schools in California list. Located in San Luis Obispo, California, the medium-sized public school handed out 21 basic certificate awards in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Cuesta College are $8,702 a year.
Cuesta 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. In fact, around 96% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Cuesta College also took the #5 spot in our Best Nursing Basic Certificate Schools in California rankings.
Gavilan College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Basic Certificate Schools in California list. Gavilan College is a small public school situated in Gilroy, California. It awarded 21 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Gavilan College are $7,214 a year.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Gavilan College. In 2019-2020 about 80% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Riverside City College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate nursing programs. Riverside City College is located in Riverside, California and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 88 basic certificates to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Riverside City College are $10,120 per year.
Online courses are available at Riverside City College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 37% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Modesto Junior College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Basic Certificate Schools in California list. MJC is located in Modesto, California and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 basic certificates to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at MJC are $8,550 a year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at MJC. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 84% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
American River College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Basic Certificate Schools in California ranking. American River College is a large public school located in Sacramento, California that handed out 31 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at American River are $10,168 a year.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since American River does offer online classes for certain majors. In fact, around 62% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Bakersfield College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Basic Certificate Schools in California list. Bakersfield College is located in Bakersfield, California and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 41 basic certificates to qualified students.
Bakersfield College undergraduate students pay an average of $9,380 in tuition and fees each year.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Bakersfield College. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 97% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Reedley College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate nursing programs. Reedley, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out basic certificates to 5 students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Reedley College are $8,504 per year.
One thing to take note of is that Reedley College does offer online classes in some areas. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 34% took at least some of their classes online.
Mission College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for nursing students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in Santa Clara, California, the medium-sized public school awarded 1 diplomas to qualifed basic certificate students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Mission College are $8,572 per year.
Mission College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 82% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #13, Institute of Technology did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their basic certificate. Institute of Technology is a small private for-profit school located in Clovis, California that handed out 14 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
Fresno Institute of Technology undergraduate students pay an average of $0 in tuition and fees each year.
Best Value Nursing Basic Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 13 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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