California’s nursing students choose expensive private programs over long public waiting

The number of students graduating from private nursing programs has doubled over the past 10 years, as students choose the more expensive option over long wait lists to attend programs in public universities, according to CalMatters.

The cost of tuition for a bachelor’s degree nursing program in the University of California or California State University systems averages about $39,000, while a private nursing program can cost about $130,000. However, there are few spots available in public nursing programs.

Nearly 64,300 students applied for just 16,600 spots in 2021 in associate, bachelor’s and masters’ degree nursing programs, according to the California Board of Registered Nursing. More than half of those seats were at private institutions.