Ranking: Georgia’s best RN program isn’t the one you’re thinking of

With more than 50 nursing schools in Georgia, would-be registered nurses have lots of programs to choose from. But which is best? According to RegisteredNursing.org, it’s in Cobb County.

“Chattahoochee Technical College in Marietta, Georgia is a respected provider of RN training in a bustling urban environment,” according to the report. “Graduates of CTC’s associate of science in nursing degree are highly sought after for their professional and practical skillsets.”

To determine the best RN programs in each state, the outlet analyzed each college’s NCLEX-RN exam pass rates. Programs with no pass rate data or only a single year’s worth of data were not included in the rankings. Of Georgia’s 51 programs, 20 made the list.

“The NCLEX-RN exam is used by all state boards of nursing across the United States to help assess a student’s competency and is required for licensure,” Registered Nursing, a California-based organization, reported. “Many state boards of nursing use the total overall NCLEX-RN pass rates for a school as one of the main ways to approve a school’s ability to provide a nursing education in the state. This is why we feel the NCLEX-RN pass rates are one of the best ways to determine a nursing program’s student preparedness, and that is why we have chosen to rank them using this method.”

The BSN program at Watkinsville’s University of North Georgia earned the second highest spot, lauded by Registered Nursing for its “state-of-the-art medical facilities.” Kennesaw State University ranked third, for having graduates who outperform the state average for licensure. Vidalia’s Southeastern Technical College’s associate in nursing program took home fourth place, with Milledgeville’s Georgia College coming in fifth.