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RN to BSN Rankings That Start by Removing the Wrong Programs

A licensed RN looking for a BSN completion program usually finds lists topped by four-year pre-licensure degrees they cannot enroll in. We built RNtoBSN.net to fix that at the data level: every bachelor's record in the federal nursing code was checked against the school's own program page, and only confirmed completion tracks were kept and ranked.

Scope

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1,112 federal records checked Every bachelor's program IPEDS files under CIP 51.3801

362 completion tracks confirmed Named on the school's own program page, with the evidence kept

290 programs ranked In-state tuition 55%, institutional graduation rate 45%

24 state rankings States with 5 or more ranked programs

The Problem

One Federal Code Hides Two Different Degrees

IPEDS files an RN-to-BSN completion track and a traditional pre-licensure BSN under the same code, CIP 51.3801. Rank that code straight and the top fills with on-campus degrees for people who are not nurses yet. So the first step on this site is removal, not ranking. A program passed only when its page named an RN-to-BSN, RN-BSN, BSN completion, or post-licensure track, and every passing program was checked again against its own RN-to-BSN page.

That second check removed 38 programs: 17 closed or not accepting applications in the school's own words, and 21 that do not offer a completion track at that institution. The methodology lists each one with its source. The site is also direct about its limits. IPEDS graduation rates measure first-time, full-time undergraduates, which an RN-to-BSN student is not, so the rate is weighted below cost and described as a signal about the institution.

The Research Tools

Every Confirmed Program in One Ranking, Then Sorted by Price

The national ranking scores every completion track the site can compare. The cheapest-programs list takes the same cohort and asks a narrower question: which price can a nurse actually get, given where they live.

National ranking

290 Completion Programs, With the Wrong Ones Already Removed

The national ranking puts all 290 scorable RN to BSN programs in one list, out of 362 confirmed. The University of Florida leads at 91.8: fully online, $4,477 a year in in-state tuition, a 91% institutional graduation rate and 235 degrees a year. The top 15 get a full row with what each school says about delivery and clinical hours, and the other 275 follow as an index a nurse can narrow by state, delivery, price and who runs the school.

See the national RN to BSN ranking

Best RN to BSN Programs in the United States, Ranked (2027) page with a summary box stating 290 completion programs are ranked out of 362 confirmed, 180 at public institutions from $970 a year, and 24 states with their own ranking — A five-point summary explains what was removed and what is ranked before the top 15 begin.

Cost ranking

The Cheapest Programs, and Who Can Get That Price

The cheapest program charges $970 a year in published in-state tuition, and the cheapest quarter runs 73 programs up to $5,777. The page then shows why that list misleads out-of-state nurses: the median resident price is $9,221.50, the median non-resident price is $18,100, and only 47 of the 290 ranked programs charge a non-resident less than a median resident pays.

See the cheapest RN to BSN programs

Cheapest RN to BSN Programs, Ranked (2027) page with a summary box noting 73 programs from $970 to $5,777, a $9,221.50 median resident price, and a $18,100 median non-resident price — The cost ranking pairs the resident price floor with what a nurse in another state would pay.

Who Uses the Research

Sources, Resources, and Their Readers

Link earning starts with the person who would need the resource. The architecture makes that path explicit instead of publishing content first and hunting for a reason to promote it later.

Primary Evidence	Published Resource	Who Uses It
NCES IPEDS, CIP 51.3801 bachelor's records	The 1,112-record starting set, in-state tuition, graduation rate, and degrees awarded	Licensed RNs comparing completion programs
School RN-to-BSN program pages, checked twice	Completion-track confirmation, closures, and delivery mode on each program	Working nurses who need a program that is still enrolling
BLS OEWS wage data, May 2025	Registered nurse salary pages and nursing career guides	ADN-prepared nurses weighing the return on a BSN

Explore the Site

Explore RN to BSN Programs

Open the live online program list, the full directory, state rankings and salary pages.

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Project Scope

What We Built

1,112 federal BSN records checked against school pages, with 362 completion tracks confirmed.
290 programs ranked nationally on a published two-factor model.
24 state rankings, plus a cheapest-programs ranking that reorders for out-of-state applicants.
Methodology listing all 38 removed programs with sources, plus accreditation, career, and salary guides.

Related Work

Is the Federal Data Answering the Wrong Question?

We find where the official codes blur two audiences, verify each record by hand, and publish the filter so readers can see what was left out and why.

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