2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Nursing in South Dakota (With Aid)

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Nursing Schools for an Associate in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 313,362 nursing students received their degree, making the major the 3rd most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, nursing graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $67,065 and had an average of $26,282 in loans still to pay off.

Across South Dakota, there were 1,106 nursing graduates with average earnings and debt of $61,771 and $33,828 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 96 nursing graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Nursing Schools for an Associate in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in nursing. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent nursing programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the nursing program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Nursing Schools for an Associate in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Nursing Schools for an Associate in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for south dakota associate degree nursing students with aid.

Top 4 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Nursing in South Dakota (With Aid)

#1

Oglala Lakota College

Kyle, South Dakota

#4 in overall quality

$-375 Average Net Price

$55,693 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Oglala Lakota College. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Nursing Schools for an Associate in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid. Kyle, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s nursing degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Oglala Lakota College, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Oglala Lakota College is $-375 for south dakota associate degree nursing students with aid. The negative number means the student will receive more financial aid on average than it costs to attend the school.

Read full report on Nursing at Oglala Lakota College

#2

Lake Area Technical Institute

Watertown, South Dakota

#1 in overall quality

$12,939 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lake Area Technical Institute. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Nursing Schools for an Associate in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid list. Lake Area Technical Institute is a public institution located in Watertown, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 22 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at LATI, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Lake Area Technical Institute is $12,939 for South Dakota Associate Degree Nursing students with aid.

Full Lake Area Technical Institute Nursing Report

#3

Southeast Technical College

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

#2 in overall quality

$14,633 Average Net Price

$54,810 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southeast Technical College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Nursing Schools for an Associate in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid. Located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, this small public school handed out 51 degrees to qualified associates’s nursing students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Southeast Tech, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking. It costs about $14,633 for south dakota associate degree nursing students with aid per year to attend Southeast Technical College.

Read full report on Nursing at Southeast Tech

#4

Western Dakota Technical Institute

Rapid City, South Dakota

#3 in overall quality

$14,388 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Dakota Technical Institute. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Nursing Schools for an Associate in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid. Western Dakota Tech is located in Rapid City, South Dakota and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 associates’s nursing degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Western Dakota Tech, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Western Dakota Technical Institute is $14,388 for South Dakota Associate Degree Nursing students with aid.

Full Western Dakota Technical Institute Nursing Report

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Nursing in the Plains States Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Nursing (With Aid)

Notes and References

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%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.

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