University of San Francisco Reviews

  • 128 Reviews
  • San Francisco (CA)
  • Annual Tuition: $55,532
90% of 128 students said this degree improved their career prospects
90% of 128 students said they would recommend this school to others
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Student & Graduate Reviews

Hilary Fung
  • Reviewed: 9/25/2014
  • Degree: Nursing
"the ME-CNL program at USF is very competitive to gain initial admission. However, after that, it is quite easy to stay in the program so long as you put in a moderate amount of effort. The school and faculty is very supportive and want you to succeed. A major con of the graduate level program is feeling second to the BSNs. The BSN program is ingrained in stone, they have mastered exactly how to churn out successful, productive nurses. The MSN program, on the other hand, has a much more difficult time coordinating basic aspects of school such as clinical sites, skills lab, and general communication. There are some stellar professors, however, they are few and far between. Those few are given a huge class load which renders them unable to allocate the necessary time to each class."
Alyssa Aninag
  • Reviewed: 9/11/2014
  • Degree: Creative Writing
"The MFA writing program at the University of San Francisco is challenging and stimulating. I have learned to read like a writer and have a wider and more solid understanding in the craft of writing fiction. I have had the joy of being taught by intelligent and astute writers who are nationally and internationally recognized for their own work. Living in the diverse and eclectic city of San Francisco has sparked much of my creativity and I have found a community of like minded people who have a deep passion for writing and the literary arts. However, the cost of living in San Francisco has drastically increased over the last few years. As a student, living with the burden of student loans and in San Francisco can place unwanted stress when working towards a master's degree in fine arts."
Lolita
  • Reviewed: 9/1/2014
  • Degree: Management
"University of San Francisco is a great college. I did a professional degree program for working adults. This is a wonderful way to obtain a degree while working full-time. USF provides this program with all the perks typically given to younger students who attend the actual campus by providing us a satellite campus that gives us the feeling of the university's feel and services. Financial Aid works with students to assist them in quick and very helpful ways. The advisor I had was always available to assist me in graduation inquiries as well as personal crisis. The USF family is a great family to be proud I received a degree from."
Goldfish101
  • Reviewed: 8/20/2014
  • Degree: Nursing
"Some instructors were great. Others not so great. Guest speaker was not helpful but was used twice for cardiac lecture. Did not prepare me well for teh NCLEX."
Vanessa Atkinson
  • Reviewed: 8/19/2014
  • Degree: Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
"The education I received at USF greatly enhanced my learning and knowledge of the nursing field. My professors and classmates shared invaluable knowledge and insight into nursing and I found my education at USF to be superb. The program was intense, but with the help of my classmates and faculty, I feel that I was able to gain the tools and skills needed to be an excellent nurse."
Emily Prieto Trefethen
  • Reviewed: 8/19/2014
  • Degree: Nursing
"My graduate study experience at USF was amazing! The students, faculty, and university community contributed to enhancing my overall well-being as a clinical nurse leader. I am proud to be an alumni from this prestigious university!"
BC12
  • Reviewed: 8/18/2014
  • Degree: Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
"My review is pertaining only to the nursing graduate program. I cannot be sure students in other departments within the school had the same experiences as I did. The admissions and management component was disorganized. Clinical sites may change spontaneously or the office is behind on a deadline, causing students to fall behind on paperwork as well. There seems to lack communication between faculty and students. Students are sometimes blindsided by logistics we did not know we had to take care of personally. We assumed the school would take care of something for us, or at least inform us to take care of it; however that was not always the case. Other than that, the teaching staff is fairly knowledgeable and approachable. It is a quick 2 year accelerated masters program, which is great. If that is what you want, and can be patient enough, self sufficient and resourceful, then the office management issues won't be a concern."
Rosa Stevens
  • Reviewed: 8/18/2014
  • Degree: Nursing
"The clinical rotations were not arranged far enough in advance and some students were left to fend for themselves for clinicals. I will mention that our program was not the only one to have issues with clinical placements as there are far too many nursing programs in the San Francisco Bay Area and not enough hospitals to accommodate all the students in need of placement."
GoodRN
  • Reviewed: 8/18/2014
  • Degree: Nursing
"USF is a beautiful school with an environment conducive to learning. A student has free range to study individually or in groups in all areas on campus at any time of day. The library is top notch. The school of nursing at USF seems to always be struggling. As a student, you will need to be very flexible with change. Some of the professors are amazing. However, there were a few that were actually pretty mediocre. Considering the amount of money tuition is I had expected all professors to be stellar. It is really up to you to make the education what you want it to be."
AS
  • Reviewed: 8/18/2014
  • Degree: Nursing
"For anyone who chooses the Masters Entry Option program for nursing, your two years will pass very quickly. You will both love and hate the cohort model it uses. A Facebook group will emerge, cliques will quickly form, and people will get very irritated when you sit in "their seat." On one hand you will at some point get sick of seeing the same 30-something people all day, everyday, for two years. But on the other hand, you will become intimately close to some of these individuals and you will know more about these people than you do your kindergarten best friend. You will attend class in the same two buildings for two years: Cowell Hall and Lone Mountain. You will occasionally trek to the simulation lab where any confidence you once had in your nursing skills will be shattered into a million worst-case-scenario related pieces; months to years later you will find that those lessons are the ones that stick best. Your instructors will come to know you by first and last name, especially if you are one of the 3 males in the class. No matter how feel about group work, you will learn to get along, distribute work, and call out the slackers in a diplomatic and tactful way. You will be able to teach a class on APA-formatting. The words "evidenced based practice/EBP" will come up at least once daily. You will embrace social justice and liberal yet responsible thinking toward the distribution of healthcare resources. You will feel lost for months, until one day, in the middle of clinicals, you will feel as though everything suddenly clicks, and you will confidently hang your fluids, prime the line, and start infusing your meds into your patient. Overall, USF's CNL masters entry program is effective. It really seems to teach "design thinking": why are things done this way? Why not that way? Is this actually functional and achieving the desired outcomes? This is important for optimizing the future of healthcare, and provides tools to analyze problems systematically and troubleshoot clinical issues. The program really focuses on the future, developing leadership skills and expanding the pool of nursing knowledge for the future. This comes at the expense of strong fundamentals and clinical preparation, which can be frustrating for those who seek more bedside expertise. The condensed timeframe during the summer semesters feels insufficient to master the scope of information that is expected (i.e. all of pediatrics), and the program does not allow for any kind of more specialized experience (not a good choice for someone strongly interested in emergency medicine, critical care, pediatrics, maternity). Overall, if you enjoy systems thinking and problem solving beyond the bedside, this is a great program. It will give you the basic clinical skills you need to succeed as a bedside nurse as well, but the bulk of information necessary for patient care will likely be learned during the first year of employment rather than during nursing school."
E.L
  • Reviewed: 8/17/2014
  • Degree: Nursing
"The University of San Francisco (USF) has a 2-year fast paced MSN Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) program designed for students who hold a bachelor's degrees in areas of study outside of nursing and are seeking new careers as registered nurses (RN).This program was my foot into the world of Nursing, as I was unable to get into a Nursing program as an undergraduate. USF's program has my gratitude for having such a program that allowed me to pursue my life long dream; I've always wanted to be a Nurse. As an undergardaute, I was unable to pursue the Nursing program because it was so impacted, but I never gave up on my dream of becoming a Nurse. I took some time off (about 5 years to raise my child with special needs) and once I felt I was ready to go back to school I found USF's Master's of Science, Clinical Nurse Leader (MSN-CNL) program. This program not only allows me to purse my Nursing for licensure as a RN, but also integrating graduate-level study that prepares me for positions as clinical nurse leaders; impacting the Nursing world at a systems level. The MSN-CNL program was hard, time-consuming, self-absorbing, emotional, intense, STRESSFUL and FAST-paced. Of course, they provide with all this information during orientation but it does not come into reality until you have entered your first summer semester. There will be times where you will need to further explore and learn the material taught in lecture, but your thoroughness in learning a topic/system will fully prepare you for your HESI and NCLEX-RN exam. Start practicing questions NOW for your HESI, as it is never too early to start understanding the way the questions are written. As mentioned above, I am the mother of a child with special needs and completing this degree was a long time dream I've always had; I did struggle,yet I am a proud USF graduate! USF's MSN-CNL program has wonderful, understanding clinical staff and instructors who are there to work with you and look forward to your success. Although I did apply to many Nursing programs, I am grateful to have completed the MSN-CNL program, as the CNL certification really gave me insight as to how I, as a Nurse, can impact the patient population. I learned that Nursing IS NOT just bedside care, this program gives you the confident to feel important and powerful in a system of healthcare that is goign through changes for improving the lives of their patients. Good Luck, and remember to never give up on a dream."
Maria
  • Reviewed: 8/13/2014
  • Degree: Environmental Science
"USF was a great school that gave me a well-rounded education. All of the professors I had the pleasure of knowing in my four years, were intelligent, open-minded and progressive. Nearly each of them went above and beyond for their students to understand and be passionate about the material they were learning. USF is a Jesuit school but there is a place for both religious and non-religious. There is plenty of diversity at this school: racial, gender, sexual and spiritual. I have met a lot of very smart, passionate and driven people many of whom became my friends. This school has a lot of wonderful initiatives, including local immersion programs. I was fortunate to go on an Environmental Awareness immersion trip to West Virginia, which was life changing. There are a lot of opportunities to get involved in extra curricular activities. With its own well-cared for community garden and growing Environmental Studies/Science department, this school offers a very solid ENVA program. They have great learning disability support services and recognize when a student is struggling academically, doing everything they can to help them get back on track. The professors inspire and the staff really cares about the students' success. My only complaint is that their financial aid could be a lot more generous, and they should provide more guidance to those who struggle to navigate the financial aid application process. I am over $70K deep in student loans and cannot imagine paying them off in my lifetime. As great of a school as USF is, it is upsetting how unaffordable it is, even with financial aid offered to low-income student such as myself."
Ashley Harman
  • Reviewed: 8/9/2014
  • Degree: Elementary Education
"I am working full-time and am in my 2nd semester of grad school. It is very hard to work and go to school, it is recommended to go to school full-time. Pros: quality teachers, engaging courses. Cons: not all classes are at night, tuition rates just increased, hard to contact school mentors due to leadership changes. Hoping to see positive changes over the course of my time at school."
Jose Alvarado
  • Reviewed: 7/4/2014
  • Degree: Computer Science
"It's a great program with a lot of opportunities for you career. We constantly receive emails from startups looking for cs students. In my opinion, there really isn't a community in the cs grad program. Some would consider that a benefit so they can focus on their studies and work, while others would prefer to have a community to socialize with."
James Jones
  • Reviewed: 6/27/2014
  • Degree: Creative Writing
"Terrific faculty and a collegial, supportive atmosphere."
Kristian Marie Ocampo
  • Reviewed: 4/30/2014
  • Degree: Higher Education
"I am currently working towards receiving my M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs, and as I am finishing up my first year of graduate school, I can honestly say that my experience has been empowering. The people in my program (faculty, staff and students) come from diverse backgrounds, which is extremely important in a Student Affairs program, as we all provide different experiences and stories to help us in our work. My experience with faculty has been very positive: they are responsive, available, and live up to the Jesuit value of cura personalis - developing the whole person. I also have an assistantship position that has offered me a great experience, as well, which I will be continuing in for my final year of my Master's program. One thing that has been difficult in our program is the lack of resources equitable for the School of Education. We see a lot of other graduate programs at our school with amazing facilities, and we don't have a large space or even a variety of spaces for SOE graduate students to convene. Also, my specific graduate program is fairly new (it is about to go into its fourth year of existence), and so the administration are definitely working out the nuances and kinks here and there. Some things change quite quickly, and it can get confusing and frustrating."
Rachael Kerkhoff
  • Reviewed: 4/30/2014
  • Degree: Reading & Literacy Education
"This school provided access to great resources and valuable educators. I met some of the brightest minds in my field and had the opportunity to discuss my ideas and really talk to these professors. The active approach to social justice education is especially inspiring, and I love knowing that the University is producing intelligent, motivated individuals to improve elementary and secondary schooling."
Jennifer Ozomaro
  • Reviewed: 4/24/2014
  • Degree: Counseling Psychology
"Pros: Faculty and staff are always right there to help you out if you need it. Transportation to and from school is easy because we get a muni pass each semester to use, and also bus stations are all around us. It's a very safe school, and people are really friendly. Cons: Living in the city can cost a lot of money, and it's not easy to find housing close by campus."
Merry Pham
  • Reviewed: 4/18/2014
  • Degree: Public Policy
"The pros of the graduate program is that it is very diverse in terms of student body and academic material. This environment invites many informative perspectives, which is very applicable to a professional career after graduation. As well, there is a great learning environment of rigorous reading, writing, and discussion that challenges the mind in the best way. The cons associated with this program is that San Francisco is very expensive to live in/commute to! It may prove to be difficult to access in that regard. Furthermore, as the University is a private institution, tuition is high."
Naomi Ruiz
  • Reviewed: 4/16/2014
  • Degree: Cultural Studies
"Very good school overall! Career Services hires people that don't really know how to talk to someone feeling lost and thus visiting Career Services, but that's ok! The campus is gorgeous, the educators are extremely smart and knowledgeable, and everyone's approachable."