Best ADN Programs in New Jersey, Ranked for 2026

Ocean County College's Associate in Applied Science in Nursing is a planned two-year curriculum combining classroom study with mandatory in-person clinical rotations at hospitals, sub-acute facilities, and long-term care settings throughout New Jersey. The program runs three parallel tracks: the traditional day/evening format, the On-Site Online (OSOL) option for working healthcare providers who complete didactic coursework remotely and attend 12-hour clinical/colloquium sessions, and a Career Mobility track for licensed LPNs who can challenge out of the first clinical nursing course and shorten the program by one full semester. Clinical assignments span multiple sites statewide, and students must be available 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on assigned days. The program holds ACEN continuing accreditation and approval from the NJ Board of Nursing.

In-state tuition is $4,848 per year, among the lowest in New Jersey as a public community college. The program reported a 42% graduation rate in IPEDS data; OCC does not publish a current NCLEX-RN pass rate on its catalog page. Graduates who complete the program are eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN and earn a full RN license, identical in standing to a BSN-holder's license. The Hakia Score of 82.2 ranks OCC first among NJ ADN programs, weighting cost and accreditation heavily. The three-track structure makes it a strong fit for career-changers, working CNAs or medical assistants in the OSOL cohort, and LPNs ready to bridge to RN without repeating coursework they have already mastered.

Eastwick College in Ramsey is a private, for-profit career college operating four campuses across Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic counties in northern New Jersey. The nursing associate program is structured as an accelerated, hands-on curriculum consistent with the college's focus on allied health career training. Like all prelicensure ADN programs, clinical rotations are completed in person at affiliated healthcare facilities; the credential cannot be earned without direct patient-care hours. The college markets itself around a supportive cohort environment and specialized classroom setups tied to its health sciences programs.

Tuition is $17,957 per year, which is substantially higher than NJ public community colleges but below four-year BSN programs at private universities. IPEDS data shows a 75% graduation rate, the highest among these four NJ programs, suggesting strong student support and program completion. Eastwick's scraped admissions page does not publish a current NCLEX-RN first-time pass rate, so that figure cannot be reported here. The Hakia Score of 81.1 reflects the strong completion outcome balanced against the higher private tuition. Graduates sit for the same NCLEX-RN as any RN candidate and earn a full RN license. This program fits students in northern NJ who want a shorter commute to a campus near them and value the structured, cohort-based environment a career college provides.

Best Care College in East Orange runs a single, narrow program: an Associate of Science in Registered Nursing built exclusively for licensed practical nurses. Admission requires a current NJ-board-approved LPN license and at least three months of full-time LPN employment within the last two years. The curriculum spans 66 credits across five 15-week trimesters, 36 of which are nursing (RNUR) courses and 30 general education credits. Nine additional credits are awarded at graduation for prior LPN education, bringing the total to 75 credits. Passage of any course with a lab or clinical component requires successful completion of that component; clinical hours are completed in person. Class sizes are explicitly small and capped, so enrollment may be delayed when a cohort is full. Total program cost is $34,900, paid in installments across the five trimesters.

IPEDS data shows a 64% graduation rate on a student body of 44 enrolled students, a very small cohort typical of a focused bridge program. Best Care does not publish a current NCLEX-RN pass rate on its program page. The Hakia Score of 79.2 reflects the program's specialized LPN-only focus and completion outcomes. The $34,900 total cost is higher than NJ public community colleges but the program is not a general-public option: it is purpose-built for working LPNs who want the fastest credentialed path to a full NCLEX-RN-eligible RN degree. The nine credited LPN credits and trimester structure can compress time to licensure compared to a traditional two-year track starting from scratch.

Rowan College at Burlington County offers a two-year Associate in Applied Science in Nursing with in-person simulation labs and clinical rotations at regional healthcare facilities including Virtua and Deborah Heart and Lung Center. The program admits via traditional, high-school senior, and transfer pathways; the TEAS test with a minimum 58% composite is required. A standout structural feature is the 3+1 BSN program: accepted AAS.NUR students are automatically admitted to Rowan University's BSN program with no additional application or fees, completing 300-level BSN courses at RCBC's community-college tuition rate and finishing the final year online through Rowan University while already working as an RN. In 2024, 67% of RCBC nursing graduates enrolled in that BSN pathway. New Jersey's Pay It Forward Program offers interest-free loans for tuition and fees to eligible students.

In-state tuition is $5,050 per year. IPEDS data shows a 36% graduation rate; the program's own outcome data indicates 52% of students who started in Fall 2022/Spring 2023 completed on time, and 90% of Spring 2024 survey respondents were employed in nursing within three months of graduation. The published NCLEX-RN first-time pass rate was 98.28% in 2024 and 96.15% in 2023, well above the national average. The Hakia Score of 76.8 ranks RCBC fourth in this set. It is the strongest choice for students who want both an affordable entry to RN licensure and a clearly mapped, low-friction route to a BSN, and for whom that elite NCLEX performance record matters in program selection.

Eastwick College offers an 18-month Associate Degree in Nursing available in both day and evening formats at its Ramsey, Hackensack, and Nutley campuses. The program is structured as an LPN-to-RN track, making it one of the shorter pathways to RN licensure in New Jersey for students with prior practical nursing credentials. Coursework moves from classroom to a fully equipped hospital simulation lab with high-fidelity patient simulators before students advance to in-person clinical rotations at local hospitals. Because this is a prelicensure program, all clinical hours are completed on-site.

Eastwick is a private for-profit institution, so tuition runs $17,975 per year, meaningfully higher than New Jersey's public community colleges. The 43% graduation rate ranks among the stronger completion figures in this four-school cohort, and the program earned a Hakia Score of 75.9, the highest of the schools ranked here, reflecting that combination of completion performance and program data. Graduates sit for the NCLEX-RN, the same licensure exam taken by BSN graduates, and earn an identical registered nurse license. Eastwick is best suited for working LPNs who want the fastest possible path to RN status and can absorb the higher private-school tuition.

Camden County College in Blackwood runs a selective LPN-to-RN Associate of Science program (NUR.AS) for licensed practical nurses who want to bridge into full RN status. Evening and daytime schedule options are available, giving working LPNs scheduling flexibility. Beyond its own RN track, CCC partners with Our Lady of Lourdes School of Nursing for a separate associate-level pathway and offers a Rutgers School of Nursing 2+2 BSN program taught in Blackwood, so students who want to continue to a bachelor's degree have a structured on-campus route. Prelicensure clinical rotations are in-person and required.

As a public community college, CCC charges $3,216 per year in tuition, one of the lowest price points in New Jersey for an RN credential. The Hakia Score of 74.6 and a 31% graduation rate reflect the selective admissions process and the academic demands of the LPN-to-RN curriculum. No NCLEX pass rate is published on the program page, so that figure should be requested directly from the nursing department. BLS data places the national median wage for registered nurses at $97,550 per year. CCC fits LPNs in the South Jersey region who want to spend as little as possible on tuition while keeping a clear path to a BSN afterward through the on-campus Rutgers partnership.

County College of Morris in Randolph offers an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing built around a two-phase structure. The pre-professional phase covers general education and science prerequisites over two to four semesters. Students then apply separately to the professional phase, which is completed in four sequential semesters for a total program length of approximately two years. Admission to the professional phase is competitive and based on grades earned in prerequisite coursework. All clinical training uses state-of-the-art simulators on campus plus mandatory in-person clinical experiences at affiliated sites.

CCM charges $9,240 per year in-state tuition and $13,020 out-of-state, positioning it in the mid-range of this ranking cohort. The 36% graduation rate and a Hakia Score of 74.1 reflect a moderately selective program with competitive entry. The program's page does not publish a specific NCLEX pass rate, so prospective students should request that figure from the nursing department directly. Graduates qualify to sit for the NCLEX-RN and earn a full registered nurse license, the same credential awarded to BSN graduates. CCM suits Morris County residents who want a structured, sequenced public-college path to RN and can meet the competitive prerequisites.

Brookdale Community College in Lincroft awards an AAS in Nursing after five sequential full-time semesters. Nursing coursework (NURS-designated classes) begins in the second semester following completion of prerequisite courses, and the program explicitly notes that the first clinical nursing semester demands roughly 30 to 35 hours per week, a realistic signal of the workload commitment. Students progress through classroom instruction, a nursing skills lab, and mandatory in-person clinical rotations at affiliated sites. Brookdale also maintains an advanced-placement pathway for students who already hold a New Jersey LPN license, compressing the route to RN for working practical nurses. A pathway to BSN completion programs is listed as an additional resource for graduates who later want a bachelor's credential.

In-state tuition is $8,130 per year, with out-of-state at $8,880, making Brookdale a moderately priced public option on the Monmouth County shore. The Hakia Score of 71.6 and a 30% graduation rate reflect the rigorous sequential structure and the time demands the program openly discloses. No NCLEX pass rate is stated on the program page; request current data from the nursing department. BLS data places national median RN wages at $97,550 per year. Brookdale fits students in the Monmouth and Ocean County region who want a fully public, affordable, and transparently demanding path to the NCLEX-RN.

Salem Community College, a public two-year institution in Carneys Point, NJ, offers an Associate in Science in Nursing built around QSEN competencies, theory, and hands-on clinical experience that cannot be completed at a distance. The program is structured across three semesters and includes a dedicated LPN-to-RN pathway for working practical nurses ready to advance to full RN licensure. Accreditation comes from both ACEN and the New Jersey Board of Nursing, and graduates sit for the NCLEX-RN on the same terms as any four-year BSN candidate.

In-county tuition runs $657 per credit, putting the stated total program cost at $18,340 before financial aid, based on current in-county rates. IPEDS places the six-year graduation rate at 40% and enrollment at roughly 1,135, figures typical for open-access community colleges serving working-adult students. No published admit rate signals an open-enrollment model. The program earned a Hakia Score of 71.2, ranking ninth among NJ ADN programs, making it a strong pick for South Jersey residents who want low tuition, a clear LPN bridge, and dual accreditation.

Eastern International College in Jersey City offers an Associate in Applied Science in Nursing across 70 semester credits completed in 24 months. The curriculum splits into 24 general education credits (Anatomy and Physiology I and II, microbiology, English, math, developmental psychology) and 46 nursing-major credits that include a Senior Clinical Practicum and a Concept Synthesis Capstone. Clinical externship rotations are in-person across acute care, rehabilitation, long-term care, ambulatory, and community settings. The program holds ACEN accreditation and approval from the New Jersey Board of Nursing; graduates apply for state licensure and sit for the NCLEX-RN.

The college's own ACEN-required disclosure reports an 81.82% NCLEX-RN pass rate for 2024 graduates (11 tested, 9 passed) and an ACEN-defined completion rate of 24.4% for the 2022-2023 cohort. In-state tuition is $16,182 per year, higher than a typical community college because this is a private for-profit institution. The admit rate is 70%, enrollment sits at 495, and IPEDS shows a 34% graduation rate. Hakia Score is 70.2, ranking tenth in NJ. The Jersey City location suits Hudson County residents who want an urban campus with documented NCLEX outcomes and need a two-year path to the $97,550 national RN median.