Carrington College Review

Carrington College is a private, for profit college in Sacramento, California. It is a small college with a total enrollment of 1,267. The highest degree that it offers is an associate’s degree. The school offers many health-care related associate’s degrees, such as registered nursing, practical/vocational nursing, medical assisting, medical laboratory technician, and medical radiography.

Favorite Features

Tuition is fixed for the duration of your program

A common challenge of going to college today is the high and rising cost of tuition. Students at some colleges are subject to tuition increases during their program. This can make it difficult to afford to get through school for some students.

Carrington College features a Fixed Tuition Promise that is in place for all students who are active and in good standing during their program. Your tuition cannot increase while you are in your program, as long as you maintain the minimum required GPA for your program.

Students who choose to withdraw from school and are not reinstated within six months can have their tuition increased.

$1,000 scholarships are available

Students who have at least a 2.0 GPA in high school are eligible for a $1,000 scholarship to apply toward tuition. The student must submit official transcripts to prove that they have the required GPA. Also required are two letters of recommendation, and a 50 to 150 word essay about why you are interested in the particular field.

Large numbers of college attendees receive financial aid, with the typical grant being $4,842. This will help to make your college experience more affordable.

Support available

Just as important as the quality of the education that you receive is how well the college supports you during and after the program.

After you graduate, Carrington College has plenty of resources available to help you find a job. They can help you to write your resume, look for a job and even help you prepare for your interviews.

Carrington also has support available for your needs outside of the classroom. They understand that busy professionals may need assistance with personal matters that could affect their education. This service can help you to work through personal problems, legal matters, referrals for child care, housing help or financial assistance.

Least Favorite Features

Nursing programs are not accredited by CCNE

Accreditation of college education programs is a very important matter. Both you and your possible employers want to make sure that the nursing degree that you spend time and money to earn is of the best quality.

The most respected organization for nursing program accreditation is the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or CCNE. A program that has been accredited by the CCNE has proven that its curriculum meets the high standards of the organization.

CCNE sets certain required objectives that students in the program have to meet to be qualified to practice for various levels of nursing. Each set of objectives varies, based upon whether it is an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree. The program has to show that it meets every objective. CCNE also reviews the support structure at the university, such as financial aid, transfer credit, library services and more.

Carrington College’s nursing programs are not accredited by the CCNE. Thus it can be more challenging to verify its program quality.

On a positive note, some of the programs are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, or ACEN. But this organization is not as well known as the CCNE.

Carrington College Is Unranked by US News and World Report

Because it is a for-profit organization, this college is not ranked by US News and World Report. This does not mean that Carrington is not a high quality institution. It simply means that the program is not ranked, so you have more limited information available to you to make a choice.

The Details

General Information

  • Founded in 1967
  • Application deadline: Rolling
  • Application fee: $0
  • School type: Private
  • Term Schedule: Semester
  • Location: Sacramento, California
  • Student-faculty ratio: 23:1

Tuition Rates

  • Associate’s degree in nursing: $49,055 total cost

Healthcare Associate’s Degrees

  • RN
  • Nursing Bridge
  • Practical and Vocational Nursing
  • Medical Billing and Coding
  • Medical Laboratory Technician
  • Pharmacy Technology
  • Physical Therapist Assistant
  • Respiratory Care
  • Surgical Technology

Class Profile

  • 40% white; 12% Asian; 20% Latino; 13% black or African American
  • 52% of students are 25-64; 47% are 18-24
  • 86% female, 14% male

Graduation and Retention Rates

  • Carrington College overall graduated 46.3% of its students on time in 2014.
  • Graduation rates overall all for the college is 63%.
  • Job placement for graduates of associate’s RN program is 82%.

US News Rankings

  • This college is not ranked by US News and World Report

Other Rankings

  • Carrington College Tucson is ranked the #40 trade school in 2017 Best Niche Colleges