Rivier University

Rivier University in Nashua, New Hampshire, is a small, Catholic university founded by the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary in 1933. Their mission was and is to transform hearts and minds to serve the world, and all of the majors at Rivier are focused on helping others. I think that is so fabulous! In fact, in the core curriculum, students are asked to reflect on these questions: Who am I, and what is the world? Who is my neighbor? How shall we live? What, then, must we do?

Rivier is a regional institution in that it primarily serves students from the local or regional area. However, a new athletic director was hired 5 years ago, and in addition to starting a hockey program, he also started bringing in coaches with national and international recruiting in mind, which has increased the geographic diversity of the student body. Out of its 2500 students, 1000 are undergraduates, and about 60% of them live on campus. The majority of those who don’t commute from home. The campus is beautifully maintained, and although the exterior of some of the buildings look a bit dated, the interiors have been transformed into beautiful, modern spaces. Also, they are in the process of building “Rivier Village,” a community of six new residence halls to support their goal of expanding programs.

Nursing is historically very strong at Rivier. For nursing majors, the NCLEX pass rate is around 93%. There are 115 spots for first-year nursing students, but the university is prepared to admit more, and to hire more nursing faculty to support a larger cohort in order to maintain the student/faculty ratio of 14:1. Expected academic preparation is algebra plus one secondary math course, as well as chemistry and biology. Anatomy and Physiology is a plus. Education is also strong here, as is health science, and the newest major is AI, which they are hoping to grow.
The average core academic GPA of admitted students is 3.3, and students who visit campus are offered an interview which waives the essay and letter of recommendation requirement in the application. Upon receipt of the student’s transcript, these students receive an admission decision within a day or two. Rivier is capitalizing on the impressive campus, renovated buildings, and stronger than expected sense of community – if they can get prospective students here, they will apply! These students are also guaranteed a $2000 visit grant and a $1500 early acceptance grant, both of which are renewable for four years. The cost of attendance here is $59K all-in, and additional merit scholarships run between $15K and $24K.

Lastly, return on investment is becoming increasingly important in higher ed, and Rivier offers an Employment Promise Program: if a student is not employed in their field within nine months of graduation, River will either make monthly payments on federally subsidized student loans for up to a year or offer up to six Rivier graduate courses tuition-free. That’s something I’d like to see more of!