[elizabells]

Check with the off-campus housing office; they're not stellar, but they do keep a list of brokers who offer reduced or no fees to students. I myself had poor luck with CraigsList, but I know people who did great with it.

[i heart NY]

Hi Everyone!

New to this site! I'll be joining you guys at Columbia in May (less than 3 months!!! ). I'm accepted into the dual Adult/Women's Health track, but am considering Acute Care.

I'll be relocating from Boston and decided to live off-campus. I contacted the off-campus housing office and got a temporary login for their database. Most of the current listings are directly through the landlords, which saves on realtor fees, but limits selection as each landlord usually only has one or two units whereas realtors can show you multiple listings.

One quick question ... Have any of you ordered the stethoscope package yet? Do you know if there is really a difference in quality between the higher and lower priced packages?

So excited to go to Visiting Day! See ya!

[smit1989]

I've used both littmann stethoscopes and they are both fine. I ordered the Littmann II SE package. If you are going to throw down money for a nice one, get the electronic cardiology one for a few hundred bucks...but you most definitely won't need it and will be fine with the Littmann II

[fnp4me]

Does anyone know when we will hear back regarding housing assignments? I've started looking off-campus for a place but I'm in the same situation. Can anyone recommend some areas to look?

Also, is anyone going to accepted student day tomorrow?

[Alexandria8]

Originally Posted by nursinstudenthopeful

does anybody know if they favor a psych background (undergrad or grad) when applying to the psychiatric tract?

I was admitted to the Psychiatric Mental Health specialty and I am finishing up my BS in psych now. It doesn't seem that many "nursing people" want to do psych, and it seems that the "psych people" don't know about the opportunity as a Psych. NP so I don't think they favor one way or the other. I think it was my experience working in psych. that made me a competitive applicant. To give you an idea, I worked at residential treatment facilities for people with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse issues, a residential DBT house for women with Borderline Personality Disorder, and eventually at a psychiatric hospital. I've been telling my classmates what I am doing and they are all shocked that I will be able to prescribe, do therapy, and actually make money doing it without being in school for the next six years. This time last year I was wondering all the same things that you are and I must say that I am totally happy with my decision thus far and definitely recommend this route for fellow "psych people". Nice to see people interested in the field...I seem to be the only one on this site so far in mental health.

[dg05]

Hey guys - how was visiting day?

[Alexandria8]

I am even more excited now that I have a real picture of what my summer will be like and I had a great time at visiting day yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised by the neighborhood after being slightly concerned about it feeling a bit sketchy from people's comments. I definitely felt comfortable there though, and am looking forward to the big move.

I was reassured by one of the student ambassadors that, although there is a ton of material to learn, test questions are generally straightforward. After having a few professors lately who seem to love finding the most difficult and circuitous way to ask a question, I was feeling a bit nervous about tons of tricky questions on top of loads of information. I don't know what other people's experience has been though.

I know that we are allowed to mix and match the navy and white tops and bottoms for uniforms, but I was wondering what the general consensus is...to mix or to match?

[dg05]

Alexandria - good to hear you're confident about your decision ! I've seen both mixed and matched. I didn't buy any white because I was afraid of getting blood etc on them but the people who did buy white still look pretty good after all these months. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen anyone do all white though...

DG

[hatingthewaiting]

What's the neighborhood like around the campus? Is it safe?

[i heart NY]

The neighborhood around campus is not that bad, but it's relative depending on where you are from and what you are used to.

The hospital does serve an inner-city population, including many individuals who do not speak english as their first language, and who do not always have access to good healthcare. But I believe this will be a great experience for us as new nurses, and will challenge us to become the best we can be ... Hopefully everything after this should be a piece of cake!

That said, I don't know if I would want to live right around the hospital (unless you are living in the campus housing). There is a nice neighborhood a little farther uptown called Hudson Heights. It's in the 180s, west of Broadway (the hospital is W168th Street), and is just a quick 10 minute bus or subway ride from the medical center. It's a really nice up-and-coming neighborhood with cute restaurants and a couple nice bars. It's right near the Cloisters and you can get great views of the Hudson River and the bridges.

Also, Morningside Heights (~W116th Street) near Columbia's main campus) is really nice, but a little pricier. There is a free shuttle that goes from the main campus to the medical center, but at Visiting Day, one of the current students said they recently said nursing students aren't allowed to ride it anymore ... but the subway ride is only about 10-15 minutes.

Hope this paints a little clearer picture of where you may be living!