[ddstudent]

I am current senior at a highschool in New Jersey, I am looking to move to Philadelphia, PA next year and attend a university there, I am considering Drexel. I've decided I want to go away rather than stay in NJ and attend a community college, I want the life experience of being on my own. However, the cost of this decision is outrageous. I am looking for anyone with knowledge of the area and the nursing profession. I'd love to specialize in pediatric nursing. I would appreciate anyone's advice and mainly exact facts and info about the loan reinbursments once you garauntee a hospital 2 or 3 years of your work. I've heard so many different limits and rules. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[bergren]

I worked at Children's (CHOP) right out of school, but it was a long time ago. Great place to get a Peds experience! There are many colleges of nursing in the Philadelphia area. I think it would be a fantasitic place to be a college student! I was quite impressed with the Villanova graduates I worked with back then.

Some Philadelphia nursing programs:

Drexel University
Holy Family College Philadelphia PA
La Salle University Philadelphia PA
Mcp Hahnemann University Philadelphia PA
Presbyterian Med Ctr Univ Of Pa Hth Sys Sch Of Pr Philadelphia PA
Saint Josephs University Philadelphia PA
Temple University Philadelphia PA
University Of Pennsylvania Philadelphia PA
Villanova

Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia PA http://www.tju.edu/jchp/nursing/index.cfm
The program will provide $18, 600 over a three year period to qualified applicants who are hired into a full-time nursing position at any of the four Thomas Jefferson University Hospital campuses: Center City Philadelphia, Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience, Ford Road (near City Line Avenue) and Methodist Hospital in South Philadelphia.

Your school college center should have the catalogs for all these schools, but it is almost easier to get the informtion online. Get the schools to tell you about scholarships and workstudy. They might be able to tell you which hospitals will hire student nurse interns with a promise of college loan payoffs.

See the J&J website for scholarships: http://www.discovernursing.com/default.asp

CHOP also has a 10 week student extern program after you finish your Peds rotation: http://www.chop.edu/consumer/jsp/division/generic.jsp?id=76694

[ddstudent]

I appreciate your reply. CHOP is actually where I hope I end up, I met a woman at my career day at my school who is a ped nurse there, and we talked and got in touch over the holiday and I am going to go up with her one day and check everything out.. she said she would set me up with a recruiter as well. However, I feel like I'm rather late in the game as I mentioned I was set on going to my local community college but the closer it gets the more I'm thinking what am I doing? I need to go away, not for anything else but the experience, growing up. I have really been looking into Drexel which was on your list, however it is soo much money and I have a family of 6. Two sisters and a brother right behind me so my father is not going to be able to put out this outrageous amount of money (big reason i was "settling" for the community college) but this is really what I want to do and a a lot of people have mentioned these loan reimbursemnt plans for hospitals which wouldn't inconvenience me any, because I would be working anyhow. I feel it is too good to be true though .. and I do not want to be stuck in debt when i graduate. I need to find the facts as far as that works .. because that will basically determne what I do, the money part is up to me with making this decision.
I will defnintely check out some of the schools on your list that I haven't already looked at.
Also, when you say for Thomas Jefferson (where I would like to transfer after 2 years .. because of their affiliation with CHOP) that the program will provide $18, 600 over a three year period to qualified applicants who are hired into a full-time nursing position at any of the four Thomas Jefferson University Hospital campuses is that $18,600 of your loans from college for 3 years worth of tuition or that much each year of tuition/loans?

[bergren]

I just cut and pasted from Thomas Jefferson's web site. You would need to call them for more details. It is just an example of the types of loan repayment programs. I looked on CHOPs web site and it does not appear they have one.

Rerexel and finances - Private colleges have a lot of money to give to deserving students. Call them and get the low down. With all those siblings, you might very well qualify for some good $$$. Sometimes the most expensive schools (Penn & Villanova) have the most money to give away through generous alumni endowments. If you have your heart set on Drexel, pay them a visit NOW!!! Gloria Donnelly, the Dean, has a great reputation.

I went to Penn State as the oldest of 6 kids - I had a full merit scholarship through my Dad's company, but still had a hard time meeting expenses with a 15 hour per week campus job. and summer work. However, I did look into the Navy and Army Nurse Corps my junior year. I ended up not going that route, but that is another option. If you analyze the numbers, it pays off to take out loans and earn a college educated wage rather than working at minimum wage jobs and taking 6 years to finish college.

So you are a little late in the game to be applying, but some students switch their intended school after graduation and before fall classes. Don't let these little barriers get in the way of your goal!!! Get on the phone and call the admissions offices - before you pay the application fee find out if they have filled their fall 2004 classes. Make campus visits! Most will still welcome your application.

[ddstudent]

I am hoping this weekend to visit Drexel, even just to drive through the campus will give me an idea. Just their website looks beautiful! I started the application, I have a login ID and pin number to finish (informaion I need from school) I read their optional essay and I have that ready.
Last year the thought of joining the navy was an option as well.. because they pay your full tuition/ room and board correct? Kind of like the hospital/loan reimbursment deal though, you have to gaurantee yourself a certain amount of years to them .. would I still be able to work in a hospital like CHOP or another children's hospital ? I would have to join a summer training camp/boot camp type thing this summer right? I wouldn't mind I want to do whatever it takes .. I just wish I would have made this decision a couple months ago. But better late than never.
Money is my main factor with a lot of this .. I just have to seek my options and get main facts. This weekend I'm hoping to go to Philly and pysically visit some schools and when I return school monday I'll get down to buisness with calling and applying.

[bergren]

Maybe some of the other Discussion Board members did the armed services route. My mom was a Navy nurse and loved it, but it was a big benefit - tuition, room and board, plus a generous monthly stipend when I looked into it, but back then I needed to promise three years service and I decided to just keep living in poverty. It was a tough decision. Many nurses I have worked with loved their military nursing experiences and the educational opportunites once you are in a great. Plus nurses enter as officers. You could call a Navy recruiter to ask. There are peds opportunites in the service.

https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/scholarships_application.html

Good luck on your tour at Drexel - let us know what you deide to do!

Don't dwell on being slightly delayed on this - you should still be able to make this happen!

[bergren]

The is a government nurses board on allnurses That might be a place to get some more answers. I looked for a military nurses listserv and I could not find one.

[ddstudent]

hey bergen .. haven't got back to you, I've been really busy and I got my wisdom teeth out this week. Anyhow, I visited drexel today and I walked through Penn's campus as well, got a taste of the city, saw all the hopspitals. I enjoyed it. I'm excited to get down to buisness this week at school and get my stuff together s far as exactly where I'm going to go and what I'm going to do here. Thanks for the help and knowledge you shared, any ideas or anything you find out as far as financial options with the profession let me know! Thanks .. as for anyone else who reads this too, more broad the opinions and the knowledge the better.