2010 DePaul Masters Entry Cohort

voanderson · Oct 15, 2009

Hello,

I also was wondering about working. My FAFSA covers most of it but I have to pay for my living expenses so I was wondering how hard it was for you to work while doing the program. Is it possible or is it waaaaaay to overwhelming? Also, what is the best area to live in. I really want to live in Lincoln Park but it seems like the prices are really high and the availability of places is low. Would it be better to live in Roscoe Village or Lakeview?

Valencia

IGiveTheShots · Oct 15, 2009

So! Here's what I did:

I took out a private loan for living expenses my first year - HUGE mistake! I live(d) in the big glass building right next to campus and, while extremely convenient in every sense, it was a hefty price. I got a job in December working as a CNA at Children's, and that pays for my petty expenses to this day. Honestly, there are people in the cohort that cannot handle working. Personally, I find it hard not to work - I get more stuff done that way.

So this year I realized how crappy it was to spend so much money on housing and decided to apply for a Senior Resident Advisor for my building. The pay is enough to cover food for the month, but the most important part is that you get two rooms in a four room suite and all of your living arrangement covered (inc. furniture, internet, cable, utilities, etc). For all of the perks, the job isn't very demanding. Most obligations are during the night, and its actually kind of fun. But anyway, I'm not sure if that is something you would be interested in, but if you are, I can put you in contact with the right people.

Oh, and I still work both jobs, on top of go to school, and I've had zero issues. So you really can do it!

Haha....and to answer your question, if you decide to get an apartment, definitely get a roommate. Cost / person goes down as bedrooms increase. Live somewhere like Wrigleyville, where transportation (the El more specifically) is available and cost is relatively low.

voanderson · Oct 15, 2009

Awesome! Thank you so much for the advice. I was wanting to probably bar tend at night and do class in the evening so that way I could make decent money with out working too hard. Yeah I didn't want to take out a personal loan either... FAFSA is plenty. I know which glass building you are talking about haha! That is so funny b/c I was looking into that cuz that is what DePaul recommends but when I saw the price tag I was like... NO WAY JOSE! So will you be at the orientation on Friday of next week? The e-mail said that the school sent out said that there would be current students there to talk to us. Also what are your plans for the future... are you going straight into a certification program, i.e. teaching or APN, or are you just going to work for a little bit? Also, if you know anybody that needs a roommate... I am looking!!!

walt3rs.j · Oct 16, 2009

Hey everybody!

I also got into DePaul's January cohort! I want to say congratulations to those of you who also got in! Yay! Just like most of you, I also have many questions, like where to live!! My name is Jessica Walters and I'm in the U of I network on facebook! What's the best way to pay for an apartment/living expenses?? I was thinking about taking out a loan or something, but I just feel so overwhelmed! Any ideas??

Thanks!

walt3rs.j · Oct 16, 2009

I was trying to get some shopping done early for the program, while I'm still working right now. I was wondering, any ideas on what to buy right now, before the program starts? Any useful tips? :)

Thanks!

voanderson · Oct 16, 2009

I got an e-mail saying that we will have orientation on Friday the 23rd of October. I figured that they would tell us what all we needed then. P.S. What is your name? I was wanting to meet some other people in the program before it started. Will you be going to the orientating?

Valencia

voanderson · Oct 16, 2009

Oh also I was going to go looking for apartments too. I was thinking that it would be awesome if a bunch of us 2010 cohort lived together. That way we would always be studying for the same thing and be able to help each other out!

Valencia

livingthedream, APN · Oct 17, 2009

RSpatel235 -

You can transfer some credits..... the other poster is not correct. I am not sure about pharm, but there were a few in my cohort (I graduated in June) that transfered Nutrition and a few other things...

TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP · Oct 19, 2009

Hi there - I'm a member of the 2009 Winter-start cohort (so I'm a full year ahead of you lot). I volunteered to help out Christine by showing up to your Orientation, so I'll be seeing all of you there. In the meanwhile, I'll try to answer some of the questions that have popped up.

I have to second livingthedream - Nutrition definitely transfers (and I highly encourage you to get it to transfer, you'll lighten your course load and the amount of money you'll have to pay DePaul). You may be able to argue other courses, though for some of them you'll instantly be denied if they're not graduate-level. However, I personally encourage anyone to argue that undergraduate Bioethics should count, since that's all that the supposedly graduate bioethics course is...

As for paying for it - as graduate students we're all eligible for GradPLUS loans through the federal government once we file our FAFSAs. They have something like a $100k ceiling on them, which will more than cover cost of attendance for two years, but they do want to be paid back starting 60 days of graduation as opposed to the 6 months for the Stafford loans.

Living locations: I advise against living in Lakeview/Lincoln Park, mostly cos it's really expensive. DePaul is right on top of the Fullerton stop on the North Side Main Line of the L, so it's relatively easy to get to from anyplace on the three lines that stop there. Evanston, Rogers Park, and Edgewater are all much more affordable with reasonable commutes.

As far as purchases, there's not much that you need to do right now. You'll get a packet at orientation with everything you need to do. However, something you can and probably should get cracking on now, while some of you still have employer-provided health insurance, is your vaccinations and titrations. Going by last year's list, you will need to prove immunity by titer for Hepatits B, Rubeola (Measles), Rubella, Mumps, and Varicella (Chicken Pox). You'll need to document your immunization history or disease history for those as well. In addition, you'll need a Tetorifice/Diptheria shot within the past 10 years, as well as a 2-step PPD test (for TB). You'll need documentation for all that too, but that you can get on the follow-up visit after your complete History and Physical.

The scrubs for DePaul's clinical uniform are Solid Navy Dickies Scrubs. They've looked the other way before on non-dickies scrubs that were solid navy: they're more worried about everyone wearing the same color, and specifying a manufacturer is the easiest way to do that.

When you order your stethoscope, I'd highly recommend that you go through Allheart.com. It's cheaper than buying it in person, and you can pay a few bucks extra to get your name engraved on it (so no one can steal it and claim it as theirs). Unless you're a really short person, though, I'd recommend getting the 27-inch steth instead of the 22.

I hope I've answered most of the questions here - if not, feel free to ask more. Otherwise, I'll see you all on Friday!

TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP · Oct 19, 2009

Oh, in re: to the person who wanted to transfer pathophys - unless you took the class as a medical student or as part of a PA or other APN program, I can almost guarantee you that it won't transfer. The 300-level pathophys/pharm course (courses? there's a change coming and I forget which cohort gets it) only really have enough patho in order to understand drug actions, while the 400-level classes are part of the Advanced Practice Core which, once you complete an APN certification after graduating, will allow you to prescribe medications.

rspatel235 · Oct 20, 2009

Thank you very much. I will talk with program director regarding credit transfer. Do you know about CPR certification? Is it required before starting program because I got mails regarding Imminization, back ground check etc. Thanks

TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP · Oct 20, 2009

You will need to get your CPR certification, "CPR of the Healthcare Provider" through the American Heart Association, before you start clinical - preferably a bit sooner. However, being familiar with CPR is always a good thing.