Columbia University ETP Program 2013

rgracevn · Mar 16, 2013

Hey ghostbird, thanks for the info! I actually ended up putting my deposit down on Columbia today because I couldn't make up my mind and since I don't know what financial aid JH will offer I didn't want to lose my spot. I talked to a friend of a friend today for about an hour, she is currently in the JH ABSN Fall start, in her second semester. She gave me a lot of really honest insight. She said that she lives in a great neighborhood called Charles Village, that she says feel really safe and comfortable and she is from a small town in Oregon. She feels like she is getting the best nursing education possible...there are so many opportunities at JH and they split their 170 person class in half, whereas at Columbia we all get put into giant lecture halls with the full 180+ class. It really does come down to what your goal is and how fast your want to get there. NP is my endgame as well, but I talked to a Columbia ETP 2009 grad who ended up having to work as an RN for almost 3 years before she was eligible to apply to NP jobs...(at least in major cities, she thinks it would have been different if she had more more willing to go to rural areas or if she had stayed in NY and utilized her clinical contacts). She did peds and she wanted to work in hospitals. It could be different in a community/private clinic, I am not sure. I have heard from a lot of people that direct entry NP's should have a good amount (minimum 1 year) of RN experience under their belts if they want to get a good job, otherwise you basically end up starting out as a new RN, doing a new grad RN job with corresponding salary. JH would give a real nursing education, whereas Columbia kinda skips over that part with minimal clinical hours. On the other hand I LOVE the columbia peds program and am sort of uninspired by JH's. At this point if I get a scholarship from JH I will go there, work for a year or two and then apply to Columbia (+others) for peds programs. I just figure that if I am going to spend 100k on a bsn, I want to get the best education possible and have the best job prospects possible. Nursing is the foundation for the end goal...I am unsure that glossing over that is a good idea. I of course say all this and could totally end up (happily) at Columbia in May, I definitely think that they turn out competent NP's, but I know 2 ETP grads that felt they had a lot of catching up to do in nursing before they could start working as NPs. I'm head over heals for New York and have never been to Baltimore. Baltimore is supposed to be very diverse also right? They are both amazing programs, I'm just trying to figure out my priorities and the best way to make those happen. JH would take longer...unless you graduate from Columbia just to find that you have to take a job below your education level just to be hireable as an NP a year or two later. I'm sort of betting that it all evens out in the end...but I feel a lot better about that first $100k knowing that I really am getting the best nursing education and that I will be as prepared as possible, with amazing connections to get into an NP program I want afterwards. At least that's where I am at today...I could write a similar posting more in favor of Columbia tomorrow. It might come down to the fact that moving to NY from Oregon in less than 8 weeks seems crazy as I am sort of burnt out from pre-reqs and am looking forward to the summer : )

the healer's art · Mar 16, 2013

You make good points rgracevn. But I had a question what do you know about Columbia's peds program? I'd love to know more about it since you said it was amazing..

rgracevn · Mar 16, 2013

Hey the healer's art. So I talked to a peds ETP grad the other day and she was telling me how much she absolutely loved the program. Things she said were amazing:clinical placements (very diverse, JH focuses on community health so there are no hospital rotations within the peds program). The director of the program ******* (she said as long as this woman is running the program I will be getting a great education); 800 clinical hours, whereas JH only offers 600, I think this is one of the main reasons that CU peds is ranked above JH peds;I think that the program of study/courses offered in peds at CU are better than those offered at JH. Besides there being more course work (= more clinical hours) which is obviously a pro for me, I am really interested in these particular classes: Advanced Pediatric and Neonatal Pharmacology, Emergency Pediatric Nursing, and Incorporating Genetics into Advanced Nursing Practice...I don't see anything comparable at JH. I eventually intend to end up in community health but I want the option of working in a hospital and I feel like JH doesn't really allow for that. Columbia also has sub-specialties and I am really interested in oncology and genetrics. However the faculty to student ratio at columbia is about 1:18 for both ETP year and MSN. Wheres JH is 1:7/8 for the BSN and for the MSN they say "Mentored patient care experiences based on the individual needs of the student are a cornerstone of the program." I am thinking this means one on one mentoring? Not sure. I think that no matter where we go, our first jobs will probably end up being where we did our clinicals. Its hard for RN's and NP's to find jobs without either a foot in the door or experience to back them up. I know that there will be no way for me to come back to Portland without at least one year of full time experience, the market here is completely saturated...even for OHSU students who seem to average 8-9 months to find their first RN jobs (within the city).

Are you still leaning Hopkins?

the healer's art · Mar 17, 2013

Thanks for all the info on Columbia's peds program. I had no idea. It does sound pretty interesting.

Yes I am still leaning Hopkins (I didn't submit a deposit to Columbia). I did get into the BS/MS program but depending on how I like Hopkins I do have the option to apply to other programs for the Masters.

ghostbird · Mar 19, 2013

Rgracevn, Baltimore is diverse in the sense that the population is largely non-Caucasian but it is mostly African-American. I'd consider New York more diverse since a multitude of ethnicities are represented in the population (Caucausians, African-Americans, Asians, Europeans, Latin Americans, etc.) Since I am mostly interested in outpatient experiences, I focused a lot on the makeup of the local population.

I definitely suggest visiting Baltimore to see which city you find the most inspirational! After a few days in NYC, I felt like I owned the city whereas Baltimore made me retreat to my hotel room at 5 pm on my second day there...haha. And I know that would affect my learning ability/motivation. :) Of course it is all personal preference! I get the feeling that if you are really really into working with the extremely disadvantaged, Johns Hopkins would be your dream school. If I had a tougher stomach, I would love to go to Johns Hopkins. Between the amazing clinical rotations abroad, the chance to work with a very large indigent population, and with D.C. being only a short train ride away (think about the opportunities to get involved with politics!), Johns Hopkins seems like an amazing opportunity. However, I'm going with Columbia because I get the feeling that I would be much more inspired in NYC, and working abroad and working with the indigent are opportunities that I know that I can create for myself if I stay motivated. Plus it is pretty cool that Columbia has CAPNA! I think it would be a really cool experience to learn from the DNPs working there. In the end, each program has its upsides and downsides; it just depends on what gets you going!

knurse16 · Apr 10, 2013

Hello future Columbia students,

I graduated from ETP in 2012 and am in the ETP-anesthesia program. When I first applied, I was admitted into the BSN portion (February 2011) but not the master's. Before starting the program, however, I was admitted into the CRNA portion of the program as well (April 2011). I didn't even know there was a wait list! I'm not saying that it will work out for everyone (because it definitely did not for many people in my class), but it's a possibility. I can tell you a lot about my experience as one of the 2 students in the ETP-Anesthesia program for my year. While there are normally 5-10 students, we had an exceptionally small class. I have had both good and bad experiences, and I promise to be honest with you about the Columbia lifestyle and working toward the master's program. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]. Even if your specialty is not anesthesia, I can most likely answer your questions about the BSN portion of the program or refer you to a classmate in your preferred specialty. Good luck to you all!

columbiauniFNP · May 16, 2013

Hey future applicants,

So I start the program in 2 weeks and I know one thing that I did was search the previous years' threads to find out stats on accepted applicants/dates of notification etc. Here are mine:

3.85 cum GPA

GRE 160ish

Did not have my bachelor's degree when I applied, and will receive it only a week before the program starts! Had 2 pending pre-reqs during the application process also.

Worked at a hospital for 3 years throughout college.

We found out acceptance via e-mail on 2/6/2013 in the afternoon.

Good luck to you all, be personal in your essay and show them you really want it!!!

Bdny90 · Oct 30, 2013

Hi ny5040,

Will you be able to tell me how many people are accepted into the ETP-anesthesia track? Some people say only 5? I hope that's not true! Can you tell us a little bit about how has your experience been?

ainyang6087 · Sep 26, 2014

Hey guys.. TO all who have gotten accepted, I am looking to apply to this program among others.

My overall is a 3.0 with a pre-req of 3.5...I also have 3yrs direct patient contact work experience as a Orthopedic Tech. I was just hoping you guys could give me an insight on what my chances would be in being accepted? anything in particular the school is looking for? etc.. just want to get a bit of an idea on what my chances are on being accepted. Maybe some of you are willing to share your GPAs and your application experience.