2012 UCSF MEPN Applicants

myelin · Mar 12, 2012

Well, we start class on the 18th, I believe. This means that orientation will be the week prior, according to the person I spoke with at UCSF.

futurenurse1983 · Mar 13, 2012

Hi all - has anyone received any information from UCSF outside of the financial aid one page sheet? I'm just wondering about physical requirements (immunizations, etc).

Also, is anyone looking for housing? I'm on the east coast and not sure when I should start looking. I was thinking of heading out there for a week in early May...but if anyone is in the area and looking and wants a roommate...that would be amazing!

thuyd527 · Mar 14, 2012

I hope they let us know about orientation and everything else soon, too. Haven't received anything from them besides the financial aid info. This is what I found on their student health website, I'm guessing the physical requirements for this year would be the same for last year.

Forms & Brochures | UCSF Student Health & Counseling

futurenurse1983: I live in LA and was going to start looking for places in April and probably head up to SF to look sometime in May. Maybe we can coordinate and look together or help each other out. Just not sure what my schedule is. Also, I'm not too familiar with the area but can let you know what I find.

myelin · Mar 14, 2012

I'm going to be looking in April as well. I'd love to meet up!

futurenurse1983 · Mar 15, 2012

Great! I am thinking of heading out to look at places at the end of April/early May. Thinking of staying in the inner sunset area/lower haight but open to looking at other areas also that are close to the UCSF shuttle line!

Are you both on FB and have you joined the UCSF MEPN group? I wonder if Steven can refer the other new MEPN students there (it seems like a small group so far!).

myelin · Mar 16, 2012

I'm glad I'm not the only one who is wondering where the other MEPNs are! I know our class is smaller this year, but still, our facebook group is so small. I like the idea about having Steven get the word out, lol.

I'm interested in the same neighborhoods (Haight and Inner Sunset). I'm going to be looking for a place, and I'd love to live with roommates to mitigate the cost. :) My only concern is my car. I wish I could leave it at my mom's, but it seems like it's really vital to have a car for the program. Anyone have any advice about parking in SF or how to deal with it? Is everyone bringing a car?

t_heart · Mar 16, 2012

I'm hoping to move out around 6/1. I'm also out-of-state. I will probably be hunting for housing in SF the 1st week of May. I have mixed feelings about campus housing but I'm actually considering Mission Bay for the MEPN year since I'm out-of-state and it would just simplify things until I get my bearings. I'm not sure what UCSF students' experiences have been with it--anyone know??? I called about a studio, and there is a waitlist with a move in date of 7/1 (that's sadly after classes start), but it sounds like they have 4bd apts available earlier. There is parking at Mission Bay for around $65/mo. So for under $1000 you can get get a room in a 4bd, parking, electricity, internet, and free and easy access to the Bakar rec center at Mission Bay. Plus, shuttles to UCSF hospitals including Parnassus run all the time so transportation to class would be super easy. Looking at the application you can choose your roommates, not that I know anyone yet... At any rate, I'm still going to check out craigslist when I'm in SF in May. PM me if you'd like to discuss housing or just meet up for coffee in SF!

Also, I don't have Facebook--kinda lame, huh?

t_heart · Mar 16, 2012

Have any of you looked HRSA's National Health Sevice Corps scholarship? It only applies to those of us who are entering primary care (FNP, PNP, CNM, etc). I'm not sure I'm going to apply yet since I'm not convinced they have too many PNP service sites and don't want to be bound do a contract without the ability to fulfill it...

I guess there's always the HRSA loan-repayment programs when we graduate...

HRSA website

myelin · Mar 16, 2012

Ooh, I like the idea of living in Mission Bay for the first year. Also, the parking rate is really reasonable! I think I'm definitely going to apply for a bedroom in a 4 bedroom.

thuyd527 · Mar 16, 2012

Wow, that rate for a bedroom plus everything else in graduate housing at Mission Bay is great! I was under the impression that grad housing was too expensive, but maybe that was just for the studio. I'll look into the 4 bedroom apt now; is it on their student housing website?

I was also thinking about Inner Sunset and Haight/Ashbury area. Haight/Ashbury is a really nice and cute area, but housing can get pretty expensive (from what I've seen on Craigslist so far). Sunset seems reasonable. I would like to bring my car but worried about parking as well. I hear that unless you have a parking space, it can be tough to find street parking and then dealing with street cleaning days, etc. I'm probably going to bring my car and test it out for the summer and then decide whether I even really need it.

We should all try to coordinate and be in SF at the same time to look for housing! I would love to meet some of you! And the FB group is kinda small..wonder why. t_heart - you should join FB!

Also, I've looked into the HRSA scholarship but I think we are not qualified to apply for it. I think we are ineligible:

Applicants are ineligible if they are:

(3) Enrolled in a nursing Bridge Program. For example, RN-MSN, BSN-MSN, Direct Entry, Graduate Pre-specialty or Entry to Practice programs.

t_heart · Mar 17, 2012

thuyd527, I'm glad that you pointed the eligibility issue out about the NHSC scholarship. I actually emailed one of the reps last week and asked if the UCSF MEPN program qualified and he said yes. I have a feelings the reps don't necessarily know what they are talking about because another one avoided answering whether or not there were sites where PNPs could fulfill service requirements.

What about the HRSA's Nursing Scholarship Program? What do you think this means under eligibility requirements #2:

"Please note: Students enrolled in LPN programs, self-paced study programs (on-line), bridge programs, and dual degree programs are not eligible for a scholarship award."

Note that this one does not say "direct entry." However I think this one prioritizes loans to undergraduate nursing students before graduate students...

Anyone concerned that tuition will spike this year? I think last year's MEPNs said tuition shot up $9K right before school started.

thuyd527 · Mar 17, 2012

That's interesting that the rep said we would qualify. One of the other school that I applied to financial aid counselor told me that some of their students were able to attain that scholarship last year (this program is also a direct entry program), so I was confused when I read the eligibility requirements as well. Maybe when we start our masters part, we'll be eligible for the scholarship?

For the HRSA nursing scholarship program, it doesn't say 'direct entry', but it does say bridge programs. And if you look back at what I post about eligibility for the HRSA national health service corps scholarship, it also says bridge programs and gives examples of those type of programs. So just from that, I would guess that direct entry are bridge programs? But that's just a guess. All this is a little confusing. I'm in the same boat as you though; I'm in the PNP specialty and don't want to be bound by a contract. I think I would rather do the loan forgiveness program. And we might be able to find good jobs after we graduate, can't rule that out =)

I'm scared that tuition will increase, too, but comparing tuition prices to other schools, UCSF is a lot cheaper because it's public and it's still a very highly ranked nursing school. At least the tuition for the masters part will be better. I got into Penn as well, and freaked out when I saw how much tuition was for getting the BSN alone. So when I saw UCSF's estimated cost, it didn't scare me as much haha