Accepted Columbia ETP applicants (and current students: some advice). get-together?

Nursing Students Post Graduate

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:welcome: Hi everyone! I thought it might be a good idea to get our own separate thread for those accepted to Columbia ETP! Sure we have a lot to discuss!

I would also like to invite current students to this topic to share your experiences and answer some questions.:idea:

Here is one question that is really bothering me.

I have been working and studying simultaneously for the past 4 years, and to tell the truth I am really tired. Will financial help from Columbia (both scholarship and loans) allow me to only study? In particular, how much money do they give every month for living expenses? If you feel uncomfortable writing about it in public, personal messages are welcome too

Aside from this, - congrats to all those accepted and really looking forward to meeting you! :balloons:

Oh, by the way, I am Women's Health! What about you?;)

Not to hijack the thread but to all of you future Columbia ETPers that are using any form of financial aid: Do you have to submit your letter of intent before you find out what kind of aid you receive? I'm considering Columbia for 2008 applications (If I can't get into a program this year) and this question is looming over my head....so much $$$! :)

I have the same question. But isn't fafsa due March 2nd? So I'm guessing we won't know about our financial aide package until much afterwards. Columbia will tell us about financial aide and costs on Visiting Day if you go.

I've been trying to estimate how much tuition would cost. The problem is: I don't know approximately how many units of clinical courses do we need to take for the MS portion. Anyone have a clue? (I'm accepted in the FNP program)

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Hmm - I'm native to Denver, but lived some'teen years in Cali, all over the Los Angeles basin and then 6 yrs in Berkeley. There are many Ca transplants in the ETP program, and we have some small town girls - central MA, VT, a guy from Houston - nobody has gone home with their tail between their legs to my knowledge.

When my Supershuttle dropped me off in front of the dorms, the first thing I saw was a big fat rat that could probably ingest a chihuahua. And that was in broad daylight in the hot May sun. Lovely. None indoors (yet), thankfully. :chair:

People are cool, if standoffish. Hard to get used to the direct-ness, especially after being used to the flakey "let's do lunch" los angeleno nice you to death approach...but it's refreshing.

There are security/escort services around Columbia Presby campus, and that is in response to the muggings - this isn't Mean Streets and thankfully the '80s are a distant memory, but there is crime in Washington Heights.:smiley_ab

Still, it's great. Everyone should get such a chance to check it out! It will make you a great nurse practitioner to interact with the people of NYC. :twocents:

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this is a question for the current ETPers:

exactly how hard is it? I went to a fairly prestigious school for undergrad, and did fairly well, though I struggled when it came to memorization (specifically A&P). So, are we talking med school hard?

I'm starting to get nervous, and I don't want to go and not be able to handle it. How do you all perceive it? How ridiculously difficult is it? I mean, what GPA did you all have going into the program? Were you pre-med? Am I already behind?

I'm currently taking A/PII, and I'm studying harder than I normally would because I'm nervous of not making it in grad school.

Also, I'm really worried about housing. Where should I look? What are good neighborhoods around Columbia? I don't know NY at all! Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.

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Specializes in Perioperative Orthopaedics - scrub/circ.
There are many Ca transplants in the ETP program...

Many? you mean more than half of the class right? lol

and we have some small town girls - central MA, VT, a guy from Houston - nobody has gone home with their tail between their legs to my knowledge.

Thanks for grouping me in with the "small town" folks! I forgot how Houston is only the 4th largest city in the nation... is it even on a map? :trout:

When my Supershuttle dropped me off in front of the dorms, the first thing I saw was a big fat rat that could probably ingest a chihuahua.

have you ever thought about being a recruiter?

Everyone should get such a chance to check it out! It will make you a great nurse practitioner to interact with the people of NYC. :twocents:

yup... NYC is an education all in it's own.

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Hard to tell you specifics on grades and cramming and learning - it's so individual. I'm a 37 year old English major (this is relevant only when you think of the adage about old dogs and new tricks :p ) and I have about a 3.3 GPA right now...I graduated Cal with highest honors and a double major in Rhetoric, so I'm not thrilled with my GPA, but it's not really my goal to be in the honors society. You have to be honest with yourself. I was scared to death of all the

ology
courses, but I'm doing fine and you will too. Worse case scenario is academic probation, and you get a warning to bring your grades up.

The living thing has been addressed elsewhere - but I will say that dorm housing is the best deal on the block - if not that, look up Adele in the housing office, she tries to send listings in the neighborhood and place people in student friendly situations. Craigslist can be fruitful, but exhausting. Some students are happily paying $1200 in Washington Heights for a spacious one bedroom, others are paying $1300 each for a two bedroom share in a "nicer" neighborhood. There are deals, there are scams...does that help?

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Specializes in Emergency.

Do most ETP-ers live on or around campus or do you have any commuters? I'll prob be living on the UES around Cornell/NY Hospital (70th and York) either in Cornell housing or something around there... does Adele deal with anything in that area? Also, since Columbia is partners with Cornell/NY Hospital, I'm hoping I can get some Columbia housing in the Cornell area... any ideas about that?

Also, do any of you know about the shuttle bus situation? I know that there's some bus that runs from NY Hospital to Columbia every hour? Has anyone used it?

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Hey Cozzy...I live in that area of the upper east side (high 70s and York). It's not the posh setting of the park/5th ave area but it's very comfortable and way more affordable than most places in manhattan before you hit harlem. One downside--far from the 77th/lex subway. we originally wanted to live in midtown or murray hill/gramercy but we didn't want to---or couldn't--spend $2100 a month on rent. if you do move to ues and live near 79th st, you can take a crosstown bus to the west side and take the subway up to columbia, and the commute is apparently not that difficult. we looked at harlem/morningside heights because you can get some VERY nice apartments for less but the commute was too long for my husband, who has to work much longer hours than me....but if anyone still needs an apartment it's not a bad place to look.

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Some students are happily paying $1200 in Washington Heights for a spacious one bedroom, others are paying $1300 each for a two bedroom share in a "nicer" neighborhood. There are deals, there are scams...does that help?

Yeah, that scares me. My roommate and I currently pay $910 for a very spacious 2BR in an upscale neighborhood, walking distance from 3 beautiful lakes. From what I've seen online, I'm quite nervous about how much a reasonable apartment will cost.

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Specializes in Perioperative Orthopaedics - scrub/circ.
Do most ETP-ers live on or around campus or do you have any commuters? I'll prob be living on the UES around Cornell/NY Hospital (70th and York) either in Cornell housing or something around there... does Adele deal with anything in that area? Also, since Columbia is partners with Cornell/NY Hospital, I'm hoping I can get some Columbia housing in the Cornell area... any ideas about that?

Also, do any of you know about the shuttle bus situation? I know that there's some bus that runs from NY Hospital to Columbia every hour? Has anyone used it?

The housing is for New York Presbyterian employees, so we aren't eligible for that. The shuttle is free and leaves on the hour. The students who had rotations at Cornell frequently used that since it was free.

Housing in NY is expensive. But there are a lot of flyers posted around with people looking for roomates, some are reasonable (for NY). The best bet to look for off campus housing is to go through the housing office.

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Specializes in Adult/Gerontology ANP Student.

Finally!!!!!

I got my letter today (Feb. 9), but the wait was worth it. Two Ivy acceptances in one week!

It's a great feeling!

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Specializes in Emergency.

Thanks for the info HYPEractiveTTU and ndnutmeg. I knew about the shuttle bus between Cornell and Columbia, just wanted some feedback on it - sounds like that'll be the plan.

I'm guessing that taking a crosstown bus would be a major pain from York or 1st all the way to Broadway or CPW - they just don't work in the city, I think it's faster to walk, unless of course there is a dedicated bus lane... Otherwise, I believe those buses travel at approx 4/mph - there was an article a few months ago in the papers.. :roll

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This is probably off topic, here, but since I'm choosing between Yale and Columbia, I'd like to know if anyone else is in the same boat? I'm leaning toward Yale because I had such a great experience there when I went to interview. I hope I have similar experience at Columbia when a I attend visitation day! I felt overwhelmed by the hospitality of the students (med students and nursing students, actually, since I met students from both schools) when I attended the interview day at Yale..it was great!

I talked to a lot of the Yale students and they really emphasized how much you need a car to get to clinical placements which may be all over the state, especially during the specialty years. I imagine that's not the case at Columbia, where you're pretty much a subway ride away from any sort of clinical site (Assuming clinical sites are limited to NYC?). For me, having to buy a car would be a considerable expense and a hassle when it comes to parking in New Haven. I don't want this to sway my decision too much, but I wonder what people think about this situation? As for safety, most of the top schools are located in an less than safe area --Johns Hopkins, Yale, Columbia, even the area around UIC is not totally safe, so it's really not an issue for me. Rather, it comes with living in a city and realizing that as a health care worker, you can't escape this reality if you plan to practice in an urban area.

Lastly, I haven't cleared up the financial aid situation yet. How does one prepare a fafsa for schools that are structured differently? How do I fill a fafsa out knowing that I might go to a school which considers me a fifth year undergraduate to start and yet also a masters applicant should I get into direct entry programs that have no bachelor's portion? It looks like I'll simply have to pick one school and fill out the fafsa accordingly.

Those who are attending the visitation day at Columbia...anyone interested in meeting up afterward to hang out and discuss everything?!

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