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?;)

Specializes in Adult/Gerontology ANP Student.

I think we'll be given that information once we've officially accepted the admission by giving them the deposit.

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I wish they'd give us more information before we have 2 weeks to make a decision!! I feel like so much is hidden.

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Specializes in Emergency.

I sent in my deposit yesterday, so I'm guessing that I should be receiving my login info within the next week or two. Once I log-in, I'll let you all know what's hidden behind that locked door :)

Besides hearing both positive and negative reviews (which make me a little nervous), as someone said before, you will always hear more - than +. I think that the first year is going to be extremely difficult, because it's 2 years in 1, so there will be a lot of self-teaching. Plus this is being taught as part of a graduate program, which means little to no hand holding - but isn't that what we want in our careers?

My BF is a second year med student at a presitgious uni here in NYC and he self-teaches all the time. I think in the end, it really is for the namesake. You can become an RN at any CC and eventually move up to to NP or DrNP status - yes it will take longer, but it will also cost a lot less. So why apply to Columbia or any other ivy knowing that you will be shelling out a ton of $$, in the first place? :)

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Yeah, I don't mind the self teaching at all, I'm completely prepared for that and wouldn't expect anything less. My main point was that I've heard a lot of students that have been extremely dissatisfied and frustrated with the program, which makes me sad, because I would GLADLY shell out the money for an excellent program, which I thought Columbia would be! But now, with all that I'm hearing, I'm second guessing my decisions. It would be interesting to know the dropout rate.

I realize that in anything, you hear the negative more than the positive, but the negative that I've heard has been REALLY bad. I feel like there's no right decision here.

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Hello Kurlyz26,

Well, I'm still not sure which school to choose. I hope to have all my questions about Columbia answered on visitation day. I really think it would help to meet up! Let me know if you're interested.

I chose psychiatric mental health nursing, which is such a rarely chosen specialty that I wasn't able to learn that much about the clinical experience based on my encounters with students who were mostly in pediatrics or midwifery. The two students I did have a chance to meet in my specialty were doing child psychiatry and I'm interested in adult psychiatry.

As for housing, I plan on living at Harkness if I go to Yale, at least for the first year so that I can meet as many students as possible. I'm not a fan of dorm living, but I think it's the best option when faced with such an accelerated, demanding educational program. Food is available (I heard there aren't really any cheap grocery stores nearby) in the dorm cafeteria, there's a gym, a dunkin donuts steps away (very important!!), and the nursing school is fairly close! I also don't have the luxury of flying back to New Haven to check out housing in March. My work is already fed up with my having to leave yet again to jet off to New York (I'm in Illinois currently). So, it looks like it will be the dorm of me. If it's Columbia, then housing options are a lot more varied and I might end up living with several friends who already live in the area. At least I have some idea of how to go about finding decent housing in NYC, although it can be daunting!

Just a note on students' opinions of the ETP program. I think no matter what, most people will describe it as a particularly stressful, almost overwhelming process, especially when you factor in the academic standards of a school like Columbia. I'd be surprised if someone didn't describe it as such. That said, I'd like to know more specifically what people didn't like about it.

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Another comment... I just wanted to say that cozzy66 makes an important point. She said her boyfriend is experiencing some of these same issues in med school. Four of my friends are currently in medical school, very good schools in fact, and they have the same complaints. Too much information to learn in such a short length of time, too many guest lectures, constant stress, bad teachers, a lot of self teaching (definitely true!!), etc. I think it's just the nature of the health care profession, whether it be nursing or medicine. There is so much to learn!

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Good point chickpea. I guess I have to keep that in mind. But I'm still petrified about making the wrong choice!

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Specializes in Emergency.

meagain716.. good luck in your decision making process! i'm sure that whatever you choose, it'll be right for you and that's what counts most. also, i think in the end, no matter where you go, you'll look back and see it as a good/great experience where you learned a lot of and were really prepared for your career. don't psych yourself out too much!

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I wish they'd give us more information before we have 2 weeks to make a decision!! I feel like so much is hidden.

The information that you get once you get the log-in info is nothing earth shattering that will help you decide where to go. It's just information you will need if you are actually going to come here, like a book list and stuff like that. The most interesting thing is getting to see the facebook of your future classmates :).

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Hello everyone,

Forgive me for airing my anxieties about financial matters here on this thread. And forgive me for not investigating this thoroughly with the CUSN financial aid officer.

I am a 41 year-old male with an MPH and 36k in grad school loans (~50k with interest factored in) who has been accepted to Columbia (and only CUSN). While I haven't gathered nearly enough information regarding tuition and expenses for the program, I have a rough estimate of approximately 104k for tuition and clinical fees combined for the 3-year program. Does this jibe with others' calculations? And how much do you all estimate all costs, including living expenses will run? What to think of 150-180k (CU + grad loans combined) in loans? I am so troubled by this that I am giving serious consideration to looking for other, less expensive avenues to the MSN.

Any input would be much appreciated.

Thank you and congratulations to all of you who will be attending the program.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Two questions for current-ETPers:

Does anyone use parking in the area? Is it easy to park on the street or do you need to be in a lot? Is there any specific person I should contact regarding getting a parking space?

Do the scrubs that you order from Columbia have any specific school identification? I already have a shirt and pant navy scrub set from a few months ago and am hoping I won't need to buy 2 sets from the school....

Thanks!

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Two questions for current-ETPers:

Does anyone use parking in the area? Is it easy to park on the street or do you need to be in a lot? Is there any specific person I should contact regarding getting a parking space?

Do the scrubs that you order from Columbia have any specific school identification? I already have a shirt and pant navy scrub set from a few months ago and am hoping I won't need to buy 2 sets from the school....

Thanks!

I know of a couple of people who live near school and have cars here and park on the street. It's not easy though, I think they drive around a lot looking for spaces. I know another person who parks in a private lot in the neighborhood for a couple hundred a month. I don't know anything about parking at the hospital, I'm sure it's expensive.

You will have to buy the school uniforms because the top is a polo shirt embroidered with the school logo (unless they change something for next year). You could probably get away with wearing your own navy scrub pants though.

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