Thought I would start a Columbia thread for all of us who were eagerly waiting for that acceptance letter in the mail last week. Guess you can call this the meet-n-greet and maybe wear like a sticker with our screen names so we can recognize each other during the Visiting Day (ok, might look a bit goofy) but hey, what a way to start off our nursing careers together at Columbia.
I was estactic when i opened that letter, seemed like a thin envelope and was prepared for the worst, and then read the first line! I can't wait and indeed it was a life changing letter for both me and my wife, who also got accepted!! I also got into my first choice of specialty, Nurse Anesthesia, and getting into that program without ICU experience (besides being a nursing assistant in the ER and neurosurg unit as an undergrad) is just simply overwhelming. It took the whole weekend to sink in, and now, I'm psyched! I look forward to meeting all of you and enduring the next 12 months of craziness starting in June together.
For all you NYC folk: What neighboorhoods do you suggest - and where should I stay away from?
Talk to Adele in the housing office. Did I give you her number? She's really good w/ the neighborhoods. Up here by school you can probably afford to live alone if you want, but there are DEFINITELY areas of WasHeights you DO NOT want to live in. Basically east of Broadway and south of 168th St are baaad. I live at 181st and Fort Wash, which is in between Broadway and the river. If we can hook up you're welcome to come see my place to get a sense of what you can get for the amount I'm paying. If you want to live anywhere else you'll probably have to get a roommate. I know a lot of folks live on the Upper West Side, around the low 100s and Broadway. You'll probably want to live on the West Side just for ease of commuting - getting across town SUCKS. If you like the nightlife, I'd recommend living further down, just because we're a little isolated up here. But you can't beat the rents, that's for dang sure.
Oh, I have a PM to answer, don't I? I'll get right on that...
For all you NYC folk: What neighboorhoods do you suggest - and where should I stay away from?
It really depends on what's important to you. If you want to be near the action you are going to have to cough up more money. I would also peruse craig's list to get an idea of what the rents are in each area.
I live in Inwood. It is, like Eliza said, pretty isolated but I pay half of what the people on the upper west side are paying for twice the space. There are definitely days though that I wish it wasn't 20-30 minutes to somewhere fun.
The most important thing in my opinion is being near transporation ie subway or bus. It makes getting everywhere just that much faster. www.mta.nyc.ny.us is the mta's website with maps of all the routes.
Oh, and the university apts are pretty nice with a spectacular view. You just can't get a better deal for what you are paying and you can go home and take a catnap during lunch. You can request a list of open spots from the housing office. (Note: open spots means your are moving in with someone else who's roommate moved out). Married students can apply for their own apt in the university towers.
I was wondering if people have received their financial aid packages, and what they thought? How much, in loans, will you be paying back?
Heck, I'll answer this one, even though I'm almost done with first year (woo!)
My total aid is 85K. 18K scholarship for the first year, more to come in the master's phase. I have a 57,658 loan from Sallie Mae (private loan). The rest is federal loans - some or all of which will be forgiven when I start working as an RN - I just can't remember the amount. In addition, many hospitals will give you a signing bonus to pay off your loans if you agree to work there for a certain period of time - the amount and length of service vary by hospital.
Do NOT consolidate your nursing school loans at any time. This will negatively impact your ability to get them paid off - be it via federal forgiveness or hospital assistance.
It's so much money I'm not even stressed about it. It's beyond my comprehension.
I am totally with you Elizabells! Everyone who knows I'm going to an ivy next year has to say some smart ass comment about the money--but seriously, once you're way in debt $30,000 or $100,000--who cares!? Its all impossible!:rotfl:
:rotfl: YES!! That's the attitude!! never thought of it like that, and I agree as well, once in debt, might as well be in debt some more..and just like what Krystellmarie had said that eventually all this hard work and loan money up the a@# will pay off when we enter the field of nursing as nurse practitioners.
Hey Elizabells, best of luck with the rest of the semester and congrats on nearing the end of the the first year!!! :balloons: hopefully you would be able to escape from your busy schedule and stop by on Visiting Day.
See you all very soon, a week until Visiting Day!! for those who will be staying in NYC for at least a evening or so and not returning to their respective cities, what do you guys think about going out for dinner after the Visting Day session has concluded?
oh wait, gotta say this....."SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!! SH-H-H-O-O-W ME THE MONEY!!!!"
krystellmarie
63 Posts
Hi everyone!!
How does everyone think we should dress for the visiting day? I don't want to show up way too over or under-dressed...
I am really excited to meet everyone!!